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Trail Half Marathon training plan

Trail Half Marathon training plan

  • 12 weeks
  • Running
Duration
12 weeks
Sessions
94 in total
avg. 7.8 per week
Training time
avg. 8.2 h/week
Peak week 10.4 h
Key sessions
25 key sessions

How the training load develops

Training time per week over 12 weeks. The toughest week is week 8 with 10.4 h.

Weeks 1 to 12

Plan structure

94 sessions spread over 12 weeks, around 99 hours of training and a total load of 6,077 TSS.

  • Running 71 sessions 696.9 km in total
  • Strength training 23 sessions
Week Sessions Sports Training timeTime
Week 1 8 3 Key
  • 6× Run
  • 2× Strength
 8 h
Week 2 8 3 Key
  • 6× Run
  • 2× Strength
 8.5 h
Week 3 8 1 Key
  • 6× Run
  • 2× Strength
 5.9 h
Week 4 8 3 Key
  • 6× Run
  • 2× Strength
 9.2 h
Week 5 8 3 Key
  • 6× Run
  • 2× Strength
 9.8 h
Week 6 8 1 Key
  • 6× Run
  • 2× Strength
 6.5 h
Week 7 8 2 Key
  • 6× Run
  • 2× Strength
 9.8 h
Week 8 8 2 Key
  • 6× Run
  • 2× Strength
 10.4 h
Week 9 8 1 Key
  • 6× Run
  • 2× Strength
 6.9 h
Week 10 8 3 Key
  • 6× Run
  • 2× Strength
 9.4 h
Week 11 8 2 Key
  • 6× Run
  • 2× Strength
 7.7 h
Week 12 6 1 Key
  • 5× Run
  • 1× Strength
 6.6 h

A look inside the plan

Sample week: week 7 of 12

This is exactly how your plan will look in the Aspect App after you buy it. Tap a session to see its structure, intervals and target ranges.

You can also download run workouts as FIT files for Garmin, Wahoo, COROS and others, or as ZWO files for Zwift.

Week 7 Race-Specific Phase – Load Week 1 8 sessions 9:50 h 69.1 km 2
MonMonday 0:24 h
Race-Specific Phase – Load Week 1
The Race-Specific Phase begins: the long run takes on the profile of your race, with three long climbs of 10 minutes – 12 minutes in week 8 – at your race HR of 93 to 95% of your threshold HR. For the first time, you eat and drink as you will on race day. On Thursday the flat intervals become a tempo run of 35 and 40 minutes at 90 to 93%. Your threshold work now comes from the climbs on Tuesday and Sunday. Saturday stays at 90 minutes off-road and easy, so that you run Sunday on slightly pre-fatigued legs.
Read more
Rest DayComplete Rest
Today is all about full recovery. Your body gets the time it needs to regenerate and absorb the training load. Stretching, massage and foam rolling can help release muscle tension and support your recovery. Make sure you get enough sleep and fuel your body with good nutrition to get the most out of the break.
Mental Coaching
Setting Your Race Plan
From this week on, you run the climbs in your long run at race HR. For that you need a race plan, not a gut feeling. Take fifteen minutes today and get out the course profile of your race. Convert 93 to 95% of your threshold HR into beats per minute – with a threshold HR of 170 bpm, that’s 158 to 162 bpm. Divide the course into sections: start, each long climb, each descent, final section. Next to them, write your plan: start below the range, the first two climbs at 93 to 95%, walk the steep ramps, let your HR drop on the descents, go up to 97% on the last climb and open up from the summit. Your goal time doesn’t come from your road times but from your long runs. From Sunday onwards, note how many minutes you need per 100 m of climbing within your race range, and how many per kilometre downhill or on the flat. Divide the race’s total climbing by 100 and multiply by your uphill minutes, add the remaining kilometres multiplied by your minutes per kilometre, then add 10% for aid stations and fatigue: that’s an honest goal time. The race workout in week 12 assumes about 2:50 hours – that’s an estimate, not a target. Mark the aid stations with their approximate race time and decide what you’ll take at each one. On Sunday you’ll check for the first time whether the range suits your legs.
Read more
Strength
Running-Specific Stretches
0:24 h7 exercises
TueTuesday 1:22 h
Run Key
Uphill Threshold 3 x 12 min
1:22 h11.7 km105 rTSS
WedWednesday 1:19 h
Run
Downhill Technique 6 x 3 min
1:19 h9.8 km86 rTSS
ThuThursday 1:00 h
Run
Tempo Run
1:00 h10.6 km78 rTSS
FriFriday 1:45 h
Run
Endurance Run
1:00 h10 km69 rTSS
Strength
Strength – Injury Prevention – Running
0:45 h9 exercises
SatSaturday 1:30 h
Run
Endurance Run
1:30 h11.0 km103 rTSS
SunSunday 2:30 h
Fuelling on the Long Run
From today, you eat and drink on the long run exactly as you plan to in the race. When you’re out for more than two hours, your carbohydrate intake decides whether you can still run the last climb within your range. Aim for 60 to 90 g of carbohydrate per hour, starting after 30 minutes – for example a gel every 30 minutes plus a carbohydrate drink. Today you start at the lower end with 60 g and build up until the dress rehearsal in week 11: your gut gets used to larger amounts when it gets them regularly. Take a few sips every 15 to 20 minutes, 400 to 750 ml per hour depending on the temperature, and in the heat add salt to your drink or take it as a tablet. Only test what’s available at your race’s aid stations or what you carry in your vest yourself, and after every long run note down what your stomach tolerated.
Read more
Run Key
Trail Long Run + 3 x 10 min Climbs
2:30 h16.0 km183 rTSS
Run this session in the shoes and vest you’ll wear on race day.

