So I'm signed up for Pikes Peak Marathon and am wondering how long my long runs should be. I ran a marathon at sea level in March in 4:25, but am thinking Pikes Peak will take me about 6 hrs. I know that's not very fast, but I'm wondering if I should try to run easy and build to a 5:30-6 hr. slow run/walk in the mountains. My long run has been up to 4.5 hrs with four additional runs of 60 minutes average. Thank you.
Wheating is signing with PUMA!
Give or take 15 minutes, it takes most people about the same amount of time it takes you to complete a flat sea level marathon just to get to the turnaround (13.3 miles) at the top of the mountain. The air is thin. The footing is not good for running (more so high on the mountain on the rocks).
And even with all the downhill on the second half, don't expect to run anything close to a half marathon PR on the second half.
You'll see when you get there, just disregard your watch or pace and power up and down the mountain the best you can by feel. It really spikes your heart rate.
I can't get up for a 4hr run sometimes (mentally), so I'll bike to the trailhead (1hr+) then run, then bike home. 4-5hrs. Breaks it up a lot. Sometimes I meet friends at the trailhead for the run. Trailhead = 2hr+ in the mountains. I also log 50-60 mile weeks. Be prepared for a long-ass run, you'll be exhausted and on a trail so you don't want to be death marching and fall on your face. Also, there will be beer to be drunk afterward so you want to finish with your A-game still intact. You want to be properly trained up, but remember that trail running is different than road running. Less racing, more fun and awareness of where you are. It's also perfectly ok to fill your pockets with cookies at the aid stations.
If your marathon time is 4:25 and you're aiming for 6 hours on Pikes... you're in for a bit of a surprise...
what you're going to find is that you're in for a long uphill hike, not run. as well now suggests, as a 4:25 flatland marathoner, you can expect something like 7:00-7:30 for pikes peak -- if footing is good up high, and slower if it's not. just go with the crowd, enjoy the hike up, and take in the views.
for preparation, time on your feet should be the goal, including time spent hiking up the longest, steepest trails in your area (i regularly did multiples up a 1.5-mile forest road, down a 2-mile trail for long runs during my buildup). note that the surface of the barr trail is really quite tame, so there's no specific need to get good at dealing with rocks, roots, etc.
to set your expectations, the year i did PPM, i was a late-40s female 3:20-ish flatland marathoner and clocked just over six hours at PPM (4 up, 2 down, passing ~75 people on the descent); there was zero snow on race day.
Go back to RW
Thanks for the tips, except the person who told me to go back to RW. Perhaps it will be closer to 7 hrs. I'll try to get that time on my feet, but had heard conflicting things - some say to have a long run of ~6 hrs while others say to have back-to-back longer days of something like 4 hrs. and 2 hrs.