Howdy! The San Juan Softie https://sanjuansoftie.com/ has registration opening on 12/01/24. 2024 was the inagural running of the race, and it went very well. The race committee learned some things from the first running, and we are looking forward to our second edition on 08/15/25. This race takes place just south of the Hardrock 100 in the San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado. If you are looking for a high mountain 100 mile race that does not have a lottery, we are the race for you! You can sign up at: https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=121004

Would be interested to know everyone’s thoughts on what you do between dedicated training blocks.

From the end of your goal race through to beginning your next dedicated training cycle.

Are you a full rest, occasional runs or train all year round kind of person? What’s your mileage per week, strength training plan during these times etc.

For example the other week I did my gold DofE, for any non brits it’s walking about 20KM a day in hilly terrain with heavy rucksacks. While not running does this still count as training for an ultra?

I also walk about 2KM a day round trip to and from school and another 3.2KM round trip when I go to the gym.

I know it’s not a lot of walking but it does add up and a lot of the time I find myself hiking so was wondering if it’s worth accounting into my mileage.

I’m going to enter a 50 miler soon and want to start a training block.

Heya! I have ran my last two 80km race both with roughly 4k to 4.5k meters of gain. Average time is about 10hrs and 45mins. That was the most effort pace I did. Im preparing for a third 50miler with the same gain and want to diminish an hour or half of my target time. My pace seems okay but there are climbs that I cant sustain. It seems that my lungs cant keep up with my legs and sometimes, I feel im about to cramp as early as 20k. I was wondering what tips I can do in my training to improve my time. The next race is in 3 months time.

Does anyone have experience with the Sidekick Axisboard or any of the other single leg balance products out there. I am looking to improve foot/lower leg strength and mobility and just curious if these products have proven effective or are just bullshit.

Hey all,

Got new On Cloudboom Strikes for an 84km race — first time wearing them after training in ASICS Nimbus 26. Race went well, but both Achilles flared up (think it’s inflammation). Took two weeks off, no running or calf raises, but when I ran a marathon Sunday, pain hit from km 1. Managed to finish, but it was a brutal 3 hours.

I’ve got another marathon in 5 days. I know it’s not smart, but I’m running it either way. Any tips to ease the Achilles pain until then?

Thanks!

Hey all!

Curious if anyone has done the 50k or 50mile event in December, I’m signed up and curious if anyone has tips or experiences from past years. Looking forward to the navigating part of it and exploring the city, but only found one or two race reports :)

I started running in earnest about a year ago and signed up for a 50 miler in mid January flat course with 10 mile loops. the cut off in 12 hours. I want to see if this is possible with where I am.

current status

Ran 1000 miles YTD run 32 half marathons distances this year

training for the Philly Nov 24 in 2 weeks going for a sub 4. Last three months of training I’ve logged 500 miles avg 10:20 pace. Avg 42 miles per week. 4 20 mile runs

also running the Kiawah marathon 2 weeks later December 14. Mainly a training run aiming for 4:30

that gives me a 7.5 weeks from Philly to the 50 miler planning on 5 weeks with back to back longs runs around 50-60 miles per week with 2 week taper

is this reasonably possible to finish before the cut off? Any advice criticism and feedback greatly appreciated. Thanks

Really happy with how the day turned out! Not sure what’s next, but I’ll recover and figure it out.

I don't run ultras but figured this may be a good place to seek advice. Ive been running for about 3 years. 31M. I've dealt with several running injuries, but IT band syndrome cropped up early on and has been a huge problem for me without fail...

At its worst, I had to stop running for about 6 months before symptoms died down.

Any time I start running close to 3 miles per session/8-10 miles per week, symptoms come back. It feels impossible to get beyond that threshold which is frustrating because it's still very low mileage, and barring that issue I feel I could run much further.

I regularly strength train. Generally do squats, calf raises, deadlift, glute exercises, hip abductor exercises, and lunges.

I have seen a PT. I have tried at home exercises like balance oriented exercises, etc.

The only thing I haven't really tried is foam rolling my tfl/glutes consistently, so that is next on the list.

I'm just running out of ideas here and am close to giving up on running. I feel that this is a genetic problem. I've even tried diets to reduce inflammation... I injure easily and I even get similar problems in my elbow (tennis elbow) from lifting weights. I just feel like my body isn't really meant for this, but figured I'd see if anyone on here has any ideas or was able to overcome similar issues.

Thank you!

Just completed this at the weekend, and whilst it's fresh in my memory (bar the hallucinations), a few key points.

Terrain was a lot of single trail.

Vert +/- is mainly very steep steps, many many thousands of them.

