Running a half marathon in under 2 hours is a challenging but achievable goal for many runners. With the right training plan, dedication, and perseverance, you can improve your speed and endurance to reach this milestone. Here's a training plan to help you prepare for your sub 2 hour half marathon.
Assess Your Current Fitness Level
Before starting any training plan, it's important to assess your current fitness level. This will help you determine where to start and how to progress. Reaching a sub 2 hour marathon isn't for the feint hearted, so you need to ensure you have a good base level of fitness to be able to hit the distances and suggested paces during the plan. To do this, take a look at our plan and give some of the runs from the first week a go before starting. If you find you are struggling too much, spend a bit of time building up your base fitness. Try a shorter 5km or 10km plan to help with this.
Incorporate Speed Work and Tempo Runs
To achieve a sub 2 hour half marathon, you'll need to incorporate speed work and tempo runs into your training plan. Speed work involves running at a faster pace for short distances, such as 400 meters or 800 meters, with rest periods in between. Tempo runs involve running at a comfortably hard pace for a sustained distance, such as 5-8km. These types of workouts will help improve your overall speed and endurance, making it easier to maintain a faster pace during the half marathon. Be sure to gradually increase the intensity and duration of these workouts over time to avoid injury.
Sound good?
Check out our sub 2 hour half marathon plan
