Masters (40+) Half Marathon Training Plans
"Simply fantastic, clear and precise explanations and great professional support."
Arturo Anniballo - Masters Half Marathon
Is A Masters Half Marathon Plan Right For You?
Our Masters Half Marathon training plans are designed for runners over 40 years old. Although plenty of younger athletes love them too.
The workouts are just as tough as with our normal training plans, but with more scheduled recovery days. And more strength and conditioning work, so you stay strong and flexible.
Masters runners face different challenges to younger athletes. Families, busy careers and lack of sleep are just a few. That said, not all over 40 runners require a Masters-specific training plan. Some find it easy to carry on with a normal training load, while others need to change their approach to training.
- Premium plans with coach support for any level
- FREE TASTER PDF versions of our shorter plans!
When to Consider Choosing a Masters Plan:
- Your training time availability is reduced with work and family commitments.
- You feel sleep deprived from daily stresses.
- Your body has different needs in terms of recovery, strength and flexibility training.
- You suffer recurrent injuries.
- You feel constantly fatigued or overwhelmed by your regular training.
- You keep catching colds and other viruses.
Can I Still Race Successfully?
Yes! In fact, by following our Masters running plans, you may well race better than ever. The key to success is training consistently, without missing workouts due to injury, fatigue or time limitations. It’s not always about who attempts the most training.
All our training plans adhere to the principle of “Progressive Overload”. Meaning that the stress placed upon your body gradually increases over time. By training consistently with regular recovery periods, you’re more likely to absorb the gradually increasing training loads, without breaking down.
How is a Masters Plan Different?
Rest and Recovery
Intensive half marathon training will cause you muscle damage. As we mature it can (arguably) take longer for your muscles to adapt and remodel. This decline in rate of recovery will vary according to genetics and training history. Insufficient recovery time can lessen the effect of the workout and leave you more prone to injury. Masters Half Marathon plans have more rest days each week (1 or 2 days per week) and a 1:2 ratio of active recovery weeks to hard weeks (this is 1:3 in regular plans). That means you’ll do two weeks of challenging training, and then take an active recovery week (with around half the training stress).
Strength and Conditioning
As we get older, our muscle density begins to decline, and it becomes crucial to counter the effects of age-related muscle loss.
When you choose to follow Phil’s Half Marathon Masters plans, you can download the associated FREE Strength and Conditioning plan. These have two scheduled strength and conditioning workouts per week, designed to promote:
- Performance through improved strength and power.
- Increased muscle mass.
- Injury prevention by strengthening connective tissue, muscles, and tendons.
- Flexibility to maintain power through a full range of movement.
- Improved bone density.
- Fat-free body mass (a leaner physique).
All Strength and Conditioning workouts can be carried out at home. There are also alternative exercises if you prefer a gym based workout.
Training Intensities and Volume
Training intensely is the key to success in any sport, regardless of age. Strong performances come from having a solid base and workouts that maximise your anaerobic fitness, speed, power and skill. Evidence suggests that higher intensity work with less volume is beneficial for the Masters athlete, even for Half Marathon Training. Shorter, more intense workouts will also free up valuable time for recovery and work/family commitments. Masters plans optimise your training time with the right ratio of volume and intensity relevant to each plan.
Approach to Training
As an older athlete with a full life, prioritising is an essential skill. Ideally schedule your week, planning times for family, training, work and sleep. You should also be prepared for the curve balls that cause chaos in your best laid plans. Consistency in training is arguably the most important trait amongst successful Masters athletes. Here are some ideas to help you stick to your regime:
- Use your commute as an opportunity to train.
- Add in strength and conditioning at home, with the kids if necessary!
- If you can’t do a whole session, do part of it, something is always better than nothing.
- Commit to a lunchtime workout.
- Double up run workouts with Strength and Conditioning sessions and save showering twice.
- Life will occasionally get in the way and if you need to miss the odd workout, let it go and move on. It happens.
Top Training Tips For A Half Marathon
Running Tips
If you’re a total beginner your runs should start off at 15 minutes in duration and increase gradually over a period of weeks or months. If this feels too hard for you, walk briskly instead, until you’re fit enough to include a little running in your workouts. Over time you will be able to run more and walk less. Aim to increase the duration of your workouts by no more than 10% per week. 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. If not, slow down or include some walking sections. If you ignore this, you increase your risk of getting injured.
Once you have built up to running 30 minutes comfortably, you can then structure your training program around three key runs per week. 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.
