Sub 2:00 half. Sub 4:00 marathon.
Written 23 August 2026, the evening of the Yarra River half. Built from your Strava. Runs to Mansfield on 25 October, then on to the Frontyard Ultra.
A sub 2:00 half is 5:41/km. A sub 4:00 marathon is also 5:41/km. They are the exact same pace over two distances, which means every session in this plan points at one target instead of two.
21.08km, 2:17:16, at an average heart rate of 142 with a max of 169. Your max heart rate is at least 187. You spent almost the entire race in your easy aerobic zone and only touched Zone 3 in the last two kilometres.
That is not a fitness problem. That is a hundreds of beats left in the tank problem, and it is the single best piece of news in this whole plan.
On 17 August you ran 6km at roughly 5:53/km with your heart rate averaging 169 and peaking at 187. On 23 August, six days later, you ran 21km at 6:31/km with your heart rate averaging 142. Slower pace, and 27 beats per minute lower.
You have a large aerobic base and almost no top end, because in four months of Strava there is not a single interval session. Every run is one gear.
This matters enormously. An athlete who has been doing intervals for five years and sits at a 5:53 threshold has to fight for every second. You have never applied the stimulus at all. The first eight weeks of structured threshold work is where untrained runners make their biggest jump of their entire running life, and it is routinely 20 to 40 seconds per kilometre. That is the range you need.
The pace trend backs it up. 7:50/km in May, 6:50 in June, 6:15 in July. You found 95 seconds per kilometre in ten weeks on unstructured running alone. Finding 33 more on structured running is a smaller ask than what you have already done.
| Month | Runs | Distance | Avg pace | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May | 10 | 72km | 7:50/km | Coming back. Pace all over the place. |
| June | 11 | 114km | 6:50/km | Best month. Consistent, three runs most weeks. |
| July | 7 | 60km | 6:15/km | Fastest paces, then 13 days off after the 19 Jul long run. |
| August | 8 | 73km | 6:40/km | Wisdom teeth out on the 11th. Raced today anyway. |
One big effort, then a collapse. The 21.46km on 19 July was followed by thirteen days with nothing at all. That pattern is the only thing standing between you and 5:41. Nine weeks with no gap in them beats any single heroic session.
| Requirement | Where you are | How the plan gets there |
|---|---|---|
| Threshold at 5:20/km | 5:53/km | Nine Tuesday track sessions, paces stepping down each week |
| 5:41 feels easy over 10km | Never run | Goal-pace blocks inside every long run from week 2 |
| 32km in the legs | 21.5km best | Long run builds to 32km on 3 October |
| Fuelling that works | Never used a gel | Gel every 40 minutes on every long run from week 2 |
| Zero missed weeks | 13-day gaps | Only three runs a week, so there is no excuse to skip one |
The honest bit, once, then I will stop. Three runs a week is the floor for these goals, not the ideal. If you want to move sub 4:00 from "needs everything to go right" to "probably", add one easy 6 to 8km run on Sunday from week 2. That is the single highest-value change available to you, and it does not touch the Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday shape you asked for.
Everything below is written to the goals. Every pace, every session, every race target assumes 5:41.
Built backwards from 5:41. The left column is what you can do today, the right is what these goals need. The Tuesday sessions walk you from one to the other.
| Effort | Today | Goal by 25 Oct | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 7:00/km | 6:30/km | 30 sec |
| Long run | 6:50/km | 6:20/km | 30 sec |
| Goal pace | Not yet held | 5:41/km | The whole point |
| Threshold | 5:53/km | 5:20/km | 33 sec |
| 10km pace | 5:55/km | 5:24/km | 31 sec |
| 5km pace | 5:40/km | 5:05/km | 35 sec |
| Type | Pace | Heart rate | Feels like | Where it shows up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recovery | 7:00 to 7:30 | Under 135 | Almost too slow | Day after a long run |
| Easy | 6:30 to 7:00 | 130 to 148 | Full sentences | Thursday, warm-ups, cool-downs |
| Long run | 6:15 to 6:45 | 138 to 152 | Steady, could go further | Saturday with HPS |
| Goal pace | 5:41 | 158 to 168 | Comfortably hard, controlled | Both race days, and blocks inside every long run |
| Threshold | 5:20 to 5:30 | 168 to 178 | Talking is broken up | Tuesday cruise intervals |
| 10km pace | 5:24 | 170 to 180 | Uncomfortable by 6km | Nike, 10 Oct |
| 5km pace | 5:05 | 175 to 185 | Hanging on | Longer track reps |
| Interval | 4:55 to 5:10 | 178 to 187 | Hard but repeatable | 400s and 600s on Tuesday |
| Strides | 4:30 to 4:45 | Not relevant | Fast and smooth, not a sprint | 20 second bursts |
| Pace | 10km | Half | Marathon | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5:45/km | 57:30 | 2:01:22 | 4:02:41 | Just misses both |
| 5:41/km | 56:50 | 1:59:57 | 3:59:53 | Both, by seconds |
| 5:38/km | 56:20 | 1:58:51 | 3:57:42 | Target this. Real buffer. |
| 5:30/km | 55:00 | 1:56:02 | 3:52:11 | Comfortably clear |
Run 5:38, not 5:41. At exactly 5:41 you finish in 3:59:53 and a single bad kilometre, a long toilet queue or a missed tangent costs you the goal. At 5:38 you have a two minute cushion in the marathon and nearly ninety seconds in the half. Same effort, far less drama.
