Hal Higdon vs Nike Run Club vs ChatGPT vs Runna: Best Running Training Plan 2026
- 2 days ago
- 17 min read
Hal Higdon, Nike Run Club, ChatGPT or Runna: Which Running Training Plan Is Actually Right for You?
By Andy Hood | Ultra & Endurance Runner | Runna Ambassador | North Devon
Disclosure: I am a proud Runna Ambassador. Some links in this article are affiliate links. All opinions are my own, based on genuine personal experience of every option described here.
Every runner I speak to, whether they're lining up for their first ParkRun or asking me about ultras on the trails of North Devon, eventually asks the same question: "How do I find a training plan that actually works for me?"
It's a question I've wrestled with throughout my own running journey. Before cancer knocked me off my feet in 2021, I trained largely by feel and instinct. When I came back, rebuilt, refocused, and determined to make every mile count, I had to start thinking much more carefully about structure, periodisation, and purpose. The search for the best running training plan commenced.
Since then I've completed events including the Tour du Mont Blanc (160km through France, Switzerland and Italy), multiple 50K London ultras, and self-designed fundraising runs that have raised over £25,000 for cancer and mental health charities. Structure and the right training plan have been central to all of it.
And I've genuinely tried everything on this list. Not reviewed it from a distance, actually used it. Printed PDFs off and ticked boxes week after week. Logged into Nike Run Club and run with a voice in my ear. Asked ChatGPT to build me a bespoke ultra plan. And, as a Runna Ambassador, used Runna's coaching platform extensively in preparation for some of my biggest events.
This article is my honest, no-nonsense guide to all four options. The good bits and the bits that drove me away. Written from lived experience on the trails, coastal paths and country lanes of North Devon and around the World.
Whether you're targeting your first 5K, chasing a marathon PB, or eyeing something more ambitious, this is the guide I wish someone had written for me.
The Four Options: Best Running Training Plan A Quick Overview
Before we dive in, here's the honest summary:
Now let's get into the detail.
Option 1: Downloadable Training Plans — The Hal Higdon Method
What it is
Hal Higdon is, by any measure, a giant of running coaching. A competitor in eight Olympic trials turned bestselling author and coach, he's been publishing running plans since before most recreational runners were born. His plans, covering 5K through to marathon and beyond, have helped hundreds of thousands of people cross finish lines they once thought impossible.
It's worth being clear that Hal Higdon isn't just one product. There are three distinct tiers. The free downloadable PDFs are what most people think of, you print one off, tick boxes, and follow along. There's also a TrainingPeaks subscription option where Hal himself will message you with feedback on your runs and suggestions going forward, which adds a genuine coaching layer.
And there's the Run With Hal app, which provides some post-run feedback, though GPS tracking and pace features sit behind the Hal+ paid subscription. So depending on which tier you use, the experience is quite different.
I did exactly this for several years, the free PDF version. Found plans online, combined bits from different ones, printed them off and stuck them on the fridge. And to a point, it worked, I got to start lines, I got to finish lines. But the deeper I got into my running, the harder a fundamental problem became to ignore.
The genuine benefits
There's a reason Hal Higdon plans remain popular decades after they were written. They work, and they work for a broader range of runners than people sometimes assume.
The plan range is wider than most people realise. There are programmes for beginners, intermediate and advanced runners, and dedicated plans for seniors, making Higdon one of the few free resources that doesn't just cater to first-timers. If you're an experienced runner on a budget, or a masters runner looking for age-appropriate structure, there's likely a Higdon plan built with you in mind.
The plans follow a sensible 80/20 philosophy: roughly 80% of your running volume is at a comfortable, conversational pace, with the remaining 20% devoted to structured quality work like tempo runs and intervals. For novice plans in particular, this is a forgiving and injury-conscious approach. Weekday runs are short, rest days are plentiful, and the long run is the centrepiece of each week's training.
The TrainingPeaks subscription option genuinely upgrades the experience, having Hal message you with feedback on your runs and guidance on what to do next is a meaningful step up from a static PDF. It's not the same as real-time coaching, but it's a genuine human touchpoint that the free plan entirely lacks.
The community around these plans is enormous too. If you're training alongside friends, the chances are someone in your group has used Hal Higdon, which creates a natural accountability network.
