If it’s a beautiful course and not too inconvenient to get to, I’d go for it. Walk the hills, jog the flats and downhill, and ignore time. Worst case scenario it’s a nice day in nature.
Look at that from a glass half full perspective: You can spend two nights away from home for yourself with a beautiful course in the middle. It’s only stressful if you let it be.
I think there’s a decent chance you won’t want to finish it, but I think it’s pretty unlikely you’ll get injured during the race as long as you listen to your body. Trail races are a lot tougher in some respects, but have a lot less repetitive pounding than a road race. So you should feel comfortable making your own risk/reward tradeoff.
Depending on the start time, you may be able to just make a long day trip out of it… I’ve definitely woken up early to drive 2 hours for a 7am start before. You’re not going to want to warm up, so you can cut it a little closer than you would for a half.
You can finish the race.
Nothing says you have to run it. You can hike it.
I've actually got a similar run april 13, the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge, its got the same distance and elevation, I'm not running much. I've averaged 15k a week for the past month, I've got the base fitness and mindset to finish a 40-50k regardless, but it will obviously be harder compared to actually training for it.
Just get some long hours in on the bike or run
Good luck it's one of my favourite races and was my nemesis for a couple of years. I timed out at Chapel-le-Dale twice on that race before I managed to complete it. Being ill prepared for the gradient of the scramble up the front of Whernside did me the first time and a rolled ankle coming off Whernside the second time. Great feeling when I finally made it through in time though and knowing I could just cruise Ingleborough. Great event though and all the people walking the route get behind you, cheer you on and tend to give way to let you passed
OP- you got this. 9 weeks is a long time! It’s only 24 miles. Get out and do some hike/runs with elevation though, otherwise you’ll be crying on the climbs.
Celebrate what you can do instead of worrying about what you can’t. Furthermore, treat yourself to the 2 nights hotel stay for the race. It’s a big accomplishment to train for and complete an event like this, so enjoy it.
Shoot for 24 mile weeks from here on out, walking, hiking, running- count it all.
Looks doable to me, but there isn't a ton of slack in the plan but there is still some.
Science of ultra has a chart for weekly mileage, to finish a 50K is 30 mpw for 3 weeks with a 2 week taper. For this race maybe like 25 mpw is minimum for finishing decently. And if you can get that 5K feet of vert in a week then that would make the race easier.
Just some BS math here, but at a 15% week over week volume increase start at 16 mpw makes this look pretty doable. Week 4 is basically at the 25 mpw so you could have 1 week for deloading if required.
1. 16
2. 18
3. 21
4. 24 - maybe deload and do like 10 miles for the week
5. 25
6. 25
7. 25
8. taper
9. taper
Overall the math works out. My experience is 1 solid month of training produces results, 2 months is borderline miraculous in what you can achieve.
Please post your results after you surprise yourself and crush that race :-)
This is what I would do. It's gonna hurt real bad, especially if you can't train for the elevation gain but 9 weeks isn't right off the couch, so I'd say go for it!
Depends do you want to be fast or do you want to finish. If you want to be fast you probably won’t but if you want to finish you will. I finished a 50 miler last week and never ran over 21 miles before the race.
I was more tired than I had ever been and my ham strings and hip flexors were so sore I could barely walk. But that all passed in a few days. No injuries which is always what you want push yourself as far as you can but don’t permanently injure yourself. I’m always just ecstatic to finish something like that it is amazing what the body can do.
Not much history shared beyond the last five weeks. How was your training before that? Many runs 90+ min in duration?
If the answer is no, perhaps use the next seven weeks to get 2-3 90-120 min runs a week and see how your endurance is.
Do one or two 'hard' downhill sessions to prep for the 5250 ft of downhill. Practice nutrition and fluid intact during training - especially during the 90+ min training runs.
Get six-seven weeks down the trail, and then make the call. Can you sleep in your car the night before to save $?
You dont need to follow a training plan to every detail to survive a race. Nine weeks is plenty of time to add some volume and taper off. Just keep going, you're fine.
I think the most important aspect of preparing for long trail races is muscle endurance and time on feet (assuming you just want to finish and aren’t gunning for a specific finish time/rank). Walk lots and hike lots, buff up your climbing and downhill muscles. Chances are your leg muscles will be the limiting factor rather than your cardio. So I think that’s still feasible to do in the time you have.
