Half Marathon Training Plan for Beginners

Have you ever wondered when to start training for a half marathon? Do you need 16 weeks, 24 weeks, a year? Let’s look at the details of a half marathon training plan for beginners designed to help you feel strong and confident at the start line.

You will in no way be surprised to hear that I’m going to say there are a number of factors that determine how long half marathon training takes for each runner. I’m going to try to break down some of those common things today and give you guidance on where to start and what to do from there.

One of the things I take in to account is running history.

Those newer to high impact training (running) should allow a longer time frame to build up to the half marathon distance. This is because the muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints need time to adapt to the impact of running.

Many times we can make big gains in our aerobic fitness quickly, but that doesn’t mean the body is fully adapted.

Half marathon training schedules are about both the physical and mental adaptations required.

Let’s look at everything you need to know for half marathon beginner training plan.

How Long to Train for a Half Marathon?

The most common training plans on the Internet or from a running book are 12-20 weeks. The amount of time that you need for training could fall squarely in that very normal range or you might need less or more time.

Most half marathon training plans are assuming a few things:

• Current baseline of fitness that allows you to complete 10-15 miles per week
• At least three months of consistently running a few days a week without injuries
• Understanding your current availability to put in the required mileage
• A too short training period create risk injury (which means no race!)

Everyone is different, which is why there are so many training plans and why coaches help develop custom schedules.

16 weeks of training is roughly 4 months, which provides sufficient time to increase your mileage steadily without any big jumps. This is often referred to as the 10% rule of training, which helps to prevent injuries.

While you will be doing pieces of strength, intensity, volume building throughout training you could think of it as being broken down in to these segments. Where each uses the previous weeks of training to move you closer to your goal.

Periodized Half Marathon Training Plan

A half marathon training program is designed to follow a periodized model of training. This takes you from the least specific work to most specific, so that you are slowly building the appropriate fitness for your marathon goal.

Getting used to this for 13.1 miles will make it feel all the more familiar when (or if) you decide to jump up to 26.2. I know you’re saying never…but we all said that!

Here’s a break down of the focus for each portion of training for a 20 week plan. A 16 week plan tends to assume you’ve already done the base building and are ready to dive in to a little bit more.

Weeks 1-4 – Base

Base building time to begin slowly ramping up your total mileage. Ensuring you have built the necessary core, hip, glute strength to prevent injuries throughout training. You may have a few speed workouts during this phase depending on your current level of fitness, particularly running strides.

Starting to get in the rhythm of having 1 long run per week and what your schedule will look like. Learning that a slow jog and easy runs are your best friend for increasing endurance.

Weeks 5-8 – Strength

In a 20 week plan, we are continuing to work on building up the base for most runners. Slowly increasing to longer distances, while also starting to add in more strength workouts.

That includes both lifting with weights and workouts like hill sprints, hilly routes and short tempo runs.

Cross training can be as short as 20 minute full body lifts 2 days per week to 3 days of lifting and pre-run core workouts. Again, it’s going to depend on the previous training experience.

Starting to practice recovery runs and full rest days to maximize training.

Weeks 9-12 – Volume

Now we’re starting to move in to a period of honing in on the abilities you need to run a marathon. We aren’t yet doing super specific speed work, but we are now combing more volume with intensity.

Intensity could include speed sessions with mile pace to half marathon pace intervals. We keep in the shorter speed work to continue working those fast twitch fibers, while we are increasing total work volume.

Starting to adjust lifestyle around the time needed to train and recover. More food prep to get enough carbohydrates, more eating to recover, more foam rolling, more planning your schedule and  pondering what you’ve gotten in to all take time.

While half marathons don’t require the same level of mental toughness as a marathon, 13.1 miles is still no joke! So this is a good time to really start practicing how you’ll hand low moments in the race, working on your running mantras and making sure your training matches your goal.