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 third key session should be a run that includes some half-marathon paced efforts, so you get used to the demands of race day. For example, 2 x 10 minutes at half marathon pace, with 3-minute recoveries (plus, warm up and warm down). We include these kinds of workouts in our half marathon training plans. All your key sessions should constantly evolve and progress over time, so your body is forced to adapt and improve.
If you do additional runs, they can be steady jogs of around 30-60 minutes. If possible, do some of your running on soft surfaces like grass or trails, to reduce the impact on your body. Training on hillier terrain is good too, because it spreads the load to a wider range of muscle fibers, compared to running on flat ground. Always be mindful of avoiding injury – over half of all runners are injured every year. In our novice, intermediate and advanced half marathon training plans we make every third week an “active recovery week” where the training is halved. This gives your body a chance to recover and get stronger.
Strength Training Tips
We include two sessions per week in our FREE Strength and Conditioning plans. These workouts can help improve your strength and flexibility, leading to more efficient movement patterns and fewer injuries. We suggest you only do strength work in addition to at least three runs per week, rather than instead of them.
Using A Masters Half Marathon Training Plan
Online training plans are for athletes who don’t feel the need for a personal coach, but who still want the structure and planning of an expertly-written training program. Research has shown that you are twice as likely to reach your goals if you train with a structured plan.
If you have a recent background of fitness or sport, it could take you 15+ weeks to get fit enough to conquer a half marathon. If you’ve been more sedentary over the last few years, it’s harder to predict. Either way, you need to build up your training gradually over a period of months. Fitness improvements build up slowly and gradually, like coffee dripping through a filter into a jug.
Compatible with over 100 apps & devices, including:
Compatible with over 100
apps & devices, including:
Head Coach & Founder: Phil Mosley
Why Use Our Training Plans?
Flexible, structured training for any level
Research-backed plans for any experience-level that fit around your lifestyle. From leading endurance coach Phil Mosley.
The world's best training app
We use TrainingPeaks for personalised training zones, trackable progress and so much more - on any major training device.
Certified coach support (rated 4.9/5)
On top of full help-centre & FAQ support (with videos), our coaches will quickly reply to any questions you have about your plan via email!
1. Choose from 18 plans from 6-21 weeks long
With beginner, intermediate, advanced, masters (40+) and off-season plans – we’ll have the perfect one for you.
2. Activate your free TrainingPeaks™️ account
A flexible calendar, targeted training zones, trackable progress and so much more – on any device.
3. Get your online plan and start ticking off sessions!
Keep motivated with any of your training questions answered quickly by our team of certified coaches!
About Phil Mosley
Phil is a recognised expert with over 20 years of experience, having featured on many endurance sports publications. He founded MyProCoach in 2010 to to offer the world’s most comprehensive range of online training plans, all designed to help you enjoy the same success that himself and his athletes have, while still making sure you have quality time for your family, friends and career.
Masters Half Marathon Plans (6-21 Weeks)
WITH FREE EMAIL COACH SUPPORT
We use TrainingPeaks to deliver your plan – the world’s most popular endurance coaching platform. Free to use, TrainingPeaks is an online calendar that lets you record, track and analyze your training sessions.
It has a host of great features allowing you to get as in-depth as you like, including the ability to export your workouts to your training devices (Garmin, Zwift, Apple Watch etc) and follow them in real time.
TrainingPeaks enables us to set you in-depth training plans in a way that other formats cannot. Phil Mosley is a Certified Coach and one of the best-selling coaches on the platform.
Whenever you need help with your training plan, we aim to respond to your emails within 24-hours. Our Certified coaching team are on hand to answer any questions during the first use of your plan, plus a bonus three months after its completion.
During checkout, please also share your email so I can send you a series of 5 helpful emails to get you started.
As you can understand, some limits apply (for example, we can’t analyse your data or edit your training plan) but for anything else relevant to your training, we would love to help. You also have full access to our online help centre, with videos and articles to help you train effectively.
We have a huge range of plans that enables you to select one that best meets your goals, schedule and ability. If you’re not sure where to start, read on below for a quick overview.
What type?
Our Standard and Masters plans are designed to get you ready for your target event, while our Off-Season plans are designed to allow you to recover from a tough season whilst maintaining your well-earned fitness. Generally, Masters plans are designed for athletes over 40 years old, although plenty of younger athletes love them too. The workouts are just as tough as with our standard training plans, but with more scheduled recovery days. Some find it easy to carry on with a normal training load, while others need to change their approach to training.
What length?