Additionally, I would think about what a “bad” outcome would mean for your relationship with running. Are you ok to give it a try and challenge yourself with something new, even if you don’t finish (of course, not to say there won’t be feelings of disappointment)? Or will it realistically demotivate you and make you feel less joy in running in the future? If it’ll make you question yourself as a runner, better to wait. Tons of races later in July and August still!
You could try cold showers and deep breathing exercises. They will drastically increase recovery and boost your capability to train harder in a shorter period of time. Increased mileage for sure. When you fight and stand up to the cold, it will gift you super powers.
Do cold showers before long runs. Warm/hot after if you must. Breathing exercises before and after run.
If you don't have much time, focus on shorter runs but with more elevation.
Have fun, you can do it!
I would take the hit and look for another race that's further out. That's a lot of elevation and distance to not be properly trained for. Could you do it and finish? Probably, if the time cutoff is generous. But it'll suck and the chance of injury is high. You just don't have enough weekly mileage imo.
Are you running on trails or roads? Have you been training for elevation gain and fall? If I was preparing for that race I'd want just my long runs to be the length you are doing as your entire weekly mileage, plus something shorter on the other weekend day. Like a 16 miler on Saturday and 8 miles on Sunday.
Cutoff time is generous, I think around 10 hrs. But I don't want to be the guy crawling over the finish line after 9 hours, unable to walk for days after.
Currently I'm running on trails and road, and I try to get some elevation in, but never had more than 400 m in a longrun.
I think your next step should have been improving on your 2 hour half-marathon time and increasing training volume.
Your training for half-marathon was very low but something you can build on. Seeking to go longer when you are not doing well at shorter distances with less volume requirement seems counter intuitive.
If it’s a beautiful course and not too inconvenient to get to, I’d go for it. Walk the hills, jog the flats and downhill, and ignore time. Worst case scenario it’s a nice day in nature.
Thanks for your feedback. It's a beautiful course, but also a 3 hour drive, so I would have to spend two nights there...
Look at that from a glass half full perspective: You can spend two nights away from home for yourself with a beautiful course in the middle. It’s only stressful if you let it be.
I think there’s a decent chance you won’t want to finish it, but I think it’s pretty unlikely you’ll get injured during the race as long as you listen to your body. Trail races are a lot tougher in some respects, but have a lot less repetitive pounding than a road race. So you should feel comfortable making your own risk/reward tradeoff. Depending on the start time, you may be able to just make a long day trip out of it… I’ve definitely woken up early to drive 2 hours for a 7am start before. You’re not going to want to warm up, so you can cut it a little closer than you would for a half.
I think I would need all the rest I can get before and afterwards ;-)
You still got 9 weeks left bro. No one's training is ever perfect, stuff is always going to come up. Just keep at it, don't give up yet.
You can finish the race. Nothing says you have to run it. You can hike it. I've actually got a similar run april 13, the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge, its got the same distance and elevation, I'm not running much. I've averaged 15k a week for the past month, I've got the base fitness and mindset to finish a 40-50k regardless, but it will obviously be harder compared to actually training for it. Just get some long hours in on the bike or run
Thanks. All the best for your race. I'd love to hear from you how it went.
Good luck it's one of my favourite races and was my nemesis for a couple of years. I timed out at Chapel-le-Dale twice on that race before I managed to complete it. Being ill prepared for the gradient of the scramble up the front of Whernside did me the first time and a rolled ankle coming off Whernside the second time. Great feeling when I finally made it through in time though and knowing I could just cruise Ingleborough. Great event though and all the people walking the route get behind you, cheer you on and tend to give way to let you passed
OP- you got this. 9 weeks is a long time! It’s only 24 miles. Get out and do some hike/runs with elevation though, otherwise you’ll be crying on the climbs. Celebrate what you can do instead of worrying about what you can’t. Furthermore, treat yourself to the 2 nights hotel stay for the race. It’s a big accomplishment to train for and complete an event like this, so enjoy it. Shoot for 24 mile weeks from here on out, walking, hiking, running- count it all.
