I’m doing an ultramarathon!

fufu_banterwaite

I’m doing my first ever ultramarathon in July – 52 miles of running. Anyone else here ever done one?

Lizling

Wow, straight from marathon to twice the distance! You don't do things by halves, do you?! Will you do a 50k race first as practice?

Anyway, nope, never done an ultra. The closest I intend to come is 6 or so laps of 10k at the Thunder Run, but I'll get rests in between each one so not the same thing at all.

flissh

fufu_banterwaite wrote: »

I’m doing my first ever ultramarathon in July – 52 miles of running. Anyone else here ever done one?

Phew, I'm knackered just thinking about it.

Good luck:T:T

fufu_banterwaite

Lizling wrote: »

Wow, straight from marathon to twice the distance! You don't do things by halves, do you?! Will you do a 50k race first as practice?

Anyway, nope, never done an ultra. The closest I intend to come is 6 or so laps of 10k at the Thunder Run, but I'll get rests in between each one so not the same thing at all.

Straight from marathon? Not quite, I’ve never done a marathon! I’ve done a few half-marathons and that is it.

No I won’t do a 50k race as practice, the sadist in me likes the idea of going straight from half-marathon to the equivalent of a double marathon with nothing in between!

I am actually enjoying training for it though. I do my longer, slower runs at the weekend and on Saturday I went for a lovely 20mile run along the Medway. The good thing is, as I am going so slowly I can really enjoy the scenery and don’t get tired out. When I’ve trained for half-marathons, it has all been about speed and isn’t as enjoyable.

heartbreak_star

Good luck Fufu

HBS x

fufu_banterwaite

Thank you

belfastgirl23

DBIL did 100km a few years ago. It wasn't organised, he just decided to do it, so we all pitched in for water stops and food etc. He thought it was more important to build up over time, so he ran long runs two or three times a week. So it was more about making sure that his base fitness was as strong as it could be. I can ask him for more details if you like but good luck!

Lizling

fufu_banterwaite wrote: »

Straight from marathon? Not quite, I’ve never done a marathon! I’ve done a few half-marathons and that is it.

Oops! Sorry about my wrong assumption. You’re even braver/madder than I thought then Even a marathon is a whole different ballgame from a half because of The Wall. This is why I have no intention of doing an ultra! Still, if you can do 20 miles in training, you can already do 26.2 in a race.

If it helps at all, I know of a guy who 'accidentally' ran an ultra having never run further than a half. He was meant to be providing support and company for an ultra runner in the race and after his leg was up, he kept on running!

I think you'll enjoy it. From what I hear, ultra runners are all about just being out running and are rarely that bothered about times or even taking walking breaks.

fufu_banterwaite

Haha! It is quite ok, I can understand why you would make that assumption! I am really looking forward to it and quite confident of finishing in a decent time.

globetraveller

OH has done quite a few ultras and even won one. You obviously need to build up to these and should do a 20 mile run every week. He has actually dropped out of an ultra this month as he was unable to do the training for it as he is in the middle of the north sea and has been working too much overtime.
Training has to be a weekly commitment. he built up to this over several years- half marathons, marathons galore and then ultras.
Ultras are different to the others in that you mostly are not looking at a time( but I know OH was!) - you just need to finish and need an iron will. the ones he has done- a huge amount never complete them.
OH never has any toe nails by the way!

fufu_banterwaite

I’ve been doing 26 mile runs every Saturday for the past few weeks, followed up by 10 to 12 mile runs the next day, plus a 12 mile run midweek and a couple of other shorter (4 to 8 mile run midweek). This Saturday and the following Saturday I have 30 mile runs planned in, with the one a week on Saturday (21st June) being my last long run before I start to taper down for the ultra.

Maybe I’ve done it the hard way as I’ve built up to it over about 5 months! I’ve done about five half marathons and no marathons!

Mentally I am quite tough and determined so I am sure I will finish, but I do have to say it has put me off running – I cannot wait for it to be all over! Then I think I will move back down to half-marathons!