The honest downsides — and why I moved on
Here's the problem I kept running into, and I suspect it's one a lot of you will recognise.
The free plan told me what to do. It never told me how to do it.
Take a tempo run. The plan says "6 miles tempo" on Thursday. Fine. But what pace? What does tempo actually mean for a runner at my fitness level, is it 80% effort, 85%, something else? How hard should it feel? And the interval sessions were worse.
"Intervals" or "speed work" would appear in the schedule with no further explanation. It may state 400m repeats, 1km, 800m and the number of repeats. But the question remained, how much recovery between each? What pace target should I be hitting?
Every single week I'd have to do additional research on top of the actual training. Hunting through running forums, YouTube videos, coaching websites, trying to piece together what the session I was supposed to be doing actually looked like in practice. That's a significant amount of extra work, and it creates real risk: if you get the session wrong, going too fast, running too long, taking too little recovery, you either undertrain or pick up an injury.
The Run With Hal app adds post-run feedback too, which is helpful, but if you want GPS tracking and pace data and real programme personalisation, that sits behind the Hal+ subscription. So what begins as a free option can accumulate costs as you seek more features, without ever quite delivering the seamless, live coaching experience.
And underpinning all of it: the base plan still doesn't know who you are. It doesn't know that you had a rough week at work, that you've got a niggle in your left knee, or that you ran your local ParkRun hard on Saturday and have nothing left on Sunday. It doesn't adjust in real time. Week four looks the same for a runner who's flying and a runner who's struggling, because a static plan, however well supported, can't replace a coaching system built around your live data.
That's ultimately why I moved on. The plans weren't bad, but they were incomplete. They were the skeleton of a training programme without the muscle, and filling in the gaps required more coaching knowledge than most recreational runners actually have.
Who should use Hal Higdon?
Hal Higdon's plans are worth considering across a wider range of runners than you might expect, beginners, intermediate runners, advanced athletes, and seniors all have dedicated programmes. If you want a free, structured plan to follow with minimal setup, the downloadable PDF remains one of the best options available at zero cost. If you want more engagement, the Run With Hal app add post-run feedback and human touchpoints that the static PDF lacks. Just go in knowing that real-time, in-the-moment coaching, the kind that responds to what's happening during your actual run, isn't part of the package at any tier.
Option 2: Free Running Apps — Nike Run Club and Others
What it is
Nike Run Club (NRC) is one of the most widely used free running apps in the world, with guided audio runs, GPS tracking, community challenges, and built-in training plans for distances from 5K to marathon. Other notable free options include Strava's training features and Adidas Running (formerly Runtastic).
I used Nike Run Club for a period, and I want to be fair to it before I tell you why I stopped.
The genuine benefits
The tracking features alone make these apps worthwhile. Having GPS, pace data, heart rate (if your watch supports it) and run history all in one place is genuinely useful, and free is hard to argue with.
The guided audio runs are well-produced, and the idea of having a coach voice in your ear during a session is appealing. The social elements, shared activities, community challenges, tap into something real about how runners stay motivated. Running can be a solitary sport, and features that connect you to other people doing the same thing fill a genuine gap.
The honest downsides — and why I moved on
Two things frustrated me enough to move on, and I think they'll resonate with a lot of runners who've hit a similar wall.
The first was repetition. After a few weeks, I could predict roughly what was coming. The sessions felt like they were cycling through a limited library of workouts without a coherent progressive logic behind them. Good training should feel like it's building toward something, each week a step in a deliberate sequence. What I experienced felt more like a rotation of familiar sessions than a structured programme moving me forward. Variety in session type, intensity and structure isn't a luxury in training; it's how adaptation happens.
The second frustration was the audio coaching, and this one gets to the heart of what generic coaching can and can't do. In theory, having a voice guiding you through a session sounds great. In practice, those cues had no idea what was actually happening in my run. The coach in the app didn't know whether I was ahead of my target pace or grinding through three minutes behind it.
The encouragement was identical either way. When you're working hard and a voice tells you you're doing brilliantly without any reference to your actual numbers — your real pace versus your target — it stops feeling like coaching and starts feeling like background noise.
Real coaching responds to what's actually happening. A generic audio track fundamentally cannot do that, however well it's produced.