About this training plan

This 12-week trail running plan prepares you for a trail half marathon of about 21 km and 2,000 m of climbing, with six running days a week. Training is guided by heart rate. Uphill threshold, downhill technique and long runs with climbs in the threshold zone are aimed at runners who race for a placing or a time in the hills.

Who the plan is for

You run 60 to 80 km a week on six days and have several trail races behind you. 110 minutes on trails and weeks with 1,350 m of climbing are routine for you, because that is where the plan starts. If you would prefer one fewer running day, or your volume is lower than that, Level 2 is the better choice.

How the plan works

A fixed weekly rhythm: Tuesday hill training, Wednesday easy or downhill technique, Thursday flat and brisk, Friday easy followed by the strength session, Saturday easy on trails, Sunday the long run. On Mondays you stretch.

  • Strength on the hills: One-minute hill repeats by feel on Tuesdays, flat threshold blocks on Thursdays, short hill sprints on Fridays. The long run grows steadily to 120 minutes.
  • Longer uphill, controlled downhill: 8-minute uphill threshold efforts, flat threshold up to 3 x 12 minutes and downhill technique on Wednesdays. Saturday’s run grows to 90 minutes on trails.
  • Race profile: The long run gets three climbs in the threshold zone and full fuelling, just as on race day. In week 10 you run 180 minutes with 1,600 m of climbing.
  • Dress rehearsal and race week: The dress rehearsal in week 11 runs just like the race, and in race week two short opener sessions keep you fresh, one of them with short climbs.

Every third week is a recovery week, with shorter runs, less climbing and only one hard session.

What you need before you start

  • A recent 10 km test at full effort on a flat course, or the results of a lab performance test. This gives you your threshold HR, which every heart-rate target is based on.
  • A running watch with an HR display and a chest strap, because wrist-based readings are often inaccurate during changes of pace on hills.
  • A climb with a 6 to 12% gradient and at least 150 m of continuous ascent, plus hilly terrain for the long runs. If you don’t have a hill, the plan explains the alternatives using a treadmill and a short ramp.
  • Trail shoes with grippy soles, a running vest with bottles and the fuelling you plan to use in the race.

Support within the plan

Weekly briefings explain each block and tell you where to hold back. Expert notes on kit and safety in the mountains, downhill running, fuelling and the course profile, mental coaching prompts from your first goal through to a race plan with HR target ranges for each section of the course, and a race-day checklist guide you along the way. After the race, the plan shows you how to carry on.

Which level is right for you?

  • Level 2: You run 40 to 55 km a week on five days and have finished road half marathons or your first trail races. The longest run reaches 180 minutes with 1,300 m of climbing, and the peak weeks 2,480 m of climbing.
  • Level 3: You run 60 to 80 km a week on six days and have several trail races behind you. The longest run reaches 180 minutes with 1,600 m of climbing and the peak weeks 3,030 m of climbing, plus flat threshold on Thursdays and climbs in the threshold zone during the long run.

If you have never run for longer than 90 minutes on trails or you run less than 40 km a week, build a base first with Half Marathon Personal Best (Level 1, heart rate version) and then move on to this plan.

