THE HALF — 12 Weeks to a Half Marathon

21.1 kilometres is closer than you think. If you can already run 5K, you have everything you need to start.

Twelve weeks, four runs a week, each with a clear job: an easy run to build your base, a speed session to make that easy pace feel easier, a tempo run to hold race pace longer, and the long run — the cornerstone — growing sensibly from 8 km to 18 km. Every week is laid out run-by-run in four columns, with recovery weeks built in at four and eight so your body actually absorbs the training.

No watch required. Your four pace zones are explained by the talk test, so you always know whether you're working at the right effort. And there's more here than just a running schedule: a strength and injury-prevention routine (most half marathon attempts fail through injury, not fitness), long-run fuelling and hydration you practise from week five, race-week eating, and a complete race-day plan that breaks the event into five sections with a pacing strategy for each.

You never run the full distance in training — 18 km is enough. The last three kilometres come from your taper, race-day adrenaline and the crowd, and they always do.

Enter a race twelve weeks out, run your easy runs genuinely easy, and respect the taper. There's a medal with your name on it at the end.

Perfect for: runners who can already run 5K comfortably · 4 runs a week · a natural next step after Couch to 5K.