16-Week Half Marathon Training Plan

Michael Mazzara Author & CEO of Half Marathon Guide
a group of people running on a trail

In This Article

If you’ve ever found it difficult to stick to an intensive training plan for a race, don’t worry, you’re not alone.

For nearly all runners who have jobs to go to and families to take care of — which of course means nearly all runners — it can be next to impossible to adhere to a training plan that requires you to run multiple days each week, many weeks and months in a row.

That’s why we’ve developed this 16-week training plan specifically for intermediate level runners and people whose schedules don’t allow for running five days a week — a variation on our 12-week training plan for beginners, with an additional day off during the week.

If you’re still finding it difficult to stay committed to a training plan, try Runna. Runna has dynamic training plans with encouragement and feedback from coaches to keep you prepared for your upcoming half marathon. Use code HALF for 2-weeks of free training.

16-Week Half Marathon Training Plan

WeekMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturdaySunday
1Off3 milesOff3 milesOff4 miles3 miles
2Off3 milesOff3 milesOff5 miles3 miles
3Off4 milesOff4 milesOff6 miles3 miles
4Off4 milesOff4 milesOff6 miles3 miles
5Off5 milesOff5 milesOff7 miles2-3 miles
6Off5 milesOff5 milesOff7 miles2-3 miles
7Off6 milesOff4 milesOff8 miles2-3 miles
8Off6 milesOff4 milesOff8 miles2-3 miles
9Off5-6 milesOff4-5 milesOff9 miles2-3 miles
10Off5-6 milesOff4-5 milesOff9 miles2-3 miles
11Off6 milesOff5 milesOff10 miles2 miles
12Off6 milesOff5 milesOff10 miles2 miles
13Off5-6 milesOff4-5 milesOff11 miles2 miles
14Off5-6 milesOff4-5 milesOff12 miles2 miles
15Off5-6 milesOff4-5 milesOff6 miles3 miles
16Off4-5 milesOff4-5 milesOff13.1 milesoff

About This Training Schedule

Who It’s For

It’s important to note that the training plan outlined above is not designed with beginning runners in mind — this is for runners who’ve already run a half marathon or several in the past, and who are already running consistently each week so they’ve built up their leg, lower body and cardiovascular strength to handle the number of miles they’ll be running throughout the training.

If you are looking to run your first half marathon, please consider our 12-week training plan for beginning runners, which provides a more intensive training regimen.

Injury Prevention

Note also that this training program is spread out over 16 weeks rather than 12 weeks, to give your muscles more time to get ready. Because you’ll be running fewer days each week with this training plan, we recommend giving yourself more time to get ready for the race, to allow both your body and your mind to prepare for running 13.1 miles.

Consider cross-training on the days you don’t run — anything from strength training to walking a few miles, which will provide the cardiovascular benefits without the pounding impact that running can cause. In addition to cross-training, we recommend guided strength training plans that are designed to prevent injuries throughout training.

Race Day Timing

The schedule above places the weekly long run on Saturday, followed by a usually much shorter quick run on Sunday. Feel free to swap these if the race you’ve signed up for falls on a Sunday; I’ve always found that it’s best to do your long runs on the day you’ll actually be running your race, to allow your body to get used to the rhythm of the short run/long run each week.

(Also feel free to move around the mid-week runs as your schedule demands — just make sure you get in two runs of 30 to 60 minutes each in the middle of the week before your long run each weekend.)

Consult the Experts

Remember that there are a number of ways to structure a half marathon training plan. Running coaches Hal Higdon and Jeff Galloway, who is well-known for his Run-Walk-Run approach to training, offer a number of training plans on their own websites that are excellent guides to getting ready for any race.

More Half Marathon Training Plans

8 Weeks â€¢ 9 Weeks â€¢ 10 Weeks â€¢ 12 Weeks â€¢ 14 Weeks â€¢ 18 Weeks â€¢ 20 Weeks

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