I can recall the day when a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to run a leg on this team he put together for an ultra. At the time I was working HRFD and thought, sure, how hard can it be? I had never run an ultra before and had no idea what to expect. It was the inaugural Black Spur Ultra 2015, and I was to run leg 1 called the Goat and it was accurately named! While it is 16.1km, it has an elevation gain/loss of 886m (2,906 feet), it was a humbling experience and I could barely walk for a week after the race. I was hooked! I have been running various ultra races for 10 years now and have to say the 54km distance is my favorite!

What is an Ultra?

The ultra is any distance longer than the full marathon distance of 42km/26.2mi, because this distance wasn’t challenging enough, right?! The common distances you will find in ultras are the 50km, 50mi, 100km, 100mi, and here in Alberta Canada we have a 200mi race distance. Many of the events will have team entries that allow you to assign legs to runners on the team. For example, the first race I ran was 108km with six legs adding up to 108km distance and I was one runner on a team of six. Ultra’s are not just trail races like my first experience, they can be on a variety of surfaces or terrain and are often called ultramarathons.

What to Expect on Race Day

Do not underestimate the ultra, it will be hard both physically and mentally. The race will have cut off times on each leg and is for your safety, know the cut off times. A lot of races will have a forced start for teams, meaning that if your runner is not in by the cut off they will start the next runner regardless at that time. There will be walking and/or power hiking, not many runners out there can run the entire course and that’s ok! Another mistake (I made it my first time) is not pacing myself and struggling to finish. This is an endurance event, pace yourself accordingly, for example, you may have 12hrs to finish a 54km distance or 24hrs to finish a 108km course. All this information will be on the events website so be sure to know before you go. When asked as a coach what distance to pick my suggestion has been to enter a team and run a leg the first time out. Once you’re hooked like I was, do that for a few years running different legs. Then once you have run all the legs and know what to expect on the course, do the full course. You can also expect at many of the races there will be a kids race, make it a family weekend, my kids have been running these for years now and love it!

How to Train for Your First Ultra

The key takeaway here is actually training, don’t do what I did and think your current fitness and what you are doing now will be good enough. Yes I survived the race however I always tell my athletes the goal is to finish a race and say, that was awesome or I crushed it! I would recommend somewhere around 22 weeks to prepare for the race or event, the more preparation you have, the better prepared you will be. If you are going to get a coach, get one that has experience or knowledge of ultra running. If you choose to self coach, be sure it’s an ultra plan, 80/20 Endurance has some excellent training plans for ultras, or have a coach write a specific plan for you. Be sure to include strength and mobility into your training, you will need a strong core running the trials. Nutrition and hydration are often overlooked during training, again, don’t do what I did and just wing it. Find out what they will be offering at the aid stations and practice using it on your long runs to make sure it agrees with you, nothing worse than finding out your GI doesn’t like what you just put in and you’re hanging over a log off the trail. Practice this as often as you can during your training, trust me on this one!

What Gear Do You Need?

This is really personal preference however there are some basics to consider: 

• A running vest with a water bladder that fits the vest (I use this for water only)
• Handheld water bottles (I use these for my electrolytes that fit in the vest pockets)
• Terrain-specific footwear
• Trail running poles (personal preference, if you choose to use them, train with them) 
• Headlamp(s) (for running at night) 

There is a lot of gear out there however I do suggest you check the race/event website as they will have mandatory and/or suggested gear that you are required to have, many races do gear checks if they have mandatory gear on the trail. Often one of the required pieces of gear is bear spray, if you have never used bear spray before, please learn how to use it.

Is an Ultra Right for You?

If you are looking for a challenge then the ultra is definitely worth a try. Training and preparing for the ultra will take some hard work, most goals do no matter the distance. If the goal is an ultra trail, you will be afforded some amazing views so be sure to stop while you are out there and take some pictures. For me there is something about being out on the trail challenging myself and being in some amazing nature. The ultra world is a fun and amazing running community and sure to forge some lifetime friendships out there.
Coach JW