| Pace | 200m | 300m | 400m | 600m | 1km |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5:00/km | 1:00 | 1:30 | 2:00 | 3:00 | 5:00 |
| 5:10/km | 1:02 | 1:33 | 2:04 | 3:06 | 5:10 |
| 5:20/km | 1:04 | 1:36 | 2:08 | 3:12 | 5:20 |
| 5:41/km | 1:08 | 1:42 | 2:16 | 3:25 | 5:41 |
| 6:30/km | 1:18 | 1:57 | 2:36 | 3:54 | 6:30 |
From your Strava profile. Max is at least 187, recorded 17 August.
| Zone | BPM | What it is | Share of your week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Z1 | Under 124 | Recovery | Warm-ups and cool-downs |
| Z2 | 125 to 154 | Aerobic base | About 70 percent |
| Z3 | 155 to 169 | Tempo. Goal pace lives here. | The fast blocks in long runs |
| Z4 | 170 to 184 | Threshold | Tuesday. About 15 percent. |
| Z5 | 185 plus | VO2 max | The last rep or two |
The one rule that decides this. If Thursday's heart rate is over 155 you are running your easy day too hard, and Tuesday will be too slow to build anything. Easy days easy is not a nice-to-have here. It is the mechanism.
Tuesday is the hard run and Strength A. Thursday is the casual run and Strength B. Saturday is the long run with HPS, moved to Sunday when a race is on. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are yours.
Every Saturday distance is also listed on the Saturdays page. Warm-ups and cool-downs are included in session totals.
2km easy warm-up, 6 x 400m at 2:04 (5:10/km), jog 90 seconds between, 1.5km cool-down. Total 6km. Brisk, not brutal. Your legs raced yesterday.
Two sets instead of three.
Heart rate under 148.
Very easy. Stay with the 5km group, race tomorrow.
5:42/km, which is goal pace exactly. Flat coastal road. Do not go out at 5:20 because it feels easy in the first kilometre. Lock onto 5:42 and hold it. This is a goal-pace rehearsal that happens to have a finish line.
2km warm-up, 5 x 1km at 5:35, jog 90 seconds between, 1.5km cool-down. Total 9km. Heart rate should settle around 170 by rep two. If rep five falls apart, note it and start next week at 5:40.
18km easy at 6:40, then lift to goal pace for the final 6km. Gel at 8km and 16km. Fuelling practice starts today, not in October.
2km warm-up, 8 x 400m at 2:02 (5:05/km), jog 200m between, 1.5km cool-down. Total 7.5km.
Legs open, nothing more. Race tomorrow.
5:38/km. First 3km at 5:45 to settle, then 5:38 the rest of the way. Gel at 40 and 80 minutes. Two laps means you see the halfway split clearly, so use it. If you go through 10.5km at 59:30 you are exactly on.
2km warm-up, 3 x 2km at 5:40, jog 2 minutes between, 1.5km cool-down. Total 9.5km. Keep it controlled, you raced Sunday.
7:00am start on the waterfront. If Maribyrnong went to plan, run this at 6:00/km as a strong long run and bank the recovery. If it did not, this is attempt two: 5:38/km, same plan. Code DEAKIN26.
2km warm-up, 6 x 600m at 3:12 (5:20/km), jog 200m between, 1.5km cool-down. Total 7.5km.
If you go, jog it at 6:30/km for the medal. Do not race it. Code RLTSTUDENT26.
Long run moves to Sunday this week.
Longest run of your life. Easy at 6:30, with three 3km blocks at goal pace at 8km, 15km and 22km, 1km easy between. Teaches goal pace on tired legs, which is the whole marathon problem in one session.
2km warm-up, 2 x 3km at 5:30, jog 3 minutes between, 1.5km cool-down. Total 9.5km. The biggest threshold session of the block.
Deliberately slow. Saturday is the priority.
