Get Faster for Your Next 13.1

So check out these beginner, intermediate, and advanced half marathon workouts from expert run coaches. All you have to do is get your running playlist ready and put your best trainer forward.

➥The Long Run

Total workout time: 40-70 minutes (time increases as your distance increases)

When to do it: Once a week throughout your training cycle

Why it works: “As a coach who works with quite a few first-time half marathoners, I look at the long run as the bedrock for training, especially with new runners,” says Ben Delaney, director of adult training programs for New York Road Runners.

He says building time on feet and your aerobic base is critical for race day success. “I like for runners to look at their training like a pyramid: You want to build a wide base to push that peak as high as possible,” Delaney explains. “Each time you knock off a long run, you have accomplished getting time on your feet which will be needed on race day, while physically strengthening your body and mind to run that far.”

Delany also advises new runners to focus on time instead of distance. “Saying you will run 45 minutes versus four to five miles can be easier to visualize and prepare for,” he explains. It’s also a chance to build your mental strength as your time increases during the long runs, he adds.

Delaney suggests keeping the long run conversational (meaning you can talk). “On an effort level of 1 to 10, this should be in the effort level of 5 out of 10. Going too fast will not only use up more energy, but also will not build the right aerobic systems needed to sustain running over a long distance,” he says.

For time-based long runs, Delaney advises new runners add somewhere between five to 10 minutes each week (for a 10-week training cycle) per long run. “With the long run, running slow will make you faster, and you want to be at the starting line healthy and ready to run the race you’ve trained for,” he adds.

How to do it:

1. Run at a conversational pace for 40-70 minutes, depending on your goal distance.

➥2-Minute Intervals

Total workout time: 44 minutes

When to do it: Try this workout early in the training cycle, and then every one to two weeks again in the last few weeks of the training cycle.

Why it works: In this workout, runners practice running at two different efforts: hard and easy. This will help runners build cardiovascular fitness and improve speed, says Stephanie Shiau, RRCA- and USTAF-certified run coach in Maplewood, New Jersey.

Shiau recommends running your easy intervals at around a 4 out of 10 on the effort scale, and your harder effort at a 7 or 8 out of 10. “Try to keep the harder intervals consistent and use the easy intervals as active recovery. The recovery intervals are just as important as the effort intervals,” Shiau says.

How to do it:

1. Warm up for 10 minutes at easy pace.
2. Run for 2 minutes at a harder effort, followed by 2 minutes easy. Repeat 6 times.
3. Cool down for 10 minutes at easy pace.

➥Progressive Run

Total workout time: 70-80 minutes

When to do it: Once a week throughout the training cycle

Why it works: As runners progress in their training and complete a few half marathons, Delaney suggests adding more race-focused workouts. This progression workout gives runners a chance to test out their race pace, and get a sense of what is to come on race day. The adrenaline that comes with racing amongst other runners may have you running at harder efforts, and this workout will simulate that, except in a controlled way that keeps you from burning out too quickly.

This workout also teaches runners how to avoid starting out too fast, he says.

How to do it:

1. Warm up for 10-15 minute at conversational pace, or a RPE of 4 to 5 out of 10.
2. Continue warming up with 4-5 x 30-second strides.
3. Run for 40- to 50-minutes, broken up into three parts.
   Part 1: 15 min at RPE 6 (about 30-40 seconds slower the goal half-marathon pace)
   Part 2: 15-20 min at RPE 7 (about goal half-marathon pace).
   Part 3: 10-15 min at RPE 7.5 (slightly faster than goal half-marathon pace)
4. Cool down with a light jog for 10 minutes, or a RPE of 3-4 out of 10.

➥Marshmallow Workout

Total workout time: 50-55 minutes

When to do it: 8 weeks and/or 4 weeks before race day

Why it works: Shiau adapted this workout from marathoner Peter Bromka, who used roasting (and not burning) marshmallows as a metaphor for how to race the Boston Marathon. Bromka’s metaphor applies to half marathon racing too, and it’s one that Shiau employs with her runners.

“In this workout, the runner gets to experiment with a range of efforts at which they might run in their half marathon race,” Shiau says. You start the workout by roasting your marshmallow at a comfortable pace a.k.a. your half marathon effort, which should hit about a 7 to 7.5 out of 10 on the rate of perceived exertion scale. Then, experiment with bringing the marshmallow closer to the fire for a surge effort or your all-out pace. You’ll alternate between these efforts.

This workout allows runners to experiment with how much they might be able to surge during a half marathon race without “burning their marshmallow” (or losing control), while returning comfortably to their half-marathon effort if need be, Shiau adds.

How to do it:

1. Warm up for 10 minutes at easy pace.
2. Run for 6 minutes at half marathon effort, followed by a 2-minute surge (no rest between). Repeat this 4 times.
3. Cool down for 10 minutes at easy pace.

➥Mile Repeats

Total workout time: 80-100 minutes, depending on your mile time

When to do it: Add this workout later in your training cycle, after you’ve done shorter interval work. Mile repeats test both endurance and speed, so it’s important you have built your endurance and have conquered some lighter speed work before adding this workout to your schedule, Delaney says.

Why it works: “This workout will build leg strength, improve speed, and help with efficiency and VO2 max,” Delaney says. You’re running these mile repeats faster than your half-marathon race pace, which will make your race pace feel easier, Delaney says.

How to do it:

You can run mile repeats on a track, road, or anywhere you can get a GPS signal on your watch to help measure out the distance, says Delaney. Remember to build through each mile repeat—keep the initial miles hard but controlled to ensure you have something left for the last ones, he adds.

1. Warm up for 10-15 minutes at a conversational pace, or with an RPE of 4-5.
2. Continue warming up with 4-5 x 30-second strides.
3. Run 1 mile at 20-30 seconds faster than goal half-marathon pace or around an RPE 7.5-8.
   Recover for 4-5 minutes with a light jog or walk. Repeat for 4-5 total rounds.
4. Cool down with a light jog for 10 minutes, or at a RPE of 3-4.

➥Long Run Workout

Total workout time: 1-2+ hours

When to do it: Do this workout five weeks before a race as part of a long run workout. Shiau also says you can shorten the warmup and cooldown for a midweek medium-effort long run.

Why it works: “This workout helps runners simulate what their half marathon effort might feel like during the race, without actually running the half marathon. The additional threshold mile helps to simulate a late-race effort,” says Shiau. Think of this as your race-specific practice!

How to do it:

1. Warm up for 5 miles at an easy, conversational pace.
2. Run for 2 miles at goal half marathon pace, with a ½ mile recovery jog between each effort. Repeat this 2 times.
3. Finish with 1 mile at threshold pace (slightly faster than half marathon pace).
4. Cool down for 3 miles at an easy, conversational pace.