Sub-1:45 half marathon
Run 21.1 km in under 1 hour 45 minutes — 12 weeks, 5 running days a week.
12 weeksTwelve weeks at five days a week, building to around 60 km. At this level the aerobic base is already there and the improvement comes from threshold volume — more minutes spent at the pace you can just about sustain for an hour. Two quality days, one long run with goal-pace work in it, and honest easy running in between.
Before you start: A half marathon around 1:50–2:00, or a 10K under about 48 minutes.
The pace this goal requires
1:45:00 over 21.0975 km is 4:58 per kilometre. Note that this is the same per-kilometre pace as a sub-3:30 marathon — if sub-1:45 is comfortable, that is the natural next target. Full kilometre-by-kilometre splits for this target are on the split calculator.
The full 12-week schedule
Every session written out. Print this page — the navigation, banners and footer are all stripped from the printed version, leaving the table.
| Week | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | Long run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rest | 6 × 1 km at 4:40/km, 90 s jog | Easy 8 km | 25 min threshold at 4:55/km | Rest | Easy 8 km | Long run 14 km, easy | 14 km |
| 2 | Rest | 5 × 1.5 km at 4:45/km, 2 min jog | Easy 8 km | 30 min threshold at 4:55/km | Rest | Easy 8 km | Long run 16 km, easy | 16 km |
| 3 Long run: last 5 km at 4:55/km |
Rest | 3 × 3 km at 4:55/km, 3 min jog | Easy 8 km | 2 × 15 min at 4:50/km | Rest | Easy 8 km | Long run 17 km, easy | 17 km |
| 4 Cutback week |
Rest | 10 × 600 m at 4:30/km, 90 s jog | Easy 7 km | 25 min threshold | Rest | Easy 7 km | Long run 14 km, easy | 14 km |
| 5 Long run: last 6 km at 4:55/km |
Rest | 4 × 2 km at 4:50/km, 2 min jog | Easy 9 km | 40 min threshold at 5:00/km | Rest | Easy 9 km | Long run 18 km, easy | 18 km |
| 6 | Rest | 12 × 400 m at 4:20/km, 75 s jog | Easy 9 km | 2 × 20 min at 4:50/km | Rest | Easy 9 km | Long run 20 km, easy | 20 km |
| 7 Cutback week |
Rest | 5 × 1 km at 4:35/km | Easy 7 km | 30 min threshold | Rest | Easy 7 km | Long run 15 km, easy | 15 km |
| 8 Long run: last 8 km at 4:55/km |
Rest | 3 × 4 km at 4:55/km, 3 min jog | Easy 9 km | 50 min steady at 5:20/km | Rest | Easy 9 km | Long run 21 km, easy | 21 km |
| 9 Longest run of the plan |
Rest | 6 × 1.5 km at 4:45/km, 2 min jog | Easy 9 km | 45 min steady at 5:20/km | Rest | Easy 9 km | Long run 22 km, easy | 22 km |
| 10 Taper begins |
Rest | 2 × 5 km at 4:55/km, 4 min jog | Easy 8 km | 30 min threshold | Rest | Easy 8 km | Long run 17 km, easy | 17 km |
| 11 | Rest | 5 × 1 km at 4:40/km | Easy 6 km | 20 min at 4:55/km | Rest | Easy 6 km | Long run 12 km, easy | 12 km |
| 12 Goal week |
Rest | 3 km at 4:55/km | Easy 4 km | 20 min easy with 4 × 20 s strides | Rest | Easy 4 km | Race: half marathon | Race: half marathon |
How to run this plan
- Threshold pace here is roughly 4:50–5:00/km. Precision matters: 20 seconds too fast turns a threshold session into a race.
- Easy running at 5:50–6:20/km. At this volume, easy days that are not easy are the main cause of injury.
- Strength work twice a week if you can. Sub-1:45 asks a lot of calves and hamstrings.
- Sleep is a training variable at this level, not a lifestyle detail.
Strength work. Strength: 20 min of squats, lunges, single-leg calf raises, glute bridges and planks. This is the injury insurance. Add it on an easy day or straight after an easy run — never the day before a quality session.
The principle underneath the table
Roughly eighty per cent of the running in this plan is easy, and that ratio is not a compromise — it is the mechanism. Easy running builds the aerobic machinery that lets you absorb the hard sessions; hard running that is not paid for by easy running just accumulates fatigue. The most common way an amateur plan fails is that the easy days creep up to a moderate pace, the hard days consequently drift down to the same moderate pace, and the runner spends twelve weeks training one gear.
The second principle is the cutback week. Volume in this plan does not climb monotonically; every third or fourth week it drops. Adaptation happens during recovery, not during the session, and a plan without down weeks is a plan that banks fatigue until something gives.
The third is the taper. The last two to three weeks reduce volume sharply while keeping a small amount of intensity. It will feel wrong. Do it anyway — nothing you run in the final fortnight can make you fitter, and plenty of it can make you tired.
Questions
How long is the sub-1:45 half marathon plan?
12 weeks, running 5 days a week. A half marathon around 1:50–2:00, or a 10K under about 48 minutes.
What if I miss a week?
One missed week: pick the plan up where you left off, do not try to catch up by doubling anything. Two or more: step back two weeks in the schedule and rebuild. The plan is a progression, and the progression is the part that works — skipping forward to stay 'on schedule' is how people get injured in week ten.
Can I move the days around?
Yes, with one rule: keep at least one easy or rest day between the quality sessions and the long run. The days of the week are arbitrary; the spacing is not.
Is run 21.1 km in under 1 hour 45 minutes realistic for me?
A half marathon around 1:50–2:00, or a 10K under about 48 minutes. If you are some way off that, the honest answer is that this plan will not bridge the gap in 12 weeks — build the base first and come back. Put a recent race into the race time predictor to see where you actually stand.
How do I train for this in Indian heat?
Move everything to before sunrise, run the quality sessions by effort rather than pace once it is above about 25°C, and accept that summer paces are slower than winter paces at identical fitness. In the north from November to January, check air quality before every session and take it indoors when readings are bad.
Other half marathon plans
All twelve are listed on the training plans page.
Every time, pace and physiological figure on this site is computed from a published formula, and the formula is named and shown on the method page. Nothing here is predicted by a model you cannot check. Race details change — always confirm dates, routes and entry with the official organiser. Training guidance is general information, not individual coaching or medical advice.