<![CDATA[The Half Marathoner: Training Plans]]>https://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/s/training-planshttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!zTJM!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F165061f9-8f3b-4dd3-ba14-b52f5ea08974_605x605.pngThe Half Marathoner: Training Planshttps://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/s/training-plansSubstackTue, 05 May 2026 16:33:20 GMT<![CDATA[My 12-Week Half Marathon Training Plan]]>https://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-12-week-half-marathon-training-cebhttps://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-12-week-half-marathon-training-cebTue, 30 Dec 2025 17:05:27 GMTMorning, friends! ☀️

I’ll soon be back in your inboxes with our regularly scheduled programming 😀, but just before the end of the year I thought I’d share with you some training plans I’ve developed over the years.

The are plans we’ve used to train together for races in the past, and I thought I’d share them in case you’d like a full week-by-week guide for a race you have coming up.

Below is my twelve-week plan, which includes a week-by-week breakdown of the miles you need to run, the long run each week (in bold), all leading up to the taper a couple of weeks or so before your race day.

Also, there’s a downloadable PDF version at the end of the schedule, so you can print it out if you like.

Feel free to reach out with any questions!

— Terrell

Week 1

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Wednesday — 3 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 4 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Week 2

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Wednesday — 4 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 4 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Week 3

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Wednesday — 4 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 5 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Read more

]]><![CDATA[My 12-week half marathon training plan]]>https://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-12-week-half-marathon-training-173https://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-12-week-half-marathon-training-173Wed, 16 Apr 2025 12:52:36 GMTMorning, friends! ☀️ This isn’t a typical issue of our newsletter, but I wanted to share with you some full versions of the training plans we’ve used in the past, in case you’ve been looking for a plan to train for a race this summer.

There’s a good chance you’ve already seen this plan if you’ve been reading for a while (we’ve used it to train together before). It includes a week-by-week breakdown of the miles you need to run, the long run each week (in bold), all leading up to the taper a couple of weeks or so before your race day.

There’s also a downloadable PDF version at the end of the schedule, so you can print it out if you like.

Enjoy and feel free to reach out with any questions!

— Terrell

Week 1

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Wednesday — 3 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 4 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Week 2

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Wednesday — 4 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 4 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Week 3

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Wednesday — 4 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 5 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Read more

]]><![CDATA[My 15-week half marathon training plan]]>https://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-15-week-half-marathon-training-007https://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-15-week-half-marathon-training-007Mon, 30 Dec 2024 15:16:27 GMTMorning, friends! ☀️

I just wanted to send a quick follow-up to the 12-week training plan I shared with you last Friday, as I know many of you have races planned for the new year that you may need a schedule for — so, I’m sharing the training plans I’ve developed over the past few years.

This plan, my 15-week schedule, is ideal if you have three-and-a-half to four months to train, so if you’re looking at a race in say, April, this will help you get to race day ready to go.

It includes a week-by-week breakdown of the miles you need to run, the long run each week (in bold), all leading up to the taper a couple of weeks or so before your race.

There’s also a downloadable PDF version at the end of the schedule, so you can print it out if you like. Feel free to reach out with any questions!

— Terrell

Photo by Nathalie Désirée Mottet on Unsplash

Week 1

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 3 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Week 2

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 4 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Week 3

  • Tuesday — 3-4 miles

  • Thursday — 3-4 miles

  • Saturday — 5 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Read more

]]><![CDATA[My 12-week half marathon training plan]]>https://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-12-week-half-marathon-training-3d2https://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-12-week-half-marathon-training-3d2Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:59:12 GMTMorning, friends! ☀️

Many of you, I know, have races planned for the new year, races you might need a little help training for — and they might be eight weeks away, twelve weeks away, sixteen weeks away, or even more.

So I thought I’d close out the year by sharing the training plans I’ve developed over the years1 — ones we’ve used to train together for races in the past — in case you need a week-by-week guide to see you through to race day. (I’ll send them out between now and New Year’s Eve, so keep an eye on your inbox.)

This is our twelve-week plan, which includes a week-by-week breakdown of the miles you need to run, the long run each week (in bold), all leading up to the taper a couple of weeks or so before your race day.

There’s also a downloadable PDF version at the end of the schedule, so you can print it out if you like. Enjoy and feel free to reach out with any questions!

