The middle distance triathlon training plan: preparing for the half distance

1.9 km swim, 90 km bike, 21.1 km run: the middle distance is your step into long-distance racing. Five to six hours of effort for most triathletes, where endurance, pacing and fueling matter as much as fitness. You give your race date and your slots: Trainetic builds up your training load step by step.

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The five rules of middle distance preparation

They come from the French Triathlon Federation (FFTRI) and long-distance coaches. Your plan applies them.

Several months of preparation. Published plans run from sixteen to twenty-four weeks, depending on your starting level. An Olympic distance already completed is a good starting point.

The long ride is the key session. It grows step by step up to three or four hours: that is what prepares you for the 90 km.

The run stays under a half marathon. The long run never goes beyond two hours to two and a quarter hours: past that, recovery costs more than the session gives back.

The brick gets longer. Up to three quarters of an hour of running after the bike, to learn to run a half marathon on legs that have already ridden.

Fueling is something you train. Over five hours of effort, eating and drinking are part of the race. What you will take on race day gets tested on your long sessions.

What your plan sets for a middle distance

The settings of the Trainetic engine for this format. Everything else — durations, paces, volume — is calculated from your level and the slots you give it.

Benchmark	In your plan
Minimum slots	Two swim sessions, two bike sessions, two run sessions per week
Long ride	It builds up to four hours
Long run	It builds up to two and a quarter hours
Run off the bike (brick)	Up to 45 minutes, at race pace by the end of the plan
Taper	Two weeks, with volume coming down and intensity maintained

On a long format, only one hard run session per week: running volume is built at easy pace.

The sessions that make a middle distance

Less intensity than over short distances, much more duration.

The long ride

It builds step by step up to four hours, with blocks at race pace during the race-specific phase. This is where you test your position, your drinks and your fueling.

The long brick

Ideally placed after the long ride: the run is added to the bike, up to three quarters of an hour, with a timed transition.

Endurance swimming

Longer sets, at race pace, with the cue to lift your head to sight. In the race-specific phase, if your slot allows, the race's 1,900 m split into four parts.

Are your slots enough?

A middle distance takes time, especially on the bike. When you create your plan, Trainetic compares, discipline by discipline, what you do today with what the format requires. If something is short, it tells you which discipline is holding you back, and offers you a longer plan or a shorter format.

The five mistakes of the half distance

Riding at Olympic distance pace. You don't ride 90 km like 40. Going too fast on the bike is the number one reason a half marathon ends in a walk.

Underestimating fueling. Over five hours, the tank empties. Eating and drinking regularly from the start of the bike keeps you away from the wall.

Piling up long runs. Running is the discipline that takes the biggest toll on the body: its volume grows at easy pace, not in fast kilometers.

Trying something new on race day. Gels, drinks, kit, aero position: everything gets validated on your long sessions.

Showing up tired. The two-week taper is not wasted time: it is what turns months of work into race-day form.

Where these figures come from

Every benchmark on this page comes from a public source.

The French Triathlon Federation's volumes for a middle distance: around eight to ten hours per week, a long ride that gains half an hour every two to three weeks, a long run of 1 h 15 to 1 h 30. Other coaches go higher (TrainingPeaks: 10 to 13 hours, runs up to 2 h 30): volumes are open to debate, progression is not.

Carbohydrates during the race: up to 60 g per hour between two and three hours of effort, up to 90 g beyond that, mixing sources (Jeukendrup, Sports Medicine, 2014). The Federation advises taking a sip every ten to fifteen minutes.

The two-week taper, with intensity maintained: meta-analyses by Bosquet (2007) and in PLOS One (2023).

The questions people ask before a middle distance

What are the distances of a middle distance triathlon?

1.9 km swim, 90 km bike and 21.1 km run, which is half of a long distance triathlon. It is also called the half distance, or simply a half.

How many weeks of preparation?

Sixteen to twenty-four, depending on your starting level. Your plan starts from your race date and from what you do today, and tells you if the timeline is short.

How many hours per week?

Published benchmarks range from eight to thirteen hours, depending on the coach. Your plan does not set hours: it fills your slots, and tells you if one of the disciplines is short on volume.

How long should the long ride be?

It builds step by step up to four hours at the peak of the build, and comes back down during recovery weeks and the taper.

How many carbohydrates per hour?

Between 60 and 90 g per hour for most trained triathletes, mixing sources. Your stomach trains just like your legs: increase gradually on your long sessions.

Can you do a middle distance without having done an Olympic?

It is possible, but an Olympic distance plan first lets you learn open water, transitions and pacing over a shorter format.

Is a wetsuit mandatory?

It depends on the water temperature, measured on race day: the French Triathlon Federation's rules make it mandatory below 16 °C and ban it in warm water, above roughly 24.5 °C. The exact thresholds are in the current rulebook and are announced by the organizer: check them before you sign up.

Is it free?

Yes, for the essentials: creating your triathlon plan, taking it with you as a PDF and tracking your sessions. A subscription exists for advanced features, such as a written analysis of each session. The plan itself does not need it.