ALF MARATHON TRAINING PLAN : MILES

WEEK Date Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Weekly Mileage
Rest Day Walk / Run Rest Day Walk / Run Strength Training Rest Day Long Run
10 x 10 x Around
1 2 min walk 2 min walk
1.5 miles (walk
if needed) 5.5 miles
1 min run 1 min run 45-60 mins

5K PHASE
Rest Day Walk / Run Rest Day Walk / Run Strength Training Walk / Run Long Run
15 x 15 x 15 x Around
2 1 min walk 1 min walk 1 min walk
2 miles (walk if
needed) 8 miles
1 min run 1 min run 45-60 mins 1 min run
Rest Day Walk / Run Rest Day Walk / Run Strength Training Walk / Run Long Run
15 x 15 x 15 x Around
3 0.5 min walk 0.5 min walk 0.5 min walk 2.5 miles (walk
if needed) 9 miles
1.5 min run 1.5 min run 45-60 mins 1.5 min run
Rest Day Walk / Run Rest Day Walk / Run Strength Training Rest Day
10 x 10 x Around
4 1 min walk 1 min walk
5k
8 miles
2 min run 2 min run 45-60 mins
Rest Day Training Run Training Run Rest Day Training Run Strength Training Long Run
5 2.5 miles 1.5 miles 2.5 miles 4 miles 10.5 miles

10K PHASE
RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 45-60 mins RPE: 2-3
Rest Day Training Run Training Run Rest Day Training Run Strength Training Long Run
6 2.5 miles 1.5 miles 2.5 miles 4.5 miles 11 miles
RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 45-60 mins RPE: 2-3
Rest Day Training Run Training Run Rest Day Training Run Strength Training Long Run
7 3 miles 4 miles 3 miles 5 miles 15 miles
RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 45-60 mins RPE: 2-3
Rest Day Training Run Training Run Rest Day Training Run Strength Training

8 3 miles 4 miles 3 miles 10k 16 miles

RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 45-60 mins
Rest Day Training Run Training Run Rest Day Training Run Strength Training Long Run
9 3 miles 4 miles 3 miles 5 miles 15 miles

HALF MARATHON PHASE

RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 45-60 mins RPE: 2-3
Rest Day Training Run Training Run Rest Day Training Run Strength Training Long Run
10 3 miles 4 miles 3 miles 7 miles 17 miles
RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 45-60 mins RPE: 2-3
Rest Day Training Run Training Run Rest Day Training Run Strength Training Long Run
11 4 miles 5 miles 4 miles 9 miles 22 miles
RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 45-60 mins RPE: 2-3
Rest Day Training Run Training Run Rest Day Training Run Strength Training Long Run
12 4 miles 5 miles 4 miles 6 miles 19 miles
RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 45-60 mins RPE: 2-3
Rest Day Training Run Training Run Rest Day Training Run Strength Training Long Run
13 4 miles 5 miles 4 miles 11 miles 24 miles
RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 45-60 mins RPE: 2-3
Rest Day Training Run Training Run Rest Day Training Run Strength Training Long Run
14 4 miles 6 miles 4 miles 9 miles 23 miles
RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 45-60 mins RPE: 2-3
Rest Day Training Run Rest Day Easy Run Rest Day Easy Run HALF MARATHON

15 3 miles 3 miles 2 miles 13.1 miles 21.1 miles

RPE: 3-4 RPE: 2-3 RPE: 2-3 RPE: 5
 COUCH TO HALF MARATHON TRAINING PLAN : KM
WEEK Date Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Weekly Mileage

Rest Day Walk / Run Rest Day Walk / Run Strength Rest Day Long Run
Training
Around
1 10 x 10 x
2.5k (walk if 9k
2 min walk 2 min walk 45-60 mins needed)
1 min run 1 min run

Rest Day Walk / Run Rest Day Walk / Run Strength Walk / Run Long Run
Training
Around

5K PHASE
2 15 x 15 x 15 x 3k (walk if 13k
1 min walk 1 min walk 45-60 mins 1 min walk
1 min run 1 min run 1 min run needed)

Rest Day Walk / Run Rest Day Walk / Run Strength Walk / Run Long Run
Training
Around
3 15 x 15 x 15 x
4k (walk if 15k
0.5 min walk 0.5 min walk 45-60 mins 0.5 min walk needed)
1.5 min run 1.5 min run 1.5 min run

Rest Day Walk / Run Rest Day Walk / Run Strength Rest Day
Training
Around
4 10 x 10 x 5k
13k
1 min walk 1 min walk
2 min run 2 min run 45-60 mins

Rest Day Training Run Training Run Rest Day Training Run Strength Long Run
Training
5 4k 3k 4k 6k 17 k
RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 45-60 mins RPE: 2-3
Strength

10K PHASE
Rest Day Training Run Training Run Rest Day Training Run Long Run
Training
6 4k 3k 4k 7k 18 k
RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 45-60 mins RPE: 2-3

Rest Day Training Run Training Run Rest Day Training Run Strength Long Run
Training
7 5k 7k 5k 8k 25 k
RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 45-60 mins RPE: 2-3

Rest Day Training Run Training Run Rest Day Training Run Strength
Training
8 5k 7k 5k
10 k 27 k
RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 45-60 mins
Strength
Rest Day Training Run Training Run Rest Day Training Run Training Long Run

9 5k 7k 5k 8k 25 k
RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 45-60 mins RPE: 2-3

