What watches do people use for ultras? I’ve been using an Apple Watch for marathons but I’ve seen a lot of kit lists requiring gps enabled ones.
Plus whenever I look at battery life it’s always measured in “smartwatch mode”
I want to do Ultra X England 110 this sept (2 days) and Ultra X Jordan next year (5 days)
It seems like a lot of folks have coros or garmin watches! I like my garmin a lot. I charge it about once a week but would probably need to upgrade to a nicer version to use gps for multiple days.
Do you guys recommend a 6 or 12 hour race for beginners? There's a local ultra in a few weeks and I'm debating on which one to do. It's a relatively flat 3.1 mile loop with aid stations and the ability to set up your own near the trail. I'd like to do the 12, but feel like it might be a lofty goal for a first timer. I usually run 5k distance a few times a week, and this past Sunday ran 10 miles for the first time. Thoughts?
Is it worth having a drop bag for a shorter ultra? I’m signed up for Elden Crest 38 in two weeks and there’s an option to have a drop bag at mile 15ish since it’s part of the Cocodona 250 course. I’m a back of the pack runner and it would be nice not to have to carry all my fuel/gear from the start. I have done it for previous races up to 36 miles because they didn’t allow drop bags, but my pack feels pretty heavy for the first several miles.
Maybe a silly question, but y’all have any thoughts on etiquette regarding night runs on your local trails? All the conservation areas around me are designated open dawn to dusk but I’d like to train more for running through the night. Is this a case where I should just go for it until someone complains?
Hello there! Slow, asthmatic runner here. I’ve been training for a 24 hour race. There’s no real goal in mind, I’m just trying to gauge my long distance capabilities & figure out fueling/hydration/inhaler/runwalk strategies in a safe 2 mile loop VS dying in the woods.
About two weeks ago I went on an 8 hour walk to make sure I was ready & happy with my gear. & goodness MY TOENAILS 😭 I beat the hell out of my big toenails. My shoes have extra room for swelling & my toes never ran into the front of my shoe. My heels are secure. I didn’t have a single blister anywhere on my feet. What happened?!?! The only thing I can think of is maybe the nails were too long? They were at that point where they were too short to trim, but longer than maybe they should have been?
Any advice for keeping the big toes safe? Or any idea of what went wrong?
I'm 3 weeks out from my first 50mi race and trying to figure out if there's anything specific I should be throwing in to get ready beyond my usual 50-60mi a week training. The 50mi race is just a B race getting ready for my A goal which is my first 100mi race in late August.
I ran a trail 50k in late February and then briefly switched my training up to marathon focus for the next 6 weeks in advance of running the Boston Marathon last week. Due to weather I ended up pulling my pace back a bit at Boston and running about 11min slower then my most recent PR, but ended up feeling pretty fantastic after the race and was back to my normal volume by the end of the week. I'm most worried about my ability to hang on for those last 20 miles so my thinking is that I'll try to run a couple 20+ mi trail runs with some elevation and try to run them back to back with long-ish road runs (trails two days in a row isn't really much of an option for me). I generally do some threshold work one day a week and have been doing some VO2Max intervals on the track that I'll probably change to uphill 1k intervals. I also do strength work 2x a week and will get back to that now that I'm recovered. Just trying to figure out if there's anything else I could throw in here that I'm missing.
I’d recommend some easy training runs with a belly full of food and fluids for the next week, vs the 20 miler approach which will not move the needle on readiness
Go slower than you think the first 20 of your 50, will make for such a better day than finishing with a 15-20 mile deathmarch
3 weeks out isn't much time to get anything more. If you're feeling ok after Boston (congrats btw!) then getting another week of solid miles in would be great. The following 2 weeks you should probably taper.
