A science-driven 12-week plan for runners who have completed a half marathon and are ready to break the 2-hour barrier. Built around perceived effort rather than rigid pace targets, this plan adapts to your real physiological state each day — not the one you had when you set your zones. Five sessions per week, structured around a full-time schedule, with a progressive build that peaks at Week 9 and tapers precisely into race day.

Who is this plan for?
You've run a half marathon. You know what the distance feels like. Now you want to run it in under 2 hours — and you want to do it right, without overtraining, without injury, and without guesswork.
This plan is built for intermediate runners who train 5 days per week and understand that getting faster requires more than just running more. It requires running smarter.

How intensity is measured?
Every session is guided by RPE on a 1–10 scale:

RPE 2–3 — Very easy. Recovery pace. You could sing.
RPE 4–5 — Comfortable aerobic effort. Conversational.
RPE 6 — Moderate tempo. Short sentences only.
RPE 7–8 — Hard, controlled threshold. A few words max.
RPE 9 — Very hard. Race effort. Unsustainable beyond target duration.
RPE 10 — Maximum sprint. All-out.

RPE makes this plan inherently adaptive. Stress, sleep, travel, and life all affect your physiology. Your perceived effort accounts for all of it — a pace target does not.

What you'll develop?
— A robust aerobic base capable of sustaining sub-2h race pace for 21.1km
— Lactate threshold elevation through progressive tempo work
— Running economy through strides, cadence work, and race-specific efforts
— Injury resilience through structured load management and recovery weeks
— Race-day confidence through two full simulation sessions

Plan structure
12 weeks in a 3:1 loading pattern — three weeks of progressive work followed by one recovery week — with a dedicated 2-week taper into race day.

Equipment
Running shoes. A way to track time. Heart rate monitor optional. No GPS pace required.

Recommended weekly schedule
Monday: Rest | Tuesday: Quality/Intervals | Wednesday: Easy aerobic | Thursday: Tempo | Friday: Rest | Saturday: Strides + easy | Sunday: Long run