Two Oceans Half Marathon training plan

The Two Oceans Half Marathon is 21.1 km, held in Cape Town. Most athletes need about 17 weeks of structured training for it. The block below is a real 17-week plan generated for a club athlete running about 40 km a week, 10 km in 50:00, building to 70 km in the peak week with volume rising no more than 10% a week and every fourth week coming down.

Build my own Two Oceans 21 km plan — free

Free to build. The first week is yours to train on before you decide.

The race

Distance	21.1 km
Where	Cape Town
Altitude	30 m
Next edition	Sunday, 4 April 2027 (expected — not yet confirmed with the organiser)

On that date

We have not had this confirmed by the organiser, so it is shown as expected rather than fact. Dates were last checked on 2026-09-11. Check the official entry page before you book anything.

A 17-week block

Generated by the same engine that builds your plan, for a club athlete running about 40 km a week, 10 km in 50:00. Nothing here is illustrative — it is the actual output, and the rules that shaped it are published.

Week	Phase	Volume	Load
1	Base	40 km	227
2	Base	43 km	239
3	Base	46 km	252
4	Base · down	31 km	179
5	Base	48 km	269
6	Base	51 km	282
7	Base	54 km	295
8	Build · down	36 km	206
9	Build	56 km	321
10	Build	59 km	338
11	Build	62 km	367
12	Build · down	42 km	242
13	Build	64 km	383
14	Peak	67 km	392
15	Peak	70 km	406
16	Taper	42 km	235
17	Race · race	31 km	235

Load is Training Stress Score: hours × intensity factor² × 100. It is the unit that lets running, riding and swimming be added into one number, which is the only honest way to manage an athlete doing more than one sport.

The paces behind it

For a club athlete running about 40 km a week, 10 km in 50:00, the bands come out as:

Pace band	Per kilometre
Easy — the ceiling, not the target	6:07
Marathon pace	5:30
Threshold	5:11
Interval (VO₂max)	4:41

Computed from VDOT 40.0, derived from that time trial using Jack Daniels' model. Your own numbers will differ — the plan builds these from a time trial you enter.

What this plan says out loud

Worth knowing

Some sessions have been cut to fit the time you said you have — 75 minutes on a weekday and 210 at the weekend. That is a real constraint and the plan respects it, but be aware the long session is the one that matters most: if you can find more time anywhere, find it on the weekend.

Worth knowing

On 6 days a week there is nowhere to put 28 km without prescribing runs nobody should be doing. The plan caps individual easy runs at 14 km and carries less volume than your target as a result. More days would do more for you than longer runs.

Worth knowing

Race day looks like about 1:50:52 on today's fitness — Run 1h 51. Assumes a flat course, reasonable conditions and a sensible first half.

Common questions

How long do I need to train for the Two Oceans 21 km?

About 17 weeks from a reasonable base. Less than that is possible but the plan stops being about building fitness and starts being about arriving intact — six weeks before a long race, no meaningful aerobic fitness can be added, and any plan that claims otherwise is selling you something.

How much should the weekly volume go up?

No more than 10% a week, and every fourth week comes down to about two thirds. That ceiling is the single most useful injury-prevention rule in endurance training, and it is enforced here rather than suggested.

Do I need a time trial first?

Yes, to get paces. Without a recent race or time trial the plan will not invent them — it prescribes by effort instead and says so. Guessed paces are how people train the wrong intensity for months.

What does it cost?

Building a plan is free and the first week is unlocked to train on. The whole block is paid for once, from R150, priced by how long it runs. There is no subscription.

Build my plan

Four minutes of questions, then the whole block.