Marathon Handbook

We Help You Run Far!

General

Published on By

The Key Brain Chemical for Run Recovery (And 3 Ways To Increase It)

Runners are always looking for ways to accelerate their run recovery process.

Whether it’s ice baths, massage guns, or recovery supplements, there’s an entire industry built around the tools that can help you recover faster.

And run recovery is important: the faster you recover, the sooner you can resume training, increase the load on your muscles, and make bigger gains. It’s a compounding pattern in which recovery is the key time constraint.

If you’re not recovering properly, your performance is going to plateau – or even decline.

When in marathon training, for example, it’s essential that your busy training schedule balances enough time for recovery – else you can quickly find yourself fatigued, burned out, and injured.

It’s easy to see how people end up spending hundreds of dollars on the latest massage impact gun, or recovery supplement.

But these recovery hacks and tools alone aren’t enough, as there’s one fundamental truth about the running recovery . . .

Your recovery process is largely governed by your brain.

The brain is in charge of the chemicals which signal to your body when it should be in a state of recovery – i.e. when it can focus on muscle repair, when it can sleep, when stress levels can be lowered.

Sympathetic vs. Parasympathetic States

The nervous system has two main divisions, or states: sympathetic and parasympathetic (ref).

Our mind and body are constantly evaluating our environment for potential threats, and depending on how it perceives things it can put you in one of these two states.

The Sympathetic State: Fight or Flight

The sympathetic state is commonly referred to as the ‘fight or flight’ state – it’s when a potential threat is perceived.

In this state, hormones are released to increase alertness, your heart rate increases, and blood is pumped to your muscles.

Your breathing becomes shallower, fresh oxygen is pumped to the brain, and your body releases a shot of glucose for a short-term energy hit.

You’re in an attack / defensive mode, not a relaxed mode.

The Parasympathetic State: Rest and Digest

The parasympathetic state is the other side of the spectrum – it’s known as the ‘rest and digest’ state, as it’s when your body perceives no threats and actively relaxes.

This relaxation of the nervous system allows your body to focus on other processes – the muscles relax, your heart rate slows, your intestinal and gland activity increase.

Your running recovery takes place when you’re in a parasympathetic state.

Your body is relaxed and your brain sends the signal to focus on muscular repair.

So the goal for runners in recovery is to maximize the amount of time spent in a parasympathetic state.

But how to do this?

The answer lies in the brain chemical dopamine.

Dopamine is a messenger chemical that signals to the rest of the body how to relax.

run recovery bench

How To Boost Dopamine Levels for Run Recovery

Here are some surprisingly simple ways to boost your dopamine – and accelerate your running recovery – which are often overlooked by athletes and regular runners:

Positive Social Interaction

Getting together with friends, family (or even better, some personal time with a partner) and people you enjoy being around will boost your dopamine.

Whether it’s hosting a dinner, going bowling, or to the cinema – whatever suits your group. Just limit your alcohol intake to 1 or 2 drinks, as that will inhibit your recovery.

After sleeping and eating right, positive social interaction is possibly the most important ingredient to having healthy dopamine levels and accelerating your run recovery..

Low-Intensity Walking

Not everything needs to be logged on your Garmin or Strava, right?

Some relaxed walking for 20 – 30 minutes helps induce that ‘rest and digest’ state; whether it’s going around the block or – much better – getting out into nature.

Exposure to Favorite Smells, Sights, Feelings

Whether this is Netflix and Chill, listening to your favorite album, or cuddling into a blanket – doing things that you find comforting and appealing really help juice those dopamine levels.

My favorite activity?

Cook a meal from scratch.

It’s so much more satisfying than eating some pre-prepared meal you’ve bought at the store.

When thinking about run recovery, don’t forget to focus on these low-hanging fruit.

It can be easy to get caught up with the latest recovery diets and hacks (here’s my recommendations on them), but if you’re ignoring your nervous system state, your efforts will largely be in vain.

The three big pillars of proper recovery are sleep, adequate food intake, and dopamine.

Get these right before you spend time and money on the latest recovery tools.

Published on By

Running Motivation: 11 Ways To Regain Your Running Mojo

Your running mojo is a fickle thing.

Sometimes it’s burning bright, powering you through dark and cold early morning runs.

At other times, it’s nowhere to be seen – and it feels impossible to muster the enthusiasm to even put on your running shoes.

If you’re currently suffering from a lack of running mojo, then take heart in the fact that you’re in good company. 

At some point, practically every runner out there has lost their sense of innate motivation for running.

You may be suffering from burnout, whether from overtraining or simply from overwhelm in different areas of your life.

Or it could be that you’ve just lost the enthusiasm you once had for running.

