The registrations for both of the races that I want to do don't open until January. I haven't gone completely crazy like some of you people--they are both under 35 miles. The first one is the Bighorn 32M in Wyoming in June. The second one is 4 weeks later--Laugaveguer. It is 35 miles through the highlands of Iceland down to the coast. That is the one that I am really excited about.

How much more mileage/volume do you guys recommend on top of "normal" marathon training for say a 50k? For most of my marathons for instance, my longest runs have been 20 (although I have recently adopted the Hanson's 16 miler at race pace approach)......would 20 mile long run be adequate if it was at race pace?

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"I would definitely smell her seat after a century ride"

I'm definitely in for the 39.3 Connemarathon through Connemara in the West of Ireland at the end of April.

For my first 50km, I basically did my normal marathon training but took one long run to 22 miles. It seemed to work for me as I ran a marathon PR, placed second, and only missed the time from my debut marathon by 4 minutes at the 50km mark.

That was a flat race though. For the mountain 60km I ran this year I did several 20milr plus runs over hilly terrain.

I did Bighorn this year (got injured around mi 76, first DNF ever). It is BEAUTIFUL. The second race you mention sounds pretty awesome. I am jealous.

The mileage/volume should be fine. Especially since your race pace will be slower than you are used to. However, assuming this is a trail race, get out on trails for some of the training. You'll make it easily through a trail 50k with only road training, but you will be sore and the hills will suck! haha

I ran the Laugavegurinn in Iceland last year. There was a lot of snow on the ground, which made for slowish times. Beware that the race cutoffs are very strictly enforced in that event. It is a spectacularly beautiful area and the terrain and trails are relatively easy to cover; it is one of the easier and most beautiful 50k's I have done. You will get wet in a few of the river crossings.

I did the Eiger 101 in Switzerland this year. It is insanely difficult: not just 101 km with 6700m each of both climbing and descent (think 63 miles with 22,000 feet of climbing and ditto descent), but it includes many very steep and gnarly trails. It is hard enough that finishers automatically qualify for Western States. Also a beautiful area but not an experience I care to repeat.

That DNF sucks, but there can be some tricky sections of that course. The heat last year was brutal, and I don't envy those of you who had to run up the face of the Rockies in that. Sheridan is my hometown, so I like to go back for Father's Day, go camping with my family, and race.

How bad are the river crossings? The pictures online make them look pretty deep. I had hypothermia a few years ago (caught in a sudden weather change at high altitude with my warm gear back at camp), so that is my concern. As the race gets closer, I might pick your brain for tips.

We spent a few days in Connemara this summer, and it was wonderful. I would love to go back. I am going to have to look for that race in the future.

Thank you!

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"I would definitely smell her seat after a century ride"

I'm doing my first race over 50 miles in February, the 110 with Donna in Jax Beach. It's an all asphalt 2 day run (84 miles on Saturday then start with the marathon on Sunday). Curious what kind of long runs those of you experienced with ultras run during your peak. I haven't gotten an idea of pacing yet either if anyone has any suggestions. FWIW 3 hour marathon and averaged 9:59 min/mi for my 50 (half trail/ half asphalt). I'm steadily upping my mileage, and am at about 65mpw now while adding in 2 recovery rides on the Kickr.

Thanks

Just finished my first year of ultrarunning, starting with a local 50k, and finishing with running both days at the Squamish 50/50.

Now that I've survived Squamish, thinking of going for a repeat, and see how fast I can go, especially if I get in a good winter block going into a fast spring marathon.

I have done something very stupid and signed up for the Barkley Fall Classic. It's really just a long hike, right? The Laugevegur ultra looks awesome. Maybe I'll sign up for it and get myself lost out there before I have to face up to Frozen Head.

This article by Ian Torrence has some good advice on the distance specificity for training for ultras, especially on the road or flat trails

http://www.irunfar.com/...g-for-your-buck.html

Yes, indeed you are very stupid. The Barkley is just nuts.

You guys need to stop talking ultras. You're killing me. My original plan for 2017 was my first 50k in February and first 50m in April. However, I've shelved that plan not due to injury or anything. Rather, I've signed up for an 8 day cycling trip for late June in Austria - about 450 miles and 50,000 feet of climbing. Considering I haven't spent much time on the bike in the last year or so I need to really start focusing on that and I don't have enough available time to focus on both the bike and run. So, I've changed my plans to a trail marathon next month and a potentially a road marathon in mid January. Than its all bike all the time.