Three weeks out, and a full race rehearsal. Same breakfast, kit, shoes and gels as Mansfield. 24km at 6:30, then 8km at goal pace. Roughly 3 hours 25. If you can hold 5:41 for that last 8km, sub 4:00 is on.
2km warm-up, 6 x 600m at 3:06 (5:10/km), jog 200m between, 1.5km cool-down. Total 7.5km.
Mobility only. Race Saturday.
5:24/km, comfortably under goal pace. Finishing on the MCG. Join the HPS team when you enter. Add 4km easy after to make it a 18km day with the warm-up.
2km warm-up, 8km unbroken at goal pace, 1.5km cool-down. Total 11.5km. The confidence session. It should feel controlled and repeatable, not like a time trial. If it feels desperate, run Mansfield at 5:50 and take the 4:05.
Last loaded session of the block.
10km easy at 6:30, then 10km at goal pace, then 2km easy. The longest sustained block of goal pace in the plan.
2km warm-up, 3km at goal pace, then 4 x 200m at 1:00, 1.5km cool-down. Total 7km. Short reminder of the pace, nothing taxing.
Glute bridges, bird dogs, planks. No load.
Bib pickup at the Delatite Hotel, 5pm to 8pm.
Early dinner, feet up.
5:38/km. Flat sealed rail trail, which is perfect for holding one pace. First 5km at 5:45 no matter how good you feel, then 5:38 through to 32km, then hold on. Gel every 40 minutes from 40 minutes in, six total, no exceptions. Halfway should read 1:59:30. The race starts at 32km.
If you miss a session, do not make it up. Skip it and rejoin where the plan is. Doubling up to catch up is how builds end in a calf strain. One missed Tuesday costs you nothing. Three weeks injured costs you both goals.
This is where the 33 seconds comes from. Everything else in the plan maintains what you already have. This is the only session that builds something new.
Ten minutes from Balaclava, a proper 400m synthetic track, open outside club nights. Duncan Mackinnon Reserve in Murrumbeena is the backup. A track matters because the lap tells you the pace instantly, instead of your watch telling you a hundred metres late.
| Wk | Date | Session | Pace | Recovery | Total | Job |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 Aug | 6 x 400m | 2:04 | 90s jog | 6km | Wake the legs up |
| 2 | 1 Sep | 5 x 1km | 5:35 | 90s jog | 9km | First threshold |
| 3 | 8 Sep | 8 x 400m | 2:02 | 200m jog | 7.5km | Raise the ceiling |
| 4 | 15 Sep | 3 x 2km | 5:40 | 2 min jog | 9.5km | Longer at threshold |
| 5 | 22 Sep | 6 x 600m | 3:12 | 200m jog | 7.5km | Speed on tired legs |
| 6 | 29 Sep | 2 x 3km | 5:30 | 3 min jog | 9.5km | Peak threshold |
| 7 | 6 Oct | 6 x 600m | 3:06 | 200m jog | 7.5km | Sharpen for Nike |
| 8 | 13 Oct | 8km continuous | 5:41 | None | 11.5km | Prove goal pace |
| 9 | 20 Oct | 3km, then 4 x 200m | 5:41 / 1:00 | 200m jog | 7km | Taper touch |
The first rep decides the session. Almost everyone new to intervals goes out far too fast, dies on rep four and finishes slower than they started. The set has worked when your last rep is your fastest. Rep one should feel like you are holding back, because you should be.
Tuesday afternoons suit you. Your Strava shows evening runs between 5 and 6pm are consistently your quickest, the 17 August 5:53/km included. You run better later in the day. Put it in the calendar as a fixed appointment.
Tuesday and Thursday, straight after the run or that evening. Hard days hard, easy days easy, and Monday, Wednesday, Friday stay clear.
If you buy one thing, buy adjustable dumbbells. Everything below works with a pair.
You already proved you will do this. Pilates twice a week, 7am Monday and Wednesday, every week from May to 2 July. Same commitment, different stimulus, and this time it is loaded. At sub 4:00 pace your form has to hold for four hours, and that is a strength question more than a running one.
35 to 40 minutes. The heavy day, paired with the hard run so easy days stay easy.
Kettlebell or one dumbbell at your chest. Sit down between your knees, chest tall. The last two reps should be a genuine effort.
Dumbbells in front of your thighs, soft knees, hips back, slide the weights down your legs. Hamstrings, never lower back. The single best lift for running economy, which is exactly what 5:41 needs.
Back foot on the chair, dumbbells at your sides. Brutal and worth it. Running is a single-leg sport and this is the most honest test you can do at home.
