Anybody ever done a 24 Hour Race?

bluecolla wrote:

Go for 200 calories an hour. Easily achieved with a honey stinger waffle and a handful of nuts or whatever else. The honey stingers are 150 calories and are little and taste really good. There should be an aid station out there with a bunch of random stuff but definitely bring your own also. Remember to take salt caps also I take one every hour or so. If you are trying to make it as far as you can then you really need to try to maintain 200 calories an hour.

Love those honey stinger waffles! Yep they have a big aid station but I'll probably bring some of my favorite things as well...good call on the electrolyte pills!

bluecolla wrote:

Also don’t do long runs over 24 miles. If you want the most bang for your buck do back to back long run days. I would do 20/18 max on those.

Makes sense! Don't want to slay yourself in training by running too far in one session! Thanks BlueColla

You might want to consider listening to some of audio books about ultras while running, etc. The authors provide interesting insights into what happens to the mind and body while out there.

lease wrote:

If the race is to be on the track, definitely get some *substantial* training runs on a track. Eight lefthand turns/mile really starts to add up..

Should practise in similar circumstances. Here we have a 24h race on a 400m indoor track every February and a guy who I know has won it. He ran something like 500km in 8 days in his training when he was logging high miles. A training day could be running 40K on the track, then eating a burrito in the cafeteria there and after that another 30K run. When he went to circuit training on Saturday morning the instructor said at the end that cool down is not necessary if someone wants to run few laps on the track instead. So he did and ran 40K before breakfast. Training for a 24h race requires a lot of running

Anyway your biggest challenge will be to be keep moving for 24 hours instead of a Marathon. This will be a lot harder than you can imagine. This will challenge your mental abilities a lot. There will be a lot of ups and downs during that race and the hardship probably starts around mile 40 latest.

These kind of skills most runners from shorter distances don't know about and that is also the reason why you don't see top Marathon runners going for ultraraces.

Rhodium Nights wrote:

24 hour expert wrote:

Regarding nutrition: Eat some, but don't eat too much. All theses rules to eat 100 -300 calories every hour are BS in my opinion. You don't need to eat that much. Keep in mind that your body has to process that food as well. Later in the race if you don't feel like eating just don't eat. This is a running contest not a hot dog eating competition!

Yeah most "experts" recommend taking in that many calories for the marathon too and I've never felt like I needed anything close to that..just a few Bloks and maybe one gel to keep the engine revving! That being said, the bonk for a 24 hour race would be unimaginably worse (a la David Goggins' disaster) so I do want to make sure I take in some calories, while also listening to my body

Pasta, Cola and stuff like that are good. Nobody can eat gels and drink Gatorade for 24 hours. That being said, my friend ran a race in the mountains that lasted 9 days and he mainly ate candy. Whenever he reached an aid station he ate what they had and sometimes ate a pizza and beer if he saw a restaurant but otherwise he mainly had candy and chocolate in his bag.

Do have a head lamp? Practice running at night. Practice power walking and work on a run-walk pattern(ie run 5 minutes, walk 1 minute , repeat). Lube your feet, groin, and other areas that might chafe. During your race, listen closely to your body. If something is bothering you, address it early. Good advice above.

A lot of good advice in this thread. For me, the biggest problems are nausea if it's a hot day or if my stomach is full of fluid and not emptying fast enough. And sleepiness. Hold off on caffeine until night (coffee, gels, coke, whatever.) Sometimes soup tastes good at night. As many have said above, try to keep stops to a minimum. Walking 3 miles in an hour at 3 a.m. is better than just stopping. Cliche', but run the hour you're in. Break it into pieces. Listen to music or a podcast.

The Yeti wrote:

You might want to consider listening to some of audio books about ultras while running, etc. The authors provide interesting insights into what happens to the mind and body while out there.

that sounds like it would be a good way to stay zen during the race! Any recommendations specifically?

Yes. Lots have. How do you not know this?

TMADDOX wrote:

Do have a head lamp? Practice running at night. Practice power walking and work on a run-walk pattern(ie run 5 minutes, walk 1 minute , repeat). Lube your feet, groin, and other areas that might chafe. During your race, listen closely to your body. If something is bothering you, address it early. Good advice above.

I do have a head lamp and I run at night frequently in the winter months when it's the only time I can carve out for the miles. Ah yes the almighty lube! I'm sure Vaseline will be my best friend for these 24 hours.! thanks for the tips!