— Terrell

© Dreamstime

Week 1

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Wednesday — 3 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 4 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Week 2

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Wednesday — 4 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 4 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Week 3

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Wednesday — 4 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 5 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Read more

]]><![CDATA[So, you want to run a marathon?]]>https://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/so-you-want-to-run-a-marathonhttps://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/so-you-want-to-run-a-marathonMon, 25 Nov 2024 18:59:39 GMTEarlier today, a THM subscriber reached out with a question via direct message, which I thought I’d share with you:

“Hi Terrell! I hope your fall running is going well. I went to the Philadelphia Marathon today and watched my niece finish her first marathon. So inspiring. I'm wondering if you have a full year training plan or recommendations for one? I ran two marathons back in my 20's including Philadelphia and want to commit to next year's Philadelphia marathon for a second time. Thanks for any guidance.”

That prompted me to take a look at the training plans I’ve shared with you in the past — all of which you can find here — and figure out how I might extend the training cycle for my full marathon plan, which I’ve used for the three marathons I’ve run.

So, what I did is take my 20-week plan and extend it for an additional six weeks, to allow for an even more gradual buildup to the miles you’ll need to run over six months instead of four and a half.

And, in the six months leading up to when training starts, I’m recommending that she keep doing what she’s already doing now — a mix of running and cycling, with her current twice-a-week weight lifting sessions.

(You don’t need to do everything she is doing now, but if you’d like to follow this plan, I’d highly recommend staying active by running at least 15 miles per week in the months leading up to when training begins, preferably with some cross-training added in too.)

The full, 26-week marathon training plan is below — and there’s also a downloadable PDF version at the end of the schedule, so you can print it out if you like.

Enjoy and feel free to reach out with any questions!

— Terrell

© Dreamstime

Week 1

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Wednesday — 2 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 2 miles

  • Sunday — 3-4 miles

Week 2

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Wednesday — 2 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 3 miles

  • Sunday — 4 miles

Read more

]]><![CDATA[My 8-week half marathon training plan]]>https://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-8-week-half-marathon-traininghttps://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-8-week-half-marathon-trainingMon, 16 Sep 2024 21:31:51 GMTHey, everyone! 👋

We’re a little less than two months away from our second half marathon meetup, at the Athens Half Marathon in Athens, Ga., on Sunday, Nov. 3. I’m really, really excited to see you there and meet you in person, and I’ll put together a dinner for us the night before the race (just like we did last year in Richmond).

In the meantime, I wanted to share with you hotel and parking information for race day — just click this button for information on the hotels recommended by the race organizers:

Book a hotel for AthHalf here

(Note that the first two options listed are within easy walking distance of the starting line; the third is a little farther away, but within a few minutes’ drive.)

If you haven’t yet signed up for the race but want to, here’s where you can — just click/tap here:

Register for AthHalf here

Below, I’ve also put together a training schedule that will take us through the next several weeks until we meet up in Athens. I’ve adjusted it from the plan I sent out back in June, easing up on the mid-week run distances and more gradually building up our weekend long runs.

(It’s not often that I’m able to stick to a training plan religiously; they always need modification as you progress through them. Life happens to us all, right?)

Even if you’re not running with us this November, I think you’ll like the plan — I’ve even included an extra week, if you’re looking for an 8-week training schedule.

There’s also a downloadable PDF version at the end of the schedule, so you can print it out if you like. Feel free to reach out with any questions!

Your friend,

— Terrell

Leave a comment

Our training schedule from now through Nov. 3

Read more

]]><![CDATA[My 14-week half marathon training plan]]>https://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-14-week-half-marathon-traininghttps://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-14-week-half-marathon-trainingMon, 29 Jul 2024 16:14:06 GMTHey everyone! 👋

I wanted to share a half marathon training plan I recently created for a subscriber, who reached out with a request for a race she has coming up in the fall, asking if I could put together a plan that would meet her timeline.

It was a great question, and I thought I’d share it with our group in case you have a race coming up this fall (or anytime) with the same timeline — and, to let you know that you can reach out to me as well if you need help creating a plan for a race you have coming up.

(You’ll need to be a paid subscriber to take advantage of this perk — and you can become one by clicking this 👇 button.)

Subscribe now

There’s also a downloadable PDF version at the end of the schedule, so you can print it out if you like. Feel free to reach out with any questions!

