With the Unreasonable East 200 miler ( https://unreasonableeast200miler.com.au/ ) less than 10 days away its time to start to think about carbo loading albeit for an ultra you probably don’t need to with the amount of food available at aid stations but for all your short distance runners, less than a marathon, carboloading is important. I’ve written about carboloading a lot over the years as it’s one of my favourite subjects. Three days of eating 10g of carbs for every kilo of body weight, how good is that ? Runners normally love their food and for three days you can actually indulge albeit with a caveat of sticking to carbs as much as possible while avoiding too much fat and sugar of course.
I personally only really carboload for a marathon , anything shorter it’s just about a proper taper and watching your diet on the week of the race. With shorter races racing weight also becomes a challenge and you need to be mindful of obtaining the right balance between eating too much and putting on an extra kilo or two that you then need to run with or not eating enough , to drop weight, and then having no energy for the event. With experience you generally find out what works for you and each individual is different. In the days before carbon-plated running shoes, can you remember that far back?, we all use to seek out the lightest running shoes while putting on 1-2 kilos of extra weight carboloading poorly. Runners and logic, not generally bed fellows ?
Are we carboloading all wrong and do we really care ?
The Thursday before a marathon is when traditionally you start to gorge on carbohydrates to carbo-load for the big day on Sunday. I use the old tried and tested 10g of carbohydrates for every kilogram of weight. For me that is 700g of carbohydrates for three days. It is a challenge and one I reckon 75% of all runners fail to meet it. They’ll make an effort of course but either not hit the required amount of carbs or fail to hydrate properly. One thing I guarantee is you will feel ‘bloated’ and ‘heavy’ after a good carbo-load but this is mainly liquid and on the day the benefit out weighs weight issues.
Is there a better way than a 3 day food feast though ? As runners it normally goes against the grain by eating so much and exercising so little. (I’m assuming you are tapering by now ?) The guilty feeling as you eat a muffin for a third day on the trot (I must admit to never having this feeling but I’ve been told some runners do , funny that ?) and stagger around with 2-3 litres of water sloshing about in your belly.
I’ve read that you can ignore the carbo-loading if you take carbs on the day in the form of Gu’s or shotz, or this at least negates the whole process. I’m not convinced but even Matt Fitzgerald has been quoted buying into this theory. Matt wrote an interesting article below on different methods of carbo-loading but I’m not ready to give up my muffin feeding frenzy just yet, so Matt, in this case, I’m staying traditional.!
The practice of carbo-loading dates back to the late 1960s. The first carbo-loading protocol was developed by a Swedish physiologist named Gunvar Ahlborg after he discovered a positive relationship between the amount of glycogen (carbs stored in the muscles and liver) in the body and endurance performance. Scientists and runners had already known for some time that eating a high-carbohydrate diet in the days preceding a long race enhances performance, but no one knew exactly why until Ahlborg’s team zeroed in on the glycogen connection.
Subsequently, Ahlborg discovered that the muscles and liver are able to store above-normal amounts of glycogen when high levels of carbohydrate consumption are preceded by severe glycogen depletion. The most obvious way to deplete the muscles of glycogen is to eat extremely small amounts of carbohydrate. A second way is to engage in exhaustive exercise. The stress of severe glycogen depletion triggers an adaptive response by which the body reduces the amount of dietary carbohydrate that it converts to fat and stores, and increases the amount of carbohydrate that it stores in the liver and muscles as glycogen. Ahlborg referred to this phenomenon as glycogen supercompensation.
Armed with this knowledge, he was able to create a more sophisticated carbo-loading protocol than the primitive existing method, which was, more or less, eating a big bowl of spaghetti.
Ahlborg came up with a seven-day carbo-loading plan in which an exhaustive bout of exercise was followed by three or four days of extremely low carbohydrate intake (10 percent of total calories) and then three or four days of extremely high carbohydrate intake (90 percent of total calories). Trained athletes who used this protocol in an experiment were able to nearly double their glycogen stores and exhibited significantly greater endurance in exercise lasting longer than 90 minutes.
After these results were published, endurance athletes across the globe began to use Ahlborg’s carbo-loading plan prior to events anticipated to last 90 minutes or longer. While it worked admirably, it had its share of drawbacks. First of all, many athletes weren’t keen on performing an exhaustive workout just a week before a big race, as the plan required.
Second, maintaining a 10 percent carbohydrate diet for three or four days carried some nasty consequences including lethargy, cravings, irritability, lack of concentration, and increased susceptibility to illness. Many runners and other athletes found it just wasn’t worth it.
Fortunately, later research showed that you can increase glycogen storage significantly without first depleting it. A newer carbo-loading protocol based on this research calls for athletes to eat a normal diet of 55 to 60 percent carbohydrate until three days before racing, and then switch to a 70 percent carbohydrate diet for the final three days, plus race morning.
As for exercise, this tamer carbo-loading method suggests one last longer workout (but not an exhaustive workout) done a week from race day followed by increasingly shorter workouts throughout race week. It’s simple, it’s non-excruciating, and it works. Admittedly, some scientists and athletes still swear that the Ahlborg protocol is more effective, but if it is, the difference is slight and probably not worth the suffering and inherent risks.
Note that you should increase your carbohydrate intake not by increasing your total caloric intake, but rather by reducing fat and protein intake in an amount that equals or slightly exceeds the amount of carbohydrate you add. Combining less training with more total calories could result in last-minute weight gain that will only slow you down. Be aware, too, that for every gram of carbohydrate the body stores, it also stores 3 to 5 grams of water, which leads many athletes to feel bloated by the end of a three-day loading period. The water weight will be long gone by the time you finish your race, however.
A friendlier carbo-loading strategy was devised in 2002 by scientists at the University of Western Australia. It combines depletion and loading and condenses them into a one-day time frame. The creators of this innovative protocol recognized that a single, short workout performed at extremely high intensity creates a powerful demand for glycogen storage in both the slow-twitch and fast-twitch fibers of the muscles.
The researchers hypothesized that following such a workout with heavy carbohydrate intake could result in a high level of glycogen supercompensation without a lot of fuss. In an experiment, the researchers asked athletes to perform a short-duration, high-intensity workout consisting of two and a half minutes at 130 percent of VO2max (about one-mile race pace) followed by a 30-second sprint. During the next 24 hours, the athletes consumed 12 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of lean muscle mass. This resulted in a 90 percent increase in muscle glycogen storage.
Runners have cause to be very pleased by these findings. Doing just a few minutes of high-intensity exercise the day before a competition will not sabotage tomorrow’s performance, yet it will suffice to stimulate the desirable carbohydrate “sponging” effect that was sought in the original Ahlborg protocol. This allows the athlete to maintain a normal diet right up until the day before competition and then load in the final 24 hours.
The Western Australia carbo-loading strategy works best if preceded by a proper taper — that is, by several days of reduced training whose purpose is to render your body rested, regenerated, and race-ready. In fact, several days of reduced training combined with your normal diet will substantially increase your glycogen storage level even before the final day’s workout and carbohydrate binge. When you exercise vigorously almost every day, your body never gets a chance to fully replenish its glycogen stores before the next workout reduces them again. Only after 48 hours of very light training or complete rest are your glycogen levels fully compensated. Then the Western Australia carbo-loading regimen can be used to achieve glycogen supercompensation.
An even newer carbo-loading protocol calls for athletes to eat a normal diet of 55 to 60 percent carbohydrate until three days before racing, and then switch to a 70 percent carbohydrate diet for the final three days, plus race morning. As for exercise, this friendliest carbo-loading method suggests one last longer workout (but not an exhaustive workout) done a week from race day followed by increasingly shorter workouts throughout race week.
Having said all of this, I would like to note finally that carbo-loading in general has been shown to enhance race performance only when athletes consume little or no carbohydrate during the race itself. If you do use a sports drink or sports gels to fuel your race effort — as you should — prior carbo-loading probably will have no effect. But it doesn’t hurt to do it anyway, as insurance.
Yelo muffin carbo-load frenzy, why wouldn’t you?
Carboloading, pass me a muffin and no one gets hurt.
There are times when being a runner can really be an excuse to eat great ‘tukka’ and carboloading is one of those times. Three days before your goal race, which should be a marathon distance or more (so don’t think this applies to 5k races, sorry !) , you try and eat 10g of carbohydrates for every 1kg of weight, i.e. me being 70kg , I need to eat 700g of carbohydrates for 3 days pre-marathon. It is actually quite hard to get this right unfortunately. A lot of runners just end up eating junk assuming all food is good food this close to the race or don’t hydrate enough. (You need to properly hydrated for the carboloading to work properly)
So what does a 700g day look like. Breakfast, weetbix and honey with orange juice. Brunch, 2 slices of toast with honey and another OJ. Lunch, pasta with chicken and some yoghurt. Maybe another round of toast pre-dinner of more pasta. Add in another OJ somewhere and a late night yoghurt or toasted muffin and you’re pretty close. Best thing is to google ‘carboloading’ and you’ll get the general idea. What did we do before ‘google’? Maybe I’ll google ‘what did we do before google’?
Also make sure you aim for high carbohydrate , low fat food; avoid the high fat food.
So carboloading, a good thing if done correctly and I’d say worth 4-5 minutes. C’mon, what other sport gives you such a return just by eating. Gotta love running……
This article written by AIS Sports Nutrition is worth a read on the subject.
‘Carbohydrate loading’ is probably one of the most misunderstood terms in sports nutrition. People commonly think anyone involved in sport needs to ‘carb up’ and the way to do this is to eat ‘flat out’ in the days leading up to an event. Read on to get the facts on carbohydrate loading.
What is carbohydrate loading?
Carbohydrate loading is a strategy involving changes to training and nutrition that can maximise muscle glycogen (carbohydrate) stores prior to endurance competition.
The technique was originally developed in the late 1960’s and typically involved a 3-4 day ‘depletion phase’ involving 3-4 days of hard training plus a low carbohydrate diet. This depletion phase was thought to be necessary to stimulate the enzyme glycogen synthase. This was then followed immediately by a 3-4 day ‘loading phase’ involving rest combined with a high carbohydrate diet. The combination of the two phases was shown to boost muscle carbohydrate stores beyond their usual resting levels.
Ongoing research has allowed the method to be refined so that modern day carbohydrate loading is now more manageable for athletes. The depletion phase was demonstrated to be no longer necessary, which is a bonus for athletes as this phase was very difficult. Australian marathon runner, Steve Moneghetti has described the depletion phase as making him feel like “death warmed up”. Today, 1-4 days of exercise taper while following a high carbohydrate diet (7-12g/kg body weight) is sufficient to elevate muscle glycogen levels.
Does carbohydrate loading improve performance?
Muscle glycogen levels are normally in the range of 100-120 mmol/kg ww (wet weight). Carbohydrate loading enables muscle glycogen levels to be increased to around 150-200 mmol/kg ww. This extra supply of carbohydrate has been demonstrated to improve endurance exercise by allowing athletes to exercise at their optimal pace for a longer time. It is estimated that carbohydrate loading can improve performance over a set distance by 2-3%.
Who should carbohydrate load?
Anyone exercising continuously at a moderate to high intensity for 90 minutes or longer is likely to benefit from carbohydrate loading. Typically, sports such as cycling, marathon running, longer distance triathlon, cross-country skiing and endurance swimming benefit from carbohydrate loading. Shorter-term exercise is unlikely to benefit as the body’s usual carbohydrate stores are adequate. Carbohydrate loading is generally not practical to achieve in team sports where games are played every 3-4 days. Although it might be argued that players in football and AFL have heavy demands on their muscle fuel stores, it may not be possible to achieve a full carbohydrate loading protocol within the weekly schedule of training and games.
What does a high carbohydrate diet look like?
The following diet is suitable for a 70kg athlete aiming to carbohydrate load:
Breakfast
3 cups of low-fibre breakfast cereal with 11/2 cups of reduced fat milk
1 medium banana
250ml orange juice
Snack
toasted muffin with honey
500ml sports drink Lunch
2 sandwiches (4 slices of bread) with filling as desired
200g tub of low-fat fruit yoghurt
375ml can of soft drink Snack
banana smoothie made with low-fat milk, banana and honey
cereal bar Dinner
1 cup of pasta sauce with 2 cups of cooked pasta
3 slices of garlic bread
2 glasses of cordial
Late Snack
toasted muffin and jam
500ml sports drink
This sample plan provides ~ 14,800 kJ, 630 g carbohydrate, 125 g protein and 60 g fat.
Are there any special considerations for females?
Most studies of glycogen storage have been conducted on male athletes. However, some studies suggest that females may be less responsive to carbohydrate loading, especially during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. This appears to be, at least partly, because they have difficulty consuming the larger amounts of carbohydrate required for a complete CHO load. Further research needs to be conducted specifically on females.
What are the common mistakes made when carbohydrate loading?
Research indicates that many athletes who attempt to carbohydrate load, fail to achieve their goal. Common mistakes include:
Carbohydrate loading requires an exercise taper. Athletes can find it difficult to back off training for 1-4 days before competition. Failing to rest will compromise carbohydrate loading.
Many athletes fail to eat enough carbohydrate. It seems athletes don’t have a good understanding of the amount of food required to carbohydrate load. Working with a sports dietitian or using a carbohydrate counter can be useful.
In order to consume the necessary amount of carbohydrate, it is necessary to cut back on fibre and make use of compact sources of carbohydrate such as sugar, cordial, soft drink, sports drink, jam, honey, jelly and tinned fruit. Athletes who include too many high fibre foods in their carbohydrate loading menu may suffer stomach upset or find the food too bulky to consume.
Carbohydrate loading will most likely cause body mass to increase by approximately 2kg. This extra weight is due to extra muscle glycogen and water. For some athletes, a fear of weight gain may prevent them from carbohydrate loading adequately.
Athletes commonly use carbohydrate loading as an excuse to eat everything and anything in sight. Consuming too many high fat foods will make it difficult to consume sufficient carbohydrate. It may also result in gain of body fat. It is important to stick to high-carbohydrate, low-fatfoods while carbohydrate loading.
These are not pancakes but carbohydrates disguised as pancakes.