Intensity guidance

Your training thresholds

Session intensity is based on your personal thresholds. After buying, you enter them in the Aspect App – the plan then converts every target for you. If they’re already stored in Intervals.icu, you can import them with one click during setup. Here’s how to find your values:

  • Threshold HR (running)Your threshold heart rate is the highest heart rate you can sustain for about 60 minutes. How to find it: after a good warm-up, run on your own for 30 minutes as fast as you can hold evenly – your average heart rate over the last 20 minutes is your threshold HR. Alternatively, from an all-out 10K run: 98% of your average HR over the full 10 km (average 176 bpm → threshold HR 172 bpm). A chest strap gives the most accurate reading.

Device sync via Intervals.icu

Your plan on your watch

Send your plan to your free Intervals.icu calendar in just a few clicks. From there, your run sessions go to your watch as structured workouts with intervals and target ranges – or into Zwift. No retyping and no file imports.

Ready in six steps

  1. Buy the planOnce your payment has been received, you’ll get your access link by email.
  2. Save it to your Aspect accountWith a free Aspect account, you save the plan under “My plans”.
  3. Connect Intervals.icuTap “Intervals.icu” at the top of your plan and connect your free account on intervals.icu. No account yet? You can create one there in a minute.
  4. Match your target valuesThe app checks whether Intervals.icu holds the same values as your plan (e.g. FTP, threshold heart rate or threshold pace). Any differences can be matched with one click.
  5. Choose a start date and sendChoose your start Monday, check the preview, send.
  6. Connect your deviceIn Intervals.icu, go to Settings → Connections, connect your device or platform and enable uploading of planned workouts (e.g. “Upload planned workouts”).

See every step with screenshots

What arrives where

PlatformWhat arrives
Garmin Running as structured workouts; strength: title only, no exercises
Zwift Run workouts
Suunto Planned workouts (watches with SuuntoPlus Guides)
COROS Planned workouts – the first time only, drag the “Intervals.icu” training plan into your calendar in the COROS app.
Huawei Only the next run session at a time (sent to the watch in the Huawei app)
Apple Watch No official integration – only via third-party apps (e.g. Watchletic – the Intervals.icu import is a paid feature)
Polar No direct transfer
  • Most services receive roughly the next 7 days at a time. The complete plan is in your Intervals.icu calendar.
  • Intervals.icu calculates the target ranges from your values there (e.g. FTP, threshold HR, threshold pace). If you change them, upcoming workouts are adjusted with the next sync.
  • During setup, the Aspect App checks whether your values in Intervals.icu match your plan. You resolve any differences with one click – in either direction, with a side-by-side comparison first.
  • If you move a session within its week in the Aspect App, Intervals.icu updates automatically – and so does your device at the next sync.
  • Zwift uses the values in your Zwift profile (FTP, 5K time). Enter the same values there as in Intervals.icu.
  • Strength sessions appear in the Intervals.icu calendar with a description and planned duration. On your watch they only show their title. You’ll find the exercises in the Aspect App.
Prefer not to use Intervals.icu?
In the Aspect App you can also download run workouts as FIT files (e.g. for Garmin, Wahoo, COROS) or as ZWO files for Zwift.

What you get

  • The complete 12-week plan94 sessions, structured week by week and day by day.
  • All sessions in the Aspect AppEvery session with its full structure. In the browser on your smartphone, tablet or computer.
  • Flexible within your weekIf a day doesn’t suit you, you can use a free Aspect account to move sessions to another day within the plan week or change their order – by drag & drop on a computer, or via “Move to…” on a smartphone. You can restore the original order at any time. If you’ve sent the plan to Intervals.icu, it is updated there automatically.
  • Straight to your watchAs structured workouts via your free Intervals.icu account – to Garmin, COROS, Suunto & more. Or as a FIT/ZWO download. How it works
  • 25 marked key sessionsThe sessions that matter most in each week. They take priority if you need to reschedule.
  • Access with or without an accountPersonal access link by email. With a free Aspect account, saved permanently under “My plans” – and ready to send to your watch.

How it works

  1. OrderAdd the plan to your basket and pay with PayPal, card and more (via Stripe) or by bank transfer.
  2. Check your inboxOnce your payment has been received, you’ll get your personal access link.
  3. Open your planThe link opens your plan straight in the Aspect App – nothing to install.
  4. Save it to your accountOptional and free: save the plan to your Aspect account and open it again at any time.
  5. Get it onto your watchOptional: send it to your calendar via Intervals.icu with your start date – and from there to your watch. Here’s how

Illustrated step-by-step guide

Alex, coach at Aspect Endurance Coaching

Created by your coach

Hi, I’m Alex – coach and the mind behind aspect®. My training plans grow out of my endurance coaching work in triathlon, cycling and running. If you’d rather have individual coaching than a ready-made plan, take a look at 1:1 coaching.