Good luck on that one! I would reach out to Lance Armstrong's DR. for some of his famous PED cocktail for the climb....."excuse me, while I pass this guy"

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"I would definitely smell her seat after a century ride"

Ran my first 50 K a couple of weeks ago in Connecticut and loved the vibe, didn't know anyone there but met some very cool folks. I enjoyed it enough to dabble a bit more- going for a 70 K in April which should keep me running right thru the winter.

This year was going to move up to my first 100M but got injured three weeks before the race :-(

For 2017:

Races:
Huff 50K in Indiana with my dog.
Superior 100
Earth Day 50K

Self-organized "events":
Self-supported 50 Miler, crossing Puerto Rico's central range from North to South (all roads unfortunately).
Zion Traverse (run across Zion National Park).

I am thinking about doing that one, too. One of my friends is going for his twentieth consecutive finish there this year. Absolutely amazing.

I hear its one of the most beautiful, scenic trail races in the country... but also really fucking hard! I had to skip it this year due to injury so my goal this year is to make it to the starting line healthy.

I'm doing the Hennepin 100 in Illinois in October. It's super flat and mostly small gravel and dirt/grass trails. It's my 1st 100 miler, so i'm nervous as hell. :)

The three river crossings in the Laugavegurinn are all glacial rivers, so their depth and the current strength depends on the time of day (higher snowmelt volumes later in the day) and the amount of sunshine. The water is very cold, of course. They were well over knee deep when I did them. The two longer and deeper crossings will have a rope strung across them along with a rescue squad in survival suits in attendance to help folks make it safely across; on the other one you're on your own and it can help to have a running pole for extra stability. But there was no drama, it really just adds to the overall grand adventure.

Tip: the first part is narrow and steep, almost from the gun, so if you are going for the podium and don't want to be stuck in a long slow line you need to get out front fast. On the other hand, doing this event fast is almost criminal, given how wonderful the scenery and the experience is. Just take your time and let it all sink in.

My girlfriend is totally immersed in the trail running and ultra world and I have been tagging along and enjoying it. The culture is for the most part very friendly, supportive, welcoming and accepting. It reminds me a lot of the 1980's triathlon world. I have crewed and paced Leadville 100, Kodiak 100 and Javelina Jundred (miles) and crewed Angeles Crest 100 and San Diego 100. They are all fantastic events!

I have completed two 50 milers and six 50k's and a bunch of shorter trail races. I am not a good runner but I have really enjoyed the training and racing. I have continued with swimming and biking but reduced the volume of those two sports in order to focus more on running. I think that the cross training is beneficial as I am almost 60 and can not handle huge running volume. If any of you have any interest in giving an ultra a try I say go for it. The North Face Endurance Challenge races are a great place to start if there is one in your area. Very well organized and challenging courses ranging from 50 miles, 50k, marathon, 1/2 marathon, 10k and 5k all in one weekend.

The GF is trying to get in to Western States, UTMB and Hardrock this year but her odds are very low. We will be doing North Face San Francisco next month but we have not planned out next year yet. The big races sell out quickly, some of them a year in advance (sound familiar) but out here in Calif there plenty of great smaller races that are not too hard to get in to.

I believe that training for the race conditions that you will face is very helpful, so for example, if you are going to do Leadville try to get some elevation and hill training in. However, we have friends that live in the flatlands that have done very well in races that they could not train specifically for. Train your hiking muscles, train with your race hydration system, practice running downhill, get a great headlamp (Petzl Nao) forget about pace and enjoy yourself.

I'm up for WS100 rejection again this year. Already on the calendar for '17 is 3 Days of Syllamo, a run across Big Bend National Park, and Trans Zion run.

If anyone is in Texas or wants to come down, I'm the RD for a february race that is 95%+ unique trail (clover leaf course design) for all distances. 100K, marathon, half marathon, and 10K. More than happy to give discount codes to anyone interested. Saddle Blazer Trail Run 2.25.17

http://www.spectrumtrailracing.com

Looking to do my first ultra fall 2017. Plan on doing the North Face marathon at bear mountain in may (did the half last year). one or two other trail races over the summer, and then looking for a trail race in the fall in the northeast. 50k-50 miles, open to suggestions. plan on getting weekly mileage up to 60-70 miles a week with around 5k feet of climbing. should this be sufficient?