HALF MARATHON PHASE

Rest Day Training Run Training Run Rest Day Training Run Strength Long Run
Training
10 5k 7k 5k 11 k 28 k
RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 45-60 mins RPE: 2-3

Rest Day Training Run Training Run Rest Day Training Run Strength Long Run
Training
11 7k 8k 7k 12 k 34 k
RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 45-60 mins RPE: 2-3
Strength
Rest Day Training Run Training Run Rest Day Training Run Training Long Run

12 7k 8k 7k 10 k 32 k
RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 45-60 mins RPE: 2-3
Rest Day Training Run Training Run Rest Day Training Run Strength Long Run
Training
13 7k 8k 7k 15 k 37 k
RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 45-60 mins RPE: 2-3

Rest Day Training Run Training Run Rest Day Training Run Strength Long Run
Training
14 7k 10 k 7k 17 k 41 k
RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 RPE: 3-4 45-60 mins RPE: 2-3
Rest Day Training Run Rest Day Easy Run Rest Day Easy Run Half Marathon

15 5k 5k 3k 21.1 k 34 k
RPE: 3-4 RPE: 2-3 RPE: 2-3 RPE: 2-3
 COUCH TO HALF MARATHON
TRAINING PLAN: GUIDANCE NOTES
Hey there - Thomas from Marathon Handbook here. Thanks for taking the time to grab a copy of this plan!
INTRO
As the name suggests, this plan is all about getting you from the couch to the finish line of a half marathon, in 15 weeks.
For a full breakdown of the strategy I recommend, check out this article:
Couch To Half Marathon: The Complete Guide
In the article, I lay out the phases of this plan: there are 3 phases (5k, 10k, Half Marathon) and I encourage you to take breaks of 2-4 weeks between
each phase depending on how you are feeling. Check out the article for more guidance on this.

The first 4 weeks of this plan are essentially my popular 4-week Couch To 5k Training Plan (click here for the full guide to this goal).
These first 4 weeks feature scheduled run/walk workouts. It is totally fine for you to continue using the run/walk method throughout your training:
The Run / Walk Marathon Training Guide

No two runners are the same, and there's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all plan. That's why I make all my plans easy to customize:
CUSTOMIZING THE PLAN
use the Google Sheets or Excel version of this plan to move things around to suit your weekly schedule, shorten or extend the plan, and mix
up the workouts to suit your ability level.
In order to edit the file, please download it or make a copy (File>Make a Copy)

MEDICAL DISCLAIMER
This plan is for informational purposes only: it is not a certified exercise / health / wellness regime. Partake in run training at your own
risk, always consult a doctor before starting a new exercise regime, and don't do anything stupid. Now let's get on with the details...

BREAKDOWN OF TRAINING WORKOUTS

What Does RPE Stand For? Rate of Perceived Exertion Explained.

You'll see the letters RPE under each run workout in the plan: this stands for Rate of Perceived Exertion.Since this isn't a time / speed based plan, I specify each workout intensity based on EFFORT.The RPE Scale is a scale from 1-10 of your own estimate of how hard you're pushing, 1 being minimal effort and 10 being the fastest sprint you can muster.More on RPE here: Rate of Perceived Exertion Explained.

Here's a brief rundown of the types of workout in the plan, and how to do them:

Training Runs
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Strength Training
Many runners simply neglect cross-training - but the benefits have such a huge impact on your running game, it's hard to ignore.Strength training has a massive impact on your running economy (essentially your miles per gallon as a runner), your speed, and - perhaps most importantly - injury prevention. While "cross-training" can mean almost any form of activity which complements your running,I highly recommend strength training - and specifically weightlifting if you can, it's simply where you get the most bang-for-your-buck as a runner.Here's our complete guide to weightlifting for runners.Can't stand the gym? Then at-home bodyweight workouts, yoga, or pilates are good alternatives.

Long Runs
getting time on your feet - NOT about speed.
Having said that, it is certainly beneficial to perform the occasional long run at a faster pace. Check out my long run video for more:
LONG RUNS: Training Tips, Pace, Distance, How To Fuel + More!
The plan includes two Half Marathons: you can either run a real half marathon race, or just do it in training. Either way, take them slow!The longest long run is a 21 miler 3 weeks out, this workout is a great chance to do a 'dress rehearsal' or tune-up race to test your gear and strategies.

Rest Days
Rest means no strenuous activity! Focus on restful and pleasurable activities: walks in nature, time with family, enjoying good food, watching movies.
This may seem indulgent, but these activities send your body into 'rest and recover' mode (vs fight or flight mode) and your body will focus on healing.

TrainingPeaks Couch To Half Marathon Training Plan (App)

Want to get an interactive version of this plan on the TrainingPeaks app, which allows you to track your own runs against the plan and provdies further guidance?
Here is the Couch To Half Marathon Training Plan on TrainingPeaks!

THE HALF MARATHON MASTERCLASS

Take your training further with my Half Marathon Masterclass. With over 6 hours of exclusive video tutorials and loads of bonusdownloads, I've poured everything I've learned about marathon training over the years into this course. Whether it's injury-prevention,nutrition, or some race day strategies and road-tested tips, I've squeezed everything in here. Check Out The Half Marathon Masterclass!

Questions?
Check out our Marathon Handbook Facebook Group, it's an awesome community of runners sharing their knowledge, frustrations, and wins!
Unfortunately I can't respond to individual queries these days, but the FB group is probably an even better source of running wisdom!

Share your training and wins with us over on Instagram!

MarathonHandbook.com All Our Marathon Training Resources Instagram The Marathon Training Masterclass