Your friend,

— Terrell

Week 1

  • Tuesday — 2-3 miles

  • Thursday — 2-3 miles

  • Saturday — 3 miles

  • Sunday — 2 miles

Week 2

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 4 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Week 3

  • Tuesday — 4 miles

  • Thursday — 3-4 miles

  • Saturday — 5 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Read more

]]><![CDATA[My 20-week half marathon training schedule]]>https://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-20-week-half-marathon-traininghttps://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-20-week-half-marathon-trainingMon, 17 Jun 2024 14:44:16 GMTMorning, friends! 👋

Last week, a subscriber reached out with a question about a race she has coming up this fall: did I have a 20-week half marathon training plan available? Her race is set for mid- to late October, about five months from now.

I didn’t, but I replied that I could put one together — and I thought I’d share it with you also. This plan eases you into training with light mileage in the first few weeks, then starts ramping up the weekly miles about six weeks in.

My thinking is, those easy first few weeks are especially good for summertime training, especially now that many of us are experiencing warmer — in some cases, much warmer — than average temperatures right now.

This schedule includes a week-by-week breakdown of the miles you need to run, the long run each week (in bold), all leading up to the taper a couple of weeks or so before your race day.

There’s also a downloadable PDF version at the end of the schedule, so you can print it out if you like.

Enjoy and feel free to reach out with any questions!

Leave a comment

Week 1

  • Monday — off

  • Tuesday — 2-3 miles

  • Wednesday — off

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Friday — off

  • Saturday (long run) — 3 miles

  • Sunday — 2 miles

Week 2

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 3 miles

  • Sunday — 2 miles

Week 3

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Thursday — 3-4 miles

  • Saturday — 4 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Read more

]]><![CDATA[My 18-Week Half Marathon Training Plan]]>https://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-18-week-half-marathon-traininghttps://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-18-week-half-marathon-trainingWed, 22 May 2024 15:01:36 GMT👉 Morning, friends! This isn’t a typical newsletter, but I wanted to share with you a half marathon training plan I put together, designed to ease you into training slowly and ramp you up through 4 1/2 months — just in time for fall races.

It includes a week-by-week breakdown of the miles you need to run, the long run each week (in bold), all leading up to the taper a couple of weeks or so before your race day.

There’s also a downloadable PDF version at the end of the schedule, so you can print it out if you like.

Enjoy and feel free to reach out with any questions!

— Terrell

Leave a comment

Week 1

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Wednesday — off

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Friday — off

  • Saturday — 3 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Week 2

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 4 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Week 3

  • Tuesday — 4 miles

  • Thursday — 4 miles

  • Saturday — 5 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Week 4

  • Tuesday — 4 miles

  • Thursday — 4 miles

  • Saturday — 5 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Read more

]]><![CDATA[My 15-week half marathon training plan]]>https://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-15-week-half-marathon-traininghttps://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-15-week-half-marathon-trainingTue, 16 Jan 2024 14:00:44 GMT👉 This isn’t a typical issue of our newsletter, but I wanted to share with you the full version of the training plan we’ll use to train for Oregon’s Eugene Half Marathon this spring, in case you’d like to download a copy and adapt it for your schedule.

You’ve likely seen a version of this plan before; it’s based on the 16-week training schedule I sent out last year, and includes a week-by-week breakdown of the miles you need to run, the long run each week (in bold), all leading up to the taper a couple of weeks or so before our race day.

There’s also a downloadable PDF version at the end of the schedule, so you can print it out if you like.

Our training starts this week — enjoy and feel free to reach out with any questions!

— Terrell

Leave a comment

Week 1 (Jan. 15-21)

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 3 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Week 2 (Jan. 22-28)

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 4 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Week 3 (Jan. 29 - Feb. 4)

  • Tuesday — 3-4 miles

  • Thursday — 3-4 miles

  • Saturday — 5 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Read more

]]><![CDATA[My 10-mile race training plan]]>https://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-10-mile-race-training-planhttps://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-10-mile-race-training-planSun, 08 Oct 2023 13:02:14 GMT👉 This isn’t a typical issue of our newsletter, but I like to share with you full versions of the training plans we’ve used in the past, in case you’d like to download a copy and adapt it for your schedule.