You want to be an enthusiastic runner, but when it comes time to perform you just can’t find the energy.   

Even if and when you eventually go for a run, things don’t feel the same. Your pace is shot, you’re bored, and you’re constantly looking to cut short your run and just go home.

Losing your running mojo can have a serious impact on your well-being – which sucks.

So let’s explore some possible reasons for losing that running mojo, then look at ways to get it back – and get back to your old self.

Let’s jump in! 

Running Motivation: 11 Ways To Regain Your Running Mojo 1

How To Regain Your Running Mojo

Here are our recommendations for rekindling your running motivation – they might not all work for you, so pick the ones which you feel could help and try them out!

1. Ensure You’re Booking Proper Downtime

Often overlooked by runners – especially those with Type-A personalities – is the value of putting aside time for recovery, and relaxation.

We often spend too much of our waking hours in a ‘fight or flight’ state; whether it’s during exercise, or in a stressful environment.

While it might seem trivial at first, constantly being in this ‘fight or flight’ state (also known as a sympathetic state) inhibits your recovery process. Rack this up for a few days without any relaxing time, and you’re heading towards physical and mental burnout.

Spending some time each day in a relaxed state means your brain is producing dopamine – the ‘happiness chemical‘ – and sending signals to your body to repair broken down tissues, relieve stress levels, and encourage sleep.

So book some active relaxation in your daily schedule – whether it’s hanging out with friends and family, Netflix binges, or a walk in nature (which you don’t log on Strava).

2. Stop Tuning Out Of Your Run (Ditch the Phone)

When running becomes a regular part of your routine, it’s common to start to find it a little monotonous.

Cue the earphones, and a good podcast / audiobook / Cyndi Lauper / artist of your choice.

While listening to audio can be a good way to make the most of your time on the trails, it often leads us to ‘tune out’ out the run.

When we do this, we’re actively seeking to numb ourselves from the outside world, the here and now.

Over time, this creates the association in our brain that running is simply an obligation – something that we have to get through, and need to find ways to make it as painless as possible.

Well, guess what?   It’s not true.

We’ve made running boring by choosing to force it into the background.

Next time you go for a run, leave the smartphone at home.

Focus on your breath, your steps, and listening to the ambiance.

Running Motivation: 11 Ways To Regain Your Running Mojo 2

3. Run For Yourself

Strava – and other activity tracking apps – are awesome tools.

However, they can be responsible for changing how you think about running.

Resist the temptation to compare your progress with other runners, or feel you’re being judged by your performance.

It’s easy to get into the mindset that you should be constantly bagging new PRs for different segments, or show a constant rate of improvement.

But this is an unhealthy habit – you’re mixing your reasons for running with external opinions.  When you’re always running to try to impress or improve, it’s natural that you’ll eventually burn out.

Take the time to run for yourself, regardless of the pace or results.

4. Change The Scenery

Running the same routes every day can become monotonous, and it’s easy to get stuck in a rut.

Give your running mojo a temporary shot in the arm by finding somewhere new to run.

Always running in town?

Take some transport and head off to find some trails.

Being surrounded by nature has also been shown to boost your mojo.

Running Motivation: 11 Ways To Regain Your Running Mojo 3

5. Mix Up Your Run Training

A huge risk for regular runners is that they get into a running routine, where they run the same distance and same pace every day.

Over time, their pace becomes a solemn trudge, their workout becomes monotonous.

I’ve been there, doing my 25 minute 5k’s every day.  After a while it gets boring, and you lose the spark that drives your running performance.

Sometimes it’s necessary to shake up your running a little.

Introduce a new element, like hill repeats or intervals – they engage different muscles and wake things up a little. 

It’s nice to go from a monotonous plod to an all-out sprint from time to time; it reminds you of what running is all about.

Not a fan of speed work?  Try a tempo run, or a long slow run instead where you push the boundaries of how far you feel you can run.

6. Cross Train

Still finding that you are just bored with all those miles?

Does the idea of putting on your running shoes repel you?

Don’t turn running into something you don’t enjoy – take the necessary time away from it.

(I’m speaking from experience here!).

Instead, redirect your athletic leanings towards cross training.

Whether it’s running-related resistance and strength training, swimming, yoga, or something completely different – find a different activity that gives you energy, as opposed to drawing it away.

Running will always be there for you to come back to.

Running Motivation: 11 Ways To Regain Your Running Mojo 4

7. Take The Necessary Time Off Running

Don’t have the motivation to cross train, or do anything?

You might be suffering from burnout – a condition that is as much a mental / emotional one as a physical one.