Aid stations were decent, with as you'd expect primarily local options.

Drop bag system worked well.

Beware the rain, as those few descents which aren't steps, become exceptionally slippery.

First couple of cut-offs are quite ambitious, though doable.

Very easy to go out too hot of course, so give the first 25km some decent thought.

Only one relatively technical section that I recall, and that was primarily due to rain making it so.

There'd been a few course changes due to weather damage, and I got 134km 6396m vert on the watch.

Edit for formatting

Pretty happy with my times for my first 50m race.Wasn’t able train as I wanted do to some injuries but overall all I’m stoked!

Hey all,

I've been running consistently for the past 4 years. Currently averaging around 25miles/week. This year alone, I ran three marathons within the span of 14 weeks. My first marathon was in September 2023 with a finish time of 4hr30mins. I had a bit of break after that and only averaged 10-15km/week for some time. This year, I built it back up and ran my first marathon of the year in July with peak week at 38miles and a finish time of 4 hours. Ten weeks later, I finished another marathon in 3hr46mins, and 4 weeks after that, completed another in 3hr55mins.

My marathon training peaked at 38miles per week. I also strength train regularly (even before running) which helped me build a solid base, and I've fortunately avoided injuries (just some minor soreness/runners' knee from overuse now and then).

Now, I'm looking to step up to 100km ultra in May 2025. I believe I have enough time to increase my mileage and be ready. However, I've only ever run on roads and have no experience with trail running or hiking. The ultra I'm considering has over 4300m of elevation gain. I'm referring to UTA100 in Sydney. (I ran the Goldcoast, Sydney and Melbourne marathon this year, for anyone from Australia).

I am not interested in doing a shorter trail race first, but of course would do shorter distances as part of training. I only like to spend money on goal distances as entries are expensive (I never raced any shorter distances and have only raced marathons).

Any advice? I haven't had a chance to do any trail runs or hikes yet but want to commit to the race because entries might sell out quick.

Thanks in advance!

Pretty cool almost getting lapped by a new women's world record!

Had such a blast running the Mamba 100. Overall time was just under 31 hours. It was wet and very muddy. Blisters formed on the balls my feet even though I was changing Injini socks each 14.5 mile loop and reapplying KT tape/vaseline. It made the last 29 miles pretty miserable. Any advice on preventing those issues for next race?

I posted here earlier in the year that I was going to do a 40 mile run having never run further than 14. Yesterday I went for it. The course I chose was very flat. I'm most pleased I managed to run a steady pace throughout. This was self-supported and I didn't realise how much time I would lose stopping to buy supplies along the way. Strava hasn't counted the 30 minutes I wasn't moving. From my watch: Marathon split: 4.58. 50k split: 5.59. Finish: 7.43. What a great day!

Hi all, wanted to put this out there to see if anyone has been successful gaining entires to UTMB events without the index requirements. Just planning a trip to Italy and was perturbed to learn that my 2022 results are now invalid. Lavaredo 120km is the race I’m looking at. Currently it only allows me to sign up for the 20km which is not very exciting. Thank you ahead of time.

Trail races are almost always in gorgeous places, and that makes me want to enroll to every UTMB event! But road races aren't usually in a beautiful setup...

Which road marathons or road ultra would you recommend as "beautiful"?

My favorite so far is the Fuji Marathon, around lake Kawaguchi in Japan, held in late November and with absolutely stunning views of Mount Fuji, autumn leaves, blue sky... But I want to find other jewels.

Looking to start a reading club that introduces certain principles required to maintain focus during ultra-prep, the race, and post-race.

Wanted to get an idea of who would be interested in doing it with me?

Example (not what we’d be actually reading): -November -Tribe by Sebastian Junger -December -Blink by Malcolm Gladwell -January -Endurance by Alfred Lansing -February -The Believer by David Coggins

Hello ultra friends! I completed my first ultra a couple months ago and I loved it. I almost cried during miles 15-25 but I really did love it and had so much fun.

Anyway, I am contemplating another 50k in January and also looking at a 50 miler in late March (the races are about 2 months apart).

Has anyone done ultras this close together? I felt really good after the 50k, took a week or so off, and was ready to hop back into my runs. Hoping it’s the same this time around too 😂

So I guess I’m just looking for some anecdotal stories that tell me I CAN do 2 ultras that close together, or maybe anecdotal stories of how crazy I am.

