UKH

Dear Wise UKC Runners,

I'd always hated running until this summer, when I was based away from home for work and had nothing else to do so I did the C25K programme. I've now got the bug, ran my first race on holiday last week (8k) and average about 20 miles per week over 3 runs mixed between road and trail.

Now I want another project and I'm looking at running an ultra next year with my eye on the Jurassic Quarter http://www.endurancelife.com/event-new.asp?series=89 in May. UKCers, is this too soon, and if not, any words of wisdom for training and the race please?

Cheers,

Ed

In reply to edordead:

Ofcourse you can!

My top tip woukd be to do lots of big walking days. You need to be used to moving for long periods of time and brisk walking is a good way to do this - if you're a mere mortal like me you'll be walking / marching some portions of the course!

Good luck

Oli

In reply to edordead:

I wouldn't want to discourage you, but it looks quite a hard one for your first ultra - there's quite a lot of up-and-down.

You'll need to up your training a lot, obviously. As boulderybits suggests, some long mountain days would help. It might help to work backwards from race day to work out how to increase your training mileage. I wouldn't expect you to do a 46 mile training run, but bear in mind the fact that even a long training run of 30 miles is only two-thirds of the race distance.

In reply to edordead:

Hmmm, maybe. I was keen on moving onto Ultra's and a few of my friends did. Most of whom now seem to be struggling with very long term injuries from the sheer volume of training and the odd event.

Put me right off!

In reply to edordead:
Yes, I think that is perfectly doable, the course itself I would have thought is a good choice as I don't suppose the surface is too brutal.

My first was High Peak 40 in September. I didn't start training specifically for it until July and just built my long runs up through 17m, 20, 22 every other week (Max 22m); over hilly and mixed terrain.

Also reccied most of the route in sections (one bit that I didn't I went wrong on the day!). That was off the back of road and fell races in the spring and about 20-30 miles a week average (ie pretty low). I only did two 40 mile weeks in the run up to it (again pretty low!)

Ideally I would have done something around 26-30 but didn't have time. In your case doing a 30 will give you the confidence you can do the full distance.

Practice eating/drinking. Something every 45-50 mins suits me but I eat and drank at every station on the day (was quite warm).

Don't agree with going out walking. You want to run regardless of the pace. On the day I only walked steep and rough ascents, ran everything else. Psychologically that will give you belief that you can keep going at a reasonable pace.

A lot of its in the mind so have belief and enjoy it.

In reply to edordead:

I'm sure you can, but if it was me, I would get a few years of regular running under your belt, get faster at the shorter stuff, try a few longer trail runs, LWDA events, that sort of thing.

I've actually got my first Ultra booked for next year, but I've been averaging 40+ miles a week for 6 years and done lot of longer events and training runs, probably 100+ runs of 20 miles or more and a few over 30 miles.

That said, at any ultra you can pretty guarantee you won't be the least well prepared training wise.

My GF took to running ultras a few years ago, her routine in training for 100kish events is to grab a short run when she can in the week, then build up to running 6-7 hours on the sort of terrain she will be racing on, on a Saturday or Sunday.

In reply to The New NickB:

I'd agree with Nick, its a big leap, and with big leaps come injuries (not sure of your age).

What about finding some fell runs and half / full trail marathons to start to build yourself towards it....

In reply to edordead:

Well it all depends how fit and how dumb you are. The less fit you are, the dumber you'll need to be! I did my first hill marathon this year, 2100m of ascent, with no training at all and placed in the top 30. I'm just pretty fit (cycle 20 odd miles a day and my TT times are respectable) and plenty dumb. Oh and I'm 42 if that makes a difference.

In reply to edordead:

It's certainly not outside the realms of fantasy, although I do think you probably might have picked a tough race for a first ultra. One of my running friends did their June race last year and found it brutal, and he's a good runner. The trouble with the coastal path is that there isn't really anywhere to get into a good rhythm, it's always steep up and down and a lot of steps.

That besides, you need to get used to time on your feet, extend those long runs at the weekend to several hours, don't worry to much about distance at this stage, just get used to eating whilst on the move and sorting out issues such as clothing that rubs. Get used to running with a pack. May is still some time away and I ran my first ultra at the end of May this year, having had an injury break from the end of Oct last year upto the end of Feb. I ran a hilly half in March, then started with good hilly offroad runs working upto 25 miles before the race. I did have the advantage of plenty of other races upto marathon distance under my belt though, so knew how to pace myself.

After my May ultra, which was the MCN Brecon 42 miler, I just did lots of shorter races for a while, then 2 offroad marathons over the summer with the MCN Black Mountains race in Sept as my objective. However, I decided at the last minute to enter the Cotswold Way 102 at the end of Sept, so the MCN became my last training run for that. I finished the 102 well, so even though I never trained for a 100 miler, my head must have been in the right place, and this is most of the battle.

So, I would get some races done between now and May, maybe a couple of offroad marathons, practice eating, getting your pace so that you are not breathing hard and teach your body to burn fat reserves rather than glycogen reserves.

Shorter, faster runs are very useful too, they make the difference when you have to push a little harder up a hill. Races are good for this as they always make you push harder than you would in training. I've never followed any training plan, I just train by how I feel.

The ultra scene is super friendly and you will pick up lots of tips along the way, so even if your first race doesn't go strictly to plan (mine didn't!), you will learn loads for the next one. Good luck!

In reply to The New NickB:



Really sound advice from NickB above.

Edordead doesn't say how old he is, and as JamButty said, suddenly upping the miles is a sure route to injury. I' m pushing 50 now and have realised that speedy stuff just injures me, so longer slower distances are looking to be the way to go. I'm very conscious that this is going to involve a few years of slowly building up to the longer distances to reduce the number of injuries. No '50 at 50' for me, I suspect.

In reply to edordead:

Give it a go. I went from trail marathon to UTLD100 in a year, and I bet I'm older and fatter than you.

What have you got to lose?

In reply to edordead:

The move to ultra running tends to be easier for people used to long walks upping the speed, than it is for runners used to short runs upping the distance. Certainly one of my first races was an ultra (Howarth Hobble) and I didn't disgrace myself, but that was from a background of lots of 15-20 mile hill walks.

In reply to edordead:
I ran my first ultra this year. I was 'pursuaded' to enter the Glenmore 12. This race involves running as many 4 mile laps in 12 hours as you can managed. I managed to keep moving for the full 12 hours. In fact I managed just over 56 miles.

I definitely wasn't the fastest, but I think my point is this- I started running properly about 3 months before the event and I entered the race a week before the race. My training schedule was non existant, and the furthest I had ran before was 18km. If I can complete, then I think you can. I am not the fittest, and I am certainly not super human when it comes to endurance.

Having said that, I think that the correct choice of event is important. For me the Glenmore 12 was ideal, no cut offs, no requirement to run a certain distance. I enter the race with two goals- the first was to keep moving for the full 12 hours, the second was to make 50 miles.