There's also a broader issue. These apps are built as engagement and tracking tools first, coaching tools second. The goal of the product is to keep you opening the app — and that isn't the same thing as designing your training to make you a genuinely better runner.
In fairness to Nike the app may have moved on since I last used it, but at the time I found it very frustrating event when paired to my Apple Watch.
Who should use free running apps?
Free running apps are genuinely excellent as companions to your training, for tracking, data, and community. I'd encourage you to keep one running alongside whatever plan you follow. But as your primary coaching tool, once you've moved beyond total beginner level, they're likely to leave you wanting more.
Option 3: AI-Generated Plans — ChatGPT and Similar Tools
What it is
This is the newest entrant to the training plan conversation, and it's genuinely interesting. You can open ChatGPT, Claude, or any other large language model and ask it to build you a completely bespoke training plan based on your current fitness, your goal race, the number of days per week you can train, any injuries you have, and whatever other constraints apply to your life. The output can be detailed, thoughtful, and surprisingly well-structured.
The genuine benefits
The appeal is obvious: it's free, it's instant, and it gives you something that feels personalised in a way a Hal Higdon PDF simply cannot.
If you know how to prompt an AI well, you can get something genuinely sophisticated. You can ask for full session detail, specific pace targets for interval sessions, recovery times, whether that Thursday workout is 400m or 1km repeats and why. You can ask for strength sessions to be woven in. You can request a plan that accounts for a holiday in week six, a tune-up race in week ten, and a target finish time for your goal event. You can iterate, question and refine: "Why have you included a tempo run in week three rather than week four?" and get a coherent answer.
Crucially, an AI will actually answer the session detail question that printed plans leave hanging. Ask it what pace to run your tempo at and it will tell you, specifically, based on what you've told it about your current fitness. That alone puts it a step ahead of a generic PDF.
The honest downsides
I say this as someone who has experimented with this: there's a meaningful gap between a plan that looks good on paper and one that actually serves a runner well over weeks and months of training.
The core problem is that AI has no idea how your training is actually going. It can't see your Garmin data. It doesn't know you felt flat on Wednesday's tempo run, or that you've been sleeping badly, or that your calf has been grumbling since last Thursday's session. You can tell it, but then you have to remember to tell it, interpret the signals yourself, and know the right questions to ask. That requires a level of self-awareness about your own physiology that most recreational runners are still developing.
There's also no accountability built in. A training plan sitting in a ChatGPT conversation is easy to quietly abandon. There are no notifications, no progress tracking, no sense that anyone is watching or that the next session is waiting for you.
And finally, AI plans are only as good as the training knowledge in the model. While they can produce plans that follow general principles of periodisation, the output doesn't carry the specific expertise of a qualified running coach who has taken hundreds of athletes through real training cycles and learned what works under race conditions.
Who should use AI-generated plans?
AI tools are genuinely useful as a supplement for confident, experienced runners who can critically evaluate the output. They're also excellent for getting the session detail that printed plans leave out, use them to flesh out a Hal Higdon plan if you want to stick with that structure. As your primary coaching tool, approach them with healthy scepticism.
Option 4: Runna — Structured Coaching in Your Pocket
What it is
I'm a Runna Ambassador, and I want to be upfront about that from the start. What that means in practice is that I believe in the product, because you don't lend your name to something you wouldn't stand behind, especially when your reputation as a runner and a cancer awareness advocate depends on being honest with people.
Runna is a subscription-based running coaching app built by world-class coaches including England Athletics certified professionals. It offers personalised training plans for distances from Couch to 5K through to ultra marathon, with plans adapting based on your current fitness level, training history, race goals, and the number of days per week you can train.
The genuine benefits
The quality gap between Runna and everything else I've described is meaningful, and it comes down to one thing above all others: this was built by coaches, not product teams.
When you arrive on Runna, you don't select a plan from a menu. You tell the app your current running level, your goal event and date, how many days per week you can train (anywhere from two to six), and whether you want strength and conditioning built in. The app builds you a plan calibrated to where you actually are, not a generic runner of vaguely similar ability.
