How to put a Hal Higdon training plan in an app
Last updated: 29 October 2026
Hal Higdon's marathon plans are some of the most popular plans out there, from Novice 1 for a first marathon up to the Advanced plans. They're written as a weekly table, which is easy to read on a fridge but awkward on a phone. This page shows how to get one into Narun, so today's run is on your lock screen instead.
The short version
- Narun doesn't include Hal Higdon's plans. You copy the plan you're following from his website or book.
- Paste the table into Narun via Add → Import Training Plan, together with your race date.
- The AI import turns the weekly table into dated sessions.
- Check the first weeks in the Overview, especially the "pace" and "cross" days.
Where to find the plan
Hal Higdon publishes his plans on halhigdon.com, for the marathon and for shorter races like the half marathon, 10K and 5K. Pick the plan that matches your level and open it in a browser. The plans are Hal Higdon's work, so Narun doesn't ship them and this page doesn't repeat them. You bring the plan, Narun puts it on your phone.
If you bought one of his books or paid versions of a plan, the steps below work the same with that copy.
Import a Hal Higdon plan into Narun, step by step
- On the plan page, select the weekly table, from the first week to race day, and copy it. On iPhone: press and hold on the first cell, drag the selection handles to the end of the table, then tap Copy.
- Open Narun and tap Add → Import Training Plan.
- Paste the table. Add a line on top with your race date, for example "Race: 2027-04-11", so the weeks land on the right days.
- Let the AI import convert it, then open the Overview and compare the first two weeks with the plan.
Copying is easier on a computer. Paste the table into a spreadsheet, save it as .xlsx or CSV to iCloud Drive and import that file on your iPhone.
Things to check in a Hal Higdon plan
- Miles or kilometres. The plans on his site are written in miles. After importing, check that the distances look right, for example that a 3-mile run didn't turn into 3 km.
- "Pace" runs. In his plans this means a run at your goal marathon pace. Add your target pace to those sessions so you see it in the app.
- "Cross" days. These are cross-training days: cycling, swimming, walking. Check how they came out of the import, and change or remove them if you only want to see your runs.
- Rest days. They're part of the plan. Make sure they show up as rest, not as missing days.
- Long run day. The long run is usually on the weekend. If you'd rather run long on another day, drag it there in the Overview to swap it with that day's session.
During the plan
Add the Narun widget to your lock screen to see today's and tomorrow's run without opening the app. Connect Strava and Narun checks off the runs you've done automatically, so you can see how the weeks are going.
Other plans
The same approach works for any plan that's written as a table, on a website, in a book or in a PDF from a coach. The full import guide covers Excel, CSV, Google Sheets, PDFs and book plans like Pfitzinger and Hansons.
When you use AI import, the text of your plan is sent to Google's AI to convert it. Details are in the privacy policy.
Narun is free on the App Store for iPhone (iOS 17.6 or later).
