Preparing for the 2026 Boulogne-Billancourt Half Marathon: November's fast half

A flat, fast course

Two loops between the Seine quays, Billancourt park and the edge of the woods: under 50 metres of climbing, wide turns, a perfect surface. Times there are among the best in France over the distance.

Late-November temperatures are cool, often between 4 and 10 °C: perfect for a half. The plan schedules a cold-weather long run in race kit.

Ten weeks from mid-September

A late-November half is prepared from mid-September with the 10-week plan: three base weeks, five weeks of threshold and half-marathon pace, two taper weeks.

The AI coach first checks your VMA read on Garmin: it sets every pace in the plan. Without a reliable VMA, it starts with a 6-minute test rather than inventing a value.

Pacing strategy over two loops

Instruction: first two kilometres at target pace plus 5 seconds, target pace afterwards, and let go over the last five kilometres. The two loops give a landmark: at halfway you should be exactly on your target time.

• — Weeks 1 to 3: volume, long run up to 75 minutes.
• — Weeks 4 to 8: threshold, half-pace blocks, 90-minute long run.
• — Weeks 9 and 10: taper, fresh legs.

Schedule the plan's "Race" session on the watch: it carries the pace range and alerts you at the first too-fast kilometre.

Frequently asked questions