Some common symptoms of burn-out include reduced appetite, trouble sleeping, inhibited athletic performance and irritability.

If this sounds like you, then the best remedy is rest and relaxation.

Try to find something that gives you energy, whether it’s walks in nature or reading.

Let go of the pressure to perform and maintain your running fitness – it will always be available for you, but if you continue to try and train through burnout, it’s likely you’ll just suffer more.

8. Buy New Gear

To get a quick motivational ‘shot in the arm‘, go and buy yourself some nice new running shoes or treat yourself to the latest GPS watch.

While the affects won’t necessarily be long lasting, having some new gear to play with can temporarily excite and encourage you to push on. 

9. Find Your Tribe

Running with a group, or one other person, is a totally different experience to running alone.

You’ve got company, you stick together, you share a pace and some conversation.

Studies have shown that running with others can improve your performance – but it also keeps you motivated and helps the time pass faster too.

If you’re feeling the pain from running alone all the time, consider finding a running buddy – or join your local running club. 

Running Motivation: 11 Ways To Regain Your Running Mojo 5

10. Be Inspired By Others

Another way to give your running mojo a shot-in-the-arm is to expose yourself to inspirational stories.

Whether it’s listening to an ultrarunning hero like David Goggins talk about his relentless passion for never giving up, or watching Kristina Paltén’s moving TED Talk How To Dance With Life, there are plenty of stories out there to inspire your running journey.

Looking for something to read instead?

Many people were inspired by the book Born To Run, to either try ultra-running, minimalist running, or a bit of both.

11. Try a 7 Day Running Challenge

In search of something that will act like a defibrillator to your running mojo?

If you want to push your limits, do something uncomfortable, and form new healthy routines and habits, consider our 7-Day Running Mindset and Motivation Challenge!

7 Day Motivation

What You Have To Do:

Wake up early every morning and go for a 30 minute run: first thing.

What You Will Receive:

  • A structured 7-day challenge plan
  • Daily check-ins with guidance, support, and supplemental challenges
  • Access to exclusive video guides on mindset and motivation
  • Access to our Facebook group to share progress and accountability, and ask questions
  • Printable 7-day calendar

Intrigued?

Check out the full curriculum for our 7-Day Running Mindset and Motivation Challenge!

Have you struggled with losing your running mojo?

Share your experiences and suggestions below – leave a comment! 

Published on By

10 Dynamite Ways To Find Time For Run Training

One of the biggest day-to-day problems faced by runners is simply how to find time to run.

Whether you’re just starting your running habit or training for a marathon, working your running schedule around the rest of your life can be tricky.

Whether it’s your job, your family, kids, other hobbies or commitments . . . life is busy and gets in the way a lot.

And often the first thing to get culled from a busy schedule is your workout.  After all, it’s a solo pursuit which only affects you, right? 

In this article, I asked a group of runners for their tips and strategies on how to ensure they find time for their run training and balance it with the rest of their lives – including a few tips specifically for parents!

Let’s jump in!

10 Dynamite Ways To Find Time For Run Training 6

1. Early Morning Runs

Bad news for night owls!

The most common response for finding time for run training from the runners I spoke with was to run early in the morning.

Getting up before the rest of the world and carving out that specific time for running means you’re doing your workout before anything else in the day.   

If you are determined enough to get out of bed early, then you are giving yourself a huge head start.   And starting the day off with some exercise and movement boosts your mood and energy levels for the rest of the day.

“Up and out at 5:30 and you get basically free miles before the rest of the family are out of bed, without eating into the day!” said Bill Deakin, over on our Marathon Handbook Facebook Group.

Rachel Matson agreed, telling me that “by training at that time of day it has made me feel like I haven’t missed out on ANY family time. It opens up my whole day to be available to do the other things I need to get accomplished.” 

Worried that you’ll struggled to get out of bed for an early morning run? check out my more in-depth blog The Bulletproof Guide To Early Morning Runs for more guidance on how to execute!)

2. Incorporate Running Into Existing Plans

One way to get some miles under your belt is to find opportunities to add running to your existing plans.

Need to go to the store for a few things?  Run instead of taking the car.

Can you switch up your commute so you run instead?

Any short journey or errand can potentially turn into a way to get your run training in.

It may mean that you’re not exactly following the mileage of a training plan, but sometime you have to accept that getting any form of running in is better than none.

James Grieveson Hickie is a big proponent of adding running to other parts of life, including travel: “On holiday? Take your things and go running to explore. Invest in a lightweight backpack to carry a change of clothes, and a micro fibre towel to save room.”

3. Treadmills = Reliable

(Almost) everyone finds treadmills boring.

But they can be your secret weapon in guaranteeing you get your run workout in.