Shoulders on the couch, dumbbell across the hips, squeeze at the top for a full second. Builds the glute drive that fades at 32km and takes your pace with it.
Off a step, full stretch at the bottom. Add a dumbbell once 15 is easy. Your calves absorb roughly 2.5 times bodyweight every stride. Late-race calf cramp is a strength problem, not a salt problem.
Do not let the hips rotate. Anti-rotation is what stops form collapsing in the last hour.
30 to 35 minutes. Lighter and slower. This is the injury prevention day, and injury is the main thing that ends a nine week build.
Step back, not forward. Kinder on the knees, better carryover to running.
One dumbbell, opposite hand to standing leg. Slow. Wobbling is the point, that is the stabilisers learning.
Chair or bottom stair, dumbbells at your sides. Drive through the heel, control the way down, no pushing off the trailing foot.
Band above the knees, quarter squat, small steps. Glute medius. Weak glute medius is behind most runner's knee and IT band trouble.
Hips stacked and lifted. Add a top-leg raise once 30 seconds is comfortable.
Opposite arm and leg, slow, no rocking. Balance a water bottle on your lower back for honest feedback.
Lower back pressed into the floor throughout. If it lifts, shorten the range.
| Weeks | What changes | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | Learn the movements. Light weight, focus on control. | Being sore for Brighton helps nothing. |
| 3 to 5 | Add 2kg to the main lifts, same reps. | First real strength adaptation. |
| 6 | Hold the weight. Do not add. | The 32km is the priority, not a squat PB. |
| 7 to 8 | Add 2kg once more, Strength A only. | Last chance to build before taper. |
| 9 | Bodyweight only, no load. | Race week. Nothing now adds fitness. |
Never do strength the day before a long run. Friday stays clear on purpose. Sore glutes at 25km is how form breaks down and something else gets injured compensating.
Six events in nine weeks is more than anyone can race flat out. So each one has a specific job, and every job is in service of the two goals.
Full details, distances and registration links are on the race calendar.
| Date | Race | Job | Pace | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Aug | Yarra River half | Done. Benchmark. | 6:31/km | 2:17:16 |
| 30 Aug | Brighton Beach 10km | Hold goal pace for 10km | 5:42/km | 57:00 |
| 13 Sep | Maribyrnong half | Sub 2:00 attempt one | 5:38/km | 1:58:51 |
| 20 Sep | Geelong half | Sub 2:00 attempt two | 5:38/km | 1:58:51 |
| 25 Sep | Run La Trobe 10km | Optional. Jog or skip. | 6:30/km | No target |
| 10 Oct | Nike Melbourne 10km | Sharpen below goal pace | 5:24/km | 54:00 |
| 25 Oct | Mansfield Marathon | Sub 4:00. The goal. | 5:38/km | 3:57:42 |
| 1 May 27 | Frontyard Ultra | Next season | 10:00/km | Beat the sun |
Maribyrnong on 13 September and Geelong on 20 September are seven days apart, and that is an advantage rather than a clash. Take the first one seriously and treat the second as insurance.
| Section | Pace | Split | What you are doing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 5km | 5:45 | 28:45 | Deliberately slow. You will feel held back. Good. |
| 5 to 21km | 5:38 | 1:59:30 at half | Settle in and stop thinking. Gel at 40 and 80 min. |
| 21 to 32km | 5:38 | 3:01:30 at 32km | The patient bit. Gel at 120 and 160 min. |
| 32 to 42.2km | 5:38 or hold | 3:57:42 | The actual race. Everything before this was setup. |
You have never taken a gel in a race, and 42km at goal pace is a bad place to find out your stomach hates them. Start on Saturday.
| Run | Fuel |
|---|---|
| Under 60 minutes | Water only |
| 60 to 90 minutes | One gel at halfway |
| 90 minutes to 2 hours | Gel every 40 minutes |
| The marathon | Gel every 40 minutes from 40 minutes in. Six total. Practise this exact pattern on the 28km and the 32km. |
Test two or three brands on long runs between now and October. Whatever your stomach tolerates on the 32km is what you carry at Mansfield. Nothing new on race day, ever.
The Frontyard Ultra on 1 May 2027 is a completely different sport. 6.71km on the hour, every hour, until you cannot. No finish line. The last person running wins.
The loop takes about 45 minutes at a comfortable jog, leaving 15 minutes each hour to eat, change, sit down and reset. Speed is irrelevant here. What decides it is how many times you can get back off the chair, and whether your stomach still works at 2am.
The sub 4:00 build feeds straight into this. A marathon at 5:38/km makes 10:00/km feel like walking. The aerobic ceiling you raise between now and October is exactly what lets you keep clicking off loops when everyone else is done.