What is the development path for this type of racing or how would one go about it? I graduated from college last year and I know I'm not fast enough to make it as a pro runner or even have that opportunity however I have come upon my passion for trail running and was wondering how one does this? I've seen that trail running doesn't necessarily require one to be extremely fast but more strong in the legs. PRs: 5000 14:4x, 10,000 30:5x, 13.1 70:1x
You'll get a lot of snarky replies, but before you do, it's really pretty simple.
Training-wise, you need to do some very long runs. Most ultra runners do back-to-back long runs on the weekend, and maybe one quality day during the week. You can take a day or two off, as well, you'll need it before/after the long runs. You need to learn how to power hike up steep hills.
Start racing some 50k's and find one of the more prominent 100k/50 Milers to focus on about 6 months-1 year out. If you do really well at that, you'll get some sponsorship love, but the real scrilla comes when you start doing the big 100's (Western States, UTMB, etc) and do well at them.
The last part, if you're serious about being a pro and making a living, is you absolutely, positively need to nurture your Insta/FB/Strava presence. That's true with road/track running as well...the sponsors don't just hand you money because you're fast, they pay you because you have eyeballs looking at you.
maybe get a coach, too.
Look up Timothy Olson
He was probably in 3 hour marathon shape for the majority of his winning streak ultra career. But he could probably close the last 26 miles of a hundred in about 3hours time. His training was mostly long trail runs every day. Like 3 hour runs. He also appeared to be muscular.
Other people to look at would be Scott Jureck. There's lots of documentation on his training. He was known for being very strict and consistent in training and would run races while injured and still do well.
But all in all the trail guys go to 100 miles on trails as soon as they can and keep increasing from that baseline. 120 is normal per week. And these are slowish for the runner. Races are your real workouts. You race 50ks and 50 miles in training for 100k distance. Your 100 mile training is 50 mile and 100k races. Your road marathon is your speed work. 10k and tempo effort will be most of your fastest training speeds. You will be tired, you will border on over training. If you like twenty mile runs then you'll do well as an elite ultra runner.
If you want to trail run but not be ultra, there are plenty of mountain races that are intense.
Max King could also be a good person to look at their progression and training.
now that's out of the way, buy a pair (or 12) of goodrs and use 14 #hashtags on all of your instagram posts
work on a cruise ship, on your break and days off, run on the treadmill for hours, when the ship ports, go on a 4 to 5 hour-long run around the city. Do this for two and three years, then enter a 50k/50miler.
To put things in perspective, given your PRs you have the ability to be a very good trail runner but probably not one of the very best unless you have upside potential not reflected by your PRs. For comparison, Walmsley has a 2:13 marathon PR. But to your question, do a lot of training on the trails similar to that which you will be racing on. The ability to run downhill fast on technical trails isn't just about aerobic capacity/V02 max, but there is skill involved that has to be trained. There are many different philosophies on how to do long runs. Some people like to do 30-50mi long runs every week with high weekly mileage. Other people, like Camille Herron, never run longer than ~20 miles. You will have to figure out what works for you. It will take a year or two of something more than marathon training to be able to RACE (not finish) distances of 100K/100mi/24hrs. Nutrition is also something you have to master with ultras that even marathoners don't really have to worry about much. As said above, if you want to be a sponsored ultra runner you need to have a significant social media presence where you can showcase your sponsors products as that is your value to them.
If you want to make a living at it then work on your marketing. Being fast will help, but a fast runner with weak marketing won't make a decent living when compared to the sorta fast runner that is slaying twitch, YouTube, insta, etc. You need followers... so become followable.
What products are marketed on the reputation of an ultra racer?
Assuming this marketing has to target people who aren't also ultra racers to be viable, what should I buy for my non-ultra-racing needs just because an ultra racer uses it?
Break 18 in the 5k and then just sign up for some trail races
Run fast in trail races
OP how old are you and what do you mean by pro? Do you mean pro as in sponsored or pro as in a real pro where running is your job. Those are two wildly different things. There's like 8 actual pro trail runners in the US and the rest all have other jobs. Also the guys coming into the sport are much faster than they were before. Daniel's is a sub 4:00 guy for example. You have to be able to log miles and stay relatively uninjured, but the biggest thing is learning how to race and win an ultra. This isn't some flat 26 miles where even if you blow up you can still run 2:15. In a 100 miles the technique and experience and applying the knowledge gained from previous efforts is critical. Walmsley is a perfect example. He screwed up WSER 2016 (took the wrong route) and 2017 (heat / stomach issues) before he got it right and crushed the course record two times is a row. But above all else, you have to get comfortable being uncomfortable and still run faster than your competitors. You must run with hate!