Got a half marathon (or a few!) checked off your list, and ready to take it to the next level with training? This 12 week half marathon training schedule for intermediate runners is designed for you! It’s a perfect “next level” training plan to improve your speed and get you the PR you’re looking to achieve.
This training plan was produced in partnership with Multisport Mastery – find more details about their coaches at the bottom of the post! If you’re looking for individualized help as an intermediate or advanced athlete, definitely reach out to them.
Here’s all the important info about this intermediate 12 week half marathon training schedule:
If you don’t want to read through all this now, just scroll to the bottom of this post to view and print the training plan. But be sure to read over the rest of this information prior to starting, as it’ll break down everything you need to know to train successfully.
Who is this training plan for?
This plan is designed for intermediate runners who have completed a half marathon before, and are looking to improve upon their performance.
As different athletes have different definitions of “intermediate”, be sure to follow your gut as far as whether this plan is appropriate for you. We’ve provided some modification suggestions below, such as adjusting the long run structure or modifying speedwork, for those who may want to follow this plan but feel it’s just a touch too challenging.
Above all, the plan should be something that seems attainable yet pushes you a bit, given your current fitness level. If you consider yourself an intermediate athlete but this plan seems too difficult, consider looking at one of our beginner plans instead.
How far should I be running before starting this plan?
You should be regularly running a minimum of 20 miles per week with a long run of at least 7 miles prior to beginning this plan.
*Disclaimer: I am not a physician; check with your doctor prior to starting any new exercise program.
Can I use this plan if I am a beginner?
This plan is not designed for beginners. In beginner programs, there is usually less emphasis on speedwork (to reduce the risk of injury) and more emphasis on simple consistency and base-building.
If you’re looking for a good beginner half marathon training plan, check out one of these options:
- 20 week half marathon training schedule – great for beginners who are just starting their running journey
- 12 week half marathon training plan for beginners – ideal for beginner runners who can run (or run/walk) 3-4 miles comfortably, but haven’t trained much further than that yet
- 8 week half marathon training schedule – great for beginner or intermediate runners who can run 3-4 miles comfortably, and are looking for a condensed plan that includes a little speedwork (but who aren’t quite ready for the level of training in this plan yet)
All of these include a more gradual increase in mileage and less speedwork to keep beginners injury-free.
What is the time commitment for this plan?
The plan is designed to help you get from a solid running base to peak half marathon condition in 12 weeks.
This plan includes 5 run workouts each week with an optional cross-training day on Mondays. Mid-week runs range from 20 minutes to approximately an hour. Weekly long runs range from 7 miles to 13 miles.
Weekly Schedule:
- Monday – Rest or cross training
- Tuesday – Track speed workouts
- Wednesday – Easy runs
- Thursday – “Strength Runs” – Hills, Pace, or Tempo Runs
- Friday – Rest
- Saturday – Long runs
- Sunday – Easy runs
Workout Descriptions:
Here are the names of workouts that you’ll see on the 12 week intermediate half marathon training schedule. Be sure to read through these and either print or bookmark this information, so you’ll know exactly how to complete each workout:
CROSS TRAINING workouts – For the purposes of this training plan, cross training should be low-intensity/low-impact exercise such as gentle yoga, easy cycling, or swimming to promote recovery.
EZ Runs – Just like it sounds, these runs should be easy and comfortably paced. Aim to complete them around 60-90 seconds slower than your goal half marathon pace. Don’t try to “fit in” more speedwork. These easy runs are necessary to promote recovery and training adaptations.
PACE runs – Begin your PACE runs with 10-15 minutes of easy running, then complete the amount of time listed on the schedule at your goal half marathon pace. Conclude with 10-15 minutes of easy running to cool down. For example, 25 MIN PACE would look like this:
- 10-15 min easy run warm up
- 25 min run at goal half marathon pace
- 10-15 min easy run cool down
TEMPO runs – Similar to above, you’ll begin your TEMPO runs with 10-15 minutes of easy running, then complete the amount of time listed on the schedule at 30 seconds faster than your goal half marathon pace. Conclude with 10-15 minutes of easy running to cool down.
HILL repeats – After a warm up of 10-15 minutes of easy running, run up a hill for 60 seconds, walk back down, run easy for 2 minutes. This is one rep. Repeat as indicated in the schedule and cool down with 10-15 minutes of easy running.
