Running an ultramarathon

[DraconianOne]

So last weekend I ran my first ultramarathon; 87 miles and 9000ft of ascent along The Ridgeway, an old Roman trail through the middle of England. I announced this in the Awesome pics thread where Cheddar asked how you prepare for doing something so, at the risk of falling face first into the sarchasm, I figured I'd share. I know that this is a predominantly a geek inhabited video game forum but the P90X thread says there's some guys serious about their sports and iirc Sky does a fuck load of cycling so maybe there are some other runners out there and maybe some who would think of doing something like this or who have already done so.

Wall of text incoming!

First, definition: what is an ultramarathon? Strictly speaking, it's any race that's longer than 26.2 miles but most people classify it as anything that's approx 30miles/50km. Some are done in a day, some are done overnight some can take a couple of days or longer.

I entered this event 6 months before hand but only really spent the last 3 months training hard for it. At the start of those three months I was in at a level of fitness where I could happily run 6 - 10 miles comfortably. I've never run a marathon but I have a lot of experience running and over the last few years have been doing Mountain Marathons and Adventure Races which meant I knew what it was like to keep going for 6 - 12 hours at a time. (The pre-req for this event was a marathon in the last year but I got in because of doing an MM instead.)

Training goals were simple: first, build up the mileage to get used to running for a long time and secondly, build endurance to get used to running on tired legs. The first task is easy to plan - keep increasing your weekly mileage. The second I did through running back-to-backs; do a long run one day and then the next day go out for another long run of somewhere about the same distance. The second days run will be harder and slower but gets you used to pushing on fatigued legs. And that's really all there is to it. I always ran with a backpack with hydration pack and always went out on trail and through forests - partly because that was the type of terrain the race would be on but mostly because I hate running on road.

My mileage wasn't particularly high in all honesty - the week after I started training, I twisted my ankle and aggravated an old achilles injury. So instead of running, I just strapped it up and started walking at a hard pace on the same courses - aiming for 4mph or so and going for 3-4 hours at a time. (The time limit for the 87 miles was 26 hours so it is, in theory, possible to do it a brisk walk but with very little time for stopping at checkpoints and not a lot of margin for error). It did heal after a couple of weeks and I did end up doing lots of 15 to 17 mile runs and back-to-back's of 20 miles at most but I didn't even manage to get my final LSR (long slow run) of 30+ miles done so my greatest total for any single week was probably about 50-60 miles. Some people were got up to a max of 100 miles a week. They don't have kids.

A thing to keep in mind about ultras is that, unless you're an elite runner (the winner of last weeks race did it in 14 hours so that's 6mph average but they probably ran 7mph with an hours worth of checkpoint stops) you generally don't run the whole lot and definitely not a speed. Most ultrarunners take on a run-walk strategy - either walking up hill and running flats and downhills or running for x minutes and walking for y minutes (where x = 3y or something). I ended up doing the first strategy for the first half of the race as, although I did practice running for 15, walking for 5 before the event, during it I just honestly couldn't be arsed to keep checking my watch the whole time.

A lot of the challenge, though, is mental. Events like the one I did will take most people 18-24 hours and will go through the night. Sometimes you might end up running with people, other times you'll face hours of running by yourself. I noted the point where I had run a marathon distance and worked out I'd done it in under five hours which wasn't too bad (I thought) in it's own right for a trail marathon while carrying 2kg+ in my backpack. Then it occurred to me that a) I had another two marathons and a bit to go and b) I might be still doing this for another 20 hours. That can be quite overwhelming. At night, it's even worse - it's cold, dark and can be quite creepy. Between 3am and sunrise, the sleepmonsters come prowling and some people do have hallucinations. Everything aches, you feel sick, tired and depressed and it's a real effort to keep on going. (I'm sure any of you who regularly have to do long stints like those people who've done military service or as a doctor or whatever may recognise that feeling and probably feel it's a breeze - I'm guessing most of the rest of us who sit behind a desk most of the week won't be so experienced).

I still don't know how you prepare fully for that sort of thing mentally - I can be a single-minded and stubborn fuck when it comes to physical things (not so much with work or other stuff though) and just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I also set up rewards for myself: I knew I had a nice, big juicy steak waiting for me at home and a bottle of bubbly and a 12 pack of beer (I've not drunk much over the last 3 months and I'm normally a heavy drinker). I took the music I trained with that I could lose myself in (the EVE soundtrack amongst others - Endie would be proud!) and I made sure that I had everything I could want in my gear as I was running unsupported.  I still don't know how people can do 36-48 hour races and what their strategies are for conquering sleepmonsters - maybe I'll find out one day.

If anyone else has done stuff like this, I'd love to know what your preparation was and how you dealt with it.

tl;dr - um, yeah, well. Whatever.