I'm considering embarking up on the "Gary the Vale Ultramarathon Training Program" with the idea of doing the FIFTH Annual Rocky Run 50K next December

http://www.phillymag.com/...3/28/rocky-50k-date/

The Plan goes like this: Every week, you add ONE mile to your long run; ideally, by going 1/2 a mile further on an out-n-back route, so you can look down the road and say to yourself "Self. We're going down to there next week. Just a little further, that's not so bad, right?"

Now, be warned ... to my knowledge, no one has actually started at zero [or 1, as the case may be] and stuck with it for an ENTIRE year, culminating in a 52-mile run [people tend to do silly things like sign up for races along the way, messing up the progression]

We'll see how this goes

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

There's no way I could run Hennepin. 100 on paved path, flat and not very scenic sounds horrible. GOOD LUCK!

Thanks for your words of encouragement. They are everything I've come to expect from this forum.

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

It has been a while since we saw this thread, but I was wondering if anyone else is running the Bighorn next week.

It's November now, so how did everyone's ultra go?

I completed my 39.3 mile road ultra-marathon in 5:24, missing my 5-hour target by a good distance but I was reasonably happy on and since the day.

My big takeaways were that I'd neglected speed work in the build up, which took it's toll on some of the bigger climbs and not to risk any last minute changes to nutrition strategy. The latter really threw me off as I had an hour in which I couldn't get any fuel on board.

Any other insights from others' racing seasons?

Just now saw this...yep I attempted Bighorn but ran into some GI issues and had to take a break at the mile 40 aid station. If I had known how bad the mud would be in the next 10 mile climb to the turn-around I wouldn't have taken the break at 40. I missed the 4 a.m. cutoff by about 30 minutes and didn't get the chance to attempt to finish. I heard it took some guys 2 hours longer coming down that muddy 10 miles than it took going up due to constantly falling down in the mud. I wish I had poles for that climb.

Finished two races. The first was a 6 Hour and I ran 28 miles. The second was a 28 miler and I ran 5:57.

Can I still call myself an ultra runner? ;-)

Waitlisted for a 50 miler next February. I haven't run a 50 since August 2015.

Absolutely! Anything over 26.2 counts.

I did the Bighorn 32M for the second time. It was a cold, rainy mess, but those are my favorite conditions. While other people were falling in the mud or whining about the sleet, I was having fun. I live in an area with a lot of rain, so I have the shoes and other gear for it.

I did miss my time goal though. I think it had mainly to do with my legs just getting too tired on the long downhill stretches, especially going through the canyon. The big insight from the race is that if I tell my coach twice that I don't think I am training on enough hills and need to work on running downhill for a race with that much elevation change and he doesn't adjust my training, I should fire him instead of trusting that he knows what he is doing.

I have attempted 3 50ks this year with one more planned for beginning of December. First one had about 5500 ft of gain, and was in cold, rainy and muddy conditions, didn't go as well as planned but was happy to finish with the attrition rate in a little over 6 hours. 2nd race in August was a smaller local race with a little over 4k ft of gain, was out in front and got lost on the first lap cost me about 2 miles, then burned a lot of matches catching back up to the front pack. Ending up winning but my time of 5:15 was over my 5 hour goal. Race a couple of weeks ago, again went out fast and got lost on the first loop, ended up catching everyone again but around the 20 mile mark had some issues processing my nutrition, walked 7 miles back in to the start finish area, and stopped after 28 miles in 4:30. Hoping to put it all together in my next race, its a very runnable course with about 2900 ft of gain and guys have gone under 4 hours in the past, am hoping for around a 4:30 finish.

Good timing for resurrecting this thread - since Hardrock lottery opened today :)

I got 4 ultras in this year so far, I am contemplating a 5th in Dec.

One of the races, I was handed my buckle at the finish, put it down on the truck bumper, and drove off. I was in possession of it for maybe 12 minutes? lol I suck.

Who else is putting in for the WS100 lottery starting this Saturday? Luckily I got my qualifier under my belt early in the year at Bandera 100K, because if I had to rely on Bighorn and Bear 100 milers to use as qualifiers I'd be SOL since I didn't finish either one. I needed Bear as a Hardrock qualifier so I'll have to wait til next year for that lottery. Good luck to everyone putting their names in all the various lotteries.

Did my second Ultra in September, it was the Riverbend 50K. Great locally set up event with a cool charity. It was a super hot and humid Florida day for an Ultra but did win one of the prizes which was a free entry into JW Corbett 50 miler.

I'm on the wait list for Ancient Oaks 100 mile on December 16th. Also not really an Ultra but want to Double Boston 2018. Being from Florida I can't run fast there so might as well run it twice.