And crucially: every single session comes with full detail. Your interval sessions specify the distance of each repeat, the number of reps, the target pace, and the recovery time. Your tempo runs tell you exactly how hard to work and for how long. There is no homework required. The question I spent years trying to answer — is this a 400m or 1km session, and at what pace? — is answered before you even lace your shoes.
The plans include a genuine mix of session types: easy runs, tempo work, intervals, long runs, and structured strength training. That combination is what coaches actually prescribe. It's not just running more miles, it's running the right miles at the right intensities, with the conditioning work that keeps you healthy enough to absorb the training load.
The Garmin and Apple Watch integration is seamless. Your workout loads directly to your device, you run it, and the data feeds back into the app. For athletes who train by feel rather than technology, you can also run to RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion), useful when you're travelling, tired, or running challenging terrain like the coastal paths around Croyde and Saunton Sands where pace targets become meaningless.
I've used Runna in preparation for the Tour du Mont Blanc and my own self-designed fundraising ultras, and the structured approach, knowing each session has a clearly defined purpose within a larger progressive plan, has transformed the way I train. The difference between printing a plan off and ticking boxes versus having a coaching programme that knows who you are is not subtle.
Runna holds a 4.9/5 rating on Trustpilot. That number reflects the quality of the coaching and the app experience together, and in my experience it's earned.
The honest downsides
This wouldn't be an honest review if I didn't tell you what Runna doesn't do as well as a 1-to-1 human coach.
It doesn't give you direct feedback on your sessions. There's no coach reading your data and sending you a voice note saying "your heart rate looked high in that tempo, let's talk about what you ate beforehand." The plan adapts based on inputs, but the conversational layer of real coaching isn't there.
Handling injury is the other area where the app's limitations show. Runna will accommodate a holiday, you tell it you're away and it adjusts your schedule, but adapting the plan around a more complex injury situation isn't quite as seamless. For that, you still need a physio or a human coach's eyes on what's happening.
And it costs money. There's a subscription fee, and I'm not going to pretend that's nothing. If you're a genuine beginner on a tight budget who just wants to complete a first 5K, a free Hal Higdon plan will serve you well enough. Runna earns its cost when you're serious about progression, when you're training for something that matters, when you want the session detail and the structure that moves you forward rather than just keeps you moving.
Who should use Runna?
Runna is the right choice if you're past the beginner phase and want genuine coaching structure. And in fairness there are free Beginner and Return to Running plans, they have limited functionality compare the the Premium offering but there are a great way to start or return to running.
If you've completed a first race and now want to improve. If you're training for something that matters to you, a first marathon, a spring ultra, a redemption race after injury or illness, and you want a plan built around your actual life, your actual fitness, with every session clearly explained. And if you want strength and conditioning built in as standard, rather than something you have to bolt on separately and figure out yourself.
So Which One Should You Choose?
Here's my honest steer, based on years of trying all of this, including the expensive mistakes:
If you're a complete beginner with a simple goal and a tight budget, start with a Hal Higdon novice plan, but use an AI tool alongside it to fill in the session detail the PDF leaves out. Ask ChatGPT what pace to run your tempo at. That combination is free and gives you more than either tool provides alone.
If you want free tracking and community alongside your training, keep Nike Run Club or Strava running. They're genuinely useful as companions. Just don't rely on them for coaching.
If you're confident enough to evaluate training plans critically, experiment with AI-generated plans, they're more capable than most people realise, especially on session detail. Treat the output as a starting point, not a finished product.
If you're serious about improving and want a plan that actually knows who you are, with full session detail, built-in strength work, and the progressive structure that real coaching provides, Runna is where I'd point you. It's the difference between ticking boxes and training with purpose.
My Exclusive Offer for Running Westward Ho! Readers
As a Runna Ambassador, I'm able to offer you something that isn't available through the standard sign-up: an exclusive 14-day free trial, double the usual seven days.
That's two full weeks to set up your plan, run real sessions with full coaching detail, see how the strength work integrates, and form a proper opinion, with no financial commitment whatsoever.
To claim your 2-week free trial:
Download the Runna app and enter promo code: ANDY2
or use this direct link: https://web.runna.com/redeem?code=ANDY2
Two weeks is enough to complete a full training week, do a structured interval session with proper pace targets, experience a strength session, and feel the difference between following a plan and being coached. I genuinely encourage you to try it, and if it's not for you, you've lost nothing except a bit of time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hal Higdon really free?
