20 mile trail race

[Chickenlicken15]

Hi I’m after some advice and straight talking please ! I run regularly and complete a half marathon approx every 6 weeks but I’m not fast about 2 hours 13 mins. In a moment of madness today I started to wonder whether I could run a 20 mile trail race on 6 May so 7 weeks away
im 54 and am not after a time just want to complete it without walking !
is this possible or is it too soon ?
i don’t have a huge amount of time to train and at the moment do interval session with running club once a week and run on
y own once a week usually between 7-10 miles
am I mad ??
thanks for reaching the end

Totally possible. I did a half three weeks ago and have a 20 mile run booked for two weeks time. I run regularly but alone and don't follow training plan rightly or wrongly. Every week I up my long run so last week I did 15 and this week I'll do 17 and so on - did similar last year before doing a full marathon. Enjoy the feeling of running for longer/further than you ever have before!

Totally possible, I would use a marathon training schedule like the free onlnkke BUPA ones and just select the section relative to your distance in terms of building up long runs. But in a trail race I would prepare to walk a bit, they can be hilly.

Yes, you’ll be fine! You’ll probably find that everyone will walk the steeper hills, as that’s more energy/time efficient.
And 2hrs 13 is a pretty decent time for a half, so don’t put yourself down!

Thanks everyone I’ll enter - it’s good to have a challenge 🥹

Completely possible, but if you do all your current running on the road make sure you've got good trail shoes (you might want a couple of pairs with different lug depth so you can choose on the day depending on the conditions) and do all your running between now and then off-road - and don't dodge the hills ! 😁

Definitely possible - look at one of the marathon mileage build-up plans and start from 13 miles for your weekly long run. Also bear in mind that trail is going to be slower so plan and train with your fuelling strategy!