Shall I do an ultra marathon?

[ShowOfHands]

I'm considering doing the Race To The Tower next year. It's the year I turn 40 and I fancy a challenge.

Anybody done a 2 day one in particular? I'd like any advice and opinions before I commit!

I'm pretty fit. Not a runner per se but can do a comfortable 15k and do lots of weights and interval training, plus body weight exercise, cycling and climbing. I work out 5/6 days a week so will commit to training and family are supportive with increased commitment.

Is walking it easier than running it? Anybody done one and regretted it?

My husband is an ultra runner, it all depends on the distance as he does 50 mile training runs and he will get up at 5am do 10k go to work come home then do 60k overnight, this is in preparation for his 100 mile runs as the hardest part is through the night when you are tired, you can walk run walk run etc but unless you are a very fast Walker you won't get the cut off times at the checkpoints.
Go onto centurion running on Facebook as they will give you loads of advice.

I think over 2 days with training is do-able. You have a year to train. Check out run mummy run on Facebook, there's loads of ladies on there who will do this event or run to the stones and will give you advice and moral support.

I used to follow Run Mummy Run but it took over my Facebook feed so I hid it!

It is "only" 53 miles so a marathon each day. You can walk the entire thing, run or do both.

Atm I run an 8-10k a couple of times a week and a 12-15k at weekends with lots of other fitness in between. I would need to increase runs dramatically but for 11 months, I could do it I think.

Do it! I did a 50k for the first time this summer and am doing another in September. This is having never run a marathon distance before. I am in my early 40s. Good luck!

I would say no. If you are only at 15km now, a year isn’t really enough to train for an ultra. Why not target a marathon for your birthday if you want a landmark? Or something like a coast-to-coast long distance hike? Going straight to an ultramarathon could be a recipe for disaster in terms of injury, the training time needed, your own enjoyment!

I used to run marathons and while I loved it, I do regret it a bit now as I have problems with hips, knees etc that I suspect are due to the wear and tear of marathon training. Also, if you want the big “landmark” of an achievement in your birthday year, then crossing a big-city marathon finish line with cheering crowds is a huge high. I don’t know the ultramarathon you refer to but a lot of trail races etc feel quite anti-climatic for me, a few volunteers or other finishers giving a half-hearted clap, in the rain, in the middle of nowhere. Maybe this is your thing, but for me, the big-city thing of beautiful landmarks and crowds etc has more of a sense of occasion.

Also, don’t underestimate the time commitment in training. It takes AGES, every bloody weekend and several evenings per week. It isn’t only the training runs but also takes over your meal planning, recovery time, timing your long runs at the correct spot in your day, etc. Budget a lot for footwear, possible physio, entry fees for warm-up races to hone our technique etc.

So I’d think about what you actually want to get from it, how much time realistically you can devote to it and whether there are any goals that you could actually enjoy more. I might be wrong but I don’t get the impression from your post that you’d actually LIKE to do this event. Best of luck with your decision!

Where do you live OP? Rather than jumping straight to that ultra, you could look at the Downs Link challenge which is flat, and around 32 miles. You could train for that if you can run 15km now. The "Race to" events are very demanding.

Another option might be the Clarendon marathon from Winchester to Salisbury (or the other way round, I can't remember). I think it takes in part of the Race to the King route so would be a good introduction.

I’ve always got mad adoration for people who run ultras. I know a lovely South African lady who is in 60s who runs ultras. I just can not fathom getting past 13.1miles!!

I think providing you have the time required to put the training in, then yes go for it.

It would be doable, if it’s over a year away, but I really do agree with the oysters who stress how very demanding if you’d time the training would be.

Some events are much more welcoming if walkers than others - you can probably get a feel about this one from the website - have they well organised overnight camping facilities? Feeding stations? Cut off times? Baggage arrangements? What happens if you only do the first day? (etc)

In case you decide to investigate other events, there’s also Race to the Stones (should be OK to walk much of that one if you need to) and the Thames Path Challenge (early Sept) which bills itself as being for walkers joggers and runners (in that order) and has a huge number of charity places, which in turn means plenty of novices and a really good atmosphere

What are your non exercise commitments? I've only known men with families do this and they dumped royally on their partners to do it, expecting it to be a get out of jail free card for everything domestic. The only woman I know who does similar (iron man type events) is single so isn't expecting anyone else to pick up all her domestic slack or a family's life to revolve around her training and events, though she does have a support group.

I think in all the idolising of people who do this kind of thing it's easy to minimise how much slack other people are picking up to enable the dedication required.

I can happily run 30k or do an Olympic distance triathlon for example so it's not as enormous a leap as it could be. I just don't often. I like strength training more and I workout / exercise a lot. It is my hobby/de stress method and I eat well and train hard most days. I worry more about the psychological commitment.

It is a v well-organised event, welcomes walkers and has overnight camping, meals provided, massages, nutrition, baggage drops etc.

Really not interested in crowds and big finishes tbh. I'm an introvert and find organised events a bit overwhelming. This is smaller and more manageable.

I could just do the one day trail run which is marathon distance. I love trail running far more than road running. Family is v sporty and supportive. DH is a triathlete and sil and bil run marathons. Considering all doing together actually.

I think you do have the base level of fitness from which you coukdmtrain up to a twomday event.

But the only way you build running stamina is by running, and doing so on a slowish steady increase (so you don't increase injury risk unnecessarily).

So yes, I think you've hit the nail on the head when you talk about your commitment to the project being the key thing.

I am having the same midlife crisis as you wanting to do a big run before I was 40! Although I decided to do a major international marathon, having run quite a lot of halves I was still taken back by how much more training it is and how tiring. I can’t quite fathom how you would fit an ultra training into my life... (two kids, my part time job, husbands more than full time job, house etc) although if I could I would! As noted above you will get a LOT of advise on Run Mummy Run on FB.

Good luck enjoy your wholesome midlife crisis!

My niece did three ultras in shockingly short succession this summer. She thinks they're awesome, I think she's mad! But I'm very impressed with her. Good luck OP!

Go for it! Just give yourself enough time to train on tired tired tired legs!!
I did a 50k in the spring and am working towards a 100 but next year as this summer i wasn't ready to commit to the training, i wanted some down time for my body and - especially - my mind - first!
I love the structure training gives me, am doing a big marathon in november and then building up the strength from there.
Listen and trust your body and it'll go great i'm sure!

You could train for that in a year with your level of fitness, especially as it's a 2 day event. Not all in 1 go.

DH runs stupidly long ultras - Cape Wrath ultra, etc and is always training. Just build the distance up slowly to avoid injury and be prepared to put in a lot of hours running. He gets up at 6 am for a morning run and then runs again in the evening a lot of days. Then very long runs at weekends.

@MadamePompadour
When do you get your time then?

I'm in the gym for 2-3 hours a day as well as working full time. I don't struggle with getting time to do stuff. No kids helps!

I did Race to the Stones in 2017, admitidly i dropped to the 50k as i buggered my ankle up 10 weeks beforehand otherwise i would of done the 100k in one go. Im a single mum, i used to do 80% of my training pushing a double buggy, but it is doable. There are a number of people who run/walk it either over 1 or 2 days. I ran/walked it and completed my 50k in 7 hrs, a friend walked it over 2 days. Make no mistake though, my joints were fine, but shit the soles of my feet were burning so much that i was deliberatly looking for grass to run on as it was softer.

Oh yes and mine was to mark my 40th and my divorce!