Baltsu wrote:

Pasta, Cola and stuff like that are good. Nobody can eat gels and drink Gatorade for 24 hours. That being said, my friend ran a race in the mountains that lasted 9 days and he mainly ate candy. Whenever he reached an aid station he ate what they had and sometimes ate a pizza and beer if he saw a restaurant but otherwise he mainly had candy and chocolate in his bag.

I happen to be a big fan of cola and candy (in moderation!!) but definitely after a huge run, so I could see myself having a lot of that stuff during the race...maybe PB cause its a staple of my diet. The aid station looks to be pretty loaded with good stuff.

Thanks for the tips!

Raysharp001 wrote:

A lot of good advice in this thread. For me, the biggest problems are nausea if it's a hot day or if my stomach is full of fluid and not emptying fast enough. And sleepiness. Hold off on caffeine until night (coffee, gels, coke, whatever.) Sometimes soup tastes good at night. As many have said above, try to keep stops to a minimum. Walking 3 miles in an hour at 3 a.m. is better than just stopping. Cliche', but run the hour you're in. Break it into pieces. Listen to music or a podcast.

Makes sense to keep those feet shuffling unless you really have to stop for a pressing reason! Any podcasts you've really enjoyed during these endurance events?

24 hour expert wrote:

Anyway your biggest challenge will be to be keep moving for 24 hours instead of a Marathon. This will be a lot harder than you can imagine. This will challenge your mental abilities a lot. There will be a lot of ups and downs during that race and the hardship probably starts around mile 40 latest.

These kind of skills most runners from shorter distances don't know about and that is also the reason why you don't see top Marathon runners going for ultraraces.

The mental battle is what really draws me to this event!! I know it's going to be crazy challenging but I look forward to going somewhere I've never gone before! Should be a life experience

I did 65 miles. I ran for 53, hiked for 9, and ran the last 3. My last 3 miles were the fastest of the race. Previous longest run was 38 miles. I did do a few 4 hour plus long runs on the treadmill to practice eating and drinking. I was 52 yrs old.

The following year I did 57 miles.

Rhodium Nights wrote:

Raysharp001 wrote:

A lot of good advice in this thread. For me, the biggest problems are nausea if it's a hot day or if my stomach is full of fluid and not emptying fast enough. And sleepiness. Hold off on caffeine until night (coffee, gels, coke, whatever.) Sometimes soup tastes good at night. As many have said above, try to keep stops to a minimum. Walking 3 miles in an hour at 3 a.m. is better than just stopping. Cliche', but run the hour you're in. Break it into pieces. Listen to music or a podcast.

Makes sense to keep those feet shuffling unless you really have to stop for a pressing reason! Any podcasts you've really enjoyed during these endurance events?

I haven't used music or podcasts, but I think either would help. Depends on how long the batteries last. I think it would be fine on a track or closed road loop. On trails, I prefer to be able to hear distant coyotes, etc.

Again, for me the hard part isn't the distance, it's the lack of sleep or the body's natural rhythm late at night, like midnight to 5 a.m. I usually pick up the pace at dawn.

Rhodium Nights wrote:

24 hour expert wrote:

Good luck.

Start slow, a lot slower than you think is slow. The main thing in a 24 hour race is that you keep moving all the time. Running or walking it doesn't matter too much but it matters that you don't waste time on aid stations and breaks. 10 minutes for potty breaks and another 10 for clothes changes. That's it. everything else is a waste of time.

It will be a lot hard than you can imagine right now but with the right mindset you can do it. Although I would recommend that you do 50k and 50 miles races first.

Thanks for the tips! Definitely want to do a 50 miler, either in training or before the 24 hr event if I can find one!

how did you handle food intake?

Don't do the 50 miler if you are planning on doing the 24 hour within the next few weeks. You want to go into the 24 hour fully rested, not recovering from the 50 miler.

You never know...... wrote:

I did 65 miles. I ran for 53, hiked for 9, and ran the last 3. My last 3 miles were the fastest of the race. Previous longest run was 38 miles. I did do a few 4 hour plus long runs on the treadmill to practice eating and drinking. I was 52 yrs old.

The following year I did 57 miles.

Wow that's awesome! So that was your only foray into ultras? Just wanted to try it a few times?

24 hour expert wrote:

Don't do the 50 miler if you are planning on doing the 24 hour within the next few weeks. You want to go into the 24 hour fully rested, not recovering from the 50 miler.

Good call! Planning on doing some really high mileage weeks with lots of doubles, tons of easy running leading up to the race, then a 1 week taper (maybe 10 days...?)