Having a treadmill either at home or at a nearby gym guarantees that whenever you have that free gap in your schedule, you can take advantage of it and get your necessary miles in.

Treadmills are there no matter what time of day it is, or what the weather is like outside.  

Accepting they are a useful tool can help you see the positives of stepping on the old hamster wheel every day!

4. Commit to  Runs In Your Schedule or Planner

Sometimes, it’s worth reflecting on the value you put on your running and health.

This can help us realise how important it is to prioritise it – and the best way to do this is to add it to your calendar or planner.

Lucy Georges says “program your training sessions in your diary just like other appointments. The act of doing this not only reserves your time slots, but also makes you think about how training will best fit in with the rest of your commitments in a given week.”

5. Follow The Plan

Meagan Carty spoke of the value of having a training plan to follow – even if you need to make adjustments to it along the way: 

“Just having a training plan helps…even if the days have to be swapped sometimes, getting to the end of the week and having everything crossed off is a big motivator to fit the trains in and around all the rest.

I know that times when I am not training specifically for a goal and so aren’t following a weekly plan it is easier to “miss” training”.

6. And Always Be Flexible

No matter how well you plan and schedule, life can easily get in the way.

Don’t be too rigid in your plans, and – who knows – an opportunity for a run may present itself!

Annie Kelsey described one such occasion:

“Today we had an overbooked schedule and I didn’t think I would get in a run. Found out the parent didn’t have to stay for a birthday party and the party rental place happened to be near a trail. I dropped off my kid and had 90 minutes to get in a run! You do what you can (often times on short notice) when kids are always on the go!“

No matter how well you plan and schedule, life can easily get in the way.

Suddenly you realise you’re double-booked, or the babysitter cancels on you, or your spouse falls ill.

Sometimes you can find new opportunities, other times you simply have to sacrifice your planned run.

Part of life is being flexible and not getting frustrated at such occasions – it’s easy to feel cheated when your personal pursuit get sidelined, but use it as an opportunity to plan better and look for creative, new solutions to continue your running!

Balancing Run Time With Family (7 -10)

Those of us with family commitments – especially if they include young kids – have their work cut out for them to find time for run training.

Here’s what our community of runners advised:

7. Train When It Doesn’t Affect The Family

The quickest way to make your running unpopular is to ask everyone else to change their schedule so you can go for a run.

While you know the value of the time you spend running, others will often quickly start to resent it if it becomes disruptive to family time.

Therefore it’s important to incorporate training into your family life.

How?

Early morning runs, as we’ve discussed, are great for this – you’re running while everyone else is still in bed, so they don’t mind you being gone.

In fact, they will probably appreciate the effort you’ve made to work around them, and notice your improved mood during the rest of the day.

Every family has different schedules, however. “For me,” said runner Stephen Wiseman,  “that means day time mostly, when wife works and kids at school. Everybody will have a different ‘best’ time.”

8. Respect That Your Family May Not Love Running As Much As You Do

A side tip from Stephen is to be conscious not to make running your dominant topic of conversation over the family dinner table. 

“Remember not to bore the family with your tedious running updates. Keep them sweet about your passion.“

9. Share Why Running Is Important To You

“I clearly let my family know that training is important to me“, explains Aaron Pettis “and sometimes it will result in Dad not being able to take them to a friends house or other engagement exactly when they’d like to go. It’s good for my kids to know that they sometimes have to sacrifice for the adults in their lives since we sacrifice so much for them so much of the other times.”

Neil McCallum echoed this, and warned against trying to sneak in a quick run: “The more I am open with my family about where I am in my training and when I need to focus, the more understanding and accommodating that they are. When I try and “squeeze in a quick workout”, it never works out. Always backfires.”

10. Work With Your Partner To Schedule Your Run Time

When in the midst of childcare commitments, sometimes your only hope of getting some alone time to go running is to get your partner onboard.

It may be that they are immediately happy to look after the rugrats and let you out to run for an hour or two, but sometimes they need some extra convincing. 

Make it reciprocal by finding ways you can give them some relief to do what they love – whether it’s a workout or watching that Netflix comedy they don’t want the kids to see.

Kelsie Schonberger weighed in on the pros and cons of this approach: “right now I either squeeze in a run during my husband’s lunch (so he can watch the kids) or when he gets home from work (which I hate because I feel like I never see him).“

Hopefully you’ve found some gems in here to help you fit in your run training with life – family or otherwise!

What have I missed out, or what strategies do you use to balance your time commitments with training ?

Let me know below!

Published on By

Forget Meditation, Just Go For A Run

I’ve been working on my laptop at the dining table for much of the day.

