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Half-marathon base
Eight weeks of aerobic base-building to prepare the legs before a half-marathon plan proper.
Goal: Build a durable running base of up to ~16 km long runs, ready to begin a race-specific block.
A half-marathon plan works best when it starts from a base, not from scratch. This eight-week block builds that base: it grows the long run steadily to around 16 km, keeps the mid-week runs easy with a little tempo, and adds recovery habits, so that when you begin a race-specific plan your body is ready for its demands rather than being introduced to them. You should already be running comfortably around 10k before starting.
Almost all of this running is easy — conversational pace, deliberately unhurried. Base-building is about time on the feet and aerobic development, which come from volume at low intensity, not from grinding every run. The single tempo session each week keeps a touch of speed in the legs without adding fatigue.
The plan, week by week
| Week | Focus | What each session is | Total min | Progression rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Establish the week |
| 125 | Three runs, one long. Foam-roll after the long run from week one — it is part of the plan, not an extra. |
| Week 2 | Grow the long run |
| 144 | Long run to 10 km. Mid-week volume nudges up only slightly. |
| Week 3 | First tempo |
| 154 | A 4 km tempo block replaces the pickups. Comfortably hard, not racing. |
| Week 4 | Deload |
| 130 | Planned cutback: the long run drops and the tempo comes out. Let the previous three weeks sink in. |
| Week 5 | Extend again |
| 183 | Longest run so far, tempo back and longer. The deload paid for this jump. |
| Week 6 | Time on feet |
| 190 | Long run to 14 km. Practise drinking and fuelling on the run now, while there is time to learn. |
| Week 7 | Peak base |
| 210 | The peak long run of the base, around 16 km. If this is comfortable-ish, your base is built. |
| Week 8 | Absorb and hand over |
| 158 | Ease back to absorb the block. From here, begin a race-specific half-marathon plan from a strong base. |
Calendar view
The weekly rhythm at a glance — which days you train and which you rest. Print this page for a plan you can stick on the fridge; the site header, navigation and footer drop away on paper.
| Week | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Rest | S1 | Rest | S2 | Rest | Rest | S3 |
| Week 2 | Rest | S1 | Rest | S2 | Rest | Rest | S3 |
| Week 3 | Rest | S1 | Rest | S2 | Rest | Rest | S3 |
| Week 4 | Rest | S1 | Rest | S2 | Rest | Rest | S3 |
| Week 5 | Rest | S1 | Rest | S2 | Rest | Rest | S3 |
| Week 6 | Rest | S1 | Rest | S2 | Rest | Rest | S3 |
| Week 7 | Rest | S1 | Rest | S2 | Rest | Rest | S3 |
| Week 8 | Rest | S1 | Rest | S2 | Rest | Rest | S3 |
Deload and rest
Week 4 is a full deload and week 8 eases off to close the block. Base-building without recovery weeks turns into a slow grind toward injury; the cutbacks are what let each subsequent long run be longer. If life adds stress, treat any week as a deload — the base is patient.
If a week goes badly
If a long run goes badly, do not extend the next one — hold the distance or drop back a step, and only advance once a long run feels merely long rather than desperate. The tempo is the first thing to cut when tired: an easy run in its place never sets you back, but a hard run on tired legs can. Persistent aches deserve a rest day and, if they linger, a physiotherapist.
Injury-prevention basics
- The long run climbs by roughly 10% a week with deloads built in — resist the urge to add extra distance on a good day.
- Keep easy runs genuinely easy; the whole plan depends on most miles being low-intensity. One tempo a week is plenty of hard running.
- Recovery is scheduled, not optional: foam-roll and stretch after long runs, sleep well, and stop for sharp or joint pain rather than running through it.
This is a general template, not personal coaching or treatment. Warm up before each session, and stop for pain that is sharp, one-sided, or felt in a joint rather than a muscle. Persistent pain deserves a clinician or physiotherapist, not another session.
Movements used
Each links to its own page — form cues, common mistakes, and the calories it burns: Easy running (8 km/h) · Tempo running (12 km/h) · Brisk walking (5.5 km/h) · Foam rolling · Stretching.
Frequently asked questions
Is this a full half-marathon plan?
No — it is the base you build before one. It gets your legs to around 16 km comfortably, so a race-specific plan can add the sharper, race-paced work without introducing distance and speed at the same time.
Why so much easy running?
Because aerobic base is built by volume at low intensity. Running easy runs hard is the classic mistake that leaves people tired, slow and injured. Easy days easy, one tempo a week.
Do I need to fuel on the long runs?
From about 90 minutes onward, practising drinking and taking on some carbohydrate is worth it — and the base phase is exactly when to rehearse it, long before race day.
Source: Standard endurance/strength progression (10% rule, easy-hard distribution, planned deloads); movements from the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities · checked 2026-09-02
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Tick off each session as you go
TempoLife logs your runs, walks and strength sessions from Health Connect and your own entries, so the plan you followed and the food you ate sit side by side.