Ultra Discussion Thread

What's the point in the triple jump can someone please tell me??

I can understand the long jump but the triple jump? two long strides and then a jump - wtf is that about?

why not just confine it to the long jump?

Wrong thread? I suppose we could call it an ultra long jump.

No worries, I was only messing.

It's not a significant step up from the Marathon. If you have the time on feet to handle a marathon then you should be able for a 1.5 x marathon. A marathon training plan should work fine for the Conn Ultra. You could lenghten and slow the long runs a bit to get slightly more specificity. No need for radical changes. It's still in the same ballpark.

Those are relatively long loops by the sound of it. Proximity to home helps for emergency resupllies if you have a willing helper for sure. But its also a trap to be avoided.

Some people take breaks deliberatly, sometimes planned, sometimes on the fly / ad-hoc. Some people try to minimise breaks. At the top level no-one plans to deliberately take breaks. Personally, experience has taught me that breaks should be avoided as much as possible in my own case (N=1).

If you think there is potnetial for it to be cold then make sure you have the gear to deal with that, and have used winter to practice dealing with. You'll be slower and more energy depleted in the latter stages of a 24 hour so don't rely on nomral running heat generation to keep you warm. It's good to plan to need extra.

Similarly with music. Some people use it, some don't. There is normally plenty of chatting during a 24 hour race. I got to chat to tons of people on my first one, and that was one of the more enjoyble aspects of the event. A garmin watch would be a very expensive solution to music supply. A sandisk clip is the best thing I've found (I've never used it in a 24 hour, having said that, only much longer events where I'm on my own for hours).

My sandisk takes a few formats, including MP3. I've no idea if it works with a Mac but I can't see any reason why it wouldn't.

Yup, that's one of my issues with breaks. Restarts are hard and get harder the longer you go.

So question for you experienced folks.

I am thinking of doing a fundraiser in my locality next year which would result in my running 100k in 24 hours. It wouldn't be continuous though, it would be across 39 venues (GAA pitches) and it's a 1.5m loop in each. So would involve driving between them all, not much recovery etc. My pace would be a 10min mile pace, all flat.

How would you approach training for something like this and what sort of training would you do?

For some background on me: I just did DCM there and have done 9 marathons in last 9 years. I do a bit of mountain running and I did the 4/4/48 challenge a few years ago too. I've never ran further than a marathon though

Any help really appreciated as to what I should build towards.

I did 2 of the 3 loops last year and have been down for couple of recces as well. The 130k race changes direction this year and does the loop the opposite way to the way I've done it. Its a class loop, very mixed terrain. Few runnable bits of road and some challenging technical sections. Termons Ridge is a boggy 5k ridge top section near Waterville town with many many stiles, practice your stiles and your cursing. Unreal views though (if the weather is good!) The section from Derrynane to Waterville is as good as you'll find anywhere in terms of scenery. Depending on the weather, Eagles Hill can be very challenging. A very slippy descent when wet but we were lucky. It's going to be a very tough climb the other way around and is approximately halfway around. The good news is there will a long gradual descent off it this direction so very runnable and make back time lost climbing.

As darrenheaphy said, its very doable in the time allowed. A buddy and myself went down late last year and fast hiked the majority of the loop and came in around 7 hours. The hardest part will leaving Waterville for loop 3 in the darkness. I hadn't mentally prepared for it and let foot problems get the better of me.

Its a lovely vibe down there for the whole weekend with the other events on. The RD seems very accessible and responsive. The race organisation itself is good. You'll even find lads like Kevin Leahy out manning the aid stations.

Happy to try and answer any questions you have. Can forward on the race email from last year if thats handy? Suggest a recce if you can make it happen. Will definitely help on the day.

It was epic. It's an amazing experience. Some year to be there. Totally lucked out!

Hi folks. I'm thinking of doing the 24hr race in Belfast this year, never done anything like it before. Closest is probably the 4/4/48 challenge 3 years ago. 

I'm training for Cork marathon on 4th June so hopeful that training will suffice. I'm planning on using it as a dry run of a charity event where I run 100k in 24 hours, planning 1.5 miles at various locations. For this I was planning to get up to maybe 45-50 miles in the 24hrs.

Few questions that some of ye might know:

Do you think it's achievable, based on marathon training?

My plan was 2 miles every hour at 10 min mile pace. Would stopping that much be recommended? 

Do people bring tents, chairs etc? 

What do people eat? 

Complete newbie to this world so any help be appreciated :)

It's a personal thing, mostly. Some races don't allow them though. One thing I would say is that for most people it's not about the distance so much as the total climb. I've done 6 day races on the flat without poles (at times I would have been happy to have them,but a pair of crutches would also have worked :) ).

For me they are at their most useful at slow running speeds. That usually means steep climbs, or most climbs of any steepness on longer race (longer in my case meaning 100 miles+, as a guidline). They can actually slow you down a bit if you're trying to go fast.

I use them for speed gains, not for "protection". Hence I usualy put them away on non-technical descents. I used to be anti-poles, but my first climb on the UTMB caused me to change my mind big time. It was clear and obvious that they have advantages.

Most IMRA ultras are (or were, as I get older) a little too fast for using poles to be benificial from my POV (MMU etc). If I was doing the Beara Way Ultra I'd probably bring them though.

Again though, unless banned, its all personal choice.

One last point. Most people I see don't use poles to their maximum effectiveness. There are techniques which can be learned.

Myself & a buddy are taking part in the Rennsteiglauf on Sat week, ~74k on a very well known (in Germany) walking trail. No goals in mind we just want to enjoy it & still be running at the end.

https://www.rennsteiglauf.de/

It's ridiculously priced this year, particularly for the shorter route.

In fairness to Ecotrail, they're a big international franchise with a lot of associated razzamatazz. It's a literally professionally run race. It's great that we have an event of that nature here in Ireland. But those styles of events do tend to cost more.

Having said that, we're also very lucky here in Ireland to have so many IMRA events. IMRA of course being the opposite, and is a volunteer-run organisation. Get your friends to do some of the IMRA events. 7 quid for the majority of races (And 10 euro for annual membership). Hard to beat for cost, especially given the standard of organisation. Even their longer events (There are quite a few ultras) are still relatively inexpensive.

For full disclosure, I'm on the IMRA committee (A voluntary role, of course), but I'd still be writing the same thing anyway either way. Also to note that some of the key professional organisers of the Ecotrail also volunteer their time to help with IMRA events. They give plenty back to the broad hill running community.