You’re trying hard. That’s the problem.

The free 12-week half marathon plan that stops you overtraining.

Most of this plan is easy running. That’s not a mistake. It’s the plan. Read the whole thing below. No signup, no wall.

12
weeks
4
days / week
Every run
zoned

For the runner training around a job and a life who wants to reach the start line fit, not fried.

Why so much easy?

You can’t outrun your easy days. Run easy when it’s easy so you can run hard when it’s hard. Going medium-hard on everything, the grey middle, is where amateur runners stall and where injuries come from. This plan puts a ceiling on your easy runs and saves the effort for the one day a week that earns it.

What a session looks like

1600m repeats, week 5. Every quality session in the plan is laid out this way in the app.

Session structure
Warm-up~3km · Zone 1→2
1
Easy run
~3km
Final third in Zone 2
2
Strides
4 × 20s
Fast and relaxed
Full recovery between each.
Main set~3km · Zone 3
2×rounds of
3
1600m
5:30–6:00 /km
~9:12 min · Threshold, held. Rep three should look like rep one.
4
Jog
~0.2km
6:30 /km or slower
1:30 min · 90 seconds. Deliberately short: clearance, not recovery.
Cool-down~1km · Zone 1
5
Easy jog / walk
~1km
Conversational or slower

The plan, week by week

Free. Take it exactly as it is.

Base

Easy running, plus a time trial to set your paces. Building the engine is still the job.

Week 1Base — easy start
37km
Mon
Easy run — Zone 2Zone 2
8.5 km · 60 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Wed
Easy run — Zone 2Zone 2
8.5 km · 60 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Fri
Easy run — Zone 2Zone 2
8.5 km · 60 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Sun
Long run — Zone 2Zone 2
11 km · 77 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Week 2Base — building consistency
41km
Mon
Easy run — Zone 2Zone 2
9.5 km · 67 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Wed
Easy run — Zone 2Zone 2
9.5 km · 67 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Fri
Easy run — Zone 2Zone 2
9.5 km · 67 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Sun
Long run — Zone 2Zone 2
12 km · 84 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Week 3Base — aerobic development
45km
Mon
Easy run — Zone 2Zone 2
10.5 km · 74 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Wed
Easy run + strides — Zone 2Zone 2
10.5 km · 74 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Fri
Easy run — Zone 2Zone 2
10.5 km · 74 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Sun
Long run — Zone 2Zone 2
13.5 km · 95 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Week 4RecoveryBase — recovery + benchmark
28km
Mon
Easy run — Zone 2Zone 2
7 km · 49 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Wed
5K time trialZone 4–5
5 km · 29 min
Warm up easy for 10 minutes, then 5 km as hard as you can hold. Cool down easy.
Fri
Easy run — Zone 2Zone 2
7 km · 49 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Sun
Long run — Zone 2Zone 2
9 km · 63 min · 6:30–7:30 /km

Build

Quality arrives. One hard session most weeks; the rest stays genuinely easy.

Week 5Build — first quality session
41km
Mon
Easy run + strides — Zone 2Zone 2
10.5 km · 74 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Wed
1600m repeatsZone 3
6.5 km · 40 min · 5:38–5:52 /km
2×
1600 m at 5:30–6:00 /km
jog 1:30 min at no faster than 6:30–7:30 /km
No hiding in this one. Same pace on the last rep or the block has not worked.
Fri
Easy run — Zone 2Zone 2
10.5 km · 74 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Sun
Long run — Zone 2Zone 2
13.5 km · 95 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Week 6Build — extending the work
48km
Mon
Easy run + strides — Zone 2Zone 2
12.5 km · 88 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Wed
PyramidZone 3
7 km · 43 min · 5:30–6:00 /km
1 min at 5:30–6:00 /km
jog 30s at no faster than 6:30–7:30 /km
2 min at 5:30–6:00 /km
jog 1 min at no faster than 6:30–7:30 /km
3 min at 5:30–6:00 /km
jog 1:30 min at no faster than 6:30–7:30 /km
4 min at 5:30–6:00 /km
jog 2 min at no faster than 6:30–7:30 /km
3 min at 5:30–6:00 /km
jog 1:30 min at no faster than 6:30–7:30 /km
2 min at 5:30–6:00 /km
jog 1 min at no faster than 6:30–7:30 /km
1 min at 5:30–6:00 /km
The top rung is not the hard one. The one on the way back down is.
Fri
Easy run — Zone 2Zone 2
12.5 km · 88 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Sun
Long run — Zone 2Zone 2
16 km · 112 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Week 7Build — raising the ceiling
49km
Mon
Easy run + strides — Zone 2Zone 2
12.5 km · 88 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Wed
CV intervalsZone 3
8 km · 47 min · 5:21–5:34 /km
5×
4 min at 5:21–5:34 /km
jog 1:30 min at no faster than 6:30–7:30 /km
Just above threshold, not a mile off it. If it turns into VO2max reps, you have changed the session.
Fri
Easy run — Zone 2Zone 2
12.5 km · 88 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Sun
Long run — Zone 2Zone 2
16 km · 112 min · 6:30–7:30 /km

Peak

The sharpest weeks. Hold the zone on the hard days, protect the easy ones.

