Anyone know how deep the waitlist typically gets chewed through? I am currently in the 50's is there a good chance I will eventually get in or not likely based on historical? Debating if I need to schedule a different ultra in the winter, want to lock in a WS ticket earlier than later.

I am supposed to run my first 50k in a week and my training has been the worst this year. I don’t even know if I can call it training at this point. Multiple 0 mile weeks, no motivation, not as much strength training as I wanted. I work a very manual job but I know I’ve been in better shape than I am now. I’ve been in a running slump for the last year and have been struggling to get out of it. I know I’m not ready for this race but I’m typically a go slow and gut it out kind of mentality and part of me wants to do that here and at least try. I’ve done a few road marathons but I also completed my training cycles for those. I don’t care how long a race takes me and will walk as much as I need to but I recently learned about rhabdo and now my anxiety is winning… Aside from that, I’m just really disappointed in myself this year in regards to running and am starting to feel like I shouldn’t even make the attempt next week. Not sure if anyone here has any advice for an anxious runner at an all time low right now…?

Had to get knee surgery last week (lateral release and clean up scope) and I’m looking for advice in recovery and getting back into running, specifically getting back into training for 50+miles. Would love any advice!

Curious to hear everyone's thoughts on the best buckles you can earn in the ultra running space.

1. Best looking buckles
2. Most prestigious buckles to earn

Hello there! Last week I asked you wonderful people for tips (thread here: https:// www.reddit.com/r/ultrarunning/s/gEzS7MidAe) for a a solo night run and you delivered, thank you so much!

First time ever reporting a run (in text form rather than instagram video form) - so apologies if uninteresting/ unreadable.

Route: 62.3 miles/100km from Ipswich, MA to New Ipswich, NH (succeeded) Mission: to inspire Ipswich Town football club to their first premier league win of the season (failed)

Good things: Didn’t run into any wild animals (other than deer and rabbits) Didn’t run into any malevolent people

Bad things: I had 1000ft of net elevation gain in the last 4 miles with a left knee that didn’t want to bend Never been as tired as I have at the end despite running further before Bag so heavy

Things I wore: headlamp, reflective jacket, trail running shorts, new nike Pegasus 39, Ipswich town shirt, boxers, socks, lots of Vaseline

Things I brought (in my backpack): 4x gels (no caffeine), hummus wraps, plain tortilla wraps, salt tablets, 2 power banks, phone charger, watch charger, headlamp charger, handheld flashlight, chewing gum, 8x 28floz/828ml bottle of water, vaseline.

Mile 1-10 Got the train from North Station in Boston up to Ipswich, MA. Arrived around 9:10pm, walked up to Choate Bridge pub to start, for no particular reason other than I've been there before. Started running at 9:21pm headed towards New Ipswich Town Field, about 62 miles away. The bag was so heavy, have never run with that much weight before, but sort of had to because couldn't rely on being able to fuel up during the run, and whenever I long run I've found that liquids is all I really want, never really get hungry. First 3 miles we had sidewalk, then when we left that luxury is when I had to stay alert, which I did for the next 8 hours or so until it got light. Alert on the road, alert for passing cars, alert for animals - which although very unlikely to bump into anything harmful, was an actual fear of mine. Ran into oncoming traffic, and after 8 miles we got to first town Topsfield and smashed some water and salt tablets.

Mile 11-20 Bit of a slog 17-20, but we felt quite good. Midnight came and went. State police car slowed down near me, eyed me down, and realized I was pretty prepped for running in the dark on back streets of Massachusetts, left me alone.

Mile 21-30 Ran through the entirety of this with maybe a 5 minute stop for the hummus wrap which I inhaled, was strange as never normally like food. Have had a couple gels at this point. Temperature was great, in the 40s fahrenheit, 5-10 celsius. Saw a couple of deer which spooked us. Not nearly as much as all the Halloween decorations that would pop into the headlights

Mile 31-40 Had first actual rest of more than 5 minutes at mile 34. Came across a strip mall so could get some semi-shelter. Charged watch up as it wouldn't last the whole race, phone wouldn't charge tho and it was in the 30s, so this was the biggest concern at this point. No phone, no GPS, no updating my mighty followers at 4am.

Mile 41-50 At 44 we came across a Dunkin' Donuts around 6am, went in the restock on water (I had one left at the point) and charge phone. 4 old dudes in there just shootin' the shi' while my sweaty ass strolls in. Stoppedfor about 30 mins in total. 18miles left to go. It took about 10 minutes to get the left knee going, it really didn't want to bend. Sort of made the decision there thatwould have to run through the last 18 miles without stopping because to start again would be agony. The sunrise also came at this point, which was nice. Could finally have a mental breather and zone out a bit and crank some miles out, couldn't up until this point and I was TIRED.

Mile 51-57 Just head down eating up the white paint for these 6 miles, which took about hour and a half. Singing Oasis songs to keep me sane. Finally saw some people out of their cars and gave a few "Good mornings".

