How To Run Your Fastest Half Marathon Ever (Training Plan, Workouts, & Race Day Strategy)

Show Notes

In this episode of the Marathon Handbook Podcast, we dive deep into how to run your fastest ever half marathon. Michael, Alex, and Katelyn open with their personal half marathon origin stories (03:56) and discuss the importance of running a half before a full marathon (09:09). They explore what makes an effective half marathon training plan (19:21), including the benefits of VO2 max and threshold workouts (23:21), and how long your long runs should be (28:14). 

The crew explains the power of lactate threshold training (32:32), what separates half marathon training from 5K/10K and full marathon prep (36:22), and each host shares their favorite go-to workout (44:00). Finally, they give a full breakdown of race day strategy—warm-up (57:18), pacing (1:02:00), fueling (1:06:28), and how to mentally power through the hardest final kilometers (1:08:56). They wrap by recommending some of their favorite half marathons around the world (1:17:03).

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What is Marathon Handbook Podcast?

Marathon Handbook's weekly podcast covers everything you need to know about running, from running your first 5K to qualifying for the Boston Marathon! Each week, our editors chat about what's going on in the running scene, as well as timely training tips, the best new gear, and what's happening at the world's biggest races. We'll cover everything from the Boston Marathon to the Barkley Marathons, often podding live from the most important moments in running! Watch our video podcast each week on YouTube, and listen to it wherever you get your podcasts! Inquiries: [e-mail]