TRACK workouts – Start your Tuesday track workouts with 10-15 minutes of easy running. Then you’ll complete the sets that are listed on the schedule. The workouts are listed as number of sets X distance, along with a rest interval. For example, 4×800 at TEMPO, R = 1 min would look like this:
- Warm up with 10-15 minutes easy running
- Run 800 meters at tempo pace
- Rest 1 minute (active rest OK)
- Run 800 meters at tempo pace
- Rest 1 minute (active rest OK)
- Run 800 meters at tempo pace
- Rest 1 minute (active rest OK)
- Run 800 meters at tempo pace
- Rest 1 minute (active rest OK)
- Cool down 10-15 minutes easy running
On these Tuesday track workouts, you’ll notice a few different speed and pacing notes on the plan – here’s what they mean:
- Pace = goal half marathon pace
- Tempo = 30 seconds faster than goal half marathon pace
- R = Rest interval (active rest i.e. walking or jogging is fine depending on your personal fitness level)
- Descend = start easy and get faster each rep
LONG RUN Breakdown – The image at the bottom of this post shows the full 12 week half marathon training schedule for intermediate runners. You’ll notice the total long run mileage on the plan image, with asterisks next to each. You can do this mileage as-is, or you can follow the plan as our coaches wrote it with the following pacing strategies.
- Week 1: 3 miles EZ/1 mile PACE/1 mile EZ/1 mile PACE/2 miles EZ (8 miles)
- Week 2: 3 miles EZ/1 mile PACE/1 mile EZ/1mile PACE/3 miles EZ (9 miles)
- Week 3: 2 miles EZ/2 miles PACE/2 miles EZ/2 miles PACE/2 miles EZ (10 miles)
- Week 4: 7 miles all EZ
- Week 5: 3 miles EZ/1 mile PACE/2 miles EZ/1 mile TEMPO/3 miles EZ (10 miles)
- Week 6: 3 miles EZ/1 mile PACE/1 mile EZ/1 mile TEMPO/1 mile EZ/1 mile PACE/3 miles EZ (11 miles)
- Week 7: 12 miles Negative Split (run the second half faster than the first half)
- Week 8: 9 miles all EZ
- Week 9: 4 miles EZ/3 miles PACE/1 mile EZ/3 miles PACE/1 mile EZ (12 miles)
- Week 10: 5 miles EZ/3 miles PACE/1 mile EZ/1 mile PACE/1 mile TEMPO/2 miles EZ (13 miles)
- Week 11: 3 miles EZ/1 mile PACE/2 miles EZ/1 mile TEMPO/3 miles EZ (10 miles)
- Week 12: No long run; race prep with this workout: 4X(3:30 EZ/1 min. build/:30 fast)
Modifications to this training plan:
Depending on where you are in your running journey, you may decide to slightly modify this plan to fit your needs.
For example, maybe you run regularly and fit the requirements to start this plan, but most of your training has been at a lower intensity – and you are a bit nervous about adding in this much speedwork.
No worries! Here are a few modifications you might consider:
- Mondays include an optional cross training day, but some athletes may want to utilize this as a full rest day.
- The long runs include pace-based work as described above. If you haven’t done as much speed work in previous training, you can choose not to utilize this pace-based training. Instead, just complete the total miles as listed at an EZ pace.
- If you need an additional adjustment to make this plan do-able, you can choose to substitute some of the track workouts or tempo workouts for easy runs lasting approximately 45-60 minutes.
Warm ups, cool downs, and stretching:
When it comes to warm ups, the most important thing to remember is to start your Tuesday track workouts and Thursday “strength runs” with a 10-15 minutes of easy running. To save space I left this off the plan grid but you definitely want to remember to do that every time! It will get your muscles and heart ready for these more intense workouts.
Similarly, conclude these workouts with 10-15 minutes of easy running to cool down.
Stretching is important to improve flexibility and reduce muscle pain/stiffness after your runs. Try to stretch after all of your runs. If you struggle with tight muscles on a regular basis, consider adding foam rolling.
12 Week Half Marathon Training Schedule (Intermediate)
There you have it! Everything you need to grab that PR at your next half marathon race.
This plan was produced in partnership with Multisport Mastery. Multisport Mastery is a group of endurance coaches who specialize in individualized performance plans for multisport athletes of all abilities. Whether your goal is to run a marathon, compete in a triathlon, ride in a week-long cycling event or finish an Ironman, they offer customized coaching to bring out the best in each athlete no matter who you are or where you want to go.
Share with me: Which half marathon are you training for right now? What’s the PR you’d love to achieve? If you used this intermediate half marathon training schedule, what did you think of it?
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Do you have a pdf of this 12 week intermediate half marathon training plan?
Hi Jennifer – looks like I’m missing it for this one! I’ll try to add that asap, but in the meantime you can right click on the image to save it if you’d like 🙂