Back to the Track: Half Marathon Training Ladder Reintroduction Workout - Seth James DeMoor

Intro

This is a quick summary of Back to the Track: Half Marathon Training Ladder Reintroduction Workout from Seth James DeMoor. It’s a great watch — we’re breaking it down so you can try the workout today. Be sure to check out the full video for all the details.

Key Points

• Start with a 3‑mile easy warm‑up to get the legs moving.
• The core workout is a ladder interval: 2 × 100 m, 2 × 200 m, 2 × 300 m, 2 × 400 m, then back down the ladder. Ladder workouts are a powerful way to build speed and endurance. If you want to dive deeper into the methodology, you can learn more by Mastering Interval Training: Science-Backed Workouts and How a Smart App Can Personalize Them.
• Finish with a mini‑HIIT: 800 m broken into 10 seconds hard / 15 seconds easy, repeated for about 60 m total effort.
• Aim for roughly 5:00 min/mile race‑pace on the shorter intervals (100‑200‑300‑400 m) and recover with 100‑m jogs between each effort. While this workout is for half marathon prep, developing this kind of raw speed is essential for shorter distances, too. The strategies here are similar to those used for Mastering 5K Speed: Proven Interval Strategies to Cut Minutes off Your Time.
• After the track session, plan a long cool‑down (around 8 miles) and follow up with leg‑focused gym work.

Workout Example

1. Warm‑up – 3 mi easy jog.
2. Ladder intervals –
   • 2 × 100 m @ 5:00 min/mile, 100‑m jog recovery between each.
   • 2 × 200 m @ 5:00 min/mile, 100‑m jog recovery.
   • 2 × 300 m @ 5:00 min/mile, 100‑m jog recovery.
   • 2 × 400 m @ 5:00 min/mile, 100‑m jog recovery.
   • Repeat the ladder in reverse (300‑200‑100 m) with the same recovery.
3. Mini‑HIIT – 800 m total, broken into 10 seconds all‑out sprint + 15 seconds easy jog, repeat until you’ve covered roughly 60 m of effort (use watch time to gauge).
4. Cool‑down – 8 mi easy run.
5. Gym – leg strength work (e.g., lunges, deadlifts, core) and recovery.

Closing Note

Give this ladder and mini‑HIIT workout a try today, and feel free to tweak the paces in the Pacing app to match your own speed. Workouts like this are foundational for building the strength and speed needed for longer races. In fact, many of the same principles apply whether you are training for a half marathon or Mastering the 10K: Proven Training Plans, Pace Strategies, and How a Smart App Can Elevate Your Performance. Have fun on the track and keep moving forward

References

• Back to the Track: Half Marathon Training Ladder Reintroduction Workout - YouTube (YouTube Video)

Workout - SJD's Half-Marathon Track Ladder

• 0.0mi @ 10'00''/mi
• 2 lots of:
  • 100m @ 5'00''/mi
  • 1min rest
• 2 lots of:
  • 200m @ 5'00''/mi
  • 1min rest
• 2 lots of:
  • 300m @ 5'00''/mi
  • 1min rest
• 2 lots of:
  • 400m @ 5'00''/mi
  • 1min rest
• 2 lots of:
  • 300m @ 5'00''/mi
  • 1min rest
• 2 lots of:
  • 200m @ 5'00''/mi
  • 1min rest
• 2 lots of:
  • 100m @ 5'00''/mi
  • 1min rest
• 800m @ 5'00''/mi
• 0.0mi @ 10'30''/mi

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