Weeks 13-16 – Intensity

At this point, you are starting to hit some of your longest runs. For new runners that could mean 16 miles or even up to your first 20 miler. You’ll be adding more workouts with race pace miles, while maintaining strength training workouts and volume.

This is the point where marathon training burnout can set it. So it’s important to have a plan that works for your life, your goals and your current level of fitness.

Starting to really see the progress in your training. Dialing your gear for longer distances and working on nailing your long run fueling plan from the right energy gels to hydration. Understanding how your stomach reacts.

Weeks 17-20 – Specificity

This final section provides a couple weeks of very race specific training, which could mean final long runs of 20-22 miles for newer runners. Or it could be a long run with 1/2 at marathon pace, or progression to faster than marathon pace for experienced runners.

Peak week will be your highest weekly mileage and most difficult long run.

Then you will transition in to the final two weeks of the plan, which are taper.

Taper it NOT optional, it’s part of training. You’ll need to get out of your head about the reduced mileage, so learn how to do half marathon taper the right way.

Can a Beginner Train for a Half Marathon in 12 Weeks?

Absolutely. If you have a general base level of fitness you can do a half marathon in 12 weeks. It may not be the most fun you’ve ever had in life, but it’s completely doable.

I started running at 20 and built up to my first half in about that time. So yes, age does play a role here! The body is more adaptable in our 20’s and our risk of injury is a little bit lower, but our bounce back is FAR higher.

In that scenario, an intermediate to advanced runners is skipping the 4-6 weeks of base building work because it’s simply part of their ongoing routine.

• 12 Week Half Marathon Beginner Training Plan from my book
• 20 Week Couch to Half Marathon Plan, which you can modify if you already have a base
• 16 Week Half Marathon Walking Plan!

Can You Train for a Half Marathon in Two Months?

More experienced runners can easily do this. Often they are maintaining a decent level of mileage year round, which makes it easy for them to move right into the intensity and specificity portion of training without injury.

Newer runners, should only do this if they are truly willing to go easy and walk a lot. Why? There will be nothing worse than deciding you are going to do this thing and then getting injured because you tried to cram in a ton of miles on a body that wasn’t ready to handle it.

• Use the run/walk method a couple days a week
• Walk as many days of the week as you can
• Really do the hip, glute and core work that will prevent most common running injuries

What happens if you don’t give yourself enough time to train for a half marathon?

It’s not uncommon to have runners reach out for coaching when they realize their half marathon is just 3 months away and they haven’t been running at all.

Sometimes we will agree to work with them, but others I will honestly tell them I don’t feel we’d be doing them a service to try and force the race.

• Potential for injury during training and the race increase dramatically
• Frustration from not being able to complete the assigned workouts is high
• Disappointment with how race day goes leads to no longer running

How Long Should a Beginner Train for a Half Marathon?

On the flip side, we often coach runners who need a full year to build up to the first half marathon distance.

Why?

Everyone is different in their goals, how their body feels and the way they want to approach race day. If you’re setting a big race goal for yourself then taking the time to really build a base, work on speed and nutrition is going to pay off massively!

A lot of elite runners focus on shorter distance for quite some time before jumping up to the half and full marathon. It works.

• If you’ve been running consistently for a year, checkout a 12 week half marathon training plan
• If you’ve got a race time goal in mind, checkout a 16 week half marathon training plan
• Starting from scratch? Consider spending a 6 months focusing on shorter distances like the 5 and 10k to build fitness and endurance.

Remember that you do not need to cover 13.1 miles in training! Taper means going in to the race with fresh legs. That plus the adrenaline give you an incredible boost.

Whew that was a lot of information, but I hope now you have a better answer to how long does it take to train for a half marathon!

If you’re looking for more marathon training tips, we’ve got you covered:

• Half Marathon Pace Chart
• First Half Marathon Training Tips
• How to Run Faster and Longer
• What to Eat During a Half Marathon
• Sub Two Hour Half Marathon Plan
• Half Marathon Checklist

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