In many ways, running a 100-mile race is a lot like taking the Q - you can't prep at the last minute and expect to succeed. Just as it takes years of schooling to acquire the breadth and depth of knowledge to get past the Q, running a 100 is something rarely even attempted by a newbie, much less completed (as with all things in life, there are exceptions).
There are two typical progressions. The most common is to first develop fitness as a road runner; perhaps even some serious marathoning. Then, usually in one's 30's or 40's when improvements in speed are hard to come by but endurance is still improving, there's some dabbling in longer distances often accompanied by a move to trails as the preferred surface. One doesn't have to hang with the ultra crowd for very long to understand that, while they are an accepting bunch, to really be in the club, you have to run a hundred. Actually doing so usually follows pretty soon after that or never happens at all.
The other entrance is from other sports that demand similar endurance such as 24-hour orienteering, adventure racing, and full length ironman triathlons, People from these backgrounds already get the mental discipline; they just need to get their bodies able to run for that long. People from these backgrounds are less likely to "work up" to the 100-mile distance. Often, the 100 is the first ultra-distance run they ever do (though, in fairness, adventure racers and 24-hour orienteers will often cover 60-80 miles on foot in the context of their events, so they've technically already done a bunch of ultras).
One could say I took both paths. I ran a lot as a kid. Not competitively; I just loved to run. I'm not talking about the usual running around playing games with other kids. I was running 40-50 miles a week in my early teens. I did a fair number of running races in my 20's, but my real competitive focus was on my cycling. At age 30, I ran my first marathon (which didn't go very well) and, at 33, ran another (which did). About a year after that, I started running mostly trails and became a charter member of the St. Louis Ultrarunners Group (SLUGs). While I enjoyed running with them and did do a few training runs over 26.2 miles, I didn't run my first official ultra until I was 42. It was a 12-hour event and I ran 100K. My first 100 mile race didn't come for another 5 years.
The reason for the relatively slow progression on the first path is that I was simultaneously taking the second. Along with the switch to trails, I was also getting involved in both adventure racing and 24-hour orienteering (I also dabbled in triathlons, but decided that addressing my incompetence in the water was going to be more work than it was worth). So, when I ran that first ultra, I had already run several events of 24 hours or more. The distance really wasn't intimidating at all. I didn't rush to be "in the club" because I really didn't care to be. The SLUGs liked me and I liked them. That was enough.
I'm not really sure what prompted me to run that first 100-miler. I guess I just felt it was time to do it. I made a few mistakes, but it basically went pretty well. I finished 6th in a field of around 200. My second 100 was a bit of a disaster, though you wouldn't know it from the finish position (10th). Just about everybody went to pieces that day as it was crazy hot. After that race I started thinking about how to really prepare for a hundred.
Here's what I've come up with, both from my own experiences and from talking to many top 100-milers:
- First and foremost, it's not a physical competition as much as a mental one. Everybody wants to stop at some point during a hundred. Some do, some simply slow to a crawl, some find a way to keep making good progress. Physical ability does not predict how people get sorted into those three groups. But the first group always loses and the second generally finishes well behind the third (even if they were well ahead at the time of crisis). Therefore, the most important preparation is developing an absolute steely resolve that you WILL NOT QUIT. Note that this is not at all the same thing as "getting tough". Getting tough is often counterproductive in an ultra. You need to realize when you need recovery and figure out how to get it. Trying to push through a bad patch only makes it that much worse. However, you must absolutely convince yourself that bad patches are nothing more than temporary conditions from which you will extricate yourself. You must never lose the hope that you will be running well again and seize the opportunity to do so as soon as it is presented.
- That said, it is still really hard physically. Therefore, the best physical preparation I have found is that which is used for the toughest race distance of them all: the marathon. Note that I said toughest "race distance", not distance. I can jog a marathon any day of the week. Racing one is the hardest thing I've ever done. I don't know anyone who's ever run a marathon well who says otherwise. Good marathon training is more than adequate physical prep for running a hundred. Again, there's more in that sentence than may be obvious. The Runner's World "You can run a marathon on 35 miles a week" program is not good marathon training. It may well get you to the finish line of a marathon, but you certainly won't run it well. And, it won't get you to the finish of a 100 at all. Good marathon training is at least 60 miles a week. Most serious marathoners are between 80 and 100. I seem to do best averaging just below 100 with a few weeks in the 110-120 mile range sprinkled in. Also, good marathon training includes a fair bit of "quality" work such as tempo runs and even some intervals. I use Daniel's approach which stipulates two structured workouts a week and the rest just gets filled in with base mileage as your schedule allows.
- Assuming that at least part of the distance will be on trail, it makes sense to get in a fair bit of trail running. I try to get on a technical trail at least once a week. That's been harder to do since going back to school. Fortunately, 20 years of trail running counts for a lot and my technique may be somewhat dulled, but it's still sound.
- Assuming that you're not one of the elites who finishes before sunset, you also need to practice running at night. It's not simply running with a flashlight. There are lots of little adjustments that need to be made. If you have to think about them, you'll fall, because your brain isn't very good at thinking during the last few hours of a hundred.
And, really, that's about it. It's not complicated. But, that doesn't make it easy.
So, where does that leave me for Mark Twain 100 next weekend? First point is no problem. I've done enough of these that I know what I'm getting into and I'm ready to deal with stuff as it comes. Second point is a lot more dicey. The last marathon I really trained for was Milwaukee a year ago. Prep for The Woodlands last spring was not terrible, but it wasn't great either. I've had plenty of long runs since then, including the Silver Rush 50 a couple months ago. The quality workouts have been rather sparse. If I was trying to win this one, I'd say I'm way underprepared. Since I'm just trying to finish it in under 24 hours (which will get me the pretty 2-tone belt buckle), I'm probably OK.
Last month featured a decent amount of technical trail and a few night runs. Again, not good enough for a full-on competitive effort, but probably adequate given the reduced goals.
Of course, if I do find myself in good competitive shape going into the late stages, I'll give it my best shot. I'm just not counting on that.
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