With the Unreasonable East 200 miler race ( https://unreasonableeast200miler.com.au/ ) less than two weeks away its time to talk about tapering, every runners nightmare. I have found with age comes wisdom and now I embrace the taper before a race and adjust according to the event. My good friend Dave Kennedy, 6 Inch Trail Ultra race director ( http://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com/ ) doesn’t believe in tapering for ultras and over time I have certainly ran more before a longer event albeit distance over pace, just ticking the legs over I suppose. I wouldn’t launch into tempo or threshold runs the week before an event but am quite happy to run every day at a relaxed pace and noting more than 10k.
Remember the number one rule of tapering, you can only do too much on the week before a race, never too little. So if you do nothing for the week you will not lose fitness. The only caveat is you probably need to adjust your diet and drop the calories at the start of the week before launching into a carboloading frenzy three days before the event. Another caveat, for ultras, the carboloading phase is probably not as necessary as there will most likely be a smorgasbord of tukka during the event, also weight isn’t as big an issue as say for a marathon runner. Ultra running really is the sport that keeps on giving.
From an old post of mine :-
For the 6 inch ultra marathon in December last year I experimented by not tapering nearly as much as I would for a marathon. On the week of the event I actually ran twice a day Monday through Thursday and only had 48 hours rest before the race. Admittedly all runs on race week were slow and easy but I still managed over 80km’s pre-race. On the day I felt great and ran a good race for a 7th place finish but more importantly I was 4th quickest over the second half of the race. I actually ran my first negative split for an ultra. The week before the ultra I had ran 140k so there really wasn’t a taper period to talk off. ( http://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com )
Could this work for a marathon ? I don’t think so. The ultra is normally ran at a more subdued pace and although longer I feel not as testing as ‘racing’ a marathon. (Well ultras less than 100k, when you get above 100k I’m sure it becomes a tad more testing that a marathon. Once I run further than 100k I’ll confirm?) In an ultra the race pace normally decreases brings your overall cardio fitness in to play more than resting the legs a few weeks before. If you haven’t got the fitness a two week taper will not help, you’ll still be underdone. With a marathon, as the distance is less, you normally have the fitness required to finish the event, the tapering helps more by letting tired muscles recovery.
Also I feel running a good ultra is more dependent on the nutrition and hydration plan, get this right will benefit you so much more than a taper period. Again get this plan wrong and the taper will not save you. In an ultra any mistakes will be paid for, that is a certainty. In an ultra there is no where to hide.
Researching tapering and ultras on the web and there are stories advocating no tapering and setting PB’s while others advocate a 3 week steep taper and lean more towards relaxing rather than stressing about the event. All have their pro’s and con’s and as with all things running there’s no one shoe fits all. It really depends on the runner and also their experience and fitness. The more experienced runner with a good foundation of distance training under their belt will be more likely to be able to go into an event without tapering. They will not need the confidence boost that comes from a good taper as much as someone with less experience. Remember a good taper will also aid confidence and going into any race this is important, anything that helps put you in a positive mindset is welcome and needs to be embraced,
Of course if you have any niggling injuries an enforced taper may be called for. When this happens there is nothing you can do about it, just sit back and smell the roses concentrating on things you can influence like carboloading. Now carboloading, that is a whole new post and one I shall tackle next. Until then enjoy this article below by Ian Torrence which highlights ‘peaking’ rather than tapering as a benefit, pre-ultra. Ian is part of the Greg McMillan stable of writers so has a wealth of knowledge and experience to call upon. (Please note I do not advocate the Joe Kulak method of peaking described below but as you can see in the photo below my friend Jon is convinced it works… ?)
Jon practicing the Joe Kulak method of peaking !
The final weeks before an event are the toughest to get right. The common notion that all hard work must cease and inactivity must ensue is incorrect. It’s also foolhardy to continue amassing mileage and tough workouts as race day nears in hopes of improving fitness. Depending on your approach to this all-important time period, you may be left feeling lethargic or simply exhausted. A runner with the proper peak will feel rejuvenated and ready to go on race day.
Greg McMillan, my mentor, has devised a set of rules to live by as race day approaches. Greg explains, “By studying peak performance research – both physiological as well as psychological – as opposed to just the tapering research, I’ve been able to dial in how to truly peak on race day. It works for all athletes no matter where you find yourself in the pack come race day.” By placing Greg’s simple and effective system into context, let’s get you prepared for your next ultra.
1. Do not drop running volume drastically
Though there are some that prefer three weeks to peak, two weeks seems to be the most popular choice. During the first week of a peak, drop the length of each run by 10 to 20 minutes. The week before your event, drop volume by 20 to 30 minutes per run. I recommend that ultrarunners limit their last long run(s), done a week before the key event, to 90 easy minutes (regardless of the distance of the event). This is enough to give you that long run feeling, but short enough that muscle recovery and glycogen-storage continue. Light, non-impact cross training can be done in lieu of runs, but only if you are used to those forms of exercise.
2. Keep the routine
Run, eat, sleep, work, and socialize when you do normally. Your body and mind have achieved stasis over the past few months of training. Keep them both happy and the keel even. Now is not the time to experiment with new workouts, forms of exercise, foods, and social events. Use the extra time not spent running for sleeping and sticking to “safe” hobbies.
3. Keep the intensity and build confidence
Before the 2007 JFK 50 Mile, I had an exchange with fellow competitor Andy Mason. Nine days before the race, he completed a round of very quick mile repeats on the track; his last quality workout before the race. I knew he was fit and feeling confident. That year, Andy finished in the top ten.
Though most ultrarunners do not need to perform a tough round of mile repeats before their next race, they might consider doing some sort of confidence-building workout 10 days to two weeks out from their event. This workout, however, should be in tune with recent training. Running a 30-mile training run or time trialing up and down Hope Pass (like the author) a few days before a race is neither smart nor beneficial. A moderate length workout that you’re familiar with, that is aerobically challenging, allows for adequate recovery before race day, and demonstrates your fitness should be the order of the day. If you don’t routinely perform hard hill, stamina-building, fartlek, or fast finish workouts then this is not the time to start. Maintain your current training and follow the guidelines for reduction in mileage as mentioned above.
Now is also the time to reflect on all of the training you’ve done thus far. Remember that you’ve done the work necessary to get you to the finish line.
4. Stick to the original race plan and have fun
No one starts a race without a goal. Whether it be to keep your Grand Slam hopes alive, finish your first ultra, or win the event outright, don’t lose sight of why you’re out there. Be deliberate in your actions and calculate each move you make on the race course. Run your own race and enjoy the time you’re having on the trail or road. Greg McMillan sums this up perfectly, “Let’s face it. Most of us aren’t going for an Olympic gold medal here. We are simply enjoying the challenge of doing our best. There is no real pressure, so quit putting so much on yourself. We run for fun, and you should remember that. Have fun!”
PEAKING FOR MULTIPLE RACES
What if you’re gearing up for several important races that are separated by a few weeks or less? The Grand Slam of Ultrarunning, as well as others of that genre, and several race series like the NorCal and SoCal Ultra Grand Prix are perfect examples. In essence, you are recovering and peaking in unison between events. There are two ways to approach situations like this:
1. Reverse taper
This is like returning from injury. Gradually and slowly increase the length of your post-race easy runs and avoid fast and difficult workouts. You won’t reach your normal training level, but you’ll satisfy the need for a few runs before your next event.
2. The Joe Kulak Method
When I asked Joe Kulak what he did between each of his four 2003 Grand Slam record- setting 100-mile races, he quipped, “I sat on the couch and drank beer.” If beer is not your drink of choice, water works just as well. The reality is that you can’t gain fitness in the two or three weeks between long ultras. Recovery will be your best “workout” while preparing for your next event.
Another post of mine from the dim and distant past on tapering, I seem to write a lot about tapering funnily enough?
My legs still feel fatigued but they felt the same pre-Fremantle half two weeks ago and still managed a good PB so it’ll be another ‘trust in your training’ sprint from the start line and hopefully I’ll be able to maintain whatever pace I settle into until the end. Rottnest though is a different animal compared to Fremantle. Three nasty hills on a two lap course means six nasty hills, add in heat and possibly wind and the pressure of a PB is non-existence. This weekend is about a top 5 place (depending on who turns up of course?) and pushing myself into the ‘pain box’ for the last time on a race of distance pre-Masters Marathon November 6th. ( http://www.perth2016.com )
It will be the first time I’ve ran a half at Rottnest, actually the first time anyone has as it’s the inaugural event. I’ve ran the marathon ten times so it will be weird running at half pace on a course I have only ever ran at marathon pace. Judging the hills for pace will be a challenge but truth be told it’ll just be the normal ‘suicide pace’ until either something blows or the finish line.
Predicted time will be hard because so much will depend on the conditions on the day. You are exposed on sections of the course so a head wind would be a challenge. Heat wise we are expecting 25-28 degrees which will be the first time I have raced in anything above 20 for the year probably. Coming from the UK originally I’m not a fan of racing in the heat and this will certainly affect my time. (I do enjoy horizontal rain and extreme cold funnily enough, we call that summer in Cornwall!)
On the bright side I have a week to recover on the Island so will be treating it as a training camp with some speed work pre-Masters 5k the following Saturday. This will also be the first week of my marathon tapering so will do my best to only run once a day. This will be a challenge as I am now totally accustomed to double-up days, need to look at the bigger picture though. A good taper is so important as the legs and mind need to be fresh for the marathon. I have attached an article from Running Competitor which gives you some tips to taper like a pro. Hey, if we can’t run like a pro we can at least taper like one…
Mastering the final few weeks of training is trickier than it seems. Marathon training is hard—the long runs, hill repeats and the arduous track sessions take a tremendous toll on both the body and mind. When many marathoners review their training schedule they get giddy at the sight of the taper, which typically starts two to three weeks out from race day. The reduction in volume and intensity is a welcome one. But what many runners don’t realize, however, is that the taper can be just as (or even more) difficult as the rest of the training cycle.
Why is this? How does a taper help a marathoner in the first place and why do you need them?
First, the benefits: According to 2006 U.S. mountain running champion Nicole Hunt, who now coaches at Speedendurance.net, tapers “bolster muscle power, increase muscle glycogen, muscle repair, freshen the mind, fine-tune the neural network so that it’s working the most efficiently, and most importantly, eliminate the risk of overtraining where it could slow the athlete down the most.” Additionally, Hunt notes that a well-designed taper will increase a runner’s performance. “Studies have indicated that a taper can help runners improve [performance] by 6 to 20%,” she contends.
So what exactly is a “well-designed” taper?
The key is to find the optimal balance between three key training elements: duration, weekly mileage, and key workouts. A taper that doesn’t incorporate enough rest can leave a runner feeling burned out going into the race, while a taper overabundant with rest can be mentally taxing and result in a deterioration of fitness
How long you taper for usually depends on the distance of the race you’re targeting and what kind of mileage you’ve been logging from week to week in training. A typical taper for a marathon is two to three weeks, but some runners like American-record holder Deena Kastor only taper for 10 days beforehand.
Conversely, Hunt usually prescribes a three-week taper for her athletes. If you haven’t felt “fresh” at the starting line for recent races, look at the duration of your taper. Consider adding an extra week (or even a few days) of reduced volume and intensity to your schedule. On the other hand, if you’ve been prone to longer tapers and feel like you’re heading into your races too rested, shorten them up a bit.
Weekly Mileage
Regardless of their duration, a taper requires backing off your weekly mileage in order to rest the legs for race day. Mammoth Track Club coach Terrence Mahon, who guides elite marathoners Kastor, Josh Cox amongst others, has his top runners running 120-130 miles per week during their peak training periods. Surprisingly, however, he doesn’t cut down their overall volume too much during their taper, reducing it down for most to a relatively still high 90 miles in the final week before a key race. “We have found in the past that dropping mileage too much leads to a de-training effect,” Mahon says. “We don’t lower things universally in our tapers.” Mahon believes marathoners need to keep doing long runs throughout their tapering phase. “The farther you get away from big [mileage] numbers, the more confidence you lose,” he says. Mahon maintains that the best way to keep his runners close to the “big numbers” is to give them a longer single session, approximately 17 miles, during their taper period, and then follow up the next day with a short 6 easy miles. “It keeps their head close to the race distance,” he says.
Hunt is more systematic with how she handles weekly mileage during the taper phase. In general, Hunt assigns “about a 10% reduction in mileage the third week out, a 15% reduction the second week out and the week of the marathon about a 50%+ reduction.”
Key Workouts
Workouts, along with running mileage, are stressors on the body. As such, a sound tapering regimen reduces both the frequency of the workouts, along with their duration, in order to maximize rest and recovery leading up to the race day. During the taper phase Mahon has his runners completing the same type of workouts they’ve been doing all along in training–mile repeats for example–but gives them more time for recovery. He calls this element the “density” of training. “We try to put some extra space in our workouts during the taper,” he says. Specifically, Mahon may give runners more time to recover between repetitions in a workout, or he may give them fewer workouts to complete during the week.
As opposed to increasing recovery time both during and between workouts, Hunt has her athletes completing shorter, faster speed sessions during the taper. “For the final two weeks I gradually cut the mileage but maintain speed with strides and short intervals,” she says. “The focus is on recovery and goal pace for muscle memory and short bursts of speed.” Some examples of Hunt’s taper surges are 20 x 15 seconds or 10 x 30-45 seconds mostly at 3K to 5K effort.
Experiment, Learn & Trust
Taking these two differing philosophies into account, look at your next taper as an opportunity to vary it in some way. Aim for the right balance in your routine: adjust your mileage and fine-tune your workouts by either giving yourself more time to rest or maybe even picking up the pace. Find what works best for you.
At the end of the day, the most important thing is to trust in your training. As Tyler McCandless, U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier, says: “the best advice on tapering is to believe in the process.”
Extreme tapering ?
Right one more post on tapering should just about cover it I reckon…
A day off running pre-race tomorrow, unlikely.
As I’m racing tomorrow there was no early morning run this morning. I am now wondering around lost. I have persuaded my Wife to get up early so we can drive to Yelo for a coffee and muffin breakfast (carbo loading for a 10k?) and after that I will return to my ‘lost’ state.
I’m a runner who loves to run and hates not running. Even now i’m making excuses for reasons why running today would be a good idea, not twice as that would be silly wouldn’t it? So my reasoning behind a run would be to loosen the legs (they aren’t tight), it’s not really a target race tomorrow (that is actually true, tomorrow is really a good hit-out pre-half next weekend) or get rid of some pre-race nerves (I ain’t nervous) . No luck there, let’s face it the reason I want to run is I love running, plain and simple.