[JWIV]

Dude, that's awesome and insane.  I was training this summer to just do a half-marathon, then I banged up my knee doing weights to a point where I couldn't walk, let alone run without a lot of pain for a few weeks.  It's better now, but when I went to sign up for the half, it was already sold out and had a wait list of 500, so 

[Mosesandstick]

Appreciate the post. How do your knees hold up?

[schild]

Answer the question in the reply above this one in 10 years.

[Cheddar]

I was being serious.  I used to hike around extremely hilly terrain in Turkey (by hike I mean marathon a couple miles) and cannot imagine the pain of 20+ miles.  This is very interesting; would love to hear other peoples input.

[Soln]

well I'm impressed.  Overnight.  Balls2wall.

[apocrypha]

Shouldn't an ultramarathon be something only ultramarines do?




Seriously though, well done!

[DraconianOne]

Appreciate the post. How do your knees hold up?

Answer the question in the reply above this one in 10 years.

Knees were fine. Like I said, I tend to run off-road most of the time anyway and trail is softer than tarmac so the impact isn't as bad - plus the technique (or at least the one I used and think others use) for running that distance is far more conservative in range of motion and so the impact isn't anywhere near what it's like when you're pushing for speed.

There's a guy in my club who did the race as well for the fourth time (and knocked 2.5 hours off his PB for the course, coming in just under 23 hours). If you saw him on the street, you wouldn't think he was an ultrarunner - he's got a paunch and he's quite stocky and doesn't look anything like those stick-thin guys who are elite runners. The weekend before this race, he did a 32-mile event and the weekend before that he did a 54 miler. Tomorrow he's got a 45 mile trail race on the Welsh borders. He does about 1000+ competitive miles a year (not a joke or exaggeration - I've seen his list of events!) including 9 mountain marathons. He's apparently the only person who's taken part in every Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon (LAMM) since it was set up 17 years ago and he's been running for 20 or more years.

He's going to be 60 in February. He doesn't have any chronic physical problems as a result of his hobby.

A bloke called Jack Denness (aka "Death Valley" Jack) completed his 14th Badwater Ultramarathon this year in July. (135 miles from Death Valley to Mt Whitney, CA in temperatures up to 55C/130F) He's 75 years old and has been running for many, many years without any significant joint problems which he put down to taking cod liver oil every day since he was a child during WW2.

As for me - I had a knee op to remove some broken cartilage 20 years ago so I don't doubt I may have more problems in the future. But I really don't give a fuck and am not going to let the fear of something which might not happen stop me from having a damn good go at doing it now.

[NowhereMan]

I've recently gotten up to running about 5 miles at a time (though obviously aiming for a higher pace than 4mph) and the thought of running a marathon let alone an ultramarathon is mind-boggling. Seriously well done.

[bhodi]

I'm very impressed. Congratulations man, that is some crazy stuff.

[KallDrexx]

That's crazy, good job.

I was originally going to do a Marathon in  Jan with my girlfriend, but I agreed to that at the beginning of us going out and I wanted to impress her.  Now, 6 months in I decided to say fuck it, cause it's too much work.

I'm more of a sprinter type of guy.  I sprint a lot for sports that I play and I find running more than 10 minutes horrifyingly boring.  I think it's just the slow pace though, because I can bike for hours and hours.

[Nebu]

I've recently gotten up to running about 5 miles at a time (though obviously aiming for a higher pace than 4mph) and the thought of running a marathon let alone an ultramarathon is mind-boggling. Seriously well done.

I have to expand on this one...

I've run two marathons and will NEVER run another.  The thought of even running further than 18 miles makes me cringe. 

I don't know how you do it.  Bravo.

[DraconianOne]

I'm more of a sprinter type of guy.  I sprint a lot for sports that I play and I find running more than 10 minutes horrifyingly boring.

This is funny because I used to say the same thing. I did a lot of track and field during my teens/early 20s to quite a high level but I was a long-jumper and sprinter (and sometime 400m hurdler but only because no other fucker would do it!) I also used to play wing in rugby until injury put paid to that six years ago. So since then, it's been about adventure and endurance. I did the London Rat Race adventure last year and that was awesome and a lot of fun. There was cycling, running, kayaking, abseiling (a first for me), orienteering, climbing (on walls), parkour (after a fashion), sack-racing, sumo-wrestling, pole-dancing... loads of stuff. If you're in anyway sporty or up for a challenge, that's well worth a look.

Nebu - I think marathons are quite different (from what I understand). You're running quite hard for 3-5 hours and I gather that apart from perhaps gels and energy drinks, you don't take in much to keep you going. In an ultra, you go at a far slower pace - more of a jog really - and personally I was never out of breath during the whole race although maybe I was doing it wrong. Also, you eat on the move and there's food and snacks at every checkpoint (one cp even served up hot dogs and mustard which was fucking awesome and very welcome at midnight). I've half a mind to do a marathon properly next year so maybe I'll be able to compare properly.

