The distance that fits a real week.
Three days is enough. Paceo builds a periodized half marathon block around the days you actually have, adjusts it each morning around your recovery, and tapers it when race day lands inside the block.
A threshold race, trained like one.
The half sits at a useful place: long enough to demand real aerobic work, short enough that you do not have to hand your weekends over for four months.
It is also the distance where generic plans hurt most, because the gap between a five day template and a three day life is where people quietly give up in week six. Paceo builds to the week you described rather than the week the template assumed.
Blocks run four weeks: two building, a peak, then a deload so the block ends absorbed rather than accumulated. Each new one starts a notch further along than the last, and is written from the training you actually completed.
Tell it how many weeks out your race is, and when race day lands inside the current block, the last two weeks stop building and back off into race week freshness.
The same block, three lives.
This is the promise a template cannot keep. The long run never moves, the quality work survives at every size, and what a shorter week gives up is easy mileage rather than training.
Week two of four.
A five day half marathon build. Threshold on Tuesday, tempo on Thursday, the long run on Sunday, and the week after the peak drops by about a third.
The same block, tapered.
Volume comes off early and the quality work shortens rather than disappearing, so you arrive sharp instead of merely rested.
Built for the distance.
Three days is a real plan
The half is the distance most reachable on a small week. Two to six days are all supported, and a three day block is built as a proper plan rather than a reduced version of someone else's five.
A long run that fits the distance
The half does not need marathon mileage. The long run grows toward race distance rather than past it, so the rest of your week survives.
Threshold where it counts
The half is a threshold race, so tempo and threshold work carry more of the block than they would for a 5K. What you get is chosen for the distance, not sprinkled evenly.
Strength that stays out of the way
Add lifting and it is planned against the same weekly load, so leg day never lands the night before your long run or your threshold session.
A taper, when it is time
Say how many weeks out you are. When race day falls inside the block, the last two weeks stop building and back off into race week instead of deloading on the usual schedule.
Fuel that tracks the mileage
Calorie and macro targets move with the week, so long run Sunday and rest day Monday do not get handed the same number.
From quiz to start line.
- 01Pick the halfHalf marathon is an event option in the quiz, alongside 5K, 10K and the marathon. Choosing it is what shapes the long run and the quality work around the distance.
- 02Say how far out you areRoughly how many weeks until race day. That single answer is what turns a general block into race preparation and what triggers the taper when the time comes.
- 03Say what your week holdsTwo to six days, twenty minutes to three hours a session. The plan is built to the time you have, because that is the only plan you will actually follow.
- 04Train four weeks at a timeBuild, build, peak, deload, then renew a notch further along. Each morning the block is adjusted around your sleep, HRV and resting heart rate.
Common questions.
- How many days a week do I need for a half marathon?
- Three is enough to arrive trained, and Paceo supports anywhere from two to six. More days give the plan room to separate threshold work from easy volume, but a three day half marathon block is a real plan and not a consolation prize.
- How long is the plan?
- Paceo works in four week blocks rather than handing you twelve weeks written before it has met you. You renew each block a notch further along, and when your race falls inside the current block, that block becomes your taper.
- How long should my long run get?
- For the half, the long run builds toward race distance rather than beyond it. The block grows it as the weeks build and backs it off in the deload, so it is doing a job rather than accumulating for its own sake.
- Is a half marathon plan different from a marathon plan?
- Yes. The half rewards threshold fitness more and sheer mileage less, so the quality work carries more of the block and the long run tops out lower. Picking the event is what makes that difference.
- Can I lift while training for a half?
- Yes, planned rather than bolted on. Running plus strength is a supported pairing and both are scheduled against the same weekly load, so a heavy leg day does not land beside your threshold session.
- What if I miss a week?
- The daily adjustment works from your actual recovery, and each new block is built from the training you completed rather than the training you were assigned. A rough week makes the next block sensible instead of impossible.
- Does it handle 10K and 5K too?
- Both, plus the marathon. Each is an event option, and the plan shapes its long run and its quality work around whichever you pick.
Going further? There is a marathon plan. Want to lift alongside it? See strength for runners.
Arrive trained, not cooked.
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