We suggest you only do strength work in addition to at least three runs per week, rather than instead of them. These workouts can help improve your strength and flexibility, leading to more efficient movement patterns and fewer injuries. In our half marathon training plans, there are usually two 40-minute strength and conditioning sessions each week. This gives your body a chance to recover and get stronger. In our beginner, intermediate and advanced half marathon training plans we make every fourth week an “active recovery week” where the training is halved. Always be mindful of avoiding injury – over half of all runners are injured every year. Training on hillier terrain is good too, because it spreads the load to a broader range of muscle fibers, compared to running on flat ground.

If possible, do some of your running on soft surfaces like grass or trails, to reduce the impact on your body. If you do additional runs, they can be steady jogs of around 30-60 minutes. All your key sessions should continuously evolve and progress over time, so your body is forced to adapt and improve.

We include these kinds of workouts in our half marathon training plans. For example, 2 x 10 minutes at half marathon pace, with 3-minute recoveries (plus, warm up and warm down). The third key session should be a run that includes some half-marathon paced efforts, so you get used to the demands of race day. The second key session is a speed session, with a warm up, a warm down and some hard efforts sandwiched in between – such as 4 x 3 minutes hard with 2-minute recoveries. The first key session is an endurance session, where you build up over the weeks and months to around 1 hour 30 minutes of low intensity running. Once you have built up to running 30 minutes comfortably, you can then structure your training program around three key runs per week. If you ignore this, you increase your risk of getting injured.

If not, slow down or include some walking sections. Your runs should not feel too intense at this stage – ideally, you should be able to talk while you’re running, as a way of knowing that you’re not going too hard. Aim to increase the duration of your workouts by no more than 10% per week. Over time you will be able to run more and walk less. If this feels too hard for you, walk briskly instead, until you’re fit enough to include a little running in your workouts. If you’re a total beginner, your runs should start at 15 minutes in duration and increase gradually over a period of weeks or months.

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