Tapering for my next marathon will be a challenge. The last one I ran 100k the week before and called that tapering as I was averaging 130k a week. I’m normally ok on marathon week as even I understand the need to rest. I normally only run twice in the week before a marathon and actually enjoy the calm before the storm, but for a 10k tomorrow, hell I should be running now not typing.
So will probably sneak out for a ‘relaxing’ 10k sometime today, c’mon you’d be mad not too wouldn’t you…..
A quick article on tapering below by Pete Pfitzinger, M.S. suggests a 7-10 day taper for a 10k, I’m thinking 7-10 hours.
Most performance oriented runners will do pretty much what they’re told in training. Run 8 x 800 meters at the track? Sure. Do a 40-minute tempo run? No problem. It’s when we’re instructed to scale back, run less and conserve our energies, that we balk.
Training provides long-term fitness improvements but produces short-term fatigue. Leading up to an important race, the challenge is to find the optimal balance between maintaining the best possible racing fitness and resting to reduce the fatigue of training. This is referred to as a well-planned taper.
To achieve your best when it counts, you can only afford to do a full taper before a few key races each year. If you race often and were to taper thoroughly for each race, you would have little time left for hard training. So you learn to “train through” some races. But for the big ones, you will want to go all out to achieve your best.
A recent paper published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine reviewed more than 50 scientific studies on tapering to find out whether tapering betters performance, and how to go about it. The review showed that there is no question tapering works. Most studies found an improvement of about 3% when athletes reduced their training before competition. This translates to more than five minutes for a three-hour marathoner or more than a minute for those racing 10K in 40 minutes.
How Long Should You Taper?
Several of the studies concluded that the optimal length of taper is from seven days to three weeks, depending on the distance of the race and how hard you’ve trained. Too short a taper will leave you tired on race day, while tapering for too long will lead to a loss of fitness. How do you find the right balance? Consider than any one workout can give you far less than a 1% improvement in fitness, but a well-designed taper can provide a much larger improvement in race performance. Therefore, it is probably wiser to err on the side of tapering too much than not enough. The optimal number of days to taper for the most popular race distances are as follows: marathon, 19 to 22 days; 15K to 30K, 11 to 14 days; 5K to 10K, 7 to 10 days.
Of course the one benefit of tapering is you know carboloading is close…
One final word on tapering, it’s not all bad because towards the end of tapering comes my favourite part of running, carboloading. It’s time to pig out on bacon, excuse the pun , and pancakes swimming in maple syrup but I’ll save that for another post.
I was looking at my running spreadsheet yesterday and realised that in the last year, bar racing events, I had ran over 25km about four times. This year, so far, I have ran over 25km only once in training and that was a Herdy’s practice in early March. As the extract from my running spreadsheet shows I have also added in the odd rest day which is new to my training as it use to be run every day.
Blue cells indicate races.
In my defence if you see a 22km it probably indicates a trail run which would be a 2-3 hour run which is a time on feet long run , just not the associated distance. If you add those in I’m probably looking at around 13 long runs for the year, which is still less then the 21 I would expect (One a week) Add in the four weeks I raced , as they were all very long, and that figure becomes 17 and if you factor in some tapering all of a sudden I’m close to my one long run a week average.
What has set me up for success in the back end of 2021 and the beginning of this year was certainly a three month period at the beginning of 2021 preparing for Delirious West , which was unfortunately cancelled.
Hard training pre-Delirious.
As you can see big weekly totals and also a fair few double days. On the back of this training I ran a 47 lap Herdy’s backyard Ultra, which at the time was an Australian record (albeit as an assist) I then managed to keep up this training intensity for the rest of the year and eventually finish nine ultras. At the start of 2021 there was more longer runs , which were also on the trails so a double whammy. A long trail run takes longer and works more muscles as you are continually stepping depending on the terrain, add in some elevation and it becomes a real test of endurance. As with all things to improve you need to push yourself, recover and then go again but next time further or faster. This is why it is always good to have indicator training runs where each week you can see an improvement, either a quicker average pace or you go further.
A Mona Fartlek is perfect for this as the run itself is always 20 minutes but the distance should increase as you gain fitness and stamina. I wrote a great post on the Mona, if I say so myself….worth a read.
Mona Fartlek, one of my favourite sessions for some serious ‘pain box’ time.
Fartlek is a Swedish term to describe ‘speed play’, training method that blends continuous training with interval training. Fartlek runs are a very simple form of a long distance run. Fartlek training “is simply defined as periods of fast running intermixed with periods of slower running.”
Today was my Mona Fartlek day, a 20 minute workout that I adore. Though lesson to self, eating banana bread 2 hours before is not such a good idea ! I can normally get to around 5.6k for the session. Steve Monaghetti stills hits over 6km I hear and in his prime was nearer 8km. !! He is a running legend though.. enjoy the article on a true sporting great below.
I was lucky enough to meet Steve at a photo shoot for the Perth City to Surf in 2014 and again this year as he was Ambassador for the Perth marathon. Both times I was taken aback by his down to earth attitude and his willingness to embrace all our questions and comments.
This session is good as it is fairly short but you know it’s doing you good. Golden rule no2 , add pace after the distance phase. This bad boy workout is all about pace.
I met Steve Moneghetti , a running god, at a photo shoot before the City to Surf.
Steve Moneghetti is set to leave a lasting legacy that goes beyond his set of marathon medals. As a young man from Ballarat he and coach Chris Wardlaw devised a session that fitted in with his usual stomping ground of Lake Wendouree helped him become a four-time Olympian.
The Session:Mona Fartlek: (2x90sec, 4x60sec, 4x30sec, 4x15sec with a slower tempo recovery of the same time between each repetition. The session takes 20mins in total.
Distance Mona covered: The session was most often used on Tuesday night at Ballarat’s Lake Wendouree. The first time Mona did it as a 20-year-old he did not complete the Lap of the Lake (6km) in the 20minutes but in his prime he completed the Lake in 17.19 and then continued on to finish his 20min session. He still does it most Tuesdays and even at 52, covers 6km.
History
Mona devised the session with his coach Chris Wardlaw over the phone back in 1983 when he was just 20. He wanted a solid fartlek session, one that would help improve his speed as well as endurance and stimulate an ability to change pace mid-run, something that helped later on his career when tackling the Africans, who had a habit of surging mid-race.
The session became a Tuesday-night ritual for Mona and while it was set up for Lake Wendouree, he’d use it whether training at altitude at Falls Creek or overseas preparing for a championship marathon.
It is still widely used today with Ben Moreau and a host of Sydney athletes doing the session. A recent feature in the UK has led to a number of British runners adopting the session along with a number of runners in the US, although some are calling it the “Mono” session.
A good idea is to set your watch to beep every 30 seconds, so that you don’t have to look down at it all the time.
Mona says
“I was always a stickler for routine and I feel that this session, coupled with my usual Thursday night session of 8x400m with 200m float set me up and gave me continuity with my training.
The 15-second reps came at the end and really forced me to concentrate on accelerating hard when I was fatigued. One night when I was in top shape I covered nearly 7km with Troopy (Lee Troop).”
Tip for other distance runners
For many runners, the session will be too demanding initially and you will need to build into it.
Mona recommends just walking or jogging the recovery as you adjust to it.
Middle distance runners may wish to reduce the length of the session, halving everything (ie: 1x90sec, 2x60sec, 2x30sec, 2x15sec) to make it a 10minute session.
The long run is integral to running improvement but it needs to be slow and steady Sarah Russel, from Runners Connect, wrote this great article explaining the long run and more importantly how so many runners just get it wrong,
Are You Sabotaging Your Long Run by Running the Wrong Pace?
The underlying principle of any training program, regardless of your goal or ability, should be the development of a solid aerobic base.
It’s the fundamental structure followed by almost every elite runner, in particular that of Kenyan athletes who spend around 85% of their time running at an ‘easy’ or ‘recovery’ pace.
Mo Farah reportedly runs around 120 miles per week, of which 80% at an easy pace. No doubt he and Galen Rupp are having a good old chat as they run up and down the hills in Boulder. Not the picture of hard elite training that you might imagine? Well, we can all learn from their approach.
Yet this is what most recreational runners get wrong. Running ‘easy’ doesn’t feel right (or hard enough), so they intuitively run at a ‘moderate’ pace, kidding themselves they’re running easy. Struggling to hold a conversation, a heavy sweat, and red face post run is a giveaway that you did not run ‘easy’!
Running at an easy pace – and by that I mean well into the aerobic zone around 70% of your maximum heart rate – is actually quite hard to do.
You have to slow down A LOT and it feels like you’re going nowhere. But it’s important to stick with it.
In time (usually just a few weeks), your body will adapt, your pace will quicken (for the same effort level) and you’ll have developed a super efficient fat burning engine. So, stick with me here…this is the bedrock of your future training.
The long run can be a daunting part of training for a longer race, but if you follow the elite approach to easy running, you will be race ready in no time.
Why running easy works
When I work with my beginner runners, we just focus on gradually increasing the length of time they can run for, and build up consistency of training – it’s simple and it works.
This is not the time to think about speed and pace, it is best to just get used to comfortable running where your body can adapt, stay healthy, and develop an efficient running rhythm.
Too many training plans out there have you doing speed intervals, tempo runs, and hills when you are just not ready. Of course it’s important to include a little of this ‘high end’ work, but a solid aerobic base is the fundamental foundation on which you’ll build everything else.
Regular aerobic training will train your body to utilize oxygen, preserve glycogen stores by using fat for fuel, and generally become more efficient.
However, I estimate that at least 75% of runners – of all abilities – run too fast too often, and end up in the ‘mid zone’; training neither the aerobic or anaerobic systems correctly.
Many coaches, myself included, recommend an overall balance of hard/easy training (whilst avoiding the moderate zone), a method now becoming known as ‘polarized training’. The avoidance of ‘moderate’ training is the key, and runners focus on ‘easy’ paced running for the majority of time, with a sprinkling of really hard work (where you really can’t chat!) mixed in for approx 20% of the weekly mileage.
Not only do you train a more efficient fat burning body, but the benefits mean you recover faster, and can therefore put in some harder efforts, rather than being chronically fatigued from ‘mid zone’ running’
Recent research from Dr Stephen Seiler et al from the University of Agdar, Norway, backs up this methodology; finding that high volume, low intensity training stimulates greater training effects for recreational runners, in particular when using the 80/20 split of easy/hard training.
A conclusion backed up by the 2014 Salzburg study published in the Frontiers of Physiology, found that the concept of ‘polarized’ training demonstrated the greatest improvements.
After a 9 week training period, runners using the 80/20 easy/hard split had improved their ‘time to exhaustion’ by a whopping 17.4% and change in peak speed by 5.1%.
This group had completed 68% of their training in the low intensity zone, and 24% at high intensity, with only 6% in the ‘moderate’ zone.
So what does that mean for you? How do you put this into practice?
In a world of high intensity training fads, advice to slow down might seem counterintuitive, but it works The key to running further, and ultimately faster is to slow down, especially for your long runs. Easy to say, but harder to do. If you take only one thing away from this article, it’s this – faster is NOT always better.
When you first start out running, you’re likely to have one pace. As you get more experienced and your fitness improves, you will need to develop a wider range of paces. Your long run or easy pace may be 90 seconds – three minutes slower than your ‘top end’ pace.
US Marathon Champion Esther Erb likes to make sure she takes her easy running seriously, “I see hard recovery runs as an indicator of insecurity. When it comes to recovery, it takes more confidence to run slowly than it does to run fast”. Erb runs the majority of her easy runs between 8:00 and 9:00 per mile! Although that pace may seem fast, keep in mind that her race pace is around 5:45 per mile!
This is the key to building up your long run. Simply slow down – to a walk if you need to – spend more time on your feet and just extend the time/distance bit by bit.
How slow?
Using heart rate as a guide
But how slow is slow? If you want to be scientific about it, you can work out your heart rate training zones and try to keep your pulse at around 70% of your max. If you want to go down this route then use the following calculations:
1. Calculate your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR):
Women: 209 – (0.9 x age) = MHR
Men: 214 – (0.8 x age) = MHR
2. Calculate your Working Heart Rate (WHR) by subtracting your resting pulse (RHR)- measure as soon as you wake up in the morning (while still in bed) from your MRH.
MHR – RHR = WHR
3. Calculate 70% of WHR (0.7 x WHR) and add to your RHR. That should give you your 70% zone HR. This is where the bulk of your running, including your long run, should be. For the vast majority of people it will be around 130-140bpm.
You can also use our training zones calculator to assist you with this.
To work out your ‘top end’ zone, do the same but calculate 85%.
Using pace as your guide
If you don’t like heart rate (we don’t 🙂, then you can use pace as your guide.
Your optimal long run pace is between 55 and 75 percent of your 5k pace, with the average pace being about 65 percent.
From research, we also know that running faster than 75% of your 5k pace on your long run doesn’t provide a lot of additional physiological benefit. Therefore, pushing the pace beyond 75% of 5k pace only serves to make you more tired and hamper recovery.
In fact, the research indicates that it would be just as advantageous to run slower as it would be to run faster. 50-55 percent of 5k pace is pretty easy, but the research clearly demonstrates that it still provides near optimal physiological benefits.
Additional Notes about Easy Long Runs
If you do not use a heart rate monitor, run at a comfortable pace where you can chat easily, without gasping for breath. If you can hear yourself breathing, you’re going too fast. On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being super hard) you’ll be around a 5. It should feel really comfortable and the sort of pace you keep going at that pace for hours.
Forget about measuring your ‘pace’ and distance on your GPS watch at this stage. Focusing too much on your watch will only lead to you push on too fast, and undo all your good work.
Learn to run to ‘feel’ rather than keeping to a pace. Don’t forget, that ‘feel’ should be easy. Walk up hills, keep it steady and don’t put any pressure on yourself other than to go a little further.
Run with a friend (find one slower than you normally), have a nice chat, and check out the views. It might take a bit of time to get your head around it, but this is exactly the methodology that will take you to the next level.
Those long easy runs – through the countryside or on the trails, with your partner or running buddy – are to be treasured. Use the time to catch up with your spouse or kids, explore new routes and revel in the joy of going long. There’s nothing else like it.
