Advanced Half Marathon Training Plan: 12 Weeks for 1:20 to 1:30

An advanced half marathon plan runs 12 weeks at six runs a week, peaks at about 67 km, and holds 22 km long runs through the second half. It fits runners whose fitness predicts a 1:20 to 1:30 half: roughly a 17:30 to 19:40 5k, or a 10k between about 36 and 41 minutes. Sub-1:25 sits in the middle, sub-1:20 at the fast edge.

The 12 weeks

Sample plan · Advanced half marathon

12 weeks, 6 runs a week, peak 67 km, longest run 22 km. Built for a recent 5k of 18:00 (VDOT 56.3). 82 % of the running is easy.

BaseBuildPeakTaper

Week	Km	Key sessions	Long run
1 Base	44	Easy running only	15 km long run
2 Base	48	Easy running only	17 km long run + strides
3 Base	52	Tempo run: 15 min T	18 km long run
4 Base, recovery	42	Progression run: 13 min M · 13 min T	14 km long run
5 Build	57	Cruise intervals: 4 × 1.6 km T (1 min jog); Long intervals: 4 × 4 min I (4 min jog)	20 km long run
6 Build	63	Tempo run: 25 min T; 30/15 sets: 2 × (13 × 30 s I / 15 s jog), 3 min between sets	22 km progressive long run
7 Build	67	Broken tempo: 2 × 13 min T (2 min jog); 5k time trial	22 km long run
8 Build, recovery	53	Progression run: 20 min M · 20 min T; 1000 m repeats: 4 × 1000 m I (400 m jog)	19 km long run
9 Peak	66	Half-marathon pace reps: 2 × 3 km race pace (2 min jog); Long intervals: 4 × 3 min I (3 min jog)	22 km long run with marathon-pace finish
10 Peak	67	Race-pace run: 7 km race pace; 30/15 sets: 2 × (13 × 30 s I / 15 s jog), 3 min between sets	22 km progressive long run
11 Peak	66	Half-marathon pace reps: 2 × 3 km race pace (2 min jog); Hill repeats: 10 × 75 s I (2 min jog)	22 km long run with marathon-pace finish
12 Taper	37 + race	Sharpener: 4 × 2 min race pace (2 min jog); race day	None, race week

Open this plan with your own race time →

• Base, weeks 1 to 4. From 44 to 52 km, long runs of 15 to 18 km. Threshold from week 3: a 15-minute tempo, then a 13-minute marathon-pace plus 13-minute threshold progression.
• Build, weeks 5 to 8. Up to 67 km. Two quality days: threshold (4 × 1.6 km cruise intervals, a 25-minute tempo, 2 × 13 minutes broken tempo) plus VO2max work such as 4 × 4 minutes. Long runs reach 22 km, one of them progressive. A 5k time trial in week 7.
• Peak, weeks 9 to 11. Half-marathon pace: 2 × 3 km, a continuous 7 km, 2 × 3 km. Long runs of 22 km that finish with 4, 7, then 10 km at marathon pace.
• Taper, week 12. Volume near 55 % of peak, four 2-minute pickups at race pace, then the race.

Who counts as advanced

Levels come from Jack Daniels' VDOT, one number from a recent race that sets every training pace. Advanced means a predicted half of 1:20 to 1:30, roughly VDOT 51 to 58. A 1:25 half is VDOT 54.5, a 1:20 half VDOT 58.4. The sample runner has an 18:00 5k, VDOT 56.3, which predicts 1:22:33.

Half marathon finish	Race pace	Easy	Marathon	Threshold	Interval
1:20	3:48	4:19–5:11	3:58	3:45	3:26
1:25	4:02	4:34–5:29	4:12	3:58	3:38
1:30	4:16	4:49–5:47	4:27	4:11	3:50

Long runs longer than the race

At this level the long run is 22 km, longer than the half marathon itself. That is deliberate. Running past the race distance means the last kilometres of the race are never new territory, and the aerobic volume of a 100-minute run keeps building the base that threshold work sits on.

The peak-phase long runs add a second job. The last 10 km of the week-11 long run is at marathon pace, about 10 seconds per km slower than half-marathon pace for an advanced runner. It is sustained, controlled work on tired legs, which is what the last 5 km of a half asks for. Maunder (2021) and Jones (2024) describe that ability as durability, a performance factor separate from VO2max and threshold.

The rest of the plan holds the structure together:

• 82 % easy running, in line with the 80 % or more Haugen (2022) found in world-class distance runners.
• Threshold every week, because an 80 to 90 minute race is run just below the pace you could hold for an hour.
• Recovery weeks 4 and 8, at about 75 % volume, so the 67 km weeks land on a recovered body.

Your own plan

The sample is one runner. The half marathon training plan generator builds yours from your recent race, your weeks until race day, your running days and your long-run day. Add a goal like 1:24:59 and it shows the gap to your prediction. Free, no account, PDF included.

FAQ

What 10k time predicts a sub-1:25 half marathon? About 38:25, VDOT 54.5. A 5k of 18:32 predicts the same.

How many kilometres a week for a sub-1:20 half marathon? This plan peaks at 70 km on six days. A 1:20 half is VDOT 58.4, the fast edge of this band. Below 1:20 the sub-elite plan goes to 100 km.

Why are the long runs at marathon pace and not half-marathon pace? Marathon pace is controlled enough to hold for 10 km inside a long run and still leave room for the mid-week sessions. Half-marathon pace lives in those sessions instead.

Can I run the plan on five days? Yes. On five days the peak still reaches 70 km, because each run can be up to 14 km plus a 22 km long run.

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More in this series: the beginner, intermediate and sub-elite half marathon plans, the advanced 10k plan and the advanced marathon plan.

Sources

• Haugen et al. 2022, training of world-class distance runners
• Maunder et al. 2021, durability in endurance athletes
• Jones 2024, physiological resilience

Cover image: TrainingZones.