The core downloadable PDF plans on halhigdon.com are completely free. For more support, there's a subscription option where Hal provides feedback on your runs and guidance on upcoming sessions, a meaningful upgrade, though it comes at a cost. The Run With Hal app offers post-run feedback on the free tier, with GPS tracking and pace features unlocked via the Hal+ paid subscription.
Why don't printed training plans include session detail like pace targets?
Most free downloadable plans are written to be accessible to the widest possible audience, specifying a pace for a tempo run requires knowing the individual runner's current fitness, which a generic PDF can't account for. It's one of their fundamental limitations. If you're using a printed plan, use an AI tool or a running pace calculator alongside it to fill that gap.
What distance does Runna cover?
Runna has plans for Couch to 5K, 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon, and ultra marathon distances, as well as general fitness and off-season base-building plans.
Can ChatGPT actually write a good marathon training plan?
It can write a plan that looks good and, unlike a printed PDF, will give you actual session detail if you ask for it. The limitation is that it has no access to your real training data and no way of knowing how you're responding week to week. Use it as a starting point or a supplement, not a complete coaching solution.
How much does Runna cost?
Pricing is updated regularly and best checked at runna.com. With my promo code ANDY2, you get 14 days completely free, double the standard trial length.
Do I need a GPS watch to use Runna?
No. You can run to RPE (effort level) rather than pace targets if you prefer. Runna integrates with Garmin and Apple Watch if you have one, but it works perfectly well without. And it works with your phone too, so take that with you for the full coaching experience.
Is Runna suitable for ultra marathon training?
Yes, Runna has dedicated ultra marathon plans. As someone who has used Runna in preparation for the Tour du Mont Blanc and my own self-designed fundraising ultras, I can confirm the ultra plans are built with the specific demands of long-distance events in mind, including the back-to-back long runs and time-on-feet sessions that ultra training requires.
What's the difference between Hal Higdon Novice 1 and Novice 2?
Novice 1 is for true first-timers with very little running background. Novice 2 assumes you've been running consistently for a few months and can handle slightly higher volume, including some cross-training. If you can comfortably run 3–4 miles already, Novice 2 is probably the right starting point.
Can I use a training plan if I've had a health setback?
This is close to my heart. After my cancer diagnosis in 2021 and subsequent surgery and chemotherapy, I had to rebuild my running from almost nothing. Any training plan, however well designed, needs to be adapted around serious health issues in consultation with your medical team.
Runna is flexible around disruptions like illness and recovery, but for anything health-related, your doctor or physio comes before any app or plan. If you're coming back from illness or injury and want to talk through how I approached my own return to running, feel free to reach out.
A Final Word
Running saved me. Not in a metaphorical sense, in a very literal one. Coming back from cancer, from chemotherapy, from surgery, and lacing my shoes back up on the coastal paths of North Devon was one of the most significant things I've ever done. Every mile since then has felt earned in a way that miles before diagnosis never quite did.
Part of that comeback was learning to train properly. Not just putting in miles, but understanding why certain sessions matter, how to build fitness without breaking myself, and how to balance ambition with the reality of where I actually was. The right training plan, one that actually tells you what to do and why, was part of that education.
I wasted time with plans that left me doing my own research at 10pm trying to figure out what pace I was supposed to be running the next morning. I wasted weeks with audio coaching that couldn't see my watch. Those experiences are why I'm pointing you toward something better.
Whatever you choose from this list, the most important thing is that you start. Pick something, follow it, and adjust as you learn. The best plan is the one you'll actually do.
And if you want the best possible start, with a plan that tells you exactly what to do, every session, every week, grab that 14-day free trial with code ANDY2 at https://web.runna.com/redeem?code=ANDY2.
Let me know how you get on.
See you on the trails.
— Andy
Andy Hood is an ultra and endurance runner based in North Devon. A cancer survivor and testicular cancer awareness advocate, he has completed events including the Tour du Mont Blanc, multiple London ultras, and self-designed fundraising events raising over £25,000 for cancer and mental health charities. He is a proud Runna Ambassador.
Find Andy at www.runningwestwardho.co.uk and on Instagram @runningwestwardho