Last week I managed to get to the hills twice and both times ran my favourite 22km trail , taking just over two hours and 30 minutes each time. These runs although not long in kilometres serve as my long run in the fact I’m on my feet for a good time and also they are testing for reasons mentioned earlier in this post, basically trail running is harder than the equivalent road version. To recover from the weekend I used fisciocrem and human Tecar after both runs. The products certainly helped as the next day I managed to avoid the onset DOMS (delayed onset of muscle soreness)
Fisiocrem is a must have in your 200 miler box of tricks.
One last shout out to the Human Tecar products ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) especially the recovery bandages. After the recent KepV2 105km race I used the bandages the next day and my recovery from the event was so much better, largely DOMS free and back into training the following week registering 75km for the week and only three days of no running. I have been able to add to that weekly total the subsequent week and intend to go further this week, a perfect recovery pre-Unreasonable East in less than three weeks. ( https://unreasonableeast200miler.com.au/ )
Human Tecar recovery bandages and they smell good too.
The Transcend Ultra is the ultra that bites. Put on by local ultra running legend Shane Johnstone , the owner of Valetudo health( https://www.valetudohealth.com.au/coaching-services/ ) and winner of the Delirious West 200 miler 2021 ( https://www.deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ ) He also held the Fastest Known Time for the Bibbulum Track point to point until recently, and that’s a 1,000km track. There are many more accolades including placings at high profile European Ultras including the UTMB, he knows his stuff !
The Transcend Ultra is a 65km ultra that runs through the Avon valley on land that in mostly private, so inaccessible for the rest of the year. Thanks to Shane it is available only for the race and boy is it worth running it if you can. The terrain is brutal and in its inaugural year last year there was the added bonus of monsoon conditions before and during the event. Me and the lads went for a recon the week before on one of the legs and it was muddy as hell, we nearly lost Barts at a water crossing, albeit Barts does not like water or crossings so put them together and you have a highly amusing story !
The race is on the 26th June and there are team or solo options , depending how brave you feel. If you are unsure of completing the full distance the team option is a perfect starter before you take on the main course in 2023, because you will go back for second helpings.
Unfortunately I missed it last year as I was scheduled to run the Irrational South and this year it’s too close to the Unreasonable East ( https://unreasonableeast200miler.com.au/ ) but I will be making a big effort to get to the start line for 2023. A word of warning though the terrain is unforgiving and there are some serious climbs scattered throughput the course. What I like about this event is its uniqueness in that there is the opportunity to be running in some seriously wet conditions , which in Western Australia is rare. This event will test you so I would recommend getting in some recon runs as close to the course as you can pre-event. If you need any more information check out the webpage or Facebook page detailed earlier in the post or pop down to Valetudo health in Floreat.
I assume it starts in the dark , not finishes in the dark.. albeit depending on how fast you run of course ?
A bunch of happy runners, ready for the challenge ahead.
I am lucky enough to live in Western Australia where thanks to Shaun Kaesler and his Ultra Series WA ( https://ultraserieswa.com.au/ ) there is a smorgasbord of ultra races. When I first came to Australia and Perth there was really just two options , the Bunbury 50k and the 40 Miler. Both of these events had small fields and everybodies, including my own, main focus was the marathon or shorter races. Over time some other great races came along including the iconic Kep 175/100k ( http://kepultra.com/ ) and the Australia Day Ultra ( https://australiadayultra.com/ ) but until Shaun and hos band of merry helpers burst onto the scene ultra running in WA was an afterthought.
This all changed when Shaun put together his Ultra Series and since then more and more races have been added to the calendar culminating in the big daddy of them all the Delirious West 200 Miler ( https://www.deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ ) Then the icing on the cake has been the Triple Crown Down Under , three 200 milers spread throughout Australia similar to the American version ( The Big foot 200, the Tahoe 200 and the Moab 240) . In Australia we would be offered the Delirious West , the Unreasonable East ( https://unreasonableeast200miler.com.au/ ) and the Irrational South. ( https://irrationalsouth200miler.com.au/ ) These would need to completed in less than 14 weeks , starting with Delirious in February, Irrational in April and Unreasonable in June, no mean feat. I had planned to complete the inaugural triple crown after finishing Delirious in February but catching COVID two weeks out from Irrational put an end to that dream.
At the moment a 200 miler is a beast tamed by only a few runners and as such has serious kudos but as more and more runners take on this animal of an event it will start to become more mainstream and once the general public hears about it you, as a runner, will be judged . A marathon has long lost its appeal to the non-running public as a mark of achievement. These days runners are putting together 50 marathons in 50 days and that still get little acknowledgement. An ultra , while initially filling a void, has now lost its appeal as again more runners make the move to 50k/100k or even a 100 miles. Adding in cool names helps, like running any race with death in its title, but ultimately now you need to have a three digit total distance starting with at least a two.
I’ve completed the Delirious West twice now and both times had the time of my life. I have always maintained a 200 miler is an adventure, not a race, shared with great friends, i.e. crew. After Delirious 2021 Gary , being one of the double act of the batman (Gary ) and Robin (Alex) crew that supported me (see below), said he had as much fun as I did, which I took as a positive. We all just morphed into younger versions of ourselves free of the chains of adulthood, albeit only for a week. The memories you take from a 200 miler, both good and bad, will stay with you until death or Alzheimer’s , which ever comes first.
So can anybody complete a 200 miler ? I say yes, if you can run a marathon you can run a 200 miler. Of course you may be chasing cut off times but these are normally generous enough and I know last year, at Delirious , one runner just about walked the whole distance albeit with very little sleep, you can’t have it both ways. If you are prepared to keep moving forward and finish sleep depraved a 200 miler is do able. Of course it is certainly more pleasant if you train and run a bit or even better run a lot. Distance and elevation are the keys for 200 mile training, run as much as you can and add as much elevation as you can find. Any gym work on your major leg muscles will also help.
Me and my crew, legends both of them. I can’t thank them enough. Delirious 2021.
Another big benefit of running a 200 miler is you get to eat , a lot ! The aid stations are normally full of a fabulous assortment of culinary delights, just about everything you heart would desire. Add in volunteers at your beck and call , as well as your crew, and you feel like a King , or Queen. It can make leaving these oasis of pleasures, to continue on your journey of pain, difficult but every step you take after leaving one is a step closer to the next one. That my friends is ultra running summed up right there, an eating and drinking competition with running between aid stations.
More benefits of a 200 miler are the comradery from volunteers and competitors alike. In a marathon everybody is very self centered on their time goals, with minimal thought for anybody else, it is a selfish distance. Time is critical and a second lost here and there is life changing. With 200 milers everybody wants you to finish as much as you do, it is a combined effort and they get as much satisfaction as you , well maybe not as much but close. You can lose hours and not be adversely affected , if you finish as far as Joe Public is concerned you are a winner. Actually if you finish a 200 miler as far as everybody is concerned you are a winner, even getting to the start line is a badge of honour.
Finally when was the last time someone said ‘They’ve invented cars for those types of distances, you do know that right?‘ or ‘I find it hard driving 200 miles’ , you get the idea, people are still very impressed when you say you’ve completed a 200 miler. A marathon is now about as exciting as someone cutting their grass over the weekend and taking their kids swimming, (to the untrained eye) it’s kind of weird that the general public as a whole has got lazier but expect us runners to go further and push ourselves harder to give away any kudos at the coffee shop on a Monday morning , while they dig in to their double chocolate donut, drinking their litre of creamy coffee with three sugars.
I have run a few races that I class as really long. These being single stage races, over 200 miles such as the Tor des Geants or the Spine. The main difference between these races and say a 100 miler, is that most people won’t need to sleep during a 100, whereas the opposite is true for the 200+ miler. Other than the sleep, it is simply more time on your feet and generally higher fatigue rates. Oh, and let’s not forget that isincredibly intimidating to stand on the start line of a 250–mile race. A 250–mile drive on a motorway is bad enough!
So, how do you get through such a huge race? How do you train? What are the main difficulties you will face?
Mental strength and Self-belief
This,for me is the biggest strength you need for the longer races. The longer the race, the more of a mental strength is needed to tackle it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not dismissing the physical side of things, just trying to highlight the importance of a strong mental approach to these races.
How can this sort of strength be encouraged to grow? Well, you could work your way through races, getting slightly longer and/or harder over time. It works. The more you do, the more your comfort level grows. When you started running you may have been intimidated by a marathon, but now you are not as you have run a few 50 milers.
You could also do some challenges of your own, such as catching a train 50 miles away and running home or doing a two day run and bivvying overnight or running all through the night and anything else that your imagination can dream up. These sorts of personal challenges are great for confidence but are also incredibly fulfilling. They also teach you how you operate when heavily fatigued.
We are all different though. Some people can jump into a big challenge, whereas others prefer a longer, methodical build up. Experience is the key that will help everyone better understand the task ahead. For example, it wasn’t till my third very long race where I felt that I had really optimised my sleep pattern.
Physical strength
I won’t go into any specifics about exactly what you should be doing each day, more about what is actually needed to comfortably finish.
If you do, or have ever done some serious marathon training, then that would be adequate for a 100 miler, and if you are 100 mile fit, then you are 250 mile fit. It also is dependent on your mental outlook. Many people feel that you need to do mega mileage to prepare for a super long race, but I disagree. Yes, if you wanted to get a top 20 result, then some heavier mileage could well help, but heavy mileage is risky for injuries, and many of us just don’t have the time in our lives to be out for a few hours a day.
This is where a few big days, or even back to back days can really help build the self-belief that you and your body can actually pull it off. See if you can book a training camp (or holiday to your partner) so you can get some bigger days in. Just a long weekend somewhere is all that’s needed, but it can really help your mental and physical preparation.
Remember to train for what you are realistically going to be doing in the race. Running slowly, and plenty of walking! Practising a fast and efficient walk can help your overall speed a great deal, and many people will neglect this area in their preparation.
If it is a mountain race then practice walking uphill, and in equal measure, running downhill. Practice descending as smoothly as possible.The downhills are where a great deal of micro damage will occur in your muscles and if this can be minimised then it should be.
Finally, I would strongly advise poles, no matter how much you are against them. They can really be very useful, the more tired you get. Crossing rivers, stability in slippery conditions, uphill rhythm, and ideal if you get a minor injury that you can still run with but need the extra ‘legs’. You must practice with them before the event as poorly used poles can be fairly useless.
Have a plan
Do you plan to the nth degree for every race, or are you super chilled and not even look at the route before race day? I would suggest that whichever camp you fall in, to have some planning. Due to the length of these races and the confusing, drunken levels of fatigue that you may well experience, some simple rules can really help out and save time.
Some things to consider:
Clothing – Think about all the weather you could experience over the week (which can be the full range!) Is that super light waterproof jacket going to be any use if it snows and you are struggling to keep warm? Maybe have spare shoes in your drop bag? If it gets really cold which is massively heightened when really tired, do you have enough layers? Do you have protection from the sun (hat, arms and neck)?
Pace – Decide how you would like to pace it. You will be walking a lot, but when and how much? I walked almost all the uphills in the Tor, Onlyrunning the gentlest of slopes. You have to always consider the whole race. Try not to get caught out in racing others in the first 100 miles or even more!
Drop bags – If you get the opportunity to use one, then use it! it can be a lifesaver during a longer event. A few changes of clothes, A few pairs of shoes, some food treats, and any other little luxury that you couldn’t carry but may give a big boost.
Check point discipline – I like to have discipline with being as slick as possible at the check points, as it is so easy to sit, staring vacantly at the wall, in the warmth while the time just flies by. Before I arrive, I will mentally go through everything and work out the order to do it all in. Eating, drinking, picking up food supplies, changing clothes, filling up water bottles etc. It is all so simple, but so important too. It is so easy to forget one thing.
Route knowledge – it is an advantage to at least have a basic understanding of the course. Many runners will have been studying it for months and will know exactly what is around every corner. This all comes down to your personality. Do you like to know exactly what is happening or do you like things a little more casual. I fall a little more on the side of casual and would spend a minute studying the next section at each checkpoint before leaving. Knowing there is a climb that could take 3 hrs beforehand is much better than climbing for 3 hrs and not having a clue when the torture will end!
Knowledge database – There is a reason that when many hard races are born, they have a higher DNF rate than now, and that is because over time, the experience and knowledge that is gained over the years, trickles down to the new runners, and confidence grows, and the success rates grow.Many of us (all?) have a love hate relationship with the internet and in particular social media, but it does have its advantages. Joining the right groups and connecting with previous runners is one great way of picking up some valuable information. Also, just visit this site, and read others race reports which are a goldmine for nuggets of information that could help you finish, plus they can really get you very excited and motivated about the challenge ahead.
Sleep
Now this is where it can all go so badly wrong if you don’t get it right. Believe me, I know! If you hallucinate then you should have slept earlier!
My simple rule is to sleep if youfeel tired and not push on to the next checkpoint. You see, when you get into such a poor, tired state, there is nothing positive about it. You move a lot slower, you feel colder and most dangerously, your judgement is clouded at the best. It suddenly becomes very difficult to look after yourself, especially when you are in the mountains in hostile conditions. Keeping yourself warm, dry, fed and watered suddenly become huge tasks and simple decision making goes to pot. Basically, if you get just a little more sleep, you will move faster, and be able to look after yourself much better. Don’t wait till you are about to drop. Don’t get caught up running with others as we all have different sleep demands at different times. Some people just power nap for 20 mins, but this is not enough for me I have learnt. 1.5hrs or 2hrs a day works well for me. But remember that you need to experiment to find your own optimum amount.
Coaching
If the preparation is all a bit too overwhelming, then maybe consider coaching. A good coach with relevant experience, will be able to help you structure your training, choose equipment and will be able to answer all your questions that will make things seem more manageable. Drop me a line at neilbryant@hotmail.co.uk if you are interested.
Do it!
These are just my simple observations about what works and what doesn’t over the longer single stage ultras where sleep becomes essential. But you must remember that you need to get out there and try things out. I just want to take some of the fear away from these 200 plus mile events so that more of you try them. They are hard, mentally and physically, but the reward from finishing one of these monsters is huge. With the right mindset, and as long as the body still works, most people could finish one, so why not enter one? What could possibly go wrong!
Below is a post asking is the Ultra is the new marathon , has this has now changed to a 200 miler being the new ultra ?