Mile 58-61 So I knew this route had 2000ft of elevation gain, and 1000ft elevation loss, so a net gain of about 1000ft. And I knew that about 800 of those net ft gained were in the last 5 miles, but WOW. Felt like I was climbing the stairway to hell. Every long never ending hill to climb was followed by a long never ending hill to climb forever! Stopped for about 15 seconds to take a whizz and took 10 minutes to get going again because of left knee not bending, was pretty worried there.

Mile 62 Got to our destination with about .7 miles left to run for the full 100km so went down some trail and back. Made it to the field with 5% phone battery and fuel gone. At 9:48 , 12 hours and 27 mins after leaving. Laid down, the sun came out and I felt like all was good. Then it started spitting with rain and I got cold QUICKLY. Teeth rattling. Got into dugouts and slept for 20 mins before my buddy picked me up and went back to his in the hottub. Slept with my eyes open a few times before I got back to Boston around 8pm and slept like a baby.

Glad we did it, most mentally exhausted I've ever been. Would do it again, with less water and more tactical fuelling points. Knee is actually fine now, have been on few 5 mile runs since and no bother from it.

Unfortunately it didn't work as Ipswich conceded an equalizer in the 94th minute so will have to do something else for us to get our first win.

Next challenge; Beer Marathon

Hello, I recently got a new pair of Salomon trail shoes (genesis) and have been having a weird thing that keeps happening. On longer runs (like 3 hour plus) I’m finding the bottom of my foot at the front (like my front pads behind my toes) are getting incredibly sore. Like it feels as if my foot is getting rubbed raw by the shoes. When the runs gets closer to 5 hours its expands to my toes as well. Has anyone ever had this before and have suggestions on how to fit it?

Has never happened to be before on any shoe (road or trail). Have tried different socks, have made sure the shoes are tight, have checked the sizing to confirm it’s the correct size. Shoes have about 150km in them so was hoping it would go away but just hasn’t to this point. Any help would be very welcome! Thanks so much!!

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! 🦾🦾🦾

Hello everyone,

So i have my very first 100 miler race tomorrow. It is fairly flat I think. There is a total of 14 aid station. I don't really have a crew but will be running with a friend and my gf and sister will come at mile 65 to see me and at the finish line. I also spent quite a bit on fueling as well haha. Im aiming to have at least 85g of carbs per hour.

I feel like I Might be over packing on fuel.

Mile 1 - 31 = About 292G of carbs , + 5 aid station

Mile 31-65.5 = 431G of carbs , + 4 aid station

Mile 65.5 -90.5 = 535G of carbs + 3 Aid station

Mile 90.5 - 100 = 274G of carbs , to finish line

Is this too carbs to be carrying on me during those miles? Should i depend more on the aid station, and fueling there rather than carrying it all on me? Those miles are also my drop bags.

any suggestion would greatly be appreciated! Thank you in advance!

Hi Folks,

Interested to hear how you train over the winter months. I live in an area where the trails are snow and ice covered from Dec to April (at least). Other than road running (when the roads are safe to run on) what is your goto training for the winter.

I'm thinking some combo of gym (stepper, bike, track, core/leg strength training).

Thoughts?

I currently have the Salomon Adv Skin 12. It's the gold standard, right? It fits everything, rides great without bouncing, seems durable as could be. There's just one big problem - why is it lined with the mesh equivalent of sandpaper? No matter how I adjust it, it rubs on my neck - if I don't tape, my neck will be bloody by the end of a 50+mi race. It also causes chafing on any exposed skin which can be a problem because I do a lot of warm weather running.

Is there anything out there that has the positives of the Adv Skin 12, but has a wider neck opening and a skin friendly lining? I'd prefer not to have to tape extensively every time I run with a vest. I'd love to find something that I could even run without a shirt on in the heat without having chafing issues.

Hey you running people out there. I'm looking for a new running vest. I'm new to ultra running and I learned from my last ultra race that I could need a new vest that allows me to pack more stuff. The old one is great for shorter distances but ... it also got old. Any suggestions for a vest that has a few more pockets, at least space for two 0.5 liter of ultraflasks and for a jacket to put away?

Many thanks for any advice

Hi, I've been running for 2 weeks and I've just ran my first half marathon in 2 hours 10 mins with average heart rate 125, but my legs seemed to not be able to keep up with my heart and lungs and caused lots of pain. Knees are hurting quite bad the day after. What training plan would you guys follow in order to build up to larger distances?

Running the Tunnel Hill 100 miler again this weekend. Not sure what to wear for the weather pattern. Mid 50s to start. Raining after about 5 hours in and getting progressively warmer until it hits the low to mid 60s over night. Raining the whole time. I was planning on running tights and a long sleeve shirt for the first 25, switch to a Merino wool base layer overnight. Now I am unsure. Every time I have run this race in the past, it's been mildly warm days and then a big temperature drop at night. Except for the year it was cold and snowed all day. Anyone run a race in these conditions overnight before. 60s and raining?

