To consider following this 1:30 minute half marathon training plan you should already be able to run at a target race pace of 06:50 for at least one mile (4:15p/km) and/or have a PB under 1hr 45 minutes.
If you are not quite ready then take a look at the 1hr 45 minute Half Marathon Training Plan instead and then come back to this one once you are in a position to run at this pace.
Other half marathon training plans: 8 week half marathon training plan || sub 2 hour half marathon training plan || 1:45 half marathon training plan || 1:30 half marathon training plan ||
Please read before starting a training plan:
Frequently Asked Questions | Signs of Overtraining
Your Speed/Distance Training Zones: 1:30 half marathon training plan
| Race Pace per Mile / Km | 800m Intervals | 1km Intervals | 2km Intervals | 10km Race Pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06:50/ 04:15 | 3min 09s (Speed: 15:2 kmph / 9.4 mph) | 4min 15s (Speed: 15:2 kmph / 9.4 mph) | 06:50 p/m / 04:15 pace 08:30 p/2km | 42min 30s |
1:30 half marathon training plan
| Day | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | 4 (rec week) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Rest/ cross-train | 45 mins easy | Rest/ cross-train | |
| Tuesday | 30mins easy | 45mins easy | Rest/ cross-train | |
| Wednesday | Rest/ cross-train | 30mins easy | Rest/ cross-train | Rest/ cross-train |
| Thursday | @6:50 p/m (08:30 p/2km) 2 min Rec | Aim for 42:30 | @4:15 p/mile (4:15 p/km) 90s Rec | Rest/ cross-train |
| Friday | Rest/ cross-train | Rest/ cross-train | Rest/ cross-train | 45mins easy |
| Saturday | 45mins easy | @4:15 p/mile (4:15 p/km) 90s Rec | 45mins easy | Rest/ cross-train |
| Sunday | Long run, gentle pace: 60-75 mins | Long run, gentle pace: 75-90 mins | Long run, gentle pace: 90-120 mins | Rest/ cross-train |
1hr 30 Minute Half Marathon Training Plan Components
Breakeven Sessions – 1:30 half marathon training plan
These sessions are used for maintaining fitness & recovery. Preparing you for breakthrough sessions:
- Easy/ recovery run – this should be no quicker than 10:00 p/m pace.
- Long Run – 1-2 hours. Don't worry about pace, all your miles somewhere in the region of 10-11:00 minutes per mile, just enjoy the ride.
Breakthrough Sessions – 1:30 half marathon training plan
These sessions are meant to be challenging intense efforts, treat them as mini-milestones towards your target:
- 800m Reps – these will be faster that your target race pace and should be at 6:20 p/m pace (3:09 per 800m) with a 90 sec jogged recovery. 15:2 km/per hour / 9.4mph for treadmill sessions.
- 1km Intervals – same as above, faster than race pace, try to hit 6:20 p/m pace again (4:15 per km) with a 90 sec jogged recovery. 15.2 km/per hour / 9.4mph for treadmill sessions.
- 2km Intervals – at race pace, so do 6:50 p/m pace (8:30 per 2km) with a 2 minute jogged recovery.
- 10km Timed Effort – run a 10k race/training run at your maximum, try and aim for a sub 42min 30s.
About this 1hr 30min Half Marathon Training Plan
The sub 1:30 half marathon training plan has been put together so it is cyclical and can be used over a period of weeks until you feel you are ready for your event. At the end of each cycle you can repeat from the beginning or tweak the plan to suit your current ability and time commitments etc.
It is recommended that after three months of using the 1:30 half marathon training plan that you reduce your training for a period of one to two weeks to allow your body time to recover from the impact of running. This should mean more time cross-training with a couple of nice easy runs every few days to keep the legs ticking over.
To realise improvements it’s worth remembering that training is cumulative and it takes time and dedication to follow any training plan and achieve the results you want.
Matt, could you clarify your interpretation of “tempo”? I ask because unfortunately there is not 100% agreement in the running community on what a tempo run is. Some consider it identical to a threshold run (roughly a run at a pace which could be held for around an hour, but not more)
https://www.runnersworld.com/advanced/a20827239/what-is-a-tempo-run/
and some consider it to be a pace that is a bit slower than that (eg a pace that might correspond to a 2-hour maximal effort). This is quite a big difference – about 5% in speed.
https://www.active.com/running/articles/what-are-threshold-and-tempo-runs
Helli, i have the same question as Sam. Are the paces correct?
Hi Matt, I don’t see 800m repeats on the schedule, but they are listed on the page. Where should they fit on the schedule? Are the easy and long run paces correct? They are the same as the sub 2 hour half plan and seem very slow. Thanks,
Sounds like a very nice plan and gave some nice inspiration to my training, thanks for the effort!
Hi Matt
Are the easy run/long run paces on here correct? (i only say this because the next paragraph says sub 2 hour half)
Thanks
Thanks very much, very helpful! Question: What is a ‘5 mile tempo’? Thanks
Tempo is a speed you can hold comfortably for about 1 hr, be near but just over your 10k pace, threshold pace is like maximum effort ‘ like your 5k pace, for some people there won’t be much difference in this, this pace could also change depending on tiredness etc