It has to be one of the most iconic ultramarathon distances: 100 miles. Some of the most famous ultras in the world are 100-milers (such as the UTMB® – Western States Endurance Run and GSER), so it’s easy to see why the distance captures the imagination of so many runners.
Running 100 miles is no small undertaking, so as with any other running goal, it’s crucial to have a plan.
That’s not just a great training plan (more on that in a minute), but also a plan for hydration, fuelling, sleep, strength work and general self-care.
We’ve asked international athlete and UKA-certified coach Sarah McCormack to write a training plan to help you prepare for GSER 100-miler. The plan is aimed at experienced athletes, who have previously run an ultra – although it doesn’t matter whether you’ve run a 100-mile race before.
We hope you enjoy it and that you race strongly – happy running!
It’s important to be honest with yourself before embarking on a training plan.
Sudden jumps in weekly mileage, ascent and speedwork are a recipe for injury or burnout.
Our 100-mile ultramarathon plan is for experienced runners. You will need to already be running a high mileage in training and have completed a couple of ultras previously. You don’t have to have completed a 100-miler before though, so this plan can be used for first timers and battle-scarred veterans alike.
For structured sessions, warm up for 10-15 minutes before (including 4 x 10s strides) and warm down for 10-15 minutes after. Structured sessions are tempo runs, fartleks, hill reps, progression runs, and runs with surges.
Aim for a hard 90% effort for your reps – but not flat out (90% effort is approximately your one-hour race pace). Your fartleks can be done on firm, rolling trail, or on grass in a park.
These are not sprints! They are fast 10-30 second accelerations that are great in a warm-up for a session/race, or as a way of including a little bit of leg speed training at the end of your easy run. They should be nice and quick, but not flat-out sprints. Aim around 80-90 % of your top speed, so you get the benefits of spinning the legs quickly without any fatigue or muscle soreness.
Most of these should be done at a steady 65-75% effort, which is approximately three-hour race pace.
You should run these reps at your fastest sustainable pace (but aim for consistent pacing).
If you only have a small hill to work with, it’s fine to improvise. You could:
When running hills, you should aim to work on your technique too. Our blog “10 Essential Tips For Running Up And Down Hills” is packed with useful information to help you make short work of challenging climbs and technical descents.
Training on terrain that mimics the route you’ll be racing on can really help, particularly for your easy and long runs. However, don’t make big changes to the amount of weekly elevation that you’re accumulating.
Ultramarathons can be quite hilly. The long runs in the training plan are designed to prepare you for this come race day. Each long run has a percentage of the race-day climb that you should aim to do. For example, if your race has 1,000 metres of ascent, and your long run says you need to run 30% of that climb, you should incorporate 300 metres of climb into your route.
Run your long runs at an easy pace, unless otherwise stated in the plan.
Hiking is an important part of racing on steeper terrain. It’s fine to include hiking on steeper sections of trail, particularly within your long run when it feels more efficient to hike than to run uphill.
This plan also includes five long hikes, in place of the weekly long run. These hikes are a great way to condition your legs to being out on the trails for several hours, without the injury risk associated with doing a 6-7 hour run.
We highly recommend that you give these long hilly hikes a go, you’ll find them just as tiring and worthwhile as the longest runs. You can use undulating/hilly trail, or more challenging mountain routes if you’re used to them. It’s a good idea to bring a well-stocked pack and poles for these, as you will in your race.
Understanding your effort level is a key skill in being able to pace and execute a successful ultramarathon. Gauging your effort levels during your fartlek, tempo and progression runs will help you get a really good sense of pacing… even if it takes a little bit of trial and error!
It’s important to practice fuelling during your more ultra-specific training runs. This will help you to work out a fuelling strategy for race day and train your gut to absorb nutrition while you’re moving. In general, 60g carbohydrate/hour is a good minimum intake rate to aim for, though fuelling requirements vary on an individual basis and may take a bit of trial and error.
In the training plan, the runs marked in bold font offer a good opportunity to test out your race-day fuelling strategy.
Where this run is only an hour long (including warm up and warm down), this might be as simple as bringing a couple of gels and a drink. For Sunday long runs, this may require bringing a number of snacks such as gels, chews, or carbohydrate mixed into your drink, in order to achieve at least 60g carb/hour for the full duration of your run.
It’s also a good idea to test out your pre-race breakfast before the long runs that include faster running. For Sunday long runs where full race-day fuelling is not suggested, it’s still a good idea to bring a drink and some snacks.
If you’re looking for some further inspiration, check out our blog “Top 10 Trail Running Superfoods”.
Training for a 100-mile ultramarathon is a serious time commitment. But alongside the running training, you need to incorporate strength work into your routine.
Strength training is so important for ultra-runners; it:
Create your own strength training routine using these articles written by record-breaking ultra-runner, Damian Hall:
Ultras are as much about the mental as the physical struggle. Check out this great article from Damian Hall on how to mentally prepare and deal with an ultramarathon.
To paraphrase Damian, the first thing is to really want to do the race you’ve entered. Know why you want to do the race and what you want to get from it. Having these answers defined and clear in your mind will be invaluable when things don’t go to plan, or you experience a rough patch during the race.
Spending some time in the weeks leading up to the race on mental preparation can also pay dividends. Breaking your race down, defining you’re A, B and C goals, etc. These things can help you problem solve on the fly during your race, and keep you calm during difficult periods.
So bookmark Damian’s article – it’s jam-packed with hard-won wisdom, and something you’ll want to return to throughout your training.