Half marathon training when you only have four runs a week.

The four-run week

• Easy run: relaxed mileage that builds the engine.
• Quality session: tempo, hills or controlled intervals.
• Easy run plus strides: movement, not punishment.
• Long run: the anchor of the week.

Protect the long run

The long run teaches your body to stay efficient after the easy part is over. Do not sabotage it by racing the day before or cramming strength work into tired legs.

Fuel before race day

For runs over 75 minutes, practise gels, chews or sports drink. You are not just training muscles. You are training your stomach and your decision-making.

How hard should tempo feel?

Controlled discomfort. You should not be sprinting, fighting your form or counting down every second from the first minute.

Example four-run week

Tuesday: easy 35 minutes. Thursday: 3 x 10 minutes at controlled tempo. Saturday: easy 30 minutes with strides. Sunday: long run. That gives endurance, rhythm and recovery without filling the calendar with junk miles.

Common mistake

Do not make every run medium hard. Four-run weeks work because each run has a job. If easy runs become tempo-lite, the true workout and long run both get worse.

Related resources

Use the half marathon plan, estimate fuelling through the fuelling calculator, and track long-run confidence in the RunThis downloads list.

Why four runs can be enough

A half marathon does not require a complicated plan. Four runs work when they cover the essentials: easy aerobic running, one quality session, one long run and enough recovery to absorb the work. The plan fails when every run becomes a test and the body never gets a quieter day.

The easy runs are not filler. They are where you build aerobic capacity without stealing energy from the sessions that matter. If you only have four runs, each one needs a clear job.

Long-run progression

Build the long run gradually from comfortable 10K territory toward 16-19km. Not every long run needs to be longer than the last. Every third or fourth week, cut back slightly so the next block has room to grow. Practise a gel or drink on longer runs if race day will take more than 90 minutes.

Life-proofing the plan

If work, family or poor sleep crushes the week, keep one easy run and the long run. Drop the workout first. Fitness comes from the block, not from forcing one tired session.

How to place the sessions

Give the quality session and long run space. A common rhythm is Tuesday easy, Thursday tempo, Saturday easy, Sunday long run. If Sunday is not possible, move the long run but keep the day before it light. The half marathon is long enough that tired legs turn small mistakes into big ones.

Strength can sit after an easy run or on a separate day if your week allows it. Keep it short: calf raises, split squats, hinges, side planks and controlled single-leg work. You are not trying to become sore from the gym; you are trying to become more durable for running.

Your next half marathon action

Pick the long-run day first, then build the rest of the week around it. Add one tempo session, two easy runs and one short strength session if your life allows it. If the week gets crowded, protect the long run and the easy rhythm. A half marathon block works when you stop treating recovery as optional.

The useful question is simple: what will make the next run easier to execute? Keep that answer visible. A better route, clearer pace, safer kit, calmer start or written plan is more valuable than another vague burst of motivation.