The morning was productive, I got a few big items scored off.  But after my lunch break I took the foot off the pedal and now I’m realising that nothing very meaningful has happened in the last two hours.

My eyes flit between three or four documents – none of which I’m actually seriously focussed on – and skate over a bunch of internet browser tabs. The monkey mind has officially set in.

Somewhere in there, I have the sense to close the laptop. I go upstairs and put on my running shoes – very slowly, as if looking for something else to distract me with other than focus on the task in hand.

I grab my keys, but leave the iPhone behind.

And I go out the door, to run.

* * *

Over the past decade or so, there’s been a boom in products, books, apps, and lifehacks designed to help our day-to-day mental wellbeing.

They are designed to help us focus; help us reset; help us re-centre.

There’s the idea of the mind being a tormented sea, and with the help of these tools we can turn it into a still lake. Calm, at rest, and ready to accept the day.

These tools are becoming more and more ubiquitous – every major brand or lifestyle influencer seems to have their own product or partnership, their own recipe for attaining an effortless mindset.

I’ve tried a few of them – including a year of using Headspace, one of the most popular meditation apps. And while I have appreciated the benefits at times, I’ve personally struggled to develop a regular meditation habit.

* * *

When I leave my home behind and begin running, my mind is emptied without any effort on my part.

My body is cautiously limbering up, and I’m suddenly looking around everywhere, assessing what speed I can comfortably start to warm up with, feeling the outside temperature on my skin, slipping back into my normal rhythm.

I’ve physically removed myself from the environment where my monkey brain swings around freely. There’s no notifications, dormant internet tabs, or distracting things to check.

My body is in a minor state of shock – suddenly, it’s got to pump blood much faster, and all my muscles are activated and firing.  My breathing becomes deeper and more enriching to fuel the workout.

Meanwhile, my mind has too many sensory inputs to focus on anything else. It’s assessing the weather, the path ahead, the cars and pedestrians I’m passing, and checking in that my body is moving as it should.

I’m thinking about where I’m running, what route I could take, how far I want to go, and how much I feel like pushing myself today.

* * *

Taking time out to meditate undoubtedly works for many people.   Jerry Seinfeld credits much of his success to his twice-a-day practice of Transcendental Meditation – something he’s practiced for over 40 years.

The author Robert Greene uses a 30-minute zen meditation each morning, which he has described as brutally hard work, to help focus.

For me – and countless others – I’ve diligently tried a few methods, and just haven’t found one that sticks.

I get disenfranchised and frustrated when I see another meditation app popping up on the App Store, or when my Watch interrupts a conversation or a piece of work to try and encourage me to breathe deeply for a minute. 

It seems that the more successful meditators I’ve read about use less of these tools, and instead have found a meditation method which resonates deeply with them. No apps, no dinging smartphone making wave noises.

* * *

As my run continues, my mind drifts.

But it’s not a distracted, avoiding-the-moment mind drift.

It drifts to conversations and projects from the day before, and pieces them together in different ways.

It drifts to a friend I haven’t spoken to for a while, and I make a mental reminder that I meant to get in touch with them.

It drifts to my lungs, and I spend a few minutes running and sense checking how relaxed my breathing is, then how relaxed my hips, shoulders, and neck are.

As I mentioned earlier, I intentionally left my iPhone at home today.

* * *

Haruki Murakami has said of running: “I run in void. Or maybe I should put it another way; I run to acquire the void“.

When you go for a run, you don’t have to expend mental effort trying to reach a state of improved mental clarity.

It just happens.

You’re choosing you make physical changes to your body, and once you start running there’s no stopping it.

The blood flow, the sound of the environment around you and your shoes pacing on the road, your breathing, and nothing else.

I find any run of 20 minutes or more to have positive effects on the mind; often the longer the better, as the runner’s high endorphins begin to take hold. But running for too long also leaves me in a ‘too relaxed or tired to be productive‘ state, so there is always a middle ground.

* * *

Running is perhaps the most universal form of exercise; almost anyone can do it, you need very little gear, and you can do it almost anywhere.

I’ve run around deserted islands and huge cities. Often when on holiday somewhere new, the first thing I do is go for a run.  It helps me orientate myself and get a flavour of things, and push that big reset button in my brain.

If you’re anything like me, when it comes to meditation you struggle to sit still long enough to realise the benefits.

Instead, do yourself a favour and go for a run. It’s good for the mind, and the body. 

And leave your phone at home.

Published on By

Ultimate Ultramarathon Training Guide (+ Training Plans)

Welcome to our guide to ultramarathon training! Scroll down to grab your free training plan – they’re sorted by event distance and ability.

