What’s Included
Decided it’s time to accomplish a big half marathon goal? Whether this is your first half marathon or your 50th, there’s a 100% effort-based Running for Real Half Marathon Training Plan for you.
Tina is a 1:13 half marathoner and represented Great Britain at the World Championships in the distance. Her husband and coach, Steve, developed her training plan, and he’s created these to help you achieve your best-ever half marathon time.
Steve has used his philosophy of running by feel to help countless collegiate and post-collegiate athletes achieve their personal bests. He’s kept his training secret until now, but the king of peaking runners for when it matters is ready to share his secrets to success with you.
The Running for Real Half Marathon Training Plans are completely effort-based. That means no GPS watch. There will be no prescribed paces; you’ll run entirely by feel. If you’ve never done that before, don’t worry. You’ll learn how to trust your body to tell you what it’s ready for, leaving you confident, prepared, and in the best shape of your life.
Over 15 weeks you’ll build up slowly to 40-50 or 60-70 miles per week. You should have two weeks of comfortably running 25-30 miles before starting. If you’re in the 25-30 mile range, you’re ready for the 40-50 mile plan. If you typically run higher mileage, you can select the 60-70 mile plan.
You’ll be running five days a week, but again, if you haven’t run that much before, don’t panic! Steve prides himself on taking a careful, conservative approach with his runners, and these plans will actually treat you better than a lot of other half marathon training plans. They’re not so intense. So many people tend to do too much in training programs, and then by the time they get to the start line, they’re exhausted or injured. That won’t happen here.
What really sets these half marathon training plans apart is that they’re 100% effort-based. You’re going to learn exactly how to run by feel, how to trust your body to know what it’s ready for. If you’re someone who’s always gone out too fast in a race and blown up, one of these is the plan for you. You won’t zig-zag between speeding up and slowing down, trying to hit a pace on your watch, which is bad for your body and your race. When it comes to race day, you’ll know exactly what effort to run.
All of the workouts in the Running for Real Half Marathon Training Plans are clearly described, so that you not only will understand exactly what to do, but why you’re doing it.
Purchase Running for Real Half Marathon Training Plan
You’ll get exact instructions on your long runs, on your workouts, and on your easy runs. Life happens, so you’ll get suggestions on how to fit your runs into your schedule and how to move them around if you have to.
You’ll learn how to:
- Pace yourself correctly
- Cross train effectively
- Determine how many repeats to do in a workout, and how hard to do them
- Establish realistic time goals
- Get over a setback or an injury
- Fuel correctly
- Use tune-up races as part of your training program
- Use the terrain of your half marathon to your advantage
You’ll get recommended resources and as a little bonus, a cheat sheet that explains all of those “runner words.”
Lauren Kalamar (verified owner) –
I ran my first half marathon in September. Tina and Steve’s plan helped me get to the starting line healthy and strong. I started the plan right after recovering from an injury, and I was naturally nervous about the mileage. But the effort scale eased my fears. It really works! I cannot recommend this plan enough. It’s great for beginners, those who are coming back from injury, and those who want to achieve their running dreams. I would know — I did all three in the span of 15 weeks using this plan!
David Skytte (verified owner) –
This plan has been a true game changer for me, and I don’t really think there’s anything out there like it. I used the 60-70mpw plan, as I had previously run around those distances in marathon training. In fact, the plan has sufficient flexibility to adjust up or down according to how training is going (adding extra miles or days). The major difference from other plans is that you aren’t prescribed any paces, but rather at what effort each workout should be done. While that might seem scary and confusing at first, it’s well described in the book that comes along with the plan. And the way the workouts are structured individually and throughout the plan, they willvery cleverly guide you through how to do it. For me, it was about halfway through everything started to click. Once I got the hang of running by feel (and not let my pace be dictated by my watch), I felt a renewed joy of running and confidence in what I was doing. The way the workouts are structured also gives you plenty of variation. You’re never just struck in a routine. This leaves the body guessing and prepared for running at a variety of effort levels regardless of wind, hills, fatigue and other unknowns a race might throw at you. Finally, I want to highlight that the plan also gives you access to a great community of other runners who have gone or are going through the same struggles, doubts, and ultimately victories as you. Tina and Steve are also ready to share their expertise to solve any training doubts you might have. I’ll definitely be using this plan again in the future. And that’s an added bonus that you won’t have to buy another plan as there are no paces that will have to be updated. This is for life.
scperea (verified owner) –
I’m just starting out with the half marathon training plan, and am really looking forward to going through the full 16 week plan over my next training period. The workouts are challenging and dynamic, and provide a great variety week to week to help keep the body guessing and the mind stimulated. The weekly plans are very well laid out and easy to follow, but when I’ve had a few questions, Tina has been very responsive and helpful with the answers I needed!
Amy Husveth (verified owner) –
I’ve been running consistently since 2008. 2017 was the first time I followed an actual training plan. I purchased the 40-50 MPW half marathon training plan. The plan was easy to follow and had enough flexibility that I could fit my workouts in around my work and other commitments. There was also plenty of support via the private Facebook group associated with the plan – it was easy to get answers to my questions when needed. I was also very happy with the results of my training. My “A” race for the season was the Monterey Bay half marathon. I ended up running a 1:34 (a PR for me!), and finishing as the 6th woman in my age group. Overall, I was in the top 1% of females at the race! I would not have known I was capable of achieving these results if not for this training plan! I highly recommend giving this plan a go!
Mark (verified owner) –
What attracted to me was the running by effort concept. I’ve struggled to hit paces I should be able to hit during previous training cycles but once I ran by effort (following the detailed effort guide) I was able to hit the paces but also go even quicker. That gave me so much confidence going into race day.
Following these plans I have run a PB and felt liberated as I was not constantly checking my GPS during the race. I’ve purchased the other plans and will see what the effort based training brings.
Support is there in the closed FB group if you have any questions and the plans are flexible enough for when work, family and other issues mean skipping a run or moving around a workout.
Miriam (verified owner) –
Can’t say enough about this plan! It is ideal for anyone wanting to
move to next level in their running. I entered as a half marathoner running 25mpw, and doing regular speedwork. I took 1 month to ramp up to 30 mpw, then a week off completely before training. Results: I went from 2:03:51 in 2017 to 1:55:52 in 2018, same hilly course. 15 weeks of dedicated training with this plan.
This plan is like a manual too. It has so many resources and useful information. It will elevate your running and your understanding of endurance running as a whole. The effort scale philosophy also really builds confidence and trust in yourself and what you are capable of. From someone who improved almost 8 minutes and crushed a barrier, I highly highly recommend this plan!
Jennifer (verified owner) –
I did the half marathon plan last fall. It was refreshing to run by feel rather than pace. I returned to running earlier in the year and did a half marathon on my own. I struggled during the race and ended up hurt. I tried Tina’s plan for my second half marathon and not only did I get a PR, but felt great during training and the race. Run by feel is the only way I run anymore. I will be using the half marathon plan again for this fall.
Jennifer (verified owner) –
I did the half marathon plan last fall. It was refreshing to run by feel rather than pace. I returned to running earlier in the year and did a half marathon on my own. I struggled during the race and ended up hurt. I tried Tina’s plan for my second half marathon and not only did I get a PR, but felt great during training and the race. Run by feel is the only way I run anymore. I will be using the half marathon plan again for this fall.