There's one for the bucket list!

My goal for 2018 is to get enough I-TRA points to at least enter the lottery for the 2019 CCC.

Hi, I did a 50K in the Coast Range in Oregon in October, called the Elk/Kings. Great experience, 6700 feet of elevation on tight single track with some out and backs that made running in stride or rhythm a bit challenging.

We got lucky with a spectacular day, as you can see below. I held my own with a 6:10, 28th out of 90 and fourth among those over 50 years old. My best mile came on mile 31. Interesting thing is that I averaged 18 miles a week in the months leading up to the race, but with the bonus of training for/and doing two Ironman races in the summer.

So it was kind of an experiment to see whether one can do complete an 50K on lower mileage yet higher fitness than others in the field. Seemingly every person I talked with had run multiple ultras this year. In this case, it worked out just fine. Long bike rides and triathlons perhaps can prepare one for a 50K without needing the extra wear and tear of 40-mile weeks ... perhaps?

Ian Corless talks about the value of cross training on a bike for ultra running performance and some of his podcast guests also talk about how it forms a part of their training, so I definitely think IM training for summer racing and then a transition to autumn and winter ultras works really well (imho).

My next race is in about 9 days, a 3 day stage ultra of 84 miles total (so each day is okay). Looking forward to it. In my taper an plan nice, easy bike ride for this weekend.

How was Bandera? It's currently* on my schedule for my first 100k this January.

*Life may interfere with racing that weekend though (still trying to determine) and if so, I'll do the Rocky 50m instead a few weeks later.

I did Bear 100 this year as my first 100-miler. Wow, did that kick my butt. I wanted to quit at mile 75 (Beaver Lodge) but my crew didn't let me I finished it just barely under the 36 hour cutoff. It was definitely the hardest physical thing I have ever done. Not sure if I want to do another 100-miler again but I love the 50-milers.

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http://dontletitdefeatyou.blogspot.com

I am signed up for my first ever. Small local 50k in January and another in February. Course is pretty flat but is mostly single track in the woods. I am slow and still measuring my ultra trail running success and progress by the number of times I fall / trip per 10k.

I am thinking about entering the WS lottery. We volunteered at an aid station and then helped crew a runner after we finished at the aid station this year at WS. Great race and great experience.
I did the Javelina Jundred last weekend as my first 100 mile race and it destroyed me. It is a relatively easy race course (about 8,000 ft of gain on nice desert trails) but I am not a good runner and I struggled. However, I was able to finish in 25:38 and was very happy with the outcome. To give you all some context, the winner finished in 13:01!
When I finished I told my girlfriend that I was not only done running but I was never going to even exercise again but the amnesia is starting to kick in and with the full knowledge that there is a very low probability of getting in to WS I will probably enter the lottery.

I do think that IM training is good for ultras but you need to practice running slow and hiking if you are going long. The triathletes mindset of being expedient in aid stations and not wasting time on the course is good if you want to race at the front or avoid course cutoff times. My GF has won and podiumed in 100 mile races by being spending less time in aid stations than the other runners. It can really add up over time.

Congrats! I had to drop at 52 miles. Couldn't even keep water down. I'm registered for 2018 Bear 100 and plan on finishing this time.

Bandera is a very rocky course, which I guess is typical for that part of TX. I'm not used to that rocky of a course so I tripped a few times and so did some of the folks running with me at times. I doubt I'd go back but its spot on the calendar makes it nice to get a 100k WS qualifier done early in the year so you can focus on 100 milers.

I just did the IceBox480 this past weekend in River Falls, WI which was a fun race. You basically run as far as you can in 8 hours (480 min) starting off on a 7 mile looped trail. At 2 PM you have to decide if you want to attempt another 7 mile loop and finish before the 3:30 finish time (if you don't finish the loop the miles don't count), or switch to a 1 mile loop and run as many of those as you want. I did 6 full loops (42 miles) and didn't feel like doing a mile loop in the remaining minutes for 15th place overall. It's a pretty fun but challenging course and I'd recommend it as a low key end of season race...or for me it's kind of kick-starting 2018 training.