Running has become more and more popular , not seen since the days of the Sony Walkman revolution of the early eighties when for the first time you could run with music. (To the young generation amongst us we used a thing called a ‘tape’, analog not digital music. ) People new to running inevitably join a running club or run with more experienced friends and before they know it they’ve signed up for their first race. This is a good thing as I believe you never push yourself as much as when the competitive juices start to flow with a racing bib on your chest. One thing leads to another and before too long you’ve entered your first half or full marathon.
Invariably this distance is conquered and you’ve informed all your friends via Facebook and normally your work colleagues via daily updates on your progress. The problem arises though when the marathon doesn’t seem to cut it for kudos like it use to. In the office there seems to be quite a few marathoners and worse most are faster than you. You start to get compared to John in accounts who ran sub3 or even Sheila in Purchasing who ran has ran 10 marathons while juggling family commitments and a busy career. So these days to get some real kudos it’s time to take this running to the next level, the ultra-marathon.
The ultra has the added benefit of the slower you run the more kudos you get, where as the marathon is, these days, about not only completing it but also setting a good time. Non runners are getting use to people telling them they’ve ran a marathon and have responded asking how long they took. Again they are wise to what they consider a good time and if you reply ‘4 hours’ they look at you with pity and ask ‘what went wrong’? Not so with the ultra-marathon. Because it is still not mainstream a non runner has no idea what a good or bad time is for an ultra and even if they did the distance can be varied to confuse them. Remember an ultra is anything longer than a marathon distance, it can be 42.3k upwards.
The ultra gets even better, they tend to be in far flung locations and have pretty serious titles, again earning kudos points. How good does an ‘ultra-marathon in Death Valley‘ sound. Death valley, c’mon, if that doesn’t get serious kudos around the drink fountain nothing will. Ok, Sheila from Purchasing has ran 10 marathons but she’s never ran an ultra-marathon in Death Valley. They have no idea where Death Valley is or even what an ultra-marathon is but who cares, you are now the running god in the office, someone who wouldn’t waste their time with silly ‘girl distance’ like marathons. The universe is realigned and you can ‘strut’ around the office yet gain.
The only downside to this new running adventure is the office folk then look to you for more and more longer distances and/or exotic locations. After your first ultra you can never repeat that distance as non-runners , although initially impressed , soon become impervious to distance running unless there is a serious upgrade or the location adds some spice. e.g. The Marathon Des Sable ( http://www.marathondessables.com/en/), the toughest footrace on Earth. ! ( ..On Earth? are they saying there’s a tougher footrace not on earth, the Moon 100k maybe? Now that would be worth talking about !??)
A word of warning of course, you may come across the non runner who knows a thing or two about ultra-running and while you strut around the office sprouting off about a 100k race on the local trails, basking in the adulation of the finance department, they walk past and grunt it was ‘no Marathon Des Sables’. Instantly your credibility is destroyed and you sneak off back to your desk plotting your next adventure.
So to sum up, an ultra marathon may fill the void in the office kudos states. It has the benefit of still being relatively hardcore, in the view of the uneducated, allows you to focus on distance and not time (to counter that nasty sub3 runner in Accounts) and even allows you to slow down and take your time as the longer you take will actually earn more brownie points. I won’t even start to mention the extra equipment you get to buy and use on ultra-marathons. The wardrobe options are endless and include camelbacks, gators, water belts and my mate Mark’s favourite, a cappuccino machine. ! (He doesn’t actually bring along a cappuccino machine but he wore a water belt once that had so many accessories he might as well have!) This can become more of a hindrance than a help as I always remember feeling my mate TB’s camelback at the end of the 6 inch ultra-marathon ( http://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com ) and it must have weighted 10k; and that was at the END of the race not the beginning !!
The 6 inch is a good example of the small step up needed from the marathon distance. Remember anything longer than a marathon is classed an ultra. The 6 inch is 46k (assuming you don’t get lost, which I have on a number of occasions!), so for that extra 4k you get to shoot down Sheila in Purchasing as you’ve ran an ultra-marathon and ,as everybody knows , so much harder than the silly marathon…
So lookout Sheila, we’re coming for you ?
6 Inch Trail Ultra, only 4k’s more than a marathon but to the untrained eye a whole different animal, an Ultra !!
Finally a few items that you must have when you run a 200 miler. Fisiocrem ( https://www.fisiocrem.com.au/ ) to get you through the event and human tecar ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) to help you recover quickly. Both of these products are my go-to items before, during and after the race. Please note both of these companies supply me with their products because I hassled them until they did, they are that good.
Finally a thankyou to the good people at Paire socks who reached out to me to try their product. ( https://www.paire.com.au/ ) New to the market I was more than happy to try the Paire product and I’m glad I did. Paire suppled me with three pairs, active ankle, quarter and calf and all were very comfortable.
From their website ‘A thoughtfully designed blend of Australian Merino wool and organic combed cotton. Smoother softer, moisture-wicking and odour absorbing (read : not stinky). A true fabric chameleon – warm in the cold and cold in the heat.’
What I like about this product, similar to Fisiocrem and Human Tecar is it just does what it says on the box. As a consumer that is all I ask, honesty. All three varients supplied by Paire are just good, simple really. The socks fit well, feel good and are obviously good quality, what more would you want ?
I could wax lyrical about Paire all day long but I think it’s best that I say they are a good sock and you won’t be disappointed. I have used all three pairs sent me extensively over the last few weeks and am about to go for a run with them after finishing this post, that about sums it up. If you need all the other interesting facts about the brand , and there are quite a few, pop along to their website, it’s worth a visit. ( https://www.paire.com.au/ )
Finally if the review wasn’t positive enough I have a 15% off discount code : XYZ . Use this and save on this great product.
Right enough of this, time to put on my Paire socks and do what I love doing, go for a run, albeit probably not a 200 miler this afternoon.
Good quality and comfortable, you can’t ask for more from a sock.
Paire socks, feels good or good feels, you decide.
Maybe the Piper has started warming up….and it’s time to pay him ?
As I have booked in the Melbourne Marathon this October I need to pull my finger out and get my average pace down to sub 3 hour finishing time acceptable levels. We were discussing this at Yelo this morning , over quality coffee and muffins, (No one tell Georges!) and it hit home how far away I am from a sub three hour marathon. I’ve only ran two marathons in the last five years and both of those , in 2019 , were in the high two hour fifty range, no much room for error. Since then I have ran 15 ultra marathons ranging from 47km right up to 350km (200 miles), not really marathon training, well fast marathon training.
The only saving grace is I have always kept reasonable weekly totals and overall I’m certainly running slow and steady. Have I done enough to add a smattering of pace to so sub 3 , not sure ? The timetable is tight as always. I have a 200 miler planned for the end of June, ( https://unreasonableeast200miler.com.au/ ) then a backyard ultra early August ( https://birdysbackyardultra.com.au/ ) . After Birdy’s I’ll start to concentrate on Melbourne adding some pace and tempo, thresholds, fartlek type runs in the mix. The only fly in my sub 3 marathon ointment is a backyard ultra planned two weeks before the big day. Melbourne is first week in October and I have the inaugural ‘No time to Die’ frontyard ultra 16th September. ( https://nttdfrontyard.com.au/ ), am I being greedy, hell yeah but life is short. It would be nice to add number 30 to my sub 3 streak but I enjoy the ultra’s too much to miss any.
29 in a row… 30 sounds so much better !
Right here’s a couple of articles, one written by me, that may shed light on the train slow to race fast mentality.
I have posted on this a few times over the last 18 months but it is always worth a revisit. Slow and steady really does make you , long term, faster. It’s benefits are three fold, I believe you will enjoy your training more (with all that ‘smell the roses’ pace), it’s an injury prevention method of training (less impact associated with adding pace) and finally the benefits will spur on more success. Let’s face it running is all about achieving goals and the more goals we achieve the more addicted we all become to the runners high.
I have attached two articles on the subject below. The first one of mine from January 2017 which highlighted my experience with slowing down over a period of time and seeing the rewards when I raced. I was able to show ,with the help of Strava (in Strava we trust… http://www.strava.com ; feel free to follow me on Strava, there is a link at the bottom of the home page) how over time I has slowed on my ‘old faithful’ run but my racing times had got better. This was over a long period of time and over 200 runs so a pretty good baseline, very ‘scientific’ if I say so myself.
The second article is from Runners Connect and is advocating a similar approach, moderate workouts being the ideal way to train long term.
In 2013 I ran quick all the time, by quick I mean sub 4min/k average every time I put on my trainers. Be it a 10k, 21k or 30k, my goal was to finish with a sub 4min/k average. To compound this issue I also stopped running long runs after reading an article in Runners World magazine about a training program where you would run at your marathon pace all the time. The logic was if your marathon pace became your normal pace when you were tired during the marathon you would revert to your normal ‘training pace’, which of course would be your marathon pace. The training program also recommend not running too many long runs but more runs around the 20-25k distance.
This training program yielded some good results but I sacrificed my top end speed as I wasn’t running any tempo or threshold runs, just lots of sub 4min/k’s. Raf from the Running Centre (http://therunningcentre.com.au ) picked me up on this on Strava ( http://www.strava.com ) and recommended I try a 10k threshold at least once a week, just to break the monotony of running the same pace for every run. I was surprised when I tried to add pace as I struggled and my 10k times weren’t that quicker than my ‘normal’ pace. Something was amiss and I was found out at the Bunbury Marathon in 2014 when I blew up after leading the race for the first 10k. I admit there was also some mental problems as I was defending my marathon title after winning (my only marathon victory) in 2013. I had gone out at my 10k pace truth be told and at 15k my race was finished. I met Raf afterwards, in the hotel spa of all places, and he could sense my disappointment of finishing 4th in a time of 2hrs54mins, when I aiming for a sub 2hr40min finish truth be told.
For the rest of 2014 I struggled on (Bunbury was in April) and although I managed 2hrs 46mins at the Perth Marathon I never managed to reach the heights I had reached in 2013. Something needed to change and in January 2015 I was taken under Raf’s wings and given a program for the Perth marathon, my first training program at the ripe old age of 48. The first 3-4 months were harder than I expected as I really struggled with the top end pace work. The steady and long runs were do able but my top end pace just wasn’t there. Over time I did improve of course thanks to Raf’s coaching skills but all the good work was undone by a slight stress fracture just before the Perth marathon. (Picked up on the last steady run , a week out ! Always the way ?) I ran a 2hrs49mins, 9th place finish, but Raf had me in better condition than that but the injury played on my mind.
After Perth Raf gave me another training plan for the City to Surf marathon in August and I stuck to this one and ran a good time for a 4th place but more importantly a strong race and strong finish. My first good marathon for over a year. Although I enjoyed working with Raf I was time constrained by my family, work, life etc, the runners quandary. I decided for 2016 to take what Raf had taught me and adapt my training accordingly.
I think the most important thing Raf taught me was there is no such thing as ‘junk miles‘, every kilometre you run is doing you some good, at whatever pace. This to me was a ‘lightning bolt’ moment as I was so use to running every run as a tempo and finishing with nothing left in the tank. I just didn’t run slow, ever ! The first few runs I ran at a slow pace I was questioned on Stava by my running friends as to whether I was injured, such was the disbelieve that I could run anything bar sub 4min/k’s. I must admit the first few times it felt alien and I had to really work hard to run slow. Raf introduced me to the Maffetone training method ( https://philmaffetone.com , I have mentioned this a few times on the blog.) and I was off building my foundation for the success which was to come in 2016.
Fast forward to the Perth marathon of 2016 and I just about ran a negative split and was 2 minutes quicker than the previous year. After Perth I added the double days and the PB’s came tumbling down and my confidence returned in spades. I managed to drop my 5k, 10k, 16k,21k and 50k PB times and by quite a chunk each time. So how did I do it ? Basically I slowed down, ran more and raced more. It really was (is) that simple. Taking what Raf taught me, reading Matt Fitzgerald’s books and a sprinkling of Maffetone added to the mix and hey presto.
Every runner needs to read this.
Thanks to Strava (in Strava we trust) you can see how this slowing down is trending on my 10k go-to run of choice. (see below) Over time you can clearly see my running average pace for the 10k is slowing but in the same period I have ran probably 10 PB’s, so there is a correlation of slowing down to speeding up when you put a bib on your chest. Of course I have added distance and more time on my feet into the equation, combined with racing more but the slowing down is a factor.
It really is a case of slowing down to speed up.
My last 200 runs on my go-to 10k of choice, old faithful.
Being abused by Gary Carlton. Rottnest Marathon 2016 I think.. ?
Why Running Harder Won’t Help You Get Faster
In the vocabulary of a runner, patience is a dirty word. Runners always want to run faster, run more miles, and crush their personal bests and they want it now. To be more accurate, they wanted it yesterday. I know I felt this way before I donned my coaching cap. I wasn’t satisfied with a workout unless I needed to be carried off the track and was forced to spend the rest of the day passed out on the couch. That was dedication. Surely, this is what it took to be the best runner I could be.
Unfortunately, this mindset couldn’t be more wrong.
Not only did this way of thinking impact my short-term goals, thanks to all-to-frequent injuries and bouts of overtraining, but as you’ll learn in this article, it likely affected my long-term progress as well.
As I’ve matured as a runner and changed my perspective on training as a coach, I’ve come to fully appreciate and value the art of patience. This shift in mindset wasn’t easy and it didn’t happen overnight. Hopefully, with the help of some hard, scientific data and a sprinkling of anecdotal evidence, this article can accelerate your maturation as a runner and help you achieve your goals.
Finish a workout feeling like you could have done more
This is a phrase you’ll hear from any running coach worth his or her salt. As elite coach Jay Johnson espouses to his athletes, “you should be able to say after every one of your workouts that you could have done one more repeat, one more segment or one more mile.”
Coach Jay doesn’t just pay this rule lip service. He’s known for cutting workouts short when an athlete looks like they’re over that edge. It’s one of the reasons his athletes continue to perform and improve consistently, year after year.
In this study, one group of athletes performed a series of workouts at near maximum intensity for twelve weeks. The researchers then had another group perform the same type of workouts (same repeat distance and same amount of rest) yet at a much more moderate intensity.
The results. The high intensity group improved rapidly, recording an increase in VO2 max 30 percent higher than the moderate group after three weeks.
Well, that doesn’t seem to support our theory that patience pays off, does it?
