Training for a 50k Trail Run

The last 50K I trained for I was averaging 80 miles a week and did 20K and 30K road races leading up to it. At the time I did all my long runs on trails anyway so big change. My long runs ranged from 16 to 22 miles. If you are doing a fall race you should be doing long runs now. Make sure you know the layout of the course. I ran conservative the first half, nervous about the distance, it all worked out.

Plenty of resources:

http://www.ultramarathonrunning.com/training/

If the target race is hilly, train for the downhills.

Figure out the aid station setup: Will you need to carry water yourself? If yes, experiment with backbags/handheld bottles/...

How is the footing? I so love my "leftover" trail shoes from my dabbling with trail ultras in form of shoes-with-plate-under-forefoot. Wouldn't want to miss them even on pebbles.

I never figured out marathons in my 5y of running. So I took the "Gallowwalking route" even in training.

If you never read up on sports nutrition now might be a good time. Read the booklet from Hammer Nutrition, especially the chapter about "replenishment vs replacement".

Run approx the distance in training, it is easier than you think! You will waste less nervous energy leading up to the race, and be able to enjoy it more. Because it is SO MUCH FUN!

Be prepared for some great camaraderie!

During my long training runs Ipracticed eating.

I also pictured myself lessas a "competitor" but rather "messenger". There are two most-memorable training runs in my running life: First run over 20km and my almost-60km training run to some hilltop-restaurant that most people wouldn't even cycle to.

Covering distance is as rewarding as running faster!

Ah, and buy a copy of Fixing Your Feet, just in case. A fall trail race might be in muddy weather conditions, so some tricks of the trade could be helpful...

the shorter races will help with your speed especially if you plan on racing the 50K.

hydration is important.

I think I'll be doing this race, in case anyone has done it or knows the park. It is at Green Ridge State Forest in Maryland.

http://www.phdispatch.com/FireontheMountain50K.html#Awards

I emailed the director to get an elevation profile or at least an elevation gain number.

Oh, very nice!

In the past I've seen people advocating back-to-back long runs on the weekend to train in a glycogen-depleted state. Is that a good idea for a 50k? And if I do that, should I limit my carb intake a lot the 1st day to prevent glycogen replenishment? I would maybe think of building up to 25 miles on the first day and 10-12 the second.

I really have no idea what pace to even shoot for. I have run a 16 min 5k, a 33:50 10k and 1:16 half marathon. I guess converting those paces to a marathon and adding some time for 50k would give me an estimate of my 50k road pace. I'd imagine the trails and elevation gain in this race will make it quite a bit slower than that. I have a HRM, is there any estimate of what % of max HR to run at?

bizzump

Cool.

so i'm by no means an expert, but i have similar PRs and I just ran a 50k trail race a few weeks ago. I didn't train too well, so some things I would do in the future:

Do a lot of stuff on trails. I just did my normal routine with track workouts and flat running and found i was not prepared for the terrain.

Long, super slow, super hilly runs. I Did a bit of this, but definitely didn't do enough hills on my long runs and i felt unprepared for the hills that are typical in trail races. You aren't going to be able to clip them off as well as you can in a race on flat pavement, so be prepared for the windign and small hills.

Run a few shorter trail races. I actually did do this and it helped me a lot.

Good luck!

judging by last year's results, this course is either quite technical, the footing really sucked last year, or the elevation change is extreme, because the top times were very, very slow. example is the runner-up ran 5:03 for the 32-mile race, whereas he ran 6:40 at the JFK 50.

based on that, if i were you i would incorporate power hiking steep hills and running as many of your easy runs on hilly, technical trails as you can. one workout that i have found very useful, and that would fit well with your summertime racing at shorter distances, is to do a track workout (e.g., 6-10x800 -- whatever you like to do) and then follow it immediately with fast-hiking repeats up a steep hill. (i can conveniently do this at a nearby high school and state park, which are located half a mile from one another.) the goal is to improve your hiking skills on tired legs.

generally, i would say that 50K training and marathon training are pretty much the same, but you'll need to be ready for more time on your feet if this course is as slow as it seems to be. this doesn't mean you can't enjoy your road or track races this summer, though. i raced my best (and most evenly paced) trail 50 miler in 7:55 (age 48 female, just a week after setting my 10K PR on roads).

my race day advice would be to take the first 2/3 of the race distance at a conversational pace and then give it what you've got for the final 10-or-so miles (*story below). if people around you are hiking a particular hill early in the event, it's probably for a good reason, and you shouldn't tax yourself on it either. also, it's deceptively easy to lose huge amounts of time at aid stations. carry your own bottle(s) or hydration pack and refill (only) as necessary, and don't loiter.