Ultramarathon Training:  Introduction

An ultramarathon is defined as a race longer than a typical marathon of 26.2 miles.  This can be anything from a 50k run to 200 miles; or any distance in-between!

Training for an ultramarathon is a huge challenge, and there aren’t many shortcuts. But the reason most runners put themselves through the ultra gauntlet is because it can be an extremely rewarding and transformative experiences – both in training and when running the event.

When you’re out running for several hours – often in remote areas – there’s less room for error, and less opportunity to ‘wing it‘ like you might get off with in shorter events.

In other words, running ultramarathons is all about diligent preparation.

That means focussing on: run training, mental training, nutrition, hydration, gear, pace strategy, and knowing what to do when the wheels come off.

Running ultras became my passion early on in my running career, and led me to launch this site and become a running coach – now I love helping other find their path.

In this post, I’m going to walk you through all areas of ultramarathon training and preparation – as well as provide you with free, proven, UESCA-certified coach training plans.

Let’s jump in to the crazy world of running ultras!

Ultimate Ultramarathon Training Guide (+ Training Plans) 7

 The Differences Between a Marathon and an Ultramarathon

Given many rookie ultra runners are making the leap from the world of marathons, here are some of the main differences between the two disciplines.  It’s important to note that “what got you here won’t get you there” – you can’t, or at least shouldn’t, just extrapolate out your marathon prep to suit your ultra distance! 

1. Ultra running = Endurance, not Speed

When you make the step up to ultras, your priority should be to simply work on your ability to keep running for hour after hour. 

Being able to run a fast marathon is completely irrelevant if you bonk at the 30 mile mark (something that’s extremely common in newbie ultra-runners).

Sure, running a marathon requires a lot of endurance – but you’re usually also combining speed and a high rate of effort to get a great finishing time.

When it comes to ultras, you want to run at a lower intensity in order to sustain your energy for longer.

 2. You Can’t Wing An Ultra

In half and full marathons, there’s a certain amount of leeway in there for you to turn up and wing it without having prepared properly. If you pick up an injury or hit the wall 2/3rds of the way through a city marathon, you can usually limp to the finish line. Sure, your finishing time won’t be anything to boast about, but you are still a finisher.

In ultramarathons, there’s no winging it.

You are either sufficiently prepared to run the race, or you won’t complete it. 

That’s why training based on endurance is so necessary – you may not be the fastest, but if you’ve conditioned your body to run for endless hours, you’re in a much better space.

3. Ultras Take You Off Road

Most ultramarathons take place on trails and other weird, remote places. 

Compare this to typical marathons which are city-based and often cover flat, easy roads.

First off, running on trails is slower than on tarmac.   

An uneven surface means each step lands slightly differently, requiring more energy.

Throw in gradients, obstacles, climbs, rivers, and anything else, and running on trails is a lot more interesting than a typical road run.

Ultra routes are often more remote too – the aid stations might be sparser, and if you get into trouble you’re further from help. 

All the more reason to be well prepared, and train to avoid injury or bonking!

4. Ultramarathons Are More Friendly

It’s often said that the ultra-running community are a tighter-knit bunch than shorter distance runners. They’re together for longer, sharing a more intense experience, and there’s less of us too. 

In the tough stages of a long ultra, it’s easy to find yourself buddying up with strangers and spending hours running together. 

Ultrarunning makes you closer to other people. 

5. Ultramarathons Require More Self Sufficiency

Ultra-runners tend to be better prepared than your average runner.

They’ll almost always do their long training runs with a vest or pack which is loaded with fuel, water, and contingency supplies.

They know exactly how many gels to take, and when to take them.

They’ve got some kinseo tape and a painkiller stashed away incase things go wrong. 

And they’ve spent time refining every piece of gear they carry.

6. Ultrarunning is as Much a Mental Game as a Physical One

Running ultramarathons is about exposing yourself to a state of discomfort for hours on end.

In fact, it’s been proven that ultrarunners think about physical pain differently.

In a study from Monash University, it was shown that ultra runners will voluntarily hold their arm in a bucket of ice water for much longer than non-ultra runners.

So are ultra runners born that way?

It’s more likely that ultra runners have gradually developed a higher pain threshold, through hours of running and training in discomfort.

As well as pain, ultra runners often have to deal with boredom and mental fatigue.

Running for hours on end when you’re tired or not in the mood is something they come to accept, and soldier on regardless. 

Ultimate Ultramarathon Training Guide (+ Training Plans) 8

How To Train For An Ultramarathon

You can’t prepare for an ultramarathon by taking a marathon training plan and extrapolating it to fit the new distance – you’d simply end up with too many miles on there (imagine running a 75 mile training run in order to prepare for a 100 miler . . . that would suck . . . ).

