I want to run 41 miles all at once

Bad idea.

You’ll probably end up injured and your track season will be ruined for a while.

Edit: I also want to note that my track season is over and that I can afford for my legs to have rest time. Thanks

Do it Jeff Galloway style with slow pace and frequent walking breaks. Allow 6 - 10 hours. Plan on eating something around halfway. You should be fine.

TheMidistanceman wrote:

My aunt, uncle, and cousin lives 41 miles away and I want to run all the way there all at once..

"at once"... Does that mean without any breaks? or does it mean within a certain timeframe, like 24h or 12h or something like that?

Well I could take maybe some walking breaks but aside from that, that’s pretty much it

It is going to REALLY hurt, but you could do it. Schedule planned walk breaks, run super slow, eat 2-300 cal per hour, and drink enough to stay hydrated. You probably want to start super earl (before sun is up) or super late (night run) to avoid the hottest part of the day,

The thumb rule in cycling is whatever your weekly mileage is, you can do that in a single long ride but it will hurt. I'm not sure if I'd extend this rule to running though.

your mile time is trash relative to your 800. why don't you bike there instead and then focus your running energies on more sensible volume? i guess if you're young you'll probably get away with it, but i don't see the point. just walk or bike. have fun.

It shouldn't be too bad I am the same as you though since I've never run more than 10 miles so yeah. Eat food and stay conservative. You will want plenty of sleep prior to as well. Make sure it's not too hot and replenish electrolytes/water. Good luck!

I don't think it's possible to run 41 miles "all at once". That implies that you'd be doing all 41 of them simultaneously. Since there is only one of you, that would be impossible.

Regarding the possibility of running 41 miles in a single, more or less continuous, run, I'd say maybe. In your favor, you have a willingness to give it a try, and a pretty good basic running ability level. But honestly, I think your planned approach is off. You don't necessarily want to think in terms of finding a pace so slow that you can maintain it the whole way. I think you'd be better off planning to run just a normal, very easy pace of maybe 8 to 8:30, rather than going so slow that it feels awkward and your mechanics are bad. But take lots of walk breaks. Think like a beginning ultramarathoner (it is your first ultramarathon after all). Since you know you won't actually want to walk early on when you're feeling fine, you should take enforced walk breaks. Like, after you get the first few miles out of the way, you could get on a schedule, where you run a mile easy, walk 2 minutes, run a mile easy, walk 2 minutes, etc. Or any similar schedule that allows you to get through at least the first half of the run feeling like it is almost TOO easy. You can always pick it up later on, hammer the last few miles, and finish feeling like a champ.

Don't underestimate the importance of having some caloric intake along the way, preferably at regular intervals after the first hour or two. And fluids of course.

The biggest problem, as i see it, is that you're a high schooler (I presume), so you haven't had a chance to build up the "old man strength" that is so invaluable in this type of project. Though there are of course exceptions, most high-schoolers are terrible at this type of event. They might look great at 20 miles, and then drop out by 25. There are a lot of ways to screw it up, and teenagers can usually find at least one of them.

TheMidistanceman wrote:

...my weekly mileage is like 30-35 miles a week. ...would it be possible for me to complete the 41 mile run. ...

You're talking about running a 41 mile ultramarathon on inadequate mileage. Which means trying this without adequate preparation is asking for a world of hurt. You'll probably hit a "wall" at some point around 18-25 miles and physically be unable to do anything more than alternate between walking and very painful, feeble spurts of jogging. I've been there during a marathon I didn't prepare adequately for (most of us have at least once).

Add a mile or two to your weekly long run weekly until you get to the point that 20-30 miles seems easy. At that point, you're within striking distance of being able to do this without hurting yourself.

Yes, running 41 miles should be possible. Not a good idea if your longest run thus far is 10 miles but possible. The big differences for ultra runs are hydration and fueling. You will burn maybe 4,000 calories and sweat between 6 and 10 liters of water, maybe more. Most runners take on 200 to 300 calories per hour and drink enough to avoid extreme dehydration. As for your pace, I would suggest something more like 6 mph or 10 minutes/mile so it would take you 7 hours plus any rest stops. You didn’t describe the altitude gain and surface you would be running on.

Were I counseling one my kids, I would plan this as a 12hr walk with occasional running mixed in and be happy with that.

If you really want to run most of it, maybe jog 3, walk 1 for 20 miles, and if you feel good, up it to jog 5, walk 1. Don’t just run until the last 10.

Eat and drink a ton and don’t be afraid to take 15 minute breaks to elevate your feet and rest a bit.

Like others said, your goal isn’t to make it. Your goal is to not get hurt.

All that said, I know a non-runner who used to do a marathon every year on no training. She’d take 6.5hrs and say she ran all of it. Maybe you are built like her.

Some good posts in this thread. I especially agree with these points:

1. Do not run too slow! Run at an easy, but *running* pace. Shifting to slog-and-jog mechanics, just to say "I ran it all!" (or most of it) is a good way to get hurt. And since when is nine or ten or eleven minutes a mile really "running" anyway?

2. Take the walking breaks, but take them *before* you need to--don't "earn" them. The point of the walking breaks is to prevent fatigue, not to recover from it.

Overall you're likely to be spending at least half the time--and maybe even half or more of the *distance*--walking. So make sure the shoes you use are good for walking as well as running.

Further to shoes: Your feet may swell over the course of the distance. Take your shoes off, or at least unlace them completely, every couple hours. Actually the ideal might be to take two pairs of shoes, if that would be realistically possible, and switch them every couple hours.

You can't run 41 miles all at once. You have to run them sequentially. That's just how physics works.

Can't run them all at once. Has to be one at a time. Start mile 2 when you finish mile 1, and so on.

What's your thinking, OP?

I'd be happy to write about what I've learned from going long distances (mid-high 40 mile range) self-supported, on public roads. What you have to watch out for, for example, and the kinds of trouble you can get into, how to prep (not in the training sense, but in the supply sense) -- but I'm not going to take the time to do it unless you're interested.

Yeah, I'm old and slow -- but the lessons are the same, I think, for young and old.

Of course you can. Just go slow. Take water and Gu. Walk when needed.

My biggest concern would be the roads and getting smoked by a car.

Hydrate early and often, alternate run/walk. You'll do fine. I once did fifty in 6:40 on just 30 mpw , before I went nuts and became a road junky.