Training for long distance trail race

ZX Wheeler said:

My girlfriend is training for a 67 km trail race in Aug and I was wondering about some tips on
preparation.

She feels that it should take her somewhere around 6 - 7 hrs.

Is there any point in doing runs longer than 3hrs.

Maybe. Some ultra veterans will say that it helps to have done a workout including both running and
walking that will last 2/3 of the expected duration of the race, but I never managed it. In the six
months before my first 50-mile race, which took me a little over 10 hours to complete, I did about
10 runs over 3 hours, but that includes two marathons of 4:26 and 3:59. As some here may tell you,
time on the feet and not speed is possibly the most important thing about the longest training runs
for an ultra.

Quoted message said:

Is a day of power hiking good training.

Yes indeed. She may already know this, but extended up-tempo walking, especially on hilly terrain,
requires some practice in order to avoid trouble, so training is the time to prepare for any periods
of the trail race when she will walk.

chris

ZX Wheeler said:

My girlfriend is training for a 67 km trail race in Aug and I was wondering about some tips on
preparation.

She feels that it should take her somewhere around 6 - 7 hrs.

Is there any point in doing runs longer than 3hrs.

Is a day of power hiking good training.

Thanks

--
Caveat Lector "the further you go outside, the further you go inside" - B. McKibben Doug Freese
[email hidden]

ZX Wheeler said:

My girlfriend is training for a 67 km trail race in Aug and I was wondering about some tips on
preparation.

Note, Stormy is not just 67K but has 4K of elevation.

Quoted message said:

She feels that it should take her somewhere around 6 - 7 hrs.

Is there any point in doing runs longer than 3hrs.

I would suggest 4 to 4.5 hours AND mimic the conditions of the race if not a tad harder. If the race
is hilly trails train on hilly trails. If it flat still train on hills for strength. Could she get
by with three hours? Probably. Will she fell good at the end? Most likely not and recovery time much
slower. After looking up the race at stormytrailrace.cahome.htmlOpen ↗ I'm more convinced to
work up to a 4-4.5 hour training run.

From my bag of thumb rules and probably worth about as much as Iraqi old currency - 3:3.5 for 50k,
5-6 for 50 miles.

Quoted message said:

Is a day of power hiking good training.

You can mix power hiking into your long runs just as you would run the race or hike separately but
you MUST practice your hiking or take a severe beating on race day. Running muscles and hiking
muscles are quite different.

Take a look at run100s.comrun100s.comOpen ↗ While you have asked two very good questions there are many
more. This web page and it's links will answer some questions you may not know to ask. 🙂

If the mountain bike race is the same day and the trail is wet, think carefully about appropriate
footwear. Bikes make a big mess out of a soft trail if wet or even damp.

--
Caveat Lector "the further you go outside, the further you go inside" - B. McKibben Doug Freese
[email hidden]

"ZX Wheeler" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

My girlfriend is training for a 67 km trail race in Aug and I was wondering about some tips on
preparation.

She feels that it should take her somewhere around 6 - 7 hrs.

Is there any point in doing runs longer than 3hrs.

Yes. For a race this long, one has to be able to eat/drink. She should do at least one run of 5
hours at an easy pace where she just works on eating/drinkin/relentless forward motion.

Quoted message said:

Is a day of power hiking good training.

If the trail is hilly and/or technical and she is planning on 6-7 hours, she won't be doing a lot of
walking other than for short stretches. I'm a big believer in walk/climbing training, so it won't
hurt her but she could do what she needs in the 5 hour run(s). If she's really shooting for that
pace, back/back days of running for 3 hours would be better.

Quoted message said:

Thanks

ZX Wheeler said:

My girlfriend is training for a 67 km trail race in Aug and I was wondering about some tips on
preparation.

She feels that it should take her somewhere around 6 - 7 hrs.

Is there any point in doing runs longer than 3hrs.

Is a day of power hiking good training.

Thanks

sounds good to me

I'll be running Stormy for the third time.( I'm one or the original 11 runners).

I like to do four or five runs in the 5-6 hour range. This year I'll be running the Knee Knacker so
my longest run will be 50k on the Baden powell trail

Phil

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