The Canyons 100K (CA) in April will be my first trail ultra of 2018 and its a WS qualifier (must be under 18 hours to qualify)

Ahh the 2017 ultra thread is back with real results...definitely helps with motivation for the upcoming 2018 season for me as I remember when this thread started and I felt empty not being able to say I was planning an event. Congrats to everyone for either tough finishes or learning and getting back out there to try again. I just need the 2018 ultra thread now to be posted. ;)

My 100M is this weekend. Training through Sept was great. Then I had a 10 day stomach bug, followed by an upper resp infection, and news of an impeding major surgery for one of the kiddos. Still managed 250 miles in Oct, but it should have been 300-320. I am trying to get my head on straight for the race. A positive attitude is the only thing that is going to get me through this anywhere close to the time I was hoping for. Last year I did 16:09. I wanted to pull back those 9 minutes and 4 seconds. We will see. I waver from "hell yes", to "I don't even care".

Bigfoot 200 is in the plans for 2018 if I don't get into Norseman. Also put into WS. 2.5% chance, but why not.

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Brian

A bit late to the party, but what the hell..

January 8/17: 8-hour indoor track ultra. Turned out to be a 232m cement track. Hated it. 65.33km / 2nd O/A

January 21/17: 3-hour winter trail race on a 2km loop. Foggy, mushy snow. Had fun. 24.4km / 1st Woman O/A

April 29/17: Pick Your Poison 50k. Mud while running up and down a ski hill (5,440ft of elevation), but a nice day. Used as training race. 7h37m

May 27/17: Sulphur Springs 100k. Ludicrous mud for my 1st 100k attempt - 5 x 20k loops with 8,400ft of elevation. Tripped over NOTHING AT ALL at 56.5k while running downhill and ended up a bit bloody. Finished just after dark in 15h54m / 3rd W<40

July 8/17: Limberlost Challenge 56k. Did I say there was ludicrous mud at Sulphur? I had no idea how muddy a course could be. Finished 4 x 14km loops less than 3.5 minutes before the cut off in 9h56m - lots of people either quit between laps or didn't make it under 10hrs. Only 4,300ft elevation.

September 9/17: Haliburton Forest 50 miler. 1st 50 mile attempt on a fairly technical course - 40km long trail so a single out-and-back with 6,500ft of elevation. Had no specific goal until I reached the turn-around, then thrashed myself through the second half to squeak in under 13hrs (12h53m).

October 7/17: Sticks n'Stones 50k(ish) - new race for this year put on by friends. Non-technical, 10 x 5km loops (actually about 5.2km), only 2,500ft of elevation but the day was hot as hell. 6h34m / 3rd W30-39

October 28/17: Horror Trail 6-hour on a 2.5km loop. Been doing this one annually since 2010 and this was the worst mud I've ever seen - as bad as Sulphur. 46.87km / 3rd Woman O/A

Feel pretty good about what I accomplished this year - also ended up 2nd woman <40 in the season-long ultra series that includes the Pick Your Poison, Sulphur Springs, Limberlost, Haliburton and Horror Trail races (plus a few others), so that's a pretty sweet cherry on the top.

Looking at my first 100 mile attempt next year, but starting things off with a new indoor track 6-hour ultra bright and early on January 6th, 2018.

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ill advised racing inc.

...Hey. I was searching the forum for experiences for the Eiger 101. I have won the lottery and can now sign in. Before I do that I was wondering what kind of training people do for things like that. Would you mind sharing a quick recap on your training leading up to this run? I am a decent marathon runner and have done an 80k 3400k run previously, but the 6.7k climbing scares me a bit....also when you say gnarly trails does it mean just difficult to run or also exposed with a danger to fall?

Thanks a lot!! And good luck for your future races...hopefully there were a few in the meantime.
Uli

Congratulations on your entry !


By gnarly trail I mean essentially unrunnable: very steep, with lots of rocks (both fixed and loose) and roots to trip you up, and sometimes wet and slippery underfoot. The worst was the bit just before the halfway mark, going down from Schynnige Platte. I literally fell down the hillside onto the lower path a couple of times. I still don't know how I did not break any bones or twist any ankles.

My longest training run was only about 6 hours, but included a ton of climbing, and I did that for many weeks. I live in Bellingham WA, and my training ground was Chuckanut Mountain (summit around 1750') . I would go up from one side, go down the other side, come back up by another way, go down another side, go back up another way, and then return to my starting point. Lots of steep terrain as well as lots of long winding trails through the woods. No idea what actual distance I covered on these runs; probably only about 40k. But that seemed to be enough; the distance did not seem to be an issue in the Eiger run.

Thanks a lot for your feedback. It sounds like a lot of fun 😎. Not sure I will reach a training level where I will be confident about the run....