More about me 1:1 coaching

Frequently asked questions

How do I get the training plan after purchase?

Once we’ve received your payment, you’ll get an email with your personal access link. Use it to open the plan directly in the Aspect App – in the browser on your smartphone, tablet or computer. You’ll also receive your invoice by email.

How does the plan get onto my watch?

Via Intervals.icu. Open your plan in the Aspect App, tap “Intervals.icu” at the top and follow the steps: connect your free Intervals.icu account, match your target values, choose your start Monday, check the preview and send the plan to your Intervals.icu calendar as structured workouts. From there, Intervals.icu sends the upcoming sessions to Garmin, Zwift, Suunto and COROS – to set this up, go to Settings → Connections in Intervals.icu, connect your device or platform and switch on the upload of planned workouts (e.g. “Upload planned workouts”). Zwift uses the values in your Zwift profile (FTP, 5K time). Most services receive roughly the next 7 days at a time.

See the step-by-step guide

Does it work with the Apple Watch?

Not directly: there’s no official Intervals.icu integration for the Apple Watch. It’s only possible via third-party apps (e.g. Watchletic – the Intervals.icu import is a paid feature). Polar isn’t supported directly either. You can still see all your sessions in the Aspect App at any time – including in your smartphone’s browser.

Does Intervals.icu cost anything?

No. A free Intervals.icu account is all you need for the transfer. Intervals.icu also offers an optional supporter subscription – you don’t need it for this. Transferring from the Aspect App doesn’t cost anything extra either.

Go to Intervals.icu

Do I have to keep my values up to date in two places?

No. In the plan view, the “Match target values” step (“Intervals.icu” button) checks whether Intervals.icu holds the same values as your plan – FTP, threshold HR, threshold pace or swim threshold pace (CSS), depending on what your plan uses. If anything differs, you see both values side by side, choose which one applies for each, and match them with one click. Nothing is overwritten without asking. To do this, you confirm access to your Intervals.icu sport settings once when connecting. Your indoor FTP stays unchanged, and HR zones are only recalculated if you explicitly ask for it. Zwift still uses the values in your Zwift profile.

Do I need an account in the Aspect App?

Not to view it: the access link also works without an account. With a free Aspect account, you save the plan permanently under “My plans” – and only then can you transfer it to your watch via Intervals.icu.

When can I start the plan?

Whenever you like. The plan isn’t tied to a date but built in weeks (week 1 to 12), and each week starts on a Monday. If you have a race in mind, simply count back 12 weeks from race day. For the transfer to Intervals.icu, you choose your start Monday yourself – the Monday of the current week at the earliest.

What happens if I start later or need to reschedule?

No problem. If you want to start the whole plan later, simply choose a new start date in the plan view under “Intervals.icu” → “Reschedule” – the sessions are moved in your Intervals.icu calendar without any duplicate entries. If you no longer need the plan there, you can remove it again. Your own entries in Intervals.icu remain untouched. If just a single day doesn’t work, move the session within its week (see the next question).

Can I move sessions to other days?

Yes, within the plan week in question. With a free Aspect account, you can move a session to another day of the same week in the plan view or change the order within a day – by drag and drop on a computer, or via the “Move to…” menu on each session on a smartphone. The plan itself stays unchanged: moved sessions are marked with a small icon (e.g. “originally Tuesday”), and “Reset week” or “Reset whole plan” restores the original order. If the plan has been transferred to Intervals.icu, moves and resets are applied there automatically – and to your watch at the next sync. If you move a transferred session within its week directly in the Intervals.icu calendar, the Aspect App picks this up (it can take about a minute). If a session ends up outside its plan week there, the app moves it back to its week and lets you know. Without an account, you can view the plan but not move sessions.

Is the plan tailored to me personally?

No – it’s a ready-made training plan that works for many athletes with a similar goal. If you’d like individual support, you’ll find 1:1 coaching at aspect-sports.com.

Explore 1:1 coaching

Do I have a right of withdrawal?

The training plan is digital content. With your express consent, it is made available before the withdrawal period has expired – your right of withdrawal then expires when provision begins (Section 356(5) of the German Civil Code, BGB). You’ll find the details in our withdrawal policy.

View the withdrawal policy

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