Might be a dumb question but does anyone know how to manually set a long run on a treadmill? When I do quick start it always times me out at an hour. I use a life fitness tread at my local gym

Hello everyone. I am looking for some advice on my first ultra, a 50k (500 m of elevation change). The race is in 10 days and unfortunately I have a dull pain in my left Soleus.

The pain came up in one of my last long runs 6 days ago (15 days out), a 30 k. I have only done a 10k since the injury and it made my Soleus a bit sore.

From here onwards , how should I strategize?

1. Not run at all and rest it out?
2. Do some cross training instead like stairmaster (doesn't give me pain)?
3. Stick to the original plan and keep running and endure the pain?
4. ???

Just for info, for the past 10 weeks I have been averaging around 50k/week. Original goal was to just finish the race, mostly running it. I have ran 2 Marathons and quite a few Halfs in the past.

Help please.

Hi

I ran my first 24h race 7 weeks ago on 21st September - ended up doing 160km with 2500m elevation gain. I'm struggling to understand what my body is going through and how much I can run at the moment...

28, male, 186cm and 78kg. I spent my first 2 weekends following the race getting drunk and vaping lots which I'm not happy about, also gained around 3kg in weight. Been completely healthy for the past 4 weeks though.

I've resumed running as my body felt completely fine after 2 weeks of complete break from exercise

Week 3 (Oct 7) - 8km Week 4 - 17km Week 5 - 42km Week 6 - 42km + 25km hike Week 7 (currently) - 50km?

Since week 5, I've also been doing 1h of strength training and 30 mins of stairmaster. Generally run around 3-4 times per week and this includes one interval session on track.

Since resuming running, my fitness has been poor..just for context before my race, I was running 25-30km comfortably at 4:50/km and staying around 145bpm (zone 2). Now I struggle to run 8km in under 42 mins and stay in zone 2. My estimated vo2 used to be 60, now its 54-56.

Should I back off my running? Reduce volime but keep the frequency? Or have a complete reset and no running for few weeks?

I have UTS 100M in May and my training starts in mid January. Was hoping to get some 50 mile weeks just before then.

My legs are ready to go but my aerobic system is completely shot at the moment.. Is this what fatigue feels like?

Just got a Subaru wilderness and picking my badges to put on the car. They have some running badges and when I saw these I got super excited!!! My husband says these are meant for mileage on the car but I feel like that can't be right, especially since they have a half marathon, marathon, and running badge. Right?

https://preview.redd.it/8si3hkosoizd1.png?width=636&format=png&auto=webp&s=b54e17af0d52773ca888c0dbc56d394b701b379c

Newbie here. Looking to get into ultra running! My experience, ran cross country and track back in high school, would say I was pretty decent at the 5k for cross country and 2 mile for track. Always knew I liked longer distance and that’s what I was best at. Haven’t ran much the past 3/4 years so pretty out of shape.

Anyway, I have a good pair of regular road training shoes but not sure what type of trail shoes to get into and also racing trail shoes.

Some tips and advice is greatly appreciated!

Does anyone have a rec for a training plan for those with busy schedules?

Ive run a couple marathons, but have always had a goal to do an ultra. I have a toddler and job who take up a lot of my time. Is there a plan that would be a good fit? Or should I just wait until my kid get older?

Thanks!

Edit: I already wake up at 4 or 5 am to get runs in. Not so much looking for tips on time management, but rather a specific plan since there are so many out there.

Hi all, between some personal events and general life events, I've been feeling extra stressed lately. According to Garmin watch, my stress levels are only mildly elevated, but my HRV has tanked recently - only other time it has done this is when I got COVID (6 weeks ago - so doubt I have COVID again). I am eating and sleeping OK and don't feel I'm getting sick. I am tapering currently after a decent peak - probably even tapering a little harder than ideal (could a hard taper be contributing to HRV tanking?). On recent runs I've felt OK overall, HR is a little high. Garmin training status says "strained" which I've never seen before even during COVID or during peak weeks.

I have a 50 miler Saturday, first time at this distance. Part of me thinks too much data could be a curse - if I didn't have HRV data I'd probably just think I'm tired and saddle up anyway. Part of me thinks - I keep hearing stories of how folks' HRV data picked up early on illness, crippling stress, etc, and maybe I shouldn't set myself up for a big blowup for my first time at this distance.

What do you think?

https://preview.redd.it/zn6bvxb2fbzd1.png?width=1765&format=png&auto=webp&s=40ec540be1026e40be5e7cf6497bf9fa02e02b60

Do you modify your training based on the specific features of the ultra you are participating in? If yes, what targeted training do you incorporate for the various features in your particular event?

Different areas for training include:

• Running on Relatively Flat Surfaces
• Uphill Running/Hiking
• Downhill Running
• Power Hiking

And nobody gets to vote on that!

hi all,

how do you manage to fit in your workouts and maintain a healthy and balanced relationship with your partner? I am struggling with my partner expressing a lot of frustration that I'm spending too much time exercising.

thanks for any input

Hey everyone,

Wondering if there are any of you out there running on this diet.

Any tips on what to eat while running?

Any other advice is appreciated.