So you signed up for a half marathon. Maybe a friend talked you into it, maybe you saw the medal photos one too many times, maybe you just want to see if you can. Whatever got you here, welcome. This is the plan structure I actually use with beginner athletes, minus the 40-tab spreadsheet panic.
Here's the thing nobody tells you when you google "half marathon training plan for beginners": most of what comes up is either a rigid PDF built for someone who already runs, or so vague it's basically "run more, good luck." Neither helps you on a Tuesday night when you're deciding whether to lace up or not. So let's actually walk through it: how long this takes, how the weeks are structured, what's non-negotiable, and where beginners usually go wrong.
12 weeks, minimum. Not because it's a nice round number, but because 12 weeks is the shortest runway that lets your training move through three distinct phases without rushing any of them. If you're starting from close to zero (a true couch start, not "I run occasionally"), this 12-week structure isn't quite the right starting point. Read the couch-to-half-marathon guide first; it'll get you to a base, then this plan picks up from there.
I'd rather you take the extra time and enjoy every week of it than cram adaptation into a window that's too short and spend the back half injured, exhausted, or both. Running is supposed to be fun. That's not a throwaway line: it's the first principle behind every programming choice in this plan.
Every plan I build, beginner or not, moves through three phases, and they narrow as race day gets closer:
Base is the widest phase. Lots of variety, lots of easy running, building the aerobic engine and the habit itself. Nothing here should feel hard. This is where you learn what running 4 days a week actually feels like in your life: around work, kids, weather, everything.
Support narrows things slightly. You're still building variety, but some sessions start pointing toward race demands: a bit more sustained effort, a long run that's genuinely getting long. Think of it as the bridge between "building the habit" and "training for the specific race."
Specific is the narrowest and closest to race day. Sessions look more like the actual half marathon: pace work, longer sustained efforts, a long run that mentally and physically rehearses race day. Nothing new is introduced here; it's about sharpening what you've already built, not adding more.
The whole idea is that you're never doing everything at once. Early on you're building broadly. Late on you're narrowing toward the exact thing you're about to do on race morning.
Some rules don't bend, no matter how motivated you're feeling on a Sunday morning:
None of these are arbitrary. They're the guardrails that let a beginner get to the start line healthy, which, I'll say it again, is the actual goal. A great training block that ends in a stress fracture isn't a great training block.
This surprises people who think a running plan should be, well, all running. It shouldn't. Two strength sessions a week (nothing fancy: think squats, single-leg work, core, some hip and glute strength) is part of the plan, not an add-on if you have time left over. Stronger hips and a stronger core mean you hold your form better in km 18-21, when everything else is falling apart. It's injury prevention and it's a finish-line advantage, at the same time.
Structure varies by exactly where you are in the plan, but a typical mid-Support-phase week for a beginner looks something like this:
Notice what's not there: back-to-back hard days, running every single day, or more than one quality session. Beginners get exactly one quality session a week: that's plenty of stimulus without wrecking the rest of the week. The long run is the anchor. Everything else supports it.
Turning every easy run into a medium-hard run. Easy days run at "I could hold a conversation" effort, not "I'm slightly out of breath but pushing through." If every run feels like effort, you're not actually training the aerobic base you need. You're just accumulating fatigue.
Trying to make up a missed session by cramming it into the next day. Life happens: missed a run, that's fine, it happens to me too. But doubling up sessions to "catch up" just stacks fatigue where your body wasn't expecting it. Missed sessions get handled case by case, not crammed. Sometimes the answer is just: skip it, move on.
Skipping strength because running feels like the "real" training. See above: it isn't optional, and skipping it is one of the more common reasons beginners feel great through week 8 and then start picking up niggles in week 10.
Ignoring the taper. The urge to squeeze in one more big long run the week before the race is strong. Resist it. Your fitness is already banked by then. Taper week is about arriving fresh, not fitter.
Comparing your plan to someone else's. Your training partner's plan, your Strava feed, whatever: a beginner plan that looks "too easy" next to someone else's marathon-training partner is usually exactly right for you. Compare your week 1 to your week 12, not to anyone else's.
I've run 13 half marathons myself (PB 1:23:45, and plenty of rough ones along the way, Lisbon 2024 taught me that the hard way). RunLetters Half Marathon Coaching pairs you with a real coach, not an app, who builds this structure around your actual life and adjusts it as training goes, because it always goes a little differently than the plan on paper.
See the coaching programTwelve weeks minimum if you're already running a few times a week and comfortable with 5-8km. If you're starting closer to zero, this plan isn't quite the right starting point. See the couch-to-half-marathon guide first to build a base, then come back to this one.
No, a beginner week is typically 4 running days, with rest or cross-training and strength work filling the rest. Two hard days are never scheduled back to back, and running every single day without a base is a fast way to get injured, not fitter.
Let a few weeks of honest training tell you, rather than guessing upfront. Once you've got a recent race or time-trial to work from, use the pace calculator to turn that into a realistic goal pace and a full splits chart.
Yes, every plan tapers in the final 1-2 weeks, cutting volume while keeping a bit of speed work (short strides) so your legs stay sharp instead of going flat. Check the taper planner for what that last stretch should actually look like.