Ten-mile races have become more popular in recent years — there’s a big one coming up here where I live in Atlanta next weekend — so I thought I’d share with you one we’ve used in the past.

It includes a week-by-week breakdown of the miles you need to run, the long run each week (in bold. There’s also a downloadable PDF version at the end of the schedule, so you can print it out if you like.

Enjoy and feel free to reach out with any questions!

— Terrell

P.S.: We also have plans for the half marathon and the full marathon here.

Week 1

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 3 miles

  • Sunday — 2-3 miles

Week 2

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 3 miles

  • Sunday — 2-3 miles

Read more

]]><![CDATA[My 16-week half marathon training plan]]>https://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-16-week-half-marathon-traininghttps://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-16-week-half-marathon-trainingSun, 27 Aug 2023 13:00:47 GMT👉 This isn’t a typical issue of our newsletter, but I wanted to share with you the full version of the training plan we’re using to train for the Richmond Half Marathon this fall, in case you’d like to download a copy and adapt it for your schedule.

There’s a good chance you’ve already seen this plan if you’ve been reading for a while; it includes a week-by-week breakdown of the miles you need to run, the long run each week (in bold), all leading up to the taper a couple of weeks or so before our race day.

There’s also a downloadable PDF version at the end of the schedule, so you can print it out if you like. (I have a few more training plans I’m still working on getting into this format, so watch your inbox for them soon.)

Enjoy and feel free to reach out with any questions!

— Terrell

Week 1 (July 24-30)

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 4 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Week 2 (July 31-Aug. 6)

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 5 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Week 3 (Aug. 7-13)

  • Tuesday — 4 miles

  • Thursday — 4 miles

  • Saturday — 6 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Week 4 (Aug. 14-20)

  • Tuesday — 4 miles

  • Thursday — 4 miles

  • Saturday — 6 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Week 5 (Aug. 21-27)

  • Tuesday — 5 miles

  • Thursday — 5 miles

  • Saturday — 7 miles

  • Sunday — 2-3 miles

Read more

]]><![CDATA[My 12-week half marathon training plan]]>https://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-12-week-half-marathon-traininghttps://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-12-week-half-marathon-trainingThu, 29 Jun 2023 19:12:36 GMT👉 This isn’t a typical issue of our newsletter, but I wanted to share with you full versions of the training plans we’ve used in the past, in case you’d like to download a copy and adapt it for your schedule.

There’s a good chance you’ve already seen this plan if you’ve been reading for a while (we used it to train together last fall). It includes a week-by-week breakdown of the miles you need to run, the long run each week (in bold), all leading up to the taper a couple of weeks or so before your race day.

There’s also a downloadable PDF version at the end of the schedule, so you can print it out if you like. (I have a few more training plans I’m still working on getting into this format, so watch your inbox for them soon.)

Enjoy and feel free to reach out with any questions!

— Terrell

Dreamstime

Week 1

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Wednesday — 3 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 4 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Week 2

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Wednesday — 4 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 4 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Week 3

  • Tuesday — 3 miles

  • Wednesday — 4 miles

  • Thursday — 3 miles

  • Saturday — 5 miles

  • Sunday — 3 miles

Read more

]]><![CDATA[My 20-week marathon training plan]]>https://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-20-week-marathon-training-planhttps://www.thehalfmarathoner.com/p/my-20-week-marathon-training-planFri, 31 Mar 2023 12:30:36 GMTSince I found the first marathon training plan I ever used — one that worked really well for me when I trained by it — I thought I’d share it with you all, with a week-by-week breakdown of the miles you’d need to run if you decide you’re ready to train for 26.2.

There’s also a downloadable PDF version at the end of the schedule, so you can print it out if you like.

Enjoy!

— Terrell

Dreamstime

Week 1

  • Saturday or Sunday — 8 miles

Week 2

  • Tuesday — 4 miles

  • Wednesday — 3 miles

  • Thursday — 6 miles

  • Saturday — 7 miles

  • Sunday — 9 miles

Week 3

  • Tuesday — 5 miles

  • Wednesday — 3 miles

  • Thursday — 6 miles

  • Saturday — 7 miles

  • Sunday — 10 miles

Week 4

  • Tuesday — 5 miles

  • Wednesday — 3 miles

  • Thursday — 6 miles

  • Saturday — 8 miles

  • Sunday — 11 miles

Read more

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