good ultra strategy?

Sounds miserable.

Don't think 75 miles will win. It could, but no guarantee. I've done/helped out at a 12-hour event in a small city - maybe a half-million residents - that doesn't attract people from away, and people have crept into the 80s.

That much rest would be much, much more actual stopping rest than most people take in these events, especially the good ones. I'd suggest walking a loop for each rest and eating more real food. It's not going to bother your stomach since you're never aerobically stressed in these events, and your plan now only calls for real food every 3h50m or so. Don't plan your eating, just eat what you feel like every time you stop running, unless eating enough is generally a problem for you.

I managed 56 miles at one of these when I was, at best, in about 3:45 marathon shape. You should be able to crush 75 if you try.

The best strategy for a race of this kind would be DNS.

Stick to the first runner for the first 10 hours. Take it VERY easy.

Then run a hard hour and relax during the 12th.

Jake from State Farm wrote:

The best strategy for a race of this kind would be DNS.

This^

You could have more fun staying at home pushing needles under your toenails.

My marathon PR (run when I was 40) was less than a minute slower than yours, and I never had an attitude, and I always had and still have respect and regard for ultrarunners. They're generally a great group of people. You might be surprised to find that many of the slow runners you mock used to be "good" runners, i.e., about like you.

Your strategy might work. Kevin Setnes set the then-American record of 160 miles in a 24-hour by taking a 5-minute walk break after every 25 minutes of running. Most people just run at a comfortable pace (i.e. 7:30 to 8:00/mile for you) and try to hold it. It's hard to do. 8:00 pace for 12 hours would give you 90 miles.

I once ran nearly 88 miles in a 12 hour. See if you can beat that.

nostalgicultrarunner wrote:

Your strategy might work. Kevin Setnes set the then-American record of 160 miles in a 24-hour by taking a 5-minute walk break after every 25 minutes of running. Most people just run at a comfortable pace (i.e. 7:30 to 8:00/mile for you) and try to hold it. It's hard to do. 8:00 pace for 12 hours would give you 90 miles.

Agree with this for the most part, but personally when I did a 50 miler (slightly under 7 hours) I used a 10 minute run, 1 minute walk strategy. I'd also always walk aid stations, but was sure to not take more than 1 minute from running. I certainly can't argue with Setnes, as his results speak for themselves, but for me, anything longer than ~2 minutes off of running and it's mentally tough to get rolling again.

If you're going to walk for any length of time, you should train for it. The stress on your hips from walking fast is significantly different than running or walking slow, and it'll wear on you if you're not ready for it.

(2:42 marathon pb)

Walk 45-60 seconds on every lap while you drink or eat and see how far that will take you. Maybe you'll need longer breaks later in the race but there's no point in planning them. At some point you'll have to change your shoes - that's when you start to realize that an ultra is not simply a longer, slower marathon. Hopefully you come away from it with some respect for other people.

Walk for a minute every two miles, while you fuel. Adjust this ratio as you tire. Begin doing this immediately. You will fatigue less quickly. Ten minute breaks are too much. Let pace take care of itself. Steady, steady. You need real food earlier and more often. Quarters of pbj sandwiches have as many calories as Gu but you get some protein.

Look like good suggestions from all. Thanks. My biggest problem with any endurance event has always been fueling - it killed me in a half-iron last year.

I think I will adjust my plan and start walking 1/2 mile every five and try starting on real food earlier. I haven't specifically trained for this and my top priority is to not get injured.

It's not so much that I was dissing ultrarunners as responding to the ultrarunners I know who tell me that HM and marathon are too short to bother with except as a training run when most of them couldn't buy a 3:30 marathon.

How did it go?

geetar wrote:

Jake from State Farm wrote:

The best strategy for a race of this kind would be DNS.

This^

You could have more fun staying at home pushing needles under your toenails.

Perhaps he´s not a p@ssy?

In about 3:00 marathon condition I did about 75 miles in a 12 hour event. Don't go out and run the first 20 just because you can. Take it easy. Walk every few miles. There will probably be a fairly long section of tents and tables for runners at one spot on the course. Put your table at the beginning. Take your food and drink, and walk theough the rest of the area. Enjoy the first several hours and don't even worry about how far you've gone. It will get very unpleasant soon enough, and you will have to really bear down and focus in order to keep the easy pace going. Expect rough patches where you want to stop. Just keep moving even if it's a slow walk. In ti e you'll feel better and will be able to run surprisingly well again.

Would it be better to "negative split" the gallowalking strategy? I mean start off walking a higher proportion then gradually bringing it down to where you are continuously running the longest at the end?

In my opinion, no. No scientific basis for that opinion. If you've been moving, even walking, for many hours there will be mental and physical fatigue that builds up. It would be very difficult to go out and run hard for a few hours to make up the distance. If you bank as much distancea s possible while fresh mentally and physically, it is easier to hold on while gradually slowing. My opinion only, but I've done a few of these and can't imagine trying a negative split.

The best ultra strategy is to promote the hell out of yourself!

So just start by immediately running marathon pace?

You have to post the results.

I know a several ultra runners, they simply have a different gear and can go all day with no problem. Most well trained marathoners would have a tough time walking for 12 hours.

Tell us about your training.