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Set your race date, your experience and the hours you have each day. GetRaceReady builds the whole block back from race day — recovery weeks, brick sessions and taper included.
What the half Ironman distance is
Half Ironman, middle distance and 70.3 all describe the same race: 70.3 miles of swimming, cycling and running in one day. It is long enough that pacing and fuelling decide your result as much as fitness does.
Swim
1.9 km
1.2 miles — open water in most UK races
Bike
90 km
56 miles — the largest share of your day
Run
21.1 km
13.1 miles — a half marathon, off the bike
Typical finishing times
A rough guide so you can place yourself. Courses, conditions and transitions move these bands considerably.
- First-timer finishing
- 6:30 – 8:00
- Solid age grouper
- 5:15 – 6:30
- Competitive age grouper
- 4:30 – 5:15
How long you need to train
Your plan is generated backwards from your race date, so the length is simply the gap between your start date and race day. These are the runways we would suggest.
New to the distance
24 weeks
Longer base phase, gentler weekly progression and no brick sessions until the aerobic foundation is genuinely there.
Intermediate
20 weeks
A season or two of racing behind you. Standard progression with weekly bricks from the base phase onwards.
Experienced
16 weeks
Already training consistently year round. Shorter prep, earlier race-specific intensity, higher peak volume.
What a training week looks like
A real week from the app. Weeks start on Monday, dates are DD/MM/YYYY, and every session opens with its full structure, targets and fuelling guidance.
Sample build week · week 5 of 16
Standard distanceBrick: ride then run
Sat 11/07 · 2 h · Long
1 h 30 steady ride straight into a 30 min run off the bike. Shown as one block.
Nutrition
During: 60 g carbohydrate per hour on the bike, sip 150 ml every 15 min on the run.
Alternative session
Compressed option: 45 min ride into a 15 min run.
How the plan is built for 70.3
Prep phase
Establish the routine, settle the weekly rhythm and get consistent across all three disciplines before load starts climbing.
Base phase
The bulk of the block. Mostly easy aerobic volume, steadily rising long ride and long run, with technique work in the pool.
Build phase
Race-specific intensity arrives: threshold on the bike, tempo running, CSS intervals in the swim, and brick sessions weekly.
Peak phase
The biggest weeks of the plan, with the longest ride and the longest brick, held just long enough to adapt from.
Taper phase
Two weeks of reduced volume with short sharp efforts retained, so freshness returns without losing the edge.
- A recovery week every sixth week, with volume and intensity deliberately down
- Two weeks of taper before race day, intensity retained, volume cut
- The same discipline never lands hard on two consecutive days
- Brick sessions shown together on one day so the transition is trained properly
- Every bike session carries an alternative of no more than 70 minutes
- Sessions can be dragged to another day when life gets in the way
More detail on the periodisation and load model is on the training method page.
Fuelling and race day
A 70.3 is won and lost on fuelling. Every session in your plan carries before, during and after guidance, with carbohydrate and fluid ranges scaled to the length of that session and to the dietary preferences and intolerances you set in your profile. Race week adds a race-morning checklist, a transition and equipment checklist, a pacing plan and a race-day timeline.
Practise your fuelling strategy in training rather than trying it for the first time on race day, and consult a qualified professional for individual medical or nutritional advice. GetRaceReady is a training planning tool, not a medical service.
Half Ironman training questions
Build your 70.3 plan today
Seven days free, then £10.00 a month. Card details are required to start the trial and you can cancel any time from your profile.