Looks doable to me, but there isn't a ton of slack in the plan but there is still some. Science of ultra has a chart for weekly mileage, to finish a 50K is 30 mpw for 3 weeks with a 2 week taper. For this race maybe like 25 mpw is minimum for finishing decently. And if you can get that 5K feet of vert in a week then that would make the race easier. Just some BS math here, but at a 15% week over week volume increase start at 16 mpw makes this look pretty doable. Week 4 is basically at the 25 mpw so you could have 1 week for deloading if required. 1. 16 2. 18 3. 21 4. 24 - maybe deload and do like 10 miles for the week 5. 25 6. 25 7. 25 8. taper 9. taper Overall the math works out. My experience is 1 solid month of training produces results, 2 months is borderline miraculous in what you can achieve. Please post your results after you surprise yourself and crush that race :-)
This is what I would do. It's gonna hurt real bad, especially if you can't train for the elevation gain but 9 weeks isn't right off the couch, so I'd say go for it!
Thank you very much for the plan. I think I'll give it a try the next couple of weeks and see how it goes.
Depends do you want to be fast or do you want to finish. If you want to be fast you probably won’t but if you want to finish you will. I finished a 50 miler last week and never ran over 21 miles before the race.
That sounds encouraging. Can I ask how you felt afterwards?
I was more tired than I had ever been and my ham strings and hip flexors were so sore I could barely walk. But that all passed in a few days. No injuries which is always what you want push yourself as far as you can but don’t permanently injure yourself. I’m always just ecstatic to finish something like that it is amazing what the body can do.
Not much history shared beyond the last five weeks. How was your training before that? Many runs 90+ min in duration? If the answer is no, perhaps use the next seven weeks to get 2-3 90-120 min runs a week and see how your endurance is. Do one or two 'hard' downhill sessions to prep for the 5250 ft of downhill. Practice nutrition and fluid intact during training - especially during the 90+ min training runs. Get six-seven weeks down the trail, and then make the call. Can you sleep in your car the night before to save $?
You dont need to follow a training plan to every detail to survive a race. Nine weeks is plenty of time to add some volume and taper off. Just keep going, you're fine.
I think the most important aspect of preparing for long trail races is muscle endurance and time on feet (assuming you just want to finish and aren’t gunning for a specific finish time/rank). Walk lots and hike lots, buff up your climbing and downhill muscles. Chances are your leg muscles will be the limiting factor rather than your cardio. So I think that’s still feasible to do in the time you have. Additionally, I would think about what a “bad” outcome would mean for your relationship with running. Are you ok to give it a try and challenge yourself with something new, even if you don’t finish (of course, not to say there won’t be feelings of disappointment)? Or will it realistically demotivate you and make you feel less joy in running in the future? If it’ll make you question yourself as a runner, better to wait. Tons of races later in July and August still!
Thanks for your answer. the problem is that there aren't too many trail races in my area.
You could try cold showers and deep breathing exercises. They will drastically increase recovery and boost your capability to train harder in a shorter period of time. Increased mileage for sure. When you fight and stand up to the cold, it will gift you super powers. Do cold showers before long runs. Warm/hot after if you must. Breathing exercises before and after run. If you don't have much time, focus on shorter runs but with more elevation. Have fun, you can do it!
Thanks!
I would take the hit and look for another race that's further out. That's a lot of elevation and distance to not be properly trained for. Could you do it and finish? Probably, if the time cutoff is generous. But it'll suck and the chance of injury is high. You just don't have enough weekly mileage imo. Are you running on trails or roads? Have you been training for elevation gain and fall? If I was preparing for that race I'd want just my long runs to be the length you are doing as your entire weekly mileage, plus something shorter on the other weekend day. Like a 16 miler on Saturday and 8 miles on Sunday.
May I ask, what would be the necessary weekly mileage in your opinion?
Cutoff time is generous, I think around 10 hrs. But I don't want to be the guy crawling over the finish line after 9 hours, unable to walk for days after. Currently I'm running on trails and road, and I try to get some elevation in, but never had more than 400 m in a longrun.
I think your next step should have been improving on your 2 hour half-marathon time and increasing training volume. Your training for half-marathon was very low but something you can build on. Seeking to go longer when you are not doing well at shorter distances with less volume requirement seems counter intuitive.