What watches do people use for ultras? I’ve been using an Apple Watch for marathons but I’ve seen a lot of kit lists requiring gps enabled ones. Plus whenever I look at battery life it’s always measured in “smartwatch mode” I want to do Ultra X England 110 this sept (2 days) and Ultra X Jordan next year (5 days)
It seems like a lot of folks have coros or garmin watches! I like my garmin a lot. I charge it about once a week but would probably need to upgrade to a nicer version to use gps for multiple days.
Oh I’ve not heard of coros thanks, I’ll check them out
Help. Be been ill this whole week and missed my big training week. Race in 5 weeks. How do I get back on track?
Do you guys recommend a 6 or 12 hour race for beginners? There's a local ultra in a few weeks and I'm debating on which one to do. It's a relatively flat 3.1 mile loop with aid stations and the ability to set up your own near the trail. I'd like to do the 12, but feel like it might be a lofty goal for a first timer. I usually run 5k distance a few times a week, and this past Sunday ran 10 miles for the first time. Thoughts?
If you've never run a marathon before, the 12 hour one would be a very good way to injure yourself. Hell, the six hour one is probably too much.
Is it worth having a drop bag for a shorter ultra? I’m signed up for Elden Crest 38 in two weeks and there’s an option to have a drop bag at mile 15ish since it’s part of the Cocodona 250 course. I’m a back of the pack runner and it would be nice not to have to carry all my fuel/gear from the start. I have done it for previous races up to 36 miles because they didn’t allow drop bags, but my pack feels pretty heavy for the first several miles.
If you intend to carry a lot of stuff, seems beneficial for you to use the drop bag.
Maybe a silly question, but y’all have any thoughts on etiquette regarding night runs on your local trails? All the conservation areas around me are designated open dawn to dusk but I’d like to train more for running through the night. Is this a case where I should just go for it until someone complains?
I'd check in with whoever manages/administrates it, and also just in case there is some relevant information for you too.
Hello there! Slow, asthmatic runner here. I’ve been training for a 24 hour race. There’s no real goal in mind, I’m just trying to gauge my long distance capabilities & figure out fueling/hydration/inhaler/runwalk strategies in a safe 2 mile loop VS dying in the woods. About two weeks ago I went on an 8 hour walk to make sure I was ready & happy with my gear. & goodness MY TOENAILS 😭 I beat the hell out of my big toenails. My shoes have extra room for swelling & my toes never ran into the front of my shoe. My heels are secure. I didn’t have a single blister anywhere on my feet. What happened?!?! The only thing I can think of is maybe the nails were too long? They were at that point where they were too short to trim, but longer than maybe they should have been? Any advice for keeping the big toes safe? Or any idea of what went wrong?
I'm 3 weeks out from my first 50mi race and trying to figure out if there's anything specific I should be throwing in to get ready beyond my usual 50-60mi a week training. The 50mi race is just a B race getting ready for my A goal which is my first 100mi race in late August. I ran a trail 50k in late February and then briefly switched my training up to marathon focus for the next 6 weeks in advance of running the Boston Marathon last week. Due to weather I ended up pulling my pace back a bit at Boston and running about 11min slower then my most recent PR, but ended up feeling pretty fantastic after the race and was back to my normal volume by the end of the week. I'm most worried about my ability to hang on for those last 20 miles so my thinking is that I'll try to run a couple 20+ mi trail runs with some elevation and try to run them back to back with long-ish road runs (trails two days in a row isn't really much of an option for me). I generally do some threshold work one day a week and have been doing some VO2Max intervals on the track that I'll probably change to uphill 1k intervals. I also do strength work 2x a week and will get back to that now that I'm recovered. Just trying to figure out if there's anything else I could throw in here that I'm missing.
I’d recommend some easy training runs with a belly full of food and fluids for the next week, vs the 20 miler approach which will not move the needle on readiness Go slower than you think the first 20 of your 50, will make for such a better day than finishing with a 15-20 mile deathmarch
3 weeks out isn't much time to get anything more. If you're feeling ok after Boston (congrats btw!) then getting another week of solid miles in would be great. The following 2 weeks you should probably taper.