Week 8Peak — highest volume
50km
Mon
Easy run + strides — Zone 2Zone 2
13 km · 91 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Wed
Progressive tempoZone 3
7.5 km · 48 min · 5:30–6:00 /km
9:20 min at no faster than 6:30–7:30 /km
9:20 min at 6:30 → 5:30 /km
9:20 min at 5:30–6:00 /km
Hold back early. Finish honest.
Fri
Easy run — Zone 2Zone 2
13 km · 91 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Sun
Long run — Zone 2Zone 2
16.5 km · 116 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Week 9Peak — second peak week
51km
Mon
Easy run + strides — Zone 2Zone 2
13 km · 91 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Wed
Threshold ladderZone 3
8 km · 50 min · 5:30–6:00 /km
3 min at 5:30–6:00 /km
jog 1:30 min at no faster than 6:30–7:30 /km
5 min at 5:30–6:00 /km
jog 1:30 min at no faster than 6:30–7:30 /km
8 min at 5:30–6:00 /km
jog 1:30 min at no faster than 6:30–7:30 /km
5 min at 5:30–6:00 /km
jog 1:30 min at no faster than 6:30–7:30 /km
3 min at 5:30–6:00 /km
Up and back down. The 8-minute rung is the honest one; everything before it should feel like restraint.
Fri
Easy run — Zone 2Zone 2
13 km · 91 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Sun
Long run — Zone 2Zone 2
16.5 km · 116 min · 6:30–7:30 /km

Taper

Less volume, same intensity. Arrive fresh, not flat.

Week 10Taper — trust the work
40km
Mon
Easy run + strides — Zone 2Zone 2
9.5 km · 67 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Wed
Continuous tempoZone 3
5 km · 33 min · 5:30–6:00 /km
15 min at 5:30–6:00 /km
Sustainable. Same pace at the end as at the start.
Fri
Easy run — Zone 2Zone 2
9.5 km · 67 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Sun
Long run — Zone 2Zone 2
16 km · 112 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Week 11Taper — sharpening
30km
Mon
Easy run + strides — Zone 2Zone 2
6 km · 42 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Wed
Progressive tempoZone 3
6 km · 39 min · 5:30–6:00 /km
6:40 min at no faster than 6:30–7:30 /km
6:40 min at 6:30 → 5:30 /km
6:40 min at 5:30–6:00 /km
Hold back early. Finish honest.
Fri
Easy run — Zone 2Zone 2
6 km · 42 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Sun
Long run — Zone 2Zone 2
11.5 km · 81 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Week 12Race weekRace week
15km + 21.1km race
Mon
Race-week easyZone 2
7 km · 49 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Tue
Easy shakeoutZone 1
5 km · 35 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Thu
Pre-race shakeoutZone 1
3 km · 21 min · 6:30–7:30 /km
Sun
Race day — 21.1 km
21.1 km

This is the flat version.

This plan doesn’t know you. It doesn’t know your Tuesday got busy, what your resting heart rate is doing, or that your last race said you’re fitter than you think.

The app does. It sets your real heart-rate zones, moves sessions when life breaks the week, and rebuilds the plan off a mid-block time trial. This page is the template. The app is the coach.

The plan above is yours. No catch.

This one is fixed. The app builds the same plan around your zones, your week and your race date, and two weeks of it costs nothing.

Download on the App Store

Or see what free covers first →

Questions

How many days a week is this Half marathon plan?

4 days a week. Easy runs, and from the build phase a quality session in most weeks. The rest is recovery, on purpose.

Is this Half marathon plan good for beginners?

It suits a runner who already runs a little and wants to stop going medium-hard on everything. If you are brand new to running, build an easy base first, then start here.

Do I need a heart-rate monitor for this half marathon plan?

No. Every run has a pace band and a zone. A heart-rate monitor just helps you hold the easy days honestly, which is exactly what the app adds on top of this plan.

Can I move the sessions around?

Carefully, yes. Keep the two hardest days apart. The static plan above can’t move itself. Reshaping around the week you actually had is part of the paid tier, and it keeps the easy/hard rhythm intact while it does it.

Why is so much of the plan easy running?

Because you can’t outrun your easy days. Running easy when it’s easy is what lets you run genuinely hard on the one day that earns it. The grey middle, medium-hard on everything, is where amateur runners stall and get injured.

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