Race information

What? Kullamannen Ultra 100 miles

When? 1-3 November 2024

How far? 159.5km (100 Miles)

Where? Southern part of the west coast of Sweden (Högernäs, Mölle, Ängelholm & Båstad)

Website: https://kullamannen.utmb.world/races/ultra-100-miles

Strava activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/12801037825 & https://www.strava.com/activities/12807679702

Motivation

I signed up for the 100 miles Kullamannen last year after the after the Kullamannen 100km trail race. I wanted to challenge myself to a longer distance after finishing with a little something in my legs.

The southern part of the Swedish west coast is quite flat with the exception of Kullaberg which shoots out of the sea and has a high point of 188m. The course started with two laps of Kullaberg and if you made it passed the 11 hour cut off it was 100km of largely flat running with a variety of surfaces sand, gravel, dirt, bitumen and don't forget rocks. Lots of rocks. To keep things interesting there were two large hills to run/climb up with 20km to go.

Training

I had managed to increase my training to 28km / week for the previous 6 months which was a lot better than other years. I had run a marathon and a 26km race but no other real long runs. I was happy with all my gear from the previous ultra so I just went with what I had and ignored all the sales of the flash new gear.

Race Strategy

I wasn't going for the podium and my only mission was to get the 100 miles done safely before the 32-hour cut-off time.

The race started at 18:00, there was an 11 hour cut off to get the 2 laps of Kullaberg done. I would wear trail shoes at the start and switch to comfier runners for the second 80km.

My nutrition strategy was to eat a gel and a chocolate bar (100cal + 225cal) per hour, keep drinking and ideally have empty water bottles upon arrival at each aid station. At the aid stations grab some sports drink and perhaps some light soup, and try and avoid things that looked like they would take time to digest.

Pre-race

The race was starting at 18:00 on Friday and I was up at 04:00. I have been sleeping poorly for the last month and this sleep deprivation was a concern, if I was just going to make the 32 hour cut off - 46 hours awake while running is a looooong time.

The Swedish summer had rolled into a warm autumn and it was feeling like almost shorts weather. But the forecast predicted the first near zero night and the wind was blowing the car around on the drive up to Båstad. The race briefing was a nice event, just being out of the wind was fantastic. Also kinda cool seeing some pretty fast runners both local and international.

Race

The knight riding with the lit torch lead the 710 of us out of Högernås. We had been buffered from the wind in the starting area, but now running on the sea path the wind and sea spray were reminding us what we had signed up for. A gentle run up the coast to Mölle to start the first lap of Kullaberg. There were significant queues in the rocky sections of the course and a few brave souls were out there to cheer us on. The ground was mostly dry but the leaf litter hid a few ankle twisting rocks. The glow of the headlamp helped but there were still some jarring twists and stubbed toes. The uphills were tough and some of the downhill sections were just as much work.

Finally arriving back in Mölle about three and a half hours after setting out on Kullaberg. A resupply and then back to it. This time the body was wearier and the supporters had disappeared. The temperature was dropping and the wind was biting with more ferocity. We avoided slowing down too much to make the cut off a non issue and allow some time to take on some food in Mölle we pushed on through the dark and the tiredness.

Arriving in Mölle - a bite to eat and a quick warm up by a heater and we were back into the wind and quickly shivering again. We ran over the ridge and eastwards off the point to start the flatter sections. My running buddy started to struggle with food and we slowed down for this section. I wasn't enjoying the chocolate and gel combination much either. It started to get worse for him and I noticed my body feeling the cold and tiredness more at this reduced speed. I was wondering it I was going to need this walking time later on in the race. We separated so that he could run at the pace he needed to hopefully recover. I felt the stress of the cut off nearing and switched into some anxiety running. I was around position 530 at this point.

The sun rose over the water around Farhult and thousands of birds danced forming constellations then quickly reforming into another shape in moments later. It was memorizing after a night of darkness. My legs seemed to be on autopilot and were passing people whenever possible. Some areas were familiar from the run 2 years ago, coming from the other direction. But some of the kilometers felt like they had turned into miles. The running was fantastic.

Finally arriving in the Råbocka aid station with warm meals and drop bags. I managed to switch shoes to make the impact a little bit less noticeable on the coming flat kilometers. Also a fresh portable charger meant I could charge my phone. My one mess up was mistaking one charging cable for another. I checked my phone and my buddy appeared to be bowing out. I took a little longer hoping I would catch him. I did my best to eat anything that wasn't sugary as I was struggling with anything sugary at this point.

It really took a bit to get moving again after such a long stop. But then once the legs found their rhythm they kept at it and I took advantage of the flats. My vest became magic and for the rest of the race whenever I needed anything the vest supplied anything at first grab. I still felt the cut off was approaching and I had to use my legs while they felt good. It felt like forever before the next aid station appeared it felt like a weird dream where you were always doing one more thing before it would appear and after doing it you would do another. I filled up my drinks and tried to finally chill a bit with the pace. I was nervous about the big hills but had gained some time on the cut off.