Luckily, the researchers went a step further and recorded changes to VO2 max for six, nine and twelve weeks under the same training methodology. This is where the results get truly interesting.
After nine weeks, the high intensity group’s improvements in VO2 max were only 10 percent greater than the moderate group. More importantly, after 9 weeks, the high intensity group stopped improving and after 12 weeks showed the same level of improvement to VO2 max as the moderate group.
Clearly, this research shows that while you’ll see rapid improvements from running workouts as hard as you can in the first few weeks, this improvement curve will level off and running at moderate intensity levels will produce equal, if not better, long-term results.
Of course, like all studies, this research has it’s flaws. Mainly, both groups performed the same workouts for twelve weeks, which means the same stimulus was being applied with each session. However, I’d also point out that when training for 5k or marathon for 12 weeks, the workouts won’t vary much. Sure, the workouts will look different, 12 x 400 meters at 3k pace versus 6 x 800 meters at 5k pace, but you’re still training the same energy system.
Regardless, the data supports what good coaches have known for years.
Consistent, moderate workouts will trump a few weeks of hard, gut-busting workouts every time.
But I want to improve faster
Of course, looking at that data, most runners would still choose the high intensity approach. If the end result after 12 weeks is the same, why not make the fitness gains faster the first three to six week?
Not covered in this particular research study was the impact of injuries and overtraining on potential improvement curve and long-term progress.
It’s not surprising, and it’s been supported by numerous research studies and anecdotal examples, that increased intensity is correlated with higher injury risk. Meaning, the harder (faster) you train, the more likely it is you’ll get injured.
The problem I encounter with many runners who try to workout too hard is the injury cycle, which inhibits long-term progress because for every two steps forward, you take one step back.
Using a similar graph to the one provided in the research study, let’s examine the long-term consequences of always pushing your workouts as hard as you can versus running moderate and always feeling like you could have done more.
While the actual improvement data in the image is fictional, it is based off the data from the actual study representing improvement curve. The difference is that I’ve extended the training period to ten months and factored in injuries and potential overtraining. This graph accurately represents my experience with trying to run every workout as hard as I could and the vast data I’ve collected working as a coach for the past eight years.
As you can see, the high intensity runner speeds out of the gait and is far ahead of the moderate intensity runner after a few weeks. However, it doesn’t take long before the high intensity runner suffers his or her first injury and is setback a week or two. No worries, with just a few weeks of high intensity training, they are back ahead of the slow plodding moderate intensity runner. However, this cycle continues to repeat itself until the high intensity runners is far behind the consentient, steady performer.
More importantly, after 42 weeks, the high intensity runner is at a point that they can no longer make up the difference in fitness simply by training hard for a few weeks.
They will continue to struggle to reach their potential until they finally learn to run their workouts at a moderate level and train to their current level of fitness.
Don’t be the high intensity runner. Learn from the mistakes of countless runners before you, the research and scientific data, and the wisdom of coaches who know their stuff.
The KepV2 is a new addition to the WA racing calendar with its inaugural event last year. The original Kep was created by Rob Donkersloot ( https://mindfocusedrunning.com/ ) and was a point to point from Northam to Mundaring. ( https://kepultra.com/ ), the website is still up , as of 2022. It was basically the only real ultra in WA for many years and has entered into folklore since it was forced to fold due to unachievable Council constraints, mainly on the number of road crossings and insurance costs. Shaun Kaesler ( https://ultraserieswa.com.au/ ) has created an event that holds true to the original but is an out and back, thus limiting the number of crossings and making the event feasible.
I entered last year with a long run with a medal mentality as it is only three weeks out from the Lighthorse Ultra ( https://lighthorseultra.com.au/ ) , this was no different this year so again I went into the event with the same mentality, enjoy the race but don’t push it, bigger fish to fry later in the year. Added to the mix was a nasty head cold that had been hanging around the week before and I was more worried about just finishing.
So on a cold and wet Saturday morning we all lined up at the start and quietly shuffled off , more council stipulations, to alleviate any noise complaints, you see what I mean about keeping this event going !
This would have been on the way back as I have my poles, also notice my nice new Hoka Mach 4’s.
This race can be broken down into four stages. Stage one is a 15km downhill section before stage two , a 37km uphill slog to the half way and then the opposite coming back. As you can image the race really starts when you hit the bottom of the final 15km section, uphill, all the way to the finish after running 90km to get there. Challenging is a nice way to describe this last part of the race, or bonkers, but I’ll get there later in the post.
My game plan was the same as last years, I had my poles ready for me at the halfway aid station and would use them to propel me to the finish while limiting damage on my tired legs. I had no aspirations about finishing position just finishing strongly, or as strong as possible. With this game plan in mind after the start I settled in around 6th male and just enjoyed the serenity of a beautiful morning on the trails with like minded people. I have said many times I race often because this is what I enjoy the most, bib on my chest and just being around people with the same views on life, the universe and everything, at least when it comes to running.
The first 15km to the Bellevue aid station is nearly all down hill and deceptively so in some places. I knew this would be a different story on the way back with 90km’s in the legs and over eight hours running, I made a mental note to prepare myself for this and as already mentioned break the race into the four sections I have already described. This is good for any race, any distance. Rather than race the whole thing I always break it down to manageable chunks. In this case four different sections but for longer races just use the distance between aid stations, this may break down to twenty or so smaller goals for a 200 miler.
Early on in the race as I have my Gore-tex jacket on, no poles and smiling.
After Bellevue its a uphill slog to the halfway point passing through John Forrest (23K) , Mount Helana (35K) and Chidlow (41K) aid stations before reaching the turn around at Wooroloo (52k) . Because it’s an out and back there was more than enough aid stations and you always felt you were either just leaving one , or just arriving at the next. This made a big difference to what you needed to carry and also the conditions helped being cool meaning you didn’t need to be constantly worried about hydration, which is the norm in Western Australia.
As I mentioned earlier in the piece I settled down into 6th place and put on Taylor Swift’s greatest hits on the shokz headphones ( https://shokz.com/ ) to serenade me to halfway. On a side note if you are a runner who listens to music , pod casts etc you must by a pair of Shokz headphones, so good ! I think we have three in the house at the moment, I may even get a pair for the dogs.
As I have already mentioned I was not interested in racing this event, three weeks prior I had won the 24 Lighthorse ultra with a distance of over 200km and was in no state to put it all on the line again so soon. Pre-event I was also battling a head cold and I even had thoughts of pulling out earlier in the week. This was not an A race and was certainly expendable for the greater good if needed. Luckily I held my nerve and rocked up at the start.
Still running up to the aid station at half way as no poles and still smiling.
Racing wise I started to feel the urge when I saw my good friend Charles , he of Delirious West 200 miler third place getter, struggling coming into Chidlow aid station. He certainly didn’t look great and he would eventually finish well over 12 hours which is pretty special given he looked finished at 40k. Mentally strong he decided to change his strategy from racing for a poduim to just finishing, a hard thing to do mid race. Massive kudos to him, sometimes it’s not the runner first past the post who is the real winner. In an ultra there are certainly more deserving winners that the three who get recognised as podium places.
After leaving Chidlow I then spied my drive buddy to the event, Simon Bennet. Simon has a great pedigree and has placed top 10 at the Margaret River Ultra twice, which is pretty special. ( https://margaretriver.rapidascent.com.au/ ) He is returning from injury and we ran to the halfway together. At the halfway point Trevor had just left before me and Tony Smith was way ahead of all of us, cruising to another victory to go with his great time last year. I entered the aid station 5th but with a quick turn around left in third place, with Simon hot on my heels. It’s funny how all the talk of a ‘long run with a medal‘ goes out the window when you suddenly find yourself on the podium. All of a sudden it became a ‘ you ain’t getting any younger and these opportunities may not present them again‘ type run, basically it was ‘on like Donkey Kong‘.
After I picked up my poles I really started to motor, first to drop Simon and second Trevor was probably only a few minutes ahead of me. Jumping to podium contention had reignited my competitive spirit and with Rob Donkersloot at each aid station I had the perfect tactician to aid my cause. It’s so funny how a race can change so quickly and the goals are reassessed and changed. Charles was initially gunning for a podium , now all he wanted was a finishers medal while I was the polar opposite.
I managed to catch Trevor coming into Helena aid station and after giving him some advice on how to run the rest of the race I left him there and really put my foot down. Rob had informed me the lead runner had been disqualified so I entered Helena aid station third and left in the lead, the pressure was on now big time. I started doing the maths in my head, 35km to hold on for the win. This is when course knowledge comes into play, I was faced with 20km of decent running virtually all down hill or flat before the climb to the finish. I had done it before and knew what to expect so I did enough to maintain my lead but also put some distance between me and the chasing pack giving me a buffer for the last climb. I actually felt pretty good surprisingly enough and maintained a good pace all the way back to Bellevue aid station, the last before the finish.
At Bellevue I put the shokz headphones back in, dialed in Taylor Swift again and off I went , the final uphill slog to the finish. It wasn’t pretty and I was certainly suffering but I managed to keep moving forward only really walking, for a hundred or so metres at a time, for the last four to five kilometres when I knew I was going to win, well first male anyway.
Crossing the line in first place, will it be the last time ? It felt great to place first male as it was so unexpected but also the race panned out so well with all the cards falling into place. Can I do it again, no way. Circumstances on the day just gave me the win, lead runners getting disqualified and fellow competitors being either under done or just not feeling it, everything conspired for me to get to the line first. Of course you got to be in it to win it and I have a base fitness now that if these opportunities present themselves I can take advantage but I’m still in shock truth be told.
With RD Simone, a nicer person you will never meet.
Right a few images of the presentations , the trophy and the main reason we Ultra runners do what we do, the great food. The image above is of Simone , one of the race directors, and myself. These events take so much time to organise, setup , run and clear away and they need a legion of volunteers who have to be managed. The race directors on these events put in massive hours before the event and on the day will be there for nearly the full 24 hours, actually probably longer. Simone works for the Ultra Series so spends her whole life organsing these type of events behind the scenes and then steps up for the race director role on a few of them. You need a passion to pull these events off and the Ultra Series staff and volunteers have this in spades. Where ever you are in the world I urge you to get involved with a running club or organisation and just experience the comradery of these type of events, they will change your life and allow you to surround yourself with wonderful like minded people.
Veronica, myself, Sophie and Tom , what was left of the podium runners..
Once Veronica came in we were able to have the presentation with the remaining runners from the 100km event. Trevor, who ran a great race for third, had to leave as did Margie who was first finisher, both female and overall. She ran an outstanding race after also running, and winning , the 12 hour Lighthorse Ultra a few weeks prior. Margie trains harder than just about anybody I know and is starting to see some rewards for her hard work. Working with Tony Smith ( https://www.tsrunclub.com/ ) she is starting to really believe she can move to the next level with her running, I’m predicting big things for Margie. Sophie and Tom ran great races for second and again both have time on their side and will be improving on these times moving forward. Tom is also working with Tony Smith so we’ll be seeing more of him in the future.
I was stoked to see my good friend Veronica make the podium after her stella run at the Delirious West 200 miler in February where she finished second. Like myself she had caught COVID a few weeks prior to the event and has bounced back quickly. We are both heading over East in a few weeks for the Unreasonable East 200 miler in the Blue Mountains. ( https://unreasonableeast200miler.com.au/ ) That is going to be a challenge.
The best trophy’s are the ones made with love.
The trophy is so cool and I know home made by volunteers which makes it extra special. Will this be my last one ? Who knows , if I was a betting man I’d say yes but with ultra running there are so many variables you never know when a Stephen Bradbury moment is coming and the old bugger with a beard wins. As I said earlier in the post this was a training run with a medal which turned into a win at all cost run, that’s ultra running. I will look back at this trophy in years to come and it will always bring a smile to my face, remembering the day and the race and the memories. Another reason I keep all my medals because each one is a reminder of the great memories that each race encapsulates, little time capsules to remind you of the good times with people you care about.
Perhaps the best bangers and mash in Australia.
The best thing about the Kep event, bar the running, is the Mundaring Hotel which serves the best Bangers and Mash in Australia, probably the world. It is so, so good and the image above does not do it justice. If you live in Perth you need to spend more time at this hotel ( https://www.mundaringhotel.com.au/ ) . The event starts and finishes at this venue and it is so good to spend time with runners and volunteers alike after the race, such a cool place to chill out.
Finally a few words about some great products I use that help me finish these events and also get ready for the next one. Fisiocrem ( https://www.fisiocrem.com.au/ ) is an amazing product I use during events when my leg muscles start to scream for help. Fisiocrem gives the muscles the energy boost they need , naturally. It really does make a difference. I used this product at the half way stage and also just before the last 15km slog to the finish. It weighs next to nothing so no problem carrying the small tube in my backpack during the event. It has also saved me on the Delirious West 200 miler earlier in the year and again at Hardy’s Frontyard Ultra and the 24 hour Lighthorse Ultra.
fisciocrem is the product that works. Helps tired muscles just keep on trucking.
For recovery I use the HumanTecar products, ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) the spray and the recovery bandages. Both of these are incredible products, again like Fisiocrem totally natural. The recovery bandages are so good and they make such a difference virtually instantly, get yourself a good trail running magazine, a good cup of tea, a few biscuits of choice and put the bandages on and sit back and let the healing begin. I would recommend the bandages after big events or really long training runs, the spray is useful after any run or when you are just feeling the need for some help to recovery quicker. More of a day to day tool to help avoid the dreaded injury woes that plague most runners.
Finally to my good friends at the Running Centre ( https://therunningcentre.com.au/ ) who provided me with my go to shoe a the moment , and the last two years, the Hoka Mach 4. This shoe is prefect for day to day running providing enough support to ward off injuries but also light enough to allow you to run all your different pace based training runs. There are new versions in the pipeline apparently and as soon as things settle down with the worldwide logistic issues we may be able to get into a pair. As well as being great running shoes they also keep remarkably clean. I wore mine out of the box on the weekend and they still look brand new after running 105km’s on trail, albeit crushed limestone. It is testament to their quality that I can feel confident wearing a pair out of the box on a 10 hour race, with no fear of injury.
A great show for everyday running and even the odd 100km trail race.
