How many weeks does it take to train for a half marathon?

A typical half marathon build is 12 to 16 weeks. If you already run three or more times a week, 12 weeks is enough to progress your long run, add threshold work, and taper. Stride requires a race date at least 4 weeks away and scales the plan to the time you have.

How many miles per week for a half marathon?

Weekly mileage depends on your goal. Recreational half marathoners often peak around 27 to 32 miles per week, while faster runners chasing 1:25 or quicker build toward 50-plus. When no goal time is set, Stride defaults to about 45 miles per week for the half marathon.

How long should my long run be for a half marathon?

Half marathon long runs are capped at 16 miles in Stride, with most plans peaking between 12 and 16 miles. The long run makes up roughly 40 to 45% of weekly volume.

What is threshold or tempo running?

Threshold (tempo) running is a comfortably hard effort near your lactate threshold — the pace you could hold for about an hour. It is the single most important workout type for the half marathon because race pace sits close to threshold pace.

Half Marathon Training Guide: How to Train for 13.1 Miles

The half marathon is a favorite distance for good reason: it demands real endurance without the recovery cost of a full marathon, and it rewards the kind of threshold fitness that responds quickly to smart training. This guide covers how to build weekly mileage, why tempo running matters so much at this distance, and how Stride structures your plan from base to race day.

How long to train for a half marathon

A typical half marathon build is 12 to 16 weeks for a runner who already trains three or more times per week. The plan moves through the same three phases Stride uses for every race:

Build: weekly mileage rises gradually with periodic recovery weeks.
Peak hold: you sustain your highest volume and longest long runs.
Taper (2 weeks): volume drops so you race fresh.

Stride requires your race date to be at least four weeks away and scales the plan to the time you actually have.

How much weekly mileage you need

Weekly volume for the half marathon depends on your goal. Recreational runners typically peak around 27 to 32 miles per week, while those chasing a 1:25 or faster build toward 50-plus miles per week. When you do not set a goal time, Stride defaults to about 45 miles per week for the half marathon and adjusts for your experience level.

As with every distance, progression is capped for safety: mileage grows by roughly 10% per week (less if you are newer or injury-prone), with recovery weeks trimming volume by 25% so your body adapts without breaking down.

The long run

Long runs build the aerobic endurance that carries you through 13.1 miles. In a Stride half marathon plan, the long run is about 40 to 45% of weekly volume and is capped at 16 miles, with most plans peaking between 12 and 16 miles. Run it easy and conversational; later in the plan, finishing a long run with a few miles at goal pace is excellent race-specific practice.

Threshold and tempo running

Tempo (threshold) running is the most important workout type for the half marathon. Threshold pace is a comfortably hard effort you could hold for about an hour — which, not coincidentally, is close to half marathon race pace for many runners. Regular tempo work raises the pace you can sustain before fatigue accumulates, directly translating to a faster half.

Stride derives your tempo, threshold, easy, and interval paces from your current fitness using the VDOT system and updates them as you get fitter, so every quality session is run at the right effort.

The taper

The half marathon taper is two weeks. Volume steps down — roughly 60% two weeks out and 40% during race week — while retaining a touch of intensity so you stay sharp. The taper lets accumulated fatigue clear so the fitness you built shows up on race day.

Common half marathon mistakes

Too much intensity, not enough easy running. Most of your miles should be easy so your hard sessions can be genuinely hard.
Starting the race too fast. Half marathon success is about even, controlled pacing — bank patience, not seconds.
Ignoring the long run. Even for a "half," endurance is what holds your pace together in the final 5K.
Skipping the taper. Two weeks of reduced volume is what turns training into performance.

Build your half marathon plan

Stride translates these principles into a week-by-week schedule based on your goal time, current mileage, experience, and training days. Create your half marathon training plan, or explore the marathon guide and 5K guide.