The next sections had easy little trails, sometimes gravel tracks, some bitumen at times and punctuating all this random rock fields that made holding any pace impossible for me. I tried the make the most of the sun still being up and sped up knowing the sunlight probably wont help much on the hills but it certainly makes running in these areas a lot easier.

As Hovs Hallar rest stop I tried eating bread with cheese but my mouth felt so dry. I was 3.5 hours under cut off but worried that my lack of energy would push me into a wall and I would struggle to even walk the last 20 km. I tried to have more of the supplied sports drink basically for its uniqueness and so that I definitely had some energy. The first hill was incredible, water streaming over rocks for hundreds of meters and downhill was just as bad. I was wondering how I was going to manage 14km of this before the last flat 6 km in Båstad. I felt the fatigue in my head and couldn't really work out how many caffeinated gels I had consumed. But one more seemed to clear the fog. I was expecting an aid station at the entry to Båstad as there was a cut off there. But I hadn't understood the course guide. So what seemed like an endless march looking for a basic aid station ended up taking me to the final ramp. And there I was able to run up the final ramp for my first 100 mile finish in 250th place or so (from 750 starters). My stress running overtaking lots of people (and I guess a few withdraw ahead of me).

Post-race

My training buddy had just arrived in time to meet me at the finish, I had been expecting to get in hours later. Thank goodness he did as I wasn't up to doing much myself apart from passing out. The tomato stew at the end was heavenly.

Looking at myself, I think my lack of eating would have got to me quite soon. I look a little gaunt today and I am craving salt. Don't worry, I'm still drinking a fair bit of water.

Questions for the audience!

What are you fueling with to avoid food fatigue?

What is the best food you have ever received at an aid stop?

Hi everyone,

Tomorrow’s the big day: my first ultra marathon (66km & approx. 2600 height meters)! I’ve been preparing both physically and mentally, and I feel ready, but I know anything can happen out there. If you have any last-minute tips or words of advice, I’d love to hear them!

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been reading a ton of posts here, and they’ve been incredibly helpful in getting me to this point. I’m excited but also feeling those pre-race nerves kicking in.

One concern I have is the cold. It’s been pretty chilly here lately, and during my last race—a half marathon just last weekend—I really struggled with the low temperatures, even feeling pretty awful afterward. I was only wearing a single long sleeve then, so this time I’m planning to wear a Falke thermal layer, an Odlo midlayer, and a Gore-Tex jacket. Hopefully, that’ll do the trick 😅. Because of the cold, my heart rate was very high even though I was running at a comfortable pace, and I’m really scared something similar will happen tomorrow. In general, I seem to feel colder than most people, which only adds to my worry.

Thanks in advance for any tips or encouragement, and wish me luck! 🦾🦾🦾

Update:

Thank you all for the responses! I finished the race—not quite within the time I was aiming for, but I’m proud of my effort. It was my first ultra, and I gave it my best. I also learned a lot about what I need to work on (the downhills especially were challenging, and I lost time there). Your advice really helped me along the way—thank you!

Hi Reddit!

I completed my first 100 miler a year ago and am now signed up for my second. Overall I’m really happy with my performance on the first one but of course looking to keep getting better. On the first one, I slowed down a lot at the end—about 5 minutes per mile, grade adjusted. In the moment I was slowing down because my legs (knees especially) just hurt so bad, and I kept switching to walking. In retrospect, the sleep deprivation delirium probably was a big contributing factor too—this was happening around 1-4 AM, so I wasn’t really thinking straight. When the sun started to come up, I had an easier time pushing for the last little bit. (I’m pretty happy with my fueling, kept a consistent solid carb intake with no gut problems, so I don’t think it was a bonking issue.)

My goal at this race is to stay more consistent first half to second half. However, of course, it’s basically impossible to practice the feeling of being on mile 70 during training, so I won’t get a chance to actually try out different strategies... instead I’m just trying to have as many strategies in my pocket as possible and hopefully one works.

I’m curious what you all have found works for you:

• What do you do (mental tricks, ways of framing things) when it starts hurting in order to keep pushing?
  • Actually, for that matter, when does it start hurting for you and what’s that like? (Curious if it’s something I should also be trying to solve vs. just mentally pushing through)
• How much caffeine do you all have in those weird middle of the night hours (e.g. 1-5 AM) vs. the rest of the day? Do you find it helps with that feeling of kind of being in a dream? (if that is something you experience)

Curious any other thoughts you have as well!