*bonus story: at a local two-loop 50K last year, i chatted with folks around me for the first ten miles (until i left them at an aid station that i didn't need). an hour after the finish, where i had come in 30 seconds behind the winning woman (20 years my junior), one of my previous conversation partners crossed the line (i was then well into my rest-of-the-day duties as finish line timer). she said, "imagine how much faster you could have run if you hadn't chatted all that time," to which i answered, "no. i would have run harder early and finished slower." as it was, i ran precisely even splits for the two loops, but she positive splitted by ~45 minutes. it pays to be conservative and hike if you need to in a tough 50K (or longer). and enjoy the journey.

I saw the course profiles and times last year and my gut tells me you should be training to win this race. You may be new at running trails but you should be able to go well under 5 hours on this course. Just my opinion, but you have ample time to train a lot on trails and build up your confidence and endurance.

think more about time on your feet than miles covered - most people limit their long runs to 2.5 hrs, then are surprised when they bonk at the 3 hour mark.

If you want to do this well, plan several 4 or 5 hour run/walk days. Don't even think about pace - just be on your feet moving for 4-5 hours. Harder than you think.

Good point. The key for me on runs over 2 hours on the trails is starting to incorporate food at the 90 minute mark or so. You're right, there does seem to be an energy break around 2.5 to 3 hours for most people. Getting through this requires practice and calories.

I appreciate the advice from everyone.

Run_Runner: I might look into a few shorter trail races. If I can't find any though, I guess the cross country races will have to do. Just wondering, what did you end up running in your race? And what do you feel you could run knowing now what your training was lacking?

no longer stressed: I like the idea of that workout. There is a monster hill only a quarter mile from the track here, so it should work great. I'm going to check out the course this weekend so I'll see how much of it looks like it should be hiked rather than ran. I also have about a 2 mile hill I could run up and down multiple times to turn into a long workout to trash the legs and get them used to it.

Certain to be flagged: When you said you saw the course profiles, do you mean the elevation profiles? I haven't seen one, if you have a link to one that would be great. I'm going to bring a garmin and run the first half of the course this weekend to try to get an elevation profile of it.

As for long run length, I think I will go 25-28 miles on trails either on the course or closely resembling the course, I just don't know how many runs of that length I should try to get in.

I ran a 50k two weeks ago and ran a shorter (7k) race in the middle of training. I would echo a lot of what was said so far, and add this:

The LR is the key to the trail race, and you'll want to be doing back-to-back long runs when you get into your peak mileage (going 3-4 hours on Saturday then 2-3 again on Sunday trains you to run when it gets tough). Meanwhile, the LR is vital to any training plan, but to a lesser degree for shorter races. On the other side, speedwork is more important for shorter races and less so for the trail race. Hills will be beneficial for both (though the workouts would be different depending on your focus). The ingredients are the same, but the measurements are different.

So basically, find the right balance; this might require you to decide which races are more important to you. I was fully focused on the 50k and as a result, I felt like Forrest Gump breaking out of his leg braces around the first mile mark of the 7k (it took a while to get into stride). This was because I was putting most of my mileage into my LRs, and was doing them at a slow enough pace to sustain multi-hour efforts. Had I focused more on the shorter race, I would have run faster but may not have felt as strong around mile 27 of the 50k. I wish I could have run both optimally, but I also wish I could peak 12 months a year.

Best of luck!

Sorry, I meant the map. By the contours it appears there are some steep, but not terribly long, hills. I'm assuming you can maintain a running cadence through the less-than-balls-steep sections and use your speed on everything else. Improving your fitness to power hike or slow run the steep stuff late in the race is key to not giving up minutes.

Proctor-logist: I'll be focusing on the 50k rather than the shorter races, mostly because I am afraid of the 50k as a race distance. As long as the shorter races aren't embarrasingly slow, I'll be happy. I'll keep some strides and hill sprints in my routine to keep a little speed as the long runs get longer. Other than that, I guess tempos and the rare 5k/10k paced workout.

Certain to be flagged: Gotcha. I'll definitely have to get used to breaking into a walk/hike during a race. I think the last time I did that was middle school cross country.

A few things:

1. Focus on hours running instead of miles. Aim to be able to do a 4 hour hilly long run comfortably.

2. Train to eat and drink. Get used to consuming 200-300 calories per hour and 20+ oz. per hour. Start eating and drinking 20 minutes into the race. Actually, start eating and drinking like this 20 minutes before the race. Practice by finishing your long runs well hydrated.

3. As stated before, first hour pace should feel very slow (conversational.)

4. Back-to-back long runs are probably less important for 50K.

5. Cross training is great for hilly ultras. A six - seven hour mountain bike, road ride or hiking (yes walking) is actually great training to get your body used to move for that long while consumer calories and staying hydrated.