[Nebu]

Nebu - I think marathons are quite different (from what I understand). You're running quite hard for 3-5 hours and I gather that apart from perhaps gels and energy drinks, you don't take in much to keep you going. In an ultra, you go at a far slower pace - more of a jog really - and personally I was never out of breath during the whole race although maybe I was doing it wrong. Also, you eat on the move and there's food and snacks at every checkpoint (one cp even served up hot dogs and mustard which was fucking awesome and very welcome at midnight). I've half a mind to do a marathon properly next year so maybe I'll be able to compare properly.

I qualified for Boston with my second (iirc it was 2:52) and it took me almost a week to recover.  After that experience, I decided that even if I could run the Boston, I didn't want to. 

To be fair, I'm not built for distance.  I'm 6' and always in the neighborhood of 200 lbs, even at low body fat.  I'm just carrying too much weight to be an efficient distance runner.

[DraconianOne]

I qualified for Boston with my second (iirc it was 2:52) and it took me almost a week to recover. 

That's an awesome time. But I can understand why you wouldn't want to do it again.

[90Proof]

Bumping the ultra and non-ultra marathon thread.  I just finished my first marathon this morning and everything went smoothly until about mile 16.  I swear it felt like somebody was pressing a molten hot iron poker on the tops and ends of both big toes for the next 10.2 miles.  Time for bigger running shoes and stricter diet.  I think Nebu has the right strategy: drop the weight if you're going to do endurance / adventure racing.

[JWIV]

To an extent, pretty much about the weight.  I'm about 10 lbs heavier than my last half in October, and now that I've switched from bulk/heavy lifting mode back to run training and building weekly mileage, I'm definitely feeling it. 

[Nebu]

Bumping the ultra and non-ultra marathon thread.  I just finished my first marathon this morning and everything went smoothly until about mile 16.  I swear it felt like somebody was pressing a molten hot iron poker on the tops and ends of both big toes for the next 10.2 miles.  Time for bigger running shoes and stricter diet.  I think Nebu has the right strategy: drop the weight if you're going to do endurance / adventure racing.

18 miles was always the killer for me.  I could make the 18 mile mark pretty smoothly, but as soon as I hit 18.01, I started to feel it.  I'm becoming a firm believer that distance racing is every bit as much about pain management as it is about athleticism.  It's a very mental sport.  

I used to train for marathons with a close friend that was a professional triathelete.  His advice to me during that time was:

1) Log a lot of mileage.  

2) Vary your workouts.  We used to have long run days (1-2 per week), sprint runs (1-2 per week), and did some fartlek training.  It kept things from getting stale.

3) Diet and weight will maximize performance.  The less extra baggage you have to carry, the better.  World class runners have only the muscle that they need.  

4) Eat for purpose.  

5) Get plenty of rest and sleep.  Over-training is the number one enemy.

[Sky]

I do not do a fuckload of cycling. Not even a shitload. I used to do 10 miles a day, but that was over ten years ago.

Congrats on the run. I've always been a sprinter, my dad was a long distance runner and kept trying to get me into longer distances, but I'm just not built for it. I used to cream the mile when I was a kid, but that was about my limit, I sucked at pacing myself.

I am getting back into hiking and climbing this year, though. How quickly that goes depends on whether I can goad the fiancee into participating. I'd like to get up Blue Mt by the end of September, but that was difficult for her at her peak after a full season of climbing. (not rock climbing, I'm done with that business)

edit - Oh, look at me responding to a two year old post. D'oh.

[DraconianOne]

Bumping the ultra and non-ultra marathon thread.  I just finished my first marathon this morning and everything went smoothly until about mile 16.  I swear it felt like somebody was pressing a molten hot iron poker on the tops and ends of both big toes for the next 10.2 miles.  Time for bigger running shoes and stricter diet.  I think Nebu has the right strategy: drop the weight if you're going to do endurance / adventure racing.

Well done on finishing the marathon!

Seems like you've identified the problem with your shoes being a touch too small but if they generally seem to fit then one suggestion that I can make as a cheaper alternative is to try compression socks. I don't subscribe to the belief that they will improve performance but, from experience, they do help with reducing foot swell.

I don't know anything else about you, your running history, times or short/long term goals to be able to add anything else vaguely constructive. 

[Tale]

I do not do a fuckload of cycling. Not even a shitload. I used to do 10 miles a day, but that was over ten years ago.

It might be me that does a fuckload of cycling. Often it's just to and from work, but I did 110 miles in a morning a couple of years ago and I've cycled across Europe.

Congrats on the ultramarathon.