Generate a free 12-week half marathon training plan for beginners. Custom program with pacing and long runs. Free half marathon plan. No signup.
The half marathon — 13.1 miles — is the fastest-growing race distance in the US because it is challenging enough to be meaningful but achievable for most runners with 12-16 weeks of training. Our planner creates your custom program based on your current running base and target race date with a week-by-week mileage progression.
Before starting a half marathon plan you should: comfortably run 15-20 miles per week, be able to run 4-5 miles without stopping, have been running consistently for at least 3 months, and have no active injuries. If not there yet spend 6-8 weeks building base mileage before starting the 12-week program.
Common beginner half marathon finish times: 2:30-3:00 hours — 11:27-13:44 minutes per mile. For a 2:30 finish you need to sustain 11:27 per mile for 13.1 miles. Long runs should be 60-90 seconds per mile slower than goal race pace. Easy runs should feel conversational. Most beginners go out too fast in the first 5 miles and suffer for it.
With proper training a half marathon is very achievable for most healthy adults regardless of running background. The training itself is the hard part — 12-16 weeks of consistent running 3-4 days per week. Race day with crowd energy and adrenaline is usually easier than your longest training run. Most first-timers finish and immediately start thinking about their next one.
For a half marathon under 2 hours: energy gels or chews every 45-60 minutes starting around mile 4-5. For races over 2 hours: start fueling earlier at mile 3-4. Practice your race day nutrition during long training runs — never try something new on race day. Take water at every aid station even if not thirsty.
Beginner half marathon training peaks at 25-35 miles per week. Most weeks you run 20-30 miles with a peak long run of 10-12 miles two to three weeks before race day. The weekly mileage builds gradually from your starting point — our plan increases by no more than 10% per week to prevent injury.
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