Instead, you’ve got to adapt to the new rules of the game, and approach ultra running as it’s own beast.

Here are my best tips for ultramarathon training:

1. Mental Re-framing

When you embark on your ultra running journey, its prudent to reflect on how you think about running in your head.

Ultramarathon training is going to require you to run endless miles, training several times per week, often in conditions which aren’t ideal.

Often short distance runners think of run training as something they’ve just got to ‘get through’ – a work-out they’ve got to check off by going and powering through their 20-30 minute run.

Ultra running is different.

With ultra running, you’re often running for hours on end. 

When you set off out your front door, you’re going to be gone for so long that it isn’t helpful to be thinking about ‘the end of the run’ already.

You’ve got to embrace the run, be present, and not see it as an inconvenience – otherwise you’re going to find the whole pursuit a total drag.

That’s why it’s helpful to think of your day in two categories: running time, and non-running time.

Thinking about your workout as simply running time means you’re not counting the miles so particularly, you’re not focussing on the aches, pains, and when you can stop.   

Instead you’re accepting that you’re in a state of “running” and that you may as well get comfortable there.

When in ultra training mode, I find it useful to think of running time in hours.   

“I’ve got 2.5hrs of running time today” is more digestible than “I have to run a 25km training run today.“

2. Become an Endurance Monster

Ultrarunners are simply human beings who are capable of running for several hours, or even days, without stopping. 

In other words, they’re Endurance Monsters.

Once you realise your goal is to become an endurance monster, it helps to inform a lot of your approach to training and pacing strategy.

Here are some of the traits of an Endurance Monster:

  • Endurance Monsters are always humble and conservative
  • Endurance Monsters always keep some energy in their back pocket
  • Endurance Monsters train at a variety of speeds and distances, but always race at a sustainable pace
  • Endurance Monsters know how to manage their fuel, water, and electrolytes as they run
  • Endurance Monsters don’t worry if they’re taking longer in a race than they thought they would.

I’ll expand on each of these a little more as we go along!

 3. Get Comfortable With RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion)

Nowadays there are more ways than ever to track and measure your training efforts. 

With tools like Heart Rate Zone training, Strava, and runners get more metric-oriented, it’s easy to get caught up in the numbers game.

However, there are a few issues with being too metrics-focussed when you’re in ultramarathon training mode.

For starters, when training on trails, no two runs are the same, and your routes won’t be uniform – they’ll include climbs, descents, obstacles, and changes in terrain.   All of this affects your effort level and speed.

Furthermore, there are internal factors which can affect your performance – whether it’s sleep quality, attitude, mental exhaustion from other parts of your life, physical exhaustion from the volume of training you’re committing to, cardiac drift . . . 

 . . .there are a wealth of factors which influence your performance, and can mean that training simply based on metrics such as speed or heart rate zone can be a race to the bottom.

If you have a pre-defined pace or HRZ for your training runs, you can quickly find that it takes more effort (both physical and mental) than you’d like to meet those targets, and it can be deeply discouraging.

While I think these metrics are great tools and I use them myself, I encourage ultra runners-in-training to focus on Rate of Perceived Exertion.

RPE is a measure of how hard it feels like you’re pushing yourself, on a scale of 1-10.

1 being super light activity, like a slow walk, and 10 being high-intensity, flat-out, almost-throwing-up beasting yourself.

If it sounds subjective and a little vague, that’s kind of the point.

To give a personal example: some days going for a 1-hr, 6mile run can feel like a 3 out of 10. Other days, it’s a 4 or a 5. This depends on how rested I am, my state of mind, how enthusiastic I am for training that day, where I’m running, the weather and underfoot conditions, and a whole raft of other things.

Ultimate Ultramarathon Training Guide (+ Training Plans) 9

As noted above, everyone’s pain threshold is slightly different – so each runner will have slightly different idea of where each boundary lies.

As an ultra runner, you want to get to comfortable with running at a low Rate of Perceived Exertion.

Adopting this slow-burn approach will allow you to run for hours on end, becoming the Endurance Monster you were always meant to be.

4. Cross Train for Strength and To Bulletproof Your Body

There’s this classic idea of a distance runner whose only training is booking mile after mile over rolling trails.  It’s romantic, it’s a bit majestic . . . but in reality it usually doesn’t hold up.

In the long run, runners who don’t cross train will have cross training visited upon them.

What am I talking about?

Running is a form of extremely repetitive motion along one plane.

Your body is made up of extremely versatile and flexible muscles, joints, ligaments . . . your kinetic chain, let’s call it.