For the best outcome, count back from your “A” target race date and simply choose a plan to fill that gap (you can still work in other, smaller races during your plan). Note that longer plans start easier and progress more gradually than shorter plans. The body responds best to constant, gradual progression with regular recovery periods, and that’s exactly what our plans are designed to give you!
What level?
Choosing the correct level will help you get the most out of your plan. Generally, if you’ve never done this event before or currently train up to a few times per week, you might consider a Beginner plan. Alternatively, if you’ve done this event many times before or currently train 5+ times a week, you might consider an Advanced plan.
But don’t worry too much – we also let you swap the level for free within 14 days of purchase, if you find it too easy/hard!
Visit the MyProCoach Help Center for further guidance and to contact our Certified coaching team.
Certainly! Our training plans allow you to easily swap a few days around each week to suit your availability. Or you can swap out a session, to attend a similar group workout instead. That’s fine. If you opt for TrainingPeaks Premium (from $9.92 per month) you can even drag & drop your workouts onto different days. We give a few recommendations on how to best do this in our help centre.
And you can also train for multiple events! Our training plans guide you up to your target “A” race, but it’s also good to include some “B or C” races along the way. Our help centre goes through the exact steps you should take to enable you to get full benefit, without detracting from your key focus
Trial Us With Our FREE TASTER Plans! (8- And 12-Week PDFs Only)
- No coach support, personal intensity zones or tracking software
- Standard (non-masters) version only
Beginner (6-21wks)
Perfect for your first Half Marathon- Premium, flexible plan
- Intuitive tracking software
- Help centre & FAQ support
- Email access to coach
- From just $2.90/week!
Intermediate (6-21wks)
For seasoned runners- Premium, flexible plan
- Intuitive tracking software
- Help centre & FAQ support
- Email access to coach
- From just $2.90/week!
Advanced (6-21wks)
Slash your race-times- Premium, flexible plan
- Intuitive tracking software
- Help centre & FAQ support
- Email access to coach
- From just $2.90/week!
Under 40? Check our Half Marathon standard plans.
Join Over 40,000 Successful Athletes
- RamunasIRONMAN 140.6, November 2019Sub 10 hour Chose 36 week IM plan for my first IM. Excellent guidance through 9 months of training led me to 9 hours 43 min IM finishing time. It was very motivating to see progress during several first months. The plan kept me disciplined when FTP, CSS flattened, especially in the longest... >> read moreChose 36 week IM plan for my first IM. Excellent guidance through 9 months of training led me to 9 hours 43 min IM finishing time. It was very motivating to see progress during several first months. The plan kept me disciplined when FTP, CSS flattened, especially in the longest training months. Very user-friendly integration with Garmin and TrainingPeaks. Highly recommend Phil’s plan to anyone who does not have a personal coach. << read less15 Nov 2019WhitneyIRONMAN 140.6, November 2019I am an IRONMAN! I used the Intermediate IRONMAN training plan for my first IRONMAN, and it was a huge success! And the coaches were extremely helpful and responsive when I had issues. I broke my arm 12wks out from race day, and they helped me plan around that to ultimately make it to... >> read moreI used the Intermediate IRONMAN training plan for my first IRONMAN, and it was a huge success! And the coaches were extremely helpful and responsive when I had issues. I broke my arm 12wks out from race day, and they helped me plan around that to ultimately make it to the finish line...2hrs faster than I had hoped for for my first IRONMAN! << read less01 Dec 2019Ignacio Vilas EguiletaIRONMAN, December 2019very well structured plans I have used already Ironman 140.6 and 70.3 plans from Myprocoach and I really like the thinking behind the training schedule and sessions. It is very well structured and designed to aid you to get a good balance in between training and recovery. And one of the greatest things I... >> read moreI have used already Ironman 140.6 and 70.3 plans from Myprocoach and I really like the thinking behind the training schedule and sessions. It is very well structured and designed to aid you to get a good balance in between training and recovery. And one of the greatest things I have realized this year when using the same plan for the second time is that it was updated automatically, so some workouts were new and different. That helps with getting motivation forward. On top of it, you have great and quick support by email from the Myprocoach team when needed. << read less07 Dec 2019
