Your plan in four answers
Boulogne Half Marathon is on November 15, 2026, under four weeks away, so we have set next year's race in November. Change the date below if you are running this one.
- Distances
- Half marathon
- Terrain
- Flat
- Field
- About 13,000 runners expected in 2026 (sold out)
Course
The Boulogne Half Marathon course
Billed by the organisers as the fastest half marathon course in France, with course records of 1:00:11 (2013) and 1:08:28 (2017). The race starts at 10:00 on Avenue Victor-Hugo and opens with an urban loop through Boulogne-Billancourt along the Seine, past La Seine Musicale and the Albert-Kahn museum.
Read the full course notes
The route then enters the Bois de Boulogne for a second loop around the Longchamp racecourse before returning to finish outside the Art Deco town hall. The official climb is 124 m in total, spread over gentle rises rather than any real hill, on smooth closed roads with a 3-hour limit.
- Terrain
- Flat
- Distances
- Half marathon
- Field
- About 13,000 runners expected in 2026 (sold out)
- Weather on race day
- Mid-November in the Paris area is usually cool and often grey: about 6–11 °C around the 10:00 start, with light rain on many days and the occasional breeze in the open Longchamp section. That is close to ideal for a fast half, so dress light, keep a throwaway layer for the start pen and drink to thirst.
What to train for
This is a course for chasing a personal best, so build the block around half marathon pace: sessions like 3 x 5 km at goal pace with short recoveries, plus weekly threshold work.
Long runs of 18–22 km with a fast finish teach you to hold pace when the Bois de Boulogne loop gets lonely.
Practise even pacing on a flat loop, because the gentle rises reward patience and the last 5 km back into town are where a fast time is made.
Sample week
A sample Boulogne Half Marathon training week
A week from the middle of the build, about six weeks out. Your plan sets the real distances and paces from your own fitness and adjusts them every week as you train.
- Monday
- Rest, or 20 minutes of mobility
- Tuesday Key session
- Intervals: 5 × 1 km at 5K to 10K effort, easy jog between
- Wednesday
- Easy run, 8–10 km
- Thursday Key session
- Goal-pace run, 11 km with 6 km at race pace
- Friday
- Recovery run, 6 km, or cross-train
- Saturday Key session
- Long run, 16–19 km easy
- Sunday
- Easy run, 6 km, then 6 relaxed strides
Taper
Tapering for the Boulogne Half Marathon
Start the taper ten to fourteen days before race day. Cut your weekly volume by about a third, then by half in race week, and keep a few short efforts at race pace so your legs stay sharp. The course is flat, so pacing decides the day: rehearse your goal pace in short segments during race week.
Also in Claude
Ask Claude for this plan
Add AthleteSpace to Claude once, then paste this prompt and put in your own numbers.
Build me a training plan for the Semi-Marathon de Boulogne-Billancourt (Half marathon) in November. I run [distance] a week, [days] days a week, easy pace [pace].
Boulogne Half Marathon training questions
How long should I train for the Boulogne Half Marathon?
Most runners give a half marathon twelve to sixteen weeks of focused training on top of an existing base. The plan above counts back from your actual race date, so if you have less time than that it builds the best plan the remaining weeks allow rather than pretending you have longer.
Is the Boulogne Half Marathon course hilly?
Flat. Billed by the organisers as the fastest half marathon course in France, with course records of 1:00:11 (2013) and 1:08:28 (2017).
What is the weather usually like at the Boulogne Half Marathon?
Mid-November in the Paris area is usually cool and often grey: about 6–11 °C around the 10:00 start, with light rain on many days and the occasional breeze in the open Longchamp section. That is close to ideal for a fast half, so dress light, keep a throwaway layer for the start pen and drink to thirst.
When should I start tapering for the Boulogne Half Marathon?
Start the taper ten to fourteen days before race day. Cut your weekly volume by about a third, then by half in race week, and keep a few short efforts at race pace so your legs stay sharp. The course is flat, so pacing decides the day: rehearse your goal pace in short segments during race week.
Do I need an account to get a Boulogne Half Marathon training plan?
No. The plan above builds in your browser with no account, no email, and no card. Make a free account only if you want to keep it, log your runs against it, and have the coach keep adapting it as your training goes.