However, when the only exercise your kinetic chain sees is running, it can lead to some imbalances.  Some muscles become super strong in one direction, others are neglected and weaken . . . this leads to posture issues, imbalances, and eventually . . . injury.

Running doesn’t embrace the full range of motion of these muscles and joints. 

Imagine a basketball player who only ever practices her jump shot.  Or a golfer who only ever trains with a driver, and neglects the rest of their clubs.

That’s what the effect of training exclusively by running is like.   You end up good at one narrow range of exercise.

And it’s not just that cross training helps work out those weaknesses. It can also improve your running game.

Specified cross training can strengthen and activate the muscles you need in ways running doesn’t. 

Focussing on the hips, glutes, legs, and core can make you a stronger and more efficient runner.

Talk to any old running hand at the start line of an ultra, and most of them will explain how cross training was forced onto them due to an injury, but it’s now become a staple of their training schedule.

Cross training isn’t about getting ripped, it’s about improving your running game and becoming a more balanced athlete.

Get to the gym, or yoga studio, and make it part of your training.

5. Ultra Running Gear, Fuel, and Hydration

Making the right choices when it comes to ultra running gear is essential – you’re going to be using this stuff for hours on end, so you need to know it inside out, and be comfortable with it.

Same goes for your fuel and hydration.

Use your ultra training to trial different products – be they gels, trail mix, beef jerky, or whatever else takes your fancy – then start to develop a strategy based on what works for you.

If you’re planning to take one gel per hour during your ultra, then you need to trial this strategy during one of your long training runs.

The last thing you want is to get 40km into a 100km event and realise that gels give you the runs!

Same goes for your hydration strategy.

Figure out how you’re going to carry your water or sports drink, how much you typically consume per hour, how to refill your reservoirs, etc.

It all sounds like small stuff, but it’s the kind of thing that ends people’s runs every single event.

Sweat the small stuff in preparation, so on the day you can focus on getting to the finish line.

6. Embrace The Trails

The majority of ultramarathons take place on trails.

If you’re a shorter-distance runner, maybe you’ve previously booked most of your miles on sidewalks or tarmac – now is the time to get out into the wilderness and get comfortable on the trails.

You’ll likely find your pace is a little slower on the trails – each step requires a little more energy as you have to adapt to the varying underfoot terrain.

It’s also important to get used to running hills – both up and down.  If in doubt, try to keep a fairly constant RPE.   There’s no harm in walking up hills – see it as a strategic break!

7. Get an Ultramarathon Training Plan

A good training plan is your road-map from your current state to becoming ‘ultra-ready’.

Your training plan should reflect your ability and goals, and be tailored to prepare you for whatever distance you’re getting ready to run.

There are a myriad of reasons to follow a training plan, such as:

  • Research has shown that runners who follow a training plan are more likely to complete their training, and sucessfully finish their event.
  • A proper training plan will include a structured increase in mileage, with sufficient time for rest and recovery in-between.
  • Training plans can be great motivational aids – print them out, stick them somewhere prominent and mark off each day’s workout as you complete it.

Looking for a training plan? 

Feel free to browse our ultramarathon training plan library – they’re totally free, and are available in PDF and Google Sheets formats (they’re totally customisable so you can map it around your schedule).

(By the way, I’m a UESCA-certified running coach and also have completed my fair share of ultras (including bagging a couple of podium finishes)).

I’ve developed these plans by working with several other coaches and they’ve now been used by over 10,000 other ultra-runners to help them prepare for their events.

And they’re free – check them out ?

Ultimate Ultramarathon Training Plans

8. Take Your Training One Step Further

I hope you’ve found the steps in this article useful, but the truth is they’re only the beginning.

Ultra running is a huge universe of learning – whether we’re talking about running technique, pacing strategies, cross training, gear, or nutrition.

If you’re looking for more information, consider checking out my Ultra Runner’s Playbook.

Ultra Runner's Playbook

The Ultra Runner’s Playbook is your ultimate guide to ultra running!

With over 5hrs of video content and a ton of downloadable material, we cover:

  • Detailed daily training plans for ultramarathons, based on running ability
  • Ultra training modalities broken down; in other words, how to train smart
  • Ultra running strategies for success
  • Expert videos and guides on . . .
    • Having an ultrarunning mindset
    • Balancing training with your other time commitments
    • Maintaining motivation throughout your ultra journey
  • How to become an injury-free ultra-runner
  • Strength and resistance training for improving performance and reducing injury
  • Fuelling and nutrition for ultrarunners
  • How to achieve your ultramarathon goals 
  • And plenty more expert interviews, articles, and guides!

Check out the full curriculum today, and thanks for taking the time to read our articles!