Sub-Elite Half Marathon Training Plan: 12 Weeks for 1:10 to 1:20

A sub-elite half marathon plan runs 12 weeks at six runs a week, peaks at about 95 km, and puts 9 km of race-pace running into every peak week. It fits runners whose fitness predicts a 1:10 to 1:20 half: roughly a 15:15 to 17:30 5k, or a 10k between about 32 and 36 minutes.

The 12 weeks

Sample plan · Sub-elite half marathon

12 weeks, 6 runs a week, peak 95 km, longest run 23 km. Built for a recent 5k of 16:00 (VDOT 64.6). 84 % of the running is easy.

BaseBuildPeakTaper

Week	Km	Key sessions	Long run
1 Base	63	Easy running only	22 km long run
2 Base	70	Easy running only	23 km long run + strides
3 Base	74	Tempo run: 20 min T	22 km long run
4 Base, recovery	59	Progression run: 16 min M · 16 min T	21 km long run
5 Build	80	Cruise intervals: 5 × 1.6 km T (1 min jog); Long intervals: 5 × 4 min I (4 min jog)	22 km long run
6 Build	89	Tempo run: 30 min T; 30/15 sets: 3 × (13 × 30 s I / 15 s jog), 3 min between sets	22 km progressive long run
7 Build	95	Broken tempo: 3 × 11 min T (2 min jog); 5k time trial	22 km long run
8 Build, recovery	75	Progression run: 26 min M · 26 min T; 1000 m repeats: 5 × 1000 m I (400 m jog)	22 km long run
9 Peak	94	Half-marathon pace reps: 3 × 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	95	Race-pace run: 9 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	95	Half-marathon pace reps: 3 × 3 km race pace (2 min jog); Hill repeats: 12 × 75 s I (2 min jog)	22 km long run with marathon-pace finish
12 Taper	38 + 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 63 to 74 km, long runs of 21 to 23 km from the first week. Threshold from week 3: a 20-minute tempo, then a 16-minute marathon-pace plus 16-minute threshold progression.
• Build, weeks 5 to 8. Up to 95 km. Threshold grows to 5 × 1.6 km cruise intervals, a 30-minute tempo and 3 × 11 minutes broken tempo. VO2max work runs alongside: 5 × 4 minutes, three sets of 30/15, 5 × 1000 m. A 5k time trial in week 7.
• Peak, weeks 9 to 11. Half-marathon pace: 3 × 3 km, a continuous 9 km, 3 × 3 km. Long runs of 22 km close with 4, 7, then 10 km at marathon pace.
• Taper, week 12. 38 km of training plus the race, with four 2-minute pickups at race pace.

Who counts as sub-elite

Sub-elite is the level just below professional: fast club and championship runners. Here it means a predicted half faster than 1:20, roughly VDOT 58 and up in Jack Daniels' system. A 1:15 half is VDOT 62.9 and a 1:10 half VDOT 68.1. The sample runner has a 16:00 5k, VDOT 64.6, which predicts 1:13:19.

Half marathon finish	Race pace	Easy	Marathon	Threshold	Interval
1:10	3:19	3:49–4:35	3:28	3:19	3:02
1:15	3:33	4:04–4:53	3:43	3:32	3:14
1:20	3:48	4:19–5:11	3:58	3:45	3:26

Compare race pace and threshold in the table. They are within 2 seconds per km of each other.

At this level, race pace is threshold

Daniels sets threshold pace at what you could race for about an hour. A sub-elite half lasts 70 to 80 minutes, so race pace and threshold pace nearly meet. At VDOT 65 threshold is 3:26 per km and half-marathon pace is 3:27.

That changes how the plan reads. Every cruise interval and tempo run in the build phase is already race-pace practice. The peak phase then extends it: 9 km per week at race pace, in one continuous run or in 3 km reps. Haugen (2022) found the same pattern in world-class runners, where race-pace volume rises as the main race approaches.

What holds it up is the easy volume underneath:

• 84 % easy. Casado (2021) found world-class distance performance is best predicted by the volume of easy running plus deliberate practice of tempo and short intervals.
• Recovery in weeks 4 and 8, at about 75 % of the loading week.
• A one-week taper, cutting volume while keeping the race-pace pickups.

Where this plan stops

The generator plans up to six runs a week and caps the half-marathon long run at 22 km. It has no doubles. At 95 km that means runs of 12 to 18 km on most days. Haugen reports world-class track runners at 130 to 190 km a week. If you already train at that volume, use the plan's quality sessions and long runs as the skeleton and add easy mileage around them.

Your plan from your race

The half marathon training plan generator builds all 12 weeks from your recent race, your weeks, your days and your long-run day. Add a goal like 1:09:59 and it shows the gap to your prediction. The week-7 time trial updates every pace. Free, no account, PDF included.

FAQ

What 10k time predicts a sub-1:10 half marathon? About 31:44, VDOT 68.1. A 5k of 15:17 predicts the same.

How many kilometres a week for a sub-1:15 half marathon? This plan peaks at 100 km on six days. A 1:15 half is VDOT 62.9, inside the sub-elite band.

Should my race-pace runs be continuous or broken into reps? Both. The plan alternates 3 × 3 km with a continuous 9 km, so you practise holding pace alone and recovering between efforts.

Can I use this plan for a half on the way to a marathon? Yes. Choose 10 to 12 weeks and race it as a tune-up, then start the marathon plan from the new result.

Only need your training paces? Enter a recent race:

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

Sources

• Haugen et al. 2022, training of world-class distance runners
• Casado et al. 2021, predictors of world-class long-distance performance

Cover image: TrainingZones.