Hal Higdon has three products, and which one you compare against matters. The free halhigdon.com PDFs are static: excellent if you hit every session. The Run With Hal app with Hal+ ($6.99/month) is adaptive but Apple-blind: it reschedules around your compliance but doesn’t sync Apple Watch or Apple Health. TrainingPeaks is a separate paid option. Reshape’s specific difference: it reads what you actually ran from Apple Health and sends the next workout to your Apple Watch. If you train on Garmin or Android, Higdon fits you better.
Side-by-side, only what’s different
| Reshape | Hal Higdon | |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery options | iPhone app + Apple Watch | Free PDFs on halhigdon.com, Run With Hal app (iOS + Android), TrainingPeaks interactive plans |
| Adapts when you miss a session | Reads Apple Health, rebuilds the next week from what you actually ran | Free PDFs: no. Run With Hal Hal+: reschedules based on compliance and blackout dates |
| Reads Apple Health / Apple Watch | Yes. Up to 8 weeks of runs auto-imported | No. Run With Hal syncs Garmin only; Apple Health and Apple Watch are not supported |
| Apple Watch workout delivery | Session on the face the night before, with pace targets | None. Run With Hal uses its own GPS tracking on the phone |
| Pace guidance | VDOT-scaled per session from your current Apple Health fitness | Free PDFs: effort labels (easy, tempo, pace). Hal+: pace scaling from normal pace or recent race results |
| Race distances | 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon | 5K, 8K, 10K, 15K, 10 mile, half, marathon, up to 50K ultra |
| Android support | No. Apple-only | Yes. Run With Hal is on iOS and Android |
| Price | $4.99 / €4.99 per month | Website PDFs: free. Run With Hal Hal+: $6.99/month or $59.99/year. TrainingPeaks: paid separately |
| Coaching lineage | Jack Daniels VDOT, capped progression, protected taper | Hal Higdon: 8x Olympic Trials competitor, Runner’s World contributor since 1966, 50+ years of published plans |
The periodization philosophy is similar across both products: base, build, peak, taper; cap weekly progression; respect the long run. The differences are on the integration side. Higdon’s free PDFs don’t adapt. Hal+ does, but doesn’t read your Apple Watch or Apple Health runs. Reshape reads Apple Health directly and rewrites your seven days every Sunday based on what the last seven actually held.
Reshape is best for you if…
- You run with Apple Watch.Run With Hal doesn’t sync Apple Watch or Apple Health. Reshape sends the workout to your wrist the night before, reps and paces already loaded.
- You want the plan read from your runs. Reshape pulls from Apple Health; Hal+ adapts from your compliance with the plan. Different signals, different accuracy.
- You want pace targets, not effort labels or manual race-result scaling. VDOT scaled from your current Apple Health fitness, updated every week.
What Hal Higdon does better
- Free tier on halhigdon.com. All the Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced PDFs are free to read and print. Reshape has no free forever tier.
- Android support. Run With Hal is on iOS and Android. Reshape is Apple-only.
- Ultra distances up to 50K. Run With Hal covers 5K, 8K, 10K, 15K, 10 mile, half, marathon, and ultras. Reshape stops at marathon.
- Garmin integration. Run With Hal syncs Garmin natively. If Garmin is your device, Hal+ is the honest pick.
- 50+ years of Hal’s voice. 8x Olympic Trials competitor, Runner’s World contributor since the 1960s, “King of running plans” per the New York Times. That authority is real.
Why Apple-first runners switch to Reshape
- Run With Hal doesn’t sync Apple Watch. This is the big one for anyone running with an Apple Watch. Either you record the run twice, or you log it manually back into the Higdon app.
- Hal+ adapts from self-reported compliance, not from the runs themselves. Reshape reads actual Apple Health data (pace, heart rate, volume, recovery signals) and rewrites from there.
- Price. Reshape is $4.99/month; Hal+ is $6.99/month or $59.99/year. TrainingPeaks is separate.
Reshape is not for you if…
- You run on Android, Garmin, or anything non-Apple. Run With Hal is your choice.
- You train for ultras beyond marathon distance. Run With Hal supports up to 50K; Reshape stops at 42.2 km.
- You want a static PDF you can print and tape to the fridge. halhigdon.com is exactly that, and it’s free.
- You want Hal’s personal daily tips inside the app. That’s the Run With Hal pitch, not Reshape’s.
Common questions
The static plans on halhigdon.com are free to read and print: Novice 1, Novice 2, Intermediate 1, Intermediate 2, Advanced 1, Advanced 2, plus longer options like Novice Supreme and Personal Best. The Run With Hal app is a free download with a paid Hal+ tier ($6.99/month or $59.99/year) that adds adaptive rescheduling, pace scaling, and personal records tracking. Interactive plans via TrainingPeaks are priced separately. So “free” is accurate for the website PDFs; the app and TrainingPeaks are paid products.
Not currently. Run With Hal’s own documentation states it does not sync with Apple Watch, Apple Health, Strava, Polar, Fitbit, Suunto, or Runkeeper; it syncs with Garmin only. Apple Watch users generally use Run With Hal for the plan and track the workout separately on the watch, then log completion manually. Reshape was built to avoid that split: it reads Apple Health directly and delivers the session to your Apple Watch face.
Different shape, and which one fits depends on your setup. Hal+ is adaptive (plan reschedules based on your compliance and blackout dates), supports iOS and Android, syncs with Garmin, and covers distances up to 50K ultra. Reshape reads Apple Health directly, delivers the workout to Apple Watch with VDOT-scaled pace targets, and tops out at marathon. If you run on Android or Garmin, Hal+ is the honest pick. If you run with Apple Watch and want Apple Health as the source of truth, Reshape fits better. On price, Reshape is $4.99/month versus Hal+ at $6.99.
If the Higdon runs you’ve done recorded to Apple Health (through Apple Watch or any Apple-connected device), yes. Reshape reads up to eight weeks of history, picks up at the fitness you actually have, and rebuilds from there. You don’t lose the weeks you’ve put in.
No, they complement each other. Higdon’s books are excellent reading on training philosophy; they’ll make you a smarter runner. Reshape is software that applies similar coaching principles to your specific week. Read the books, run the app.