So that’s the KepV2 2022, one of the races of my life coming so soon after another one of the races of my life, this is becoming a thing. I hope I can continue my good form into the Unreasonable East 200 miler in late June as I will need to be ready for this bad boy of an ultra. ( https://unreasonableeast200miler.com.au/ ) This event, in its inaugural year, looks so epic but also a tad daunting, massive elevation with probably freezing conditions, both test you. I am more excited than worried but I also understand I need to be at the top of my game to finish, forget racing but then again you never know what happens when the bib is stuck on my chest….
A few weeks ago I ran 207km (128 miles) for the win at the Lighthorse Ultra in Perth. I’d been chasing the elusive 200 km club for a few years and finally made it. So is this me being the best I’ve ever been or have I moved the goal posts to make pb’s achievable while still slowing down ? According to an article by Matt Fitzgerald below the reason we slow is the spirit rather than the flesh that lets us down. Not being mentally tough enough to keep putting yourself through the pain of training to reach your peak.
I agree with Matt, personally I’ve found moving to the ultra world easier to train for than trying to keep to my marathon pb best. I still love my running but after 10 or more years of pushing myself in the pain box I decided years ago to slow down, smell the roses and go long. Start to try and enjoy the experience and surround myself with like minded people who run for the love of running, without the expectations of results. Of course running ultra marathons is still a painful experience but in a different way. I always equate pain management to a tap of running water. For a shorter distance the tap is fully open and you are in the pain box, big time. The longer the distance the less the tap is open , finally ending up dripping for a 200 miler. The pain is there but it’s a slow feeling that builds over time, where as with a 5k it’s on from the start ! You get the picture. I’m happy to take on events with ridiculous distances now, distances that I would have struggled to comprehend when the marathon was the Everest of running, now it’s not even a warm up.
So can I get back to sub 3 form, well we’ll find out in October as I have signed up for the Melbourne Marathon. Unfortunately I have a few races planned before Melbourne starting with the Kep V2 Ultra this Saturday , a 100km ( https://kepultrav2.com.au/ ) . Then in June another 200 miler ( https://unreasonableeast200miler.com.au/ ), August it’s my favourite back yard ultra, ( https://birdysbackyardultra.com.au/ ) and the two weeks before the Melbourne marathon I get to run the inaugural Front yard ultra in Adelaide ( https://nttdfrontyard.com.au/ ) Am I being greedy, probably. Is it good preparation , 100% not but I love competing and racing, as I said to Rob Donkersloot, him of Mind Focuse running ( https://mindfocusedrunning.com/ ) I’d rather race 10 times’ with mediocre performances than save myself for one or two races a year. At my age it’s about spending time with like minded people and the best way to do that is race.
So have I let myself down mentally and is this the wrong approach ? Depends on what your goal is of course. If I was still chasing marathon pb times then I am 100% going about it the wrong way but if my goal is to race as long, and often, as possible I’m doing what I need to do and truth be told enjoying it immensely. Best runner in the world, the one having the most fun.
On January, 22, 2020, five days after thirty-eight year old Sara Hall set a new American record of 1:07:15 for the half marathon, Women’s Running magazine published an article titled “Sara Hall Shares 7 Keys to Her Longevity of Excellence.” For your convenience, I have copied the article’s section headings, which neatly summarize Hall’s secrets, and pasted them here:
“Immersing herself in the love of running”
“Being relentlessly resilient”
“Embracing imperfection”
“Trusting and adapting in training”
“Keeping the faith”
“Focusing on a full life”
“Turning disappointment into teaching moments”
There’s a lot of wisdom packed in these few phrases, but do they constitute a complete recipe for “longevity of excellence”? Of course not, as I’m sure Hall herself would agree. One additional nugget of advice I would offer to aging endurance athletes is this: Assume nothing. By this I mean that you must not assume you will slow down, or your training capacity will decrease, as you get older. Just keep chugging along as though you are immune to the laws of nature that affect other aging athletes and see what happens.
I first heard this advice many years ago from Dave Scott, the legendary six-time Ironman world champion. When Scott was twenty-eight he told his girlfriend Linda Buchanan that he wanted to be even fitter at forty than he was then. Well, he got his wish. In 1994, three months shy of his forty-first birthday, Scott narrowly missed winning a seventh Ironman title, finishing a close second to thirty-year-old Greg Welch. “I didn’t feel like there were any boundaries,” Scott told me years later. “I was constantly reminded of how old I was, but those comments went in one ear and out the other.”
Psychologists have demonstrated that expectations of all kinds tend to be self-fulfilling. It’s not surprising, then, that athletes like Dave Scott, who performs as well after forty as they did before, tend to share a defiant attitude toward the aging process. Some even talk about aging as an advantage. “The more you age, the more you’re getting stronger,” said twenty-seven-time world record-breaker Haile Gebrselassie at a press conference before the 2010 New York City Marathon, when he was officially thirty-seven years old but probably closer to forty-one. “I still feel like age of twenty.” Alas, Gebrselassie wound up DNF’ing the next day, but three years later he was still winning major races, including the Vienna Half Marathon.
Let’s be clear: Age is more than just a number. It is an inexorable biological process ending in death. Athletes who extend their peak performance years into their forties by virtue of high expectations are not defying the laws of nature. If it were not physically possible to set an American record at thirty-eight, Sara Hall would not have done so. In continuing to improve as they approach middle age, the Sara Halls of the world are merely exploiting a possibility that exists in all of us.
This was shown in a recent study by researchers at Germany’s Martin Luther University. The purpose of the study was to identify differences in how older and younger athletes tolerate and recover from high-intensity interval training. Two groups of twelve well-trained cyclists and triathletes, one with an average age of twenty-four and the other with an average age of forty-seven, completed a series of HIIT sessions. During and after each workout, a variety of physiological measurements were taken in an effort to assess how stressful the interval set was for the individual and how quickly the athlete recovered. For example, the researchers looked at the rate at which lactate was cleared from the bloodstream during recovery intervals. They found no differences between the two groups in any of these measurements, leading them to conclude (in language so bloodlessly scientific it’s almost self-parodying), “[I]t seems that the trainability of the organism is maintained.”
Findings like this one suggest that, for athletes over forty who experience a marked decline in performance, the flesh is willing, but the spirit is weak. This was certainly Dave Scott’s take, as he explained in the above-referenced conversation: “I think it comes back to how hungry you are in your workouts and how intense you are in your workouts. I coach regular folks. I have thirty-year-old’s, forty-year-old’s, fifty-year-old’s, sixty-year-old’s. . . The intensity of the workouts drops off as people age. They allow it to.”
I’m no Dave Scott or Haile Gebrselassie or Sara Hall, but I am living proof that mere mortals too can extend their peak performance years into their forties if they let the chatter about age go in one ear and out the other. Having raced my first Ironman at thirty-one, I completed my fastest Ironman at forty-eight. Having raced my first marathon at twenty-eight, I completed my fastest marathon at forty-six. And having raced my first 10K at twelve, I completed my fastest one at forty-nine. I repeat: Assume nothing!
Exciting news on the sponsorship front, Human Tecar ( https://athleticus.com.au/ ) have come aboard and will be providing me my favourite recovery products for the rest of the year . If you have not tried their spray and bandages then you are missing out. This stuff is magic and I’ll document my journey over the next 12 months.
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The Lighthorse Ultra ( https://lighthorseultra.com.au/ ) is one of my favorite events for a number of reasons. Firstly its for a fantastic cause namely supporting those who have served to protect. The Ultra Series give free entry to any past or present servicemen or women who have served, which is bloody fantastic. Every year a few men and women from our armed forces come along and do the event in uniform some with backpacks, inspiring stuff. Next it’s a timed event so you’re racing for distance not time as such. This has the added bonus , or curse, of even standing still you are moving closer to the finish line, one second at a time. Next is the comradery of the event village which you pass through every two and half kilometres as well as seeing all the other runners on the loop. The number of runners changes during the event of course with the 24 hour runners starting at 3pm Saturday, the twelve hour runners starting at 3am Sunday morning, the 6 and 3 hour runners starting at 6am Sunday. So it starts quiet on Saturday afternoon, gets busy during the middle of the event and then dies down towards the final few hours. Either way the event village is a hub of load music, great smelling food and people doing their thing, be that sleeping, crewing or just bathing in the event.
Funnily enough the Lighthorse Ultra in 2019 was my first DNF , if you can actually DNF a timed event. I had entered the 12 hour , as there was no 24 hour at the time, and found myself racing with Jon Pendse who would run a top 5 Australian distance of over 140km . He totally cooked me and at around 30km I called it quits and scuttled off home, a broken man. The next morning I ran a controlled 35km from my house not realising I could have gone back to the event, ran the same distance and picked up a nice shiny medal and a respectable middle of the pack total. As it was my first timed event the concept was alien to me and I regret not staying for a nap in the car or returning the next morning. No worries, I have returned the last three years , for the 24 hour event, and podiumed every time. I learned from the experience and came back stronger and dealt with my demons. This is why I always say a DNF is so much better than a DNS as there is the opportunity to learn from you mistakes with a DNF. My only two other DNF’s are now my favourite races also , the Delirious West 200 miler ( https://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ ) and the Feral Pig 100 Miler. ( https://feralpigultra.com.au/ ) Running is weird.
I nearly didn’t make the start line this year. My no2 Daughter, Charlotte, came down with suspected mastoiditis Friday evening and after a trip to the local hospital was kept in for the night with another night planned. So that was it, I asked Rob to inform the race director, on Saturday morning, I was a DNS and begrudgingly unpacked my bags and began planning my stay at home duties looking after my other two daughters, the two dogs and the two Guinea pigs. While also keeping abreast of the Charlotte situation of course. Around midday my Wife called and told me the hospital was letting them out at 6pm that day so I was free to go and run around in circles for 24 hours. So I had just over two hours to repack my bag and get to the start line, no pressure. I made it with about half-an-hour to go thankfully and was ready for the Last Post, a very emotional part of the race.
Hurrying to get ready for check in. Late as always.
I managed to get a berth in the Mind Focused Running marquee ( https://mindfocusedrunning.com/ ) and take advantage of the racing guru that is Rob Donkersloot for crewing. Rob has a wealth of experience including crewing for Mick Thwaites when he podiumed at the Badwater Ultra, ( https://www.badwater.com/ ) which as the name suggests is probably the hardest ultra on the planet. If you want to improve the mental side of your running Rob is the man and trust me ultra running is all mental. !
So we were ready, I had a crew I could trust, some training under my belt since Herdy’s frontyard and COVID and I was feeling happy to actually make the start line after the drama of the last 24 hours. As the name suggests the race is all about the running community paying their respects to the men and women who have served, or are serving, our Country. Pre start there is a bugler who sounds the last post, a military tradition, the Last Post is the bugle call that signifies the end of the day’s activities. It is also sounded at military funerals to indicate that the soldier has gone to his final rest and at commemorative services such as ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day. It is very emotional and certainly puts things in perspective, gives you a mental edge to tackle what is ahead of you knowing what our servicemen and women gave up so we would be able to life our live safely and comfortably.
Frank Kaesler read the last paragraph of the poem by Laurence Binyon, ‘For the Fallen’, an ANZAC day tradition and then we’re off, lap one, 3pm Saturday afternoon.
The two previous years I had ran 192km and 196km, always falling short of the 200km mark. This was down to me only having a moving time of sub 20 hours (thankyou Strava, remember ‘Strava is life the rest is details’) , meaning I spent too long in the chair and not enough time running. Both these distances were good for a podium finish but the goal this time was entry into the elusive 200k club. This is the main reason Rob was brought into the team. His experience would get me the goal I was coveting, albeit it would come at a price.
At 3pm Saturday the 80 or so 24 hour runners set off on lap 1, I needed to run 80 laps for 200km. At the start I sat towards the front of the pack and made sure I was relaxed keeping the heart rate and effort level down. The early stages are all about dialing in a pace you think you can maintain for long distances. There is no early race spurt for distance or even changes in pace throughout the event. If ever a race encapsulated the meme ‘the winner is the runner who slows the least‘ , this is it. Slow and steady.
The two previous years I had tried to sleep between the 2am and 5am, the witching hours as I call them. These are the hours when the body expects sleep, it can survive without sleep outside these hours but the 2-5 period it really wants to sleep , thus the witching hours. In longer distance ultras, say a 200 miler, I always get a least 2 hours and normally three between these hours and feel so much better for it, I may push through if it’s the last day but normally I will always sleep in between this period. For a 24 hour race sleep really is a luxury and not needed and Rob was here to make sure I didn’t falter. To this end he left before dinner to make sure he was back to keep an eye on me from late evening to the finish. I will admit to having a sneaky 10 minutes while he was away knowing I would be limited when he returned. Unfortunately with the timing chip on my ankle he knew where I was at all times and could see , when I hadn’t moved for 10 minutes, I was in the chair.
First top change as it started to cool down as the sun left us on Saturday night.
The first few hours were unremarkable , running wise , which is what you need at the start of a 24 hour race. If you suffer in the first 6 hours you are in for a very long day at the office. Luckily Jon Pendse was not running as I have been in that situation before chasing Jon when he ran his Australian record pace, believe me it ain’t fun ! Anyhow I digress, today was a lot easier and as we transitioned into a top change, bye bye singlet, as the temperature dropped and nightfall arrived I was feeling good.
I always find the first 50-90km of any race hard, be it a 200 miler , 100 miler or , in this case, a 24 hour race. After 90km I tend to get into a rhythm and you start to prepare mentally for the task ahead. This race was no different and I was allowed a 5 minute break at 60k and a 10 minute break at 85km. The 85km break was actually the 100km break early as I was suffering albeit Rob was not happy. At the time I was in the lead, much to Mick Francis’s ( https://www.facebook.com/MickFrancisCoaching/ ) disgust that I was horizontal in my chair at the time. Mick, or Mighty Mick, as he is known in the West is an Ultra Running God and now coaches in his retirement. When Mick ran 24 hour races he never left the track , or sat down, unless he was changing his clothing. Albeit this was probably in the early 1920’s and things have changes since then. Anyway I maintained my lead over Conor Quinn, who was second last year running 200km and my main rival, as another great runner Andy Wait had encountered ankle trouble and slept , for longer than he wanted. Third place was Neily Rae who was consistently lapping and would eventually finish with over 170km. He was running for his son Zane and did him proud, a gutsy run and a massive PB !