- AlexIRONMAN, July 2019Thanks so much for your plan! Hi Phil, I would never have expected to improve so much in only 12 weeks. Your training plan (IM Intermediate, 12 wks) allowed me to improve my own record on IM70.3 by 25min to reach 4H51 at Les Sables d'Olonne and my IM record by almost 2 hours to reach... >> read moreHi Phil, I would never have expected to improve so much in only 12 weeks. Your training plan (IM Intermediate, 12 wks) allowed me to improve my own record on IM70.3 by 25min to reach 4H51 at Les Sables d'Olonne and my IM record by almost 2 hours to reach 10H48 at Roth. I am so happy with those achievements that I now decided to try a marathon plan for the end of my season. Next year, I will target to qualify for IM70.3 world championship and will definitely use your plan again! Thanks, Alex << read less12 Jul 2019Christina RoehrenbeckIronman 70.3 Luxemburg, July 2019Perfect plan for my first 70.3 I used Phil's Novice 70.3 plan (28 weeks) to prepare for my first ever 70.3 in Luxemburg. My goal: finish with a smile. Being a slower athlete (sometimes THE slowest) I always struggled with finding a plan that would fit my needs: it would have to take my slower paces... >> read moreI used Phil's Novice 70.3 plan (28 weeks) to prepare for my first ever 70.3 in Luxemburg. My goal: finish with a smile. Being a slower athlete (sometimes THE slowest) I always struggled with finding a plan that would fit my needs: it would have to take my slower paces into account but still would have to prepare me for a race longer than 7 hours. It actually was my first plan I purchased from Phil. It worked out perfectly for me! Distances and duration, even of the longer sessions, were totally fine for me and when needed paces and the plan itself were adjustable to my needs. Still, I was training for a middle distance so there definetely is some work to do but it was totally managable, also in between my every day life and job. And after some ups and downs on race day I crossed the finish line in Luxemburg. << read less23 Jul 2019Ben HarrisIRONMAN 70.3, July 2019Go for it, you will not be disappointed. I was initially apprehensive about purchasing a generic training program, but had been recommended Phil and team. - after I purchased the plan, all fears were immediately removed as the plan included not only advice on tailoring it to include for B, C races etc, but guidance for missing sessions,... >> read moreI was initially apprehensive about purchasing a generic training program, but had been recommended Phil and team. - after I purchased the plan, all fears were immediately removed as the plan included not only advice on tailoring it to include for B, C races etc, but guidance for missing sessions, along with just other handy hints and tips. I've now smashed my race season goals, already getting the Sub 5hr 70.3 and even got the percentage I needed to attempt qualification for the ITU European Championships. - I'm in top form and looking forward to my A race of IM Vichy later this year! << read less01 Jul 2019
- AndréanneIRONMAN 140.6, September 2019I am so proud, I finished with a BIG smile! Hello to the whole coaching team @ myprocoach.net! A very quick note just to say a big THANK YOU! This Saturday, I just finished my first IM distance Triathlon in Almere (Nederlands) in 11:22. It was such an amazing event, and I am so proud I finished it with a... >> read moreHello to the whole coaching team @ myprocoach.net! A very quick note just to say a big THANK YOU! This Saturday, I just finished my first IM distance Triathlon in Almere (Nederlands) in 11:22. It was such an amazing event, and I am so proud I finished it with a BIG smile! I have followed your intermediate IM training plan and it guided me through a smooth, injury free (!) and constant evolution toward that big race. I wanted to ensure I share this and say a big thanks the whole team for getting me there, 😉 All the best and continue the great work! Andreanne << read less18 Sep 2019Lianne MorissetteSprint Triathlon, August 2019Crushed my goal and plan surpassed my expectations.... This is my first time using an online training plan and was skeptical. I’m focusing on sprint distance due to a chronic injury and my goal was to qualify for ITU World’s next year in the 45-49 ag. My A race was Provincials/World’s qualifier.....not only did I win my ag... >> read moreThis is my first time using an online training plan and was skeptical. I’m focusing on sprint distance due to a chronic injury and my goal was to qualify for ITU World’s next year in the 45-49 ag. My A race was Provincials/World’s qualifier.....not only did I win my ag by 10+ minutes, I placed third female overall! It all came together perfectly and I give most of the credit to my training plan that whipped me into shape in 12 weeks. I will definitely be using another myprocoach plan next season and highly recommend! << read less23 Aug 2019Andres MorenoIRONMAN 70.3, October 2019Great 20 weeks of training I got the 20 Weeks IronMan 70.3 Beginner plan and it worked perfectly for me. This was my first ever half distance triathlon and I was able to get the right fitness for the event. The plan has a great structure, the intensity of the workouts is just right and... >> read moreI got the 20 Weeks IronMan 70.3 Beginner plan and it worked perfectly for me. This was my first ever half distance triathlon and I was able to get the right fitness for the event. The plan has a great structure, the intensity of the workouts is just right and the duration was good enough to still have time for other activities. I completed the race and I couldn't be more satisfied with the training plan. << read less24 Oct 2019
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