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Half MarathonBeginner
Hal Higdon — Half Marathon Novice 1
The classic 'finish your first half' plan: 12 weeks, no speedwork, just steadily building your long run to race-ready.
- Duration
- 12 weeks
- Frequency
- 4 days / week
- Time / week
- 3–4 hrs
- Intensity
- Low
- Start if you can…
- You can run ~3 miles continuously
- Builds up to
- 10-mile long run
- Source
- Hal Higdon ↗
Best for
- ✓Your first half marathon
- ✓Runners who just want to finish, not race
- ✓Anyone who prefers simple over complex
Why the community recommends this
Probably the single most-recommended first-half-marathon plan on Reddit. Low-stress, low-injury, gets you to the start line confident.
Run this plan at the right paces
Get your easy, tempo, and interval paces from a recent time or goal.
How the plan is structured
- 4 running days + cross-training + rest
- No formal speedwork — all about time on feet
- Short weekday runs of 3–5 miles
- Weekend long run building ~1 mi/week to 10 miles
- Gentle, forgiving progression
Strengths
- +Very approachable and low-injury
- +Free, flexible, hard to mess up
Trade-offs
- −No speedwork, so limited for time goals
- −Lower mileage than 'race it' plans
We summarize this popular plan and link to the original rather than reproduce its copyrighted week-by-week schedule.
anystride plans are educational summaries of community-trusted training methodologies, not medical or individualized coaching advice. Listen to your body, and consult a doctor before starting a new program.