After 85km there was no rest for me really bar some food stops and changing clothing. Rob kept me on the straight and narrow and listened to my varied requests when I came round each lap and went about his business. If I needed Red Bull I would ask and then next lap it would appear, hot tea, pizza, orange juice , my list of requests was long and varied but each time Rob delivered. I’m certainly no Phil Gore when it comes to preparation and prefer just to have a ‘Rob’ , a sort of real time Phil Gore. As I have said before a good crew is paramount to success in an Ultra.
Sunday sunrise, Adam got this great photo of me just before sunrise. Well he said it’s me ?
In an Ultra spanning over 24 hours or longer there are certain times that boost your moral and sunrise is one the the biggest. Once the sun rises the world as you know it changes dramatically. No longer are you staring at a small sphere of light ahead of you , continually moving towards darkness. A sunrise is so special but more so when you have been looking forward to it for hours and running continually though the night. Normally, well in Western Australia anyhow, there is the added benefit of heat which later during the day can become a hindrance to some. With my Delirious West training I have now acclimatized to the heat and actually prefer it, the hotter the better. Sunday would heat up but I had my neck scarf, thankyou Margie Hadley, and my arm coolers, thankyou Rob Collins. With Rob filling these with ice each lap I was unaffected by the heat and ploughed on, always running (shuffling) forward. As the image below shows I was now dressed in red for the finish and conditions were perfect. A beaut image captured by Marco Noe, a very talented photographer.
On Sunday it heated up , which is cool as I love the heat. Image Marco Noe
Sunday morning onwards was just about getting it done. I was ahead of target by about 7-8km’s at each of the turn arounds (the race changes direction every 3 hours) and had a good hour up my sleeve at the 12 hour mark. Rob kept me honest and I made a conscious effort to never walk while on the loop. Throughout the event I ran the loop and managed to keep this going the whole 24 hours, this was key to my ultimate success.
There are 7 turn arounds (where you change direction) and I treat each of these as a mini goal, in ultras you need to break it down into manageable goals rather than just concentrate on the finish which could be days away. I learnt this from my first attempt at the Delirious West where I remember running for 17 hours and realising that I probably had over 80 hours to go. That sort of mentality is a guarantee recipe for failure. Instead I should have been thinking about the next aid station, a 15-20km target and then hop from one aid station to the next until, voila, you’re home. A lesson learned from a DNF is invaluable and its the main reason a DNF is so much more productive than a DNS.
Just keep moving forward. Image Marco Noe
Racing for the win stopped a few hours before the end when Conor pulled the pin at 185km, happy and comfortable to grab second place and a hour or two relaxing in the chair. Of course Rob had other ideas for me but it was a relieve knowing the win was in the bag and then I was just racing myself to get to 200km and beyond. The early afternoon warmed up but every lap Rob added ice to my neckerchief and arm coolers and this was enough that the heat wasn’t a factor. I struggled with nutrition towards the end but the job was done and I had enough fuel to canter to the finish.
Third time lucky, finally joining the 200 kilometre club, even had time for nearly three more laps.
I hit the 200km target with about 45 minutes left and I was then allowed 5 minutes rest in the chair, the first time since 85km which seemed a lifetime ago. I could have stopped at 200k but actually enjoyed running nearly another three laps, just falling short at 207km. Mission accomplished. Could I have achieved this total without Rob ? Probably not, there were some dark times throughout the event and times when the chair was so inviting, just 5 minutes or maybe a tad longer. Thinking back to my two previous attempts I had spent so much more time pontificating but, and there’s always a but, I probably found the constant running so much more testing than running less but faster. To race a 24 hour and grab a total over 200km you can’t , or shouldn’t rest, but there may be a balance where some rest can help improve the overall average pace and thus get the same end result?
A Scotsman , Irishman and Englishman, sandwiched between two Aussi Race Directors.. what a poduim. You could write a joke about it… ?
In the end the 24 hour runners set an Australian record for the largest number of runner to complete the 50km distance needed to be counted as an ultra in 24 hours. 76 runners completed the 50km or more and beat the old record, set by this event two years ago, by 19. Shaun Kaesler, the owner of the Ultras Series WA and SA ( https://ultraserieswa.com.au/ ) , would have been so proud of this years record turnout and also running with his Family including his Wife Sarah who ran a great race for a top 5 finish in the ladies event. Other notable runs were achieved by Mel Maisey who used some of her many, many volunteer credits and kept on going right to end to run a massive 60km, Gemma Gore who came so close to 100km on her first ultra, her longest run by over 70km, that is a serious PB! The second and third females are trained by Mick Francis and in the next tent to me so I saw them push themselves to massive totals, well done Cheri Savin and Ilze Roux. Jen Millum and Margie Hadley taking out the 24 and 12 hour events, these two just get the job done time and time again, pure ultra racing royalty. To me everybody who crosses the start line is a winner in this event, everybody, I may have already said that but it needs to be typed twice. I cannot express in words the feeling you get when you run the 24 hour event in the Lighthorse, you’ll just need to sign up next year and find out for yourselves, you won’t regret it but if you want some time in your chair best avoid Rob.
Fisciocrem works, helps tired muscles keep on trucking.
Couldn’t leave with a few tips for going long. Number one is fisiocrem, this stuff does exactly what it says it will do , namely rejuvenate your aching muscles in the short term, i.e. for the event, be that a 24 hour or multi-day. I have used fisiocrem for 200 milers, 100 milers and any distance over 50km where I would have time to apply the creme. It certainly saved the day at the Delirious West 200 miler ( https://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ ) earlier in the year and didn’t let me down in the Lighthouse. A great product.
Great hydration, and great flavours.
Another great product is Bix Hydration tablets. The three flavours are great tasting but more importantly easy on the stomach, which is so good when you are drinking a lot. ( https://www.bixvitamins.com/en-au ) The owner and founder of this range , Vlad Ixel, knows a thing or two about ultra running. ( check out his YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCikqAT5S16931CQN_tC7EtQ )
It protects your nuts. Anti Chaffing.
To prevent chafing you need this product. It works. ( https://squirrelsnutbutter.com/ ) I can’t say too much more about this product. It helps you get to the finish line chafe free, which can be very, very important ! Actually forget can be, it is very important , as one who has suffered severe chafing in the never regions knows !
Right that it’s then. Never thought I was in the running for a win but will take it and, at 55 years old, not sure how many more I have coming my way but if this is the last one then so be it. I run these events to spend time with people I love, finishing at the pointy end is a privilege that I don’t take for granted and there were so many heroes on the course over the 24 hours, so many. In this event everybody is winner, everybody.
With the Lighthorse Ultra 24 hour race ( https://lighthorseultra.com.au/ ) less than a week away its time to talk about tapering, every runners nightmare. I have found with age comes wisdom and now I embrace the taper before a race and adjust according to the event. My good friend Dave Kennedy, 6 Inch Trail Ultra race director ( http://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com/ ) doesn’t believe in tapering for ultras and over time I have certainly ran more before a longer event albeit distance over pace, just ticking the legs over I suppose. I wouldn’t launch into tempo or threshold runs the week before an event but am quite happy to run every day at a relaxed pace and noting more than 10k.
Remember the number one rule of tapering, you can only do too much on the week before a race, never too little. So if you do nothing for the week you will not lose fitness. The only caveat is you probably need to adjust your diet and drop the calories at the start of the week before launching into a carboloading frenzy three days before the event. Another caveat, for ultras, the carboloading phase is probably not as necessary as there will most likely be a smorgasbord of tukka during the event, also weight isn’t as big an issue as say for a marathon runner. Ultra running really is the sport that keeps on giving.
From an old post of mine :-
For the 6 inch ultra marathon in December last year I experimented by not tapering nearly as much as I would for a marathon. On the week of the event I actually ran twice a day Monday through Thursday and only had 48 hours rest before the race. Admittedly all runs on race week were slow and easy but I still managed over 80km’s pre-race. On the day I felt great and ran a good race for a 7th place finish but more importantly I was 4th quickest over the second half of the race. I actually ran my first negative split for an ultra. The week before the ultra I had ran 140k so there really wasn’t a taper period to talk off. ( http://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com )
Could this work for a marathon ? I don’t think so. The ultra is normally ran at a more subdued pace and although longer I feel not as testing as ‘racing’ a marathon. (Well ultras less than 100k, when you get above 100k I’m sure it becomes a tad more testing that a marathon. Once I run further than 100k I’ll confirm?) In an ultra the race pace normally decreases brings your overall cardio fitness in to play more than resting the legs a few weeks before. If you haven’t got the fitness a two week taper will not help, you’ll still be underdone. With a marathon, as the distance is less, you normally have the fitness required to finish the event, the tapering helps more by letting tired muscles recovery.
Also I feel running a good ultra is more dependent on the nutrition and hydration plan, get this right will benefit you so much more than a taper period. Again get this plan wrong and the taper will not save you. In an ultra any mistakes will be paid for, that is a certainty. In an ultra there is no where to hide.
Researching tapering and ultras on the web and there are stories advocating no tapering and setting PB’s while others advocate a 3 week steep taper and lean more towards relaxing rather than stressing about the event. All have their pro’s and con’s and as with all things running there’s no one shoe fits all. It really depends on the runner and also their experience and fitness. The more experienced runner with a good foundation of distance training under their belt will be more likely to be able to go into an event without tapering. They will not need the confidence boost that comes from a good taper as much as someone with less experience. Remember a good taper will also aid confidence and going into any race this is important, anything that helps put you in a positive mindset is welcome and needs to be embraced,
Of course if you have any niggling injuries an enforced taper may be called for. When this happens there is nothing you can do about it, just sit back and smell the roses concentrating on things you can influence like carboloading. Now carboloading, that is a whole new post and one I shall tackle next. Until then enjoy this article below by Ian Torrence which highlights ‘peaking’ rather than tapering as a benefit, pre-ultra. Ian is part of the Greg McMillan stable of writers so has a wealth of knowledge and experience to call upon. (Please note I do not advocate the Joe Kulak method of peaking described below but as you can see in the photo below my friend Jon is convinced it works… ?)
Jon practicing the Joe Kulak method of peaking !
The final weeks before an event are the toughest to get right. The common notion that all hard work must cease and inactivity must ensue is incorrect. It’s also foolhardy to continue amassing mileage and tough workouts as race day nears in hopes of improving fitness. Depending on your approach to this all-important time period, you may be left feeling lethargic or simply exhausted. A runner with the proper peak will feel rejuvenated and ready to go on race day.
Greg McMillan, my mentor, has devised a set of rules to live by as race day approaches. Greg explains, “By studying peak performance research – both physiological as well as psychological – as opposed to just the tapering research, I’ve been able to dial in how to truly peak on race day. It works for all athletes no matter where you find yourself in the pack come race day.” By placing Greg’s simple and effective system into context, let’s get you prepared for your next ultra.
1. Do not drop running volume drastically
Though there are some that prefer three weeks to peak, two weeks seems to be the most popular choice. During the first week of a peak, drop the length of each run by 10 to 20 minutes. The week before your event, drop volume by 20 to 30 minutes per run. I recommend that ultrarunners limit their last long run(s), done a week before the key event, to 90 easy minutes (regardless of the distance of the event). This is enough to give you that long run feeling, but short enough that muscle recovery and glycogen-storage continue. Light, non-impact cross training can be done in lieu of runs, but only if you are used to those forms of exercise.
2. Keep the routine
Run, eat, sleep, work, and socialize when you do normally. Your body and mind have achieved stasis over the past few months of training. Keep them both happy and the keel even. Now is not the time to experiment with new workouts, forms of exercise, foods, and social events. Use the extra time not spent running for sleeping and sticking to “safe” hobbies.
3. Keep the intensity and build confidence
Before the 2007 JFK 50 Mile, I had an exchange with fellow competitor Andy Mason. Nine days before the race, he completed a round of very quick mile repeats on the track; his last quality workout before the race. I knew he was fit and feeling confident. That year, Andy finished in the top ten.
Though most ultrarunners do not need to perform a tough round of mile repeats before their next race, they might consider doing some sort of confidence-building workout 10 days to two weeks out from their event. This workout, however, should be in tune with recent training. Running a 30-mile training run or time trialing up and down Hope Pass (like the author) a few days before a race is neither smart nor beneficial. A moderate length workout that you’re familiar with, that is aerobically challenging, allows for adequate recovery before race day, and demonstrates your fitness should be the order of the day. If you don’t routinely perform hard hill, stamina-building, fartlek, or fast finish workouts then this is not the time to start. Maintain your current training and follow the guidelines for reduction in mileage as mentioned above.
Now is also the time to reflect on all of the training you’ve done thus far. Remember that you’ve done the work necessary to get you to the finish line.
4. Stick to the original race plan and have fun
No one starts a race without a goal. Whether it be to keep your Grand Slam hopes alive, finish your first ultra, or win the event outright, don’t lose sight of why you’re out there. Be deliberate in your actions and calculate each move you make on the race course. Run your own race and enjoy the time you’re having on the trail or road. Greg McMillan sums this up perfectly, “Let’s face it. Most of us aren’t going for an Olympic gold medal here. We are simply enjoying the challenge of doing our best. There is no real pressure, so quit putting so much on yourself. We run for fun, and you should remember that. Have fun!”
PEAKING FOR MULTIPLE RACES
What if you’re gearing up for several important races that are separated by a few weeks or less? The Grand Slam of Ultrarunning, as well as others of that genre, and several race series like the NorCal and SoCal Ultra Grand Prix are perfect examples. In essence, you are recovering and peaking in unison between events. There are two ways to approach situations like this:
1. Reverse taper
This is like returning from injury. Gradually and slowly increase the length of your post-race easy runs and avoid fast and difficult workouts. You won’t reach your normal training level, but you’ll satisfy the need for a few runs before your next event.
2. The Joe Kulak Method
When I asked Joe Kulak what he did between each of his four 2003 Grand Slam record- setting 100-mile races, he quipped, “I sat on the couch and drank beer.” If beer is not your drink of choice, water works just as well. The reality is that you can’t gain fitness in the two or three weeks between long ultras. Recovery will be your best “workout” while preparing for your next event.
After nine weeks, the high intensity group’s improvements in VO2 max were only 10 percent greater than the moderate group. More importantly, after 9 weeks, the high intensity group stopped improving and after 12 weeks showed the same level of improvement to VO2 max as the moderate group.
