Introduction
I am no expert in any subject I talk about here. These are my personal views and may or may not work for you.
When people find out I like to run Ultra Marathons I have a standard set of questions asked of me. Here’s a few...
Q. What qualifies as an Ultra?
A. Anything over the standard marathon distance of 26.2 miles (42 kilometres).
You could say that your pre-marathon warm up plus your actual race could qualify you for having completed an Ultra distance, but normally they start at the 30 miles (50 kilometres) distance. There is no limit to the distance.
Q. Do you think I could run an Ultra?
A. If people put the training in, they can complete an Ultra.
Like me, you may be in a bit of a bedraggled state at the end. You may even find talking difficult, but yes, anyone can complete one. To be one. The better the cuts off, the easier it will be.
Q. How do you train for an Ultra?
A. The most common distances start at 30 miles (50km) up to 50 miles, for these distances you can easily follow a standard marathon training plan. The only difference between the normal marathon training plan and the adjusted one is to include a few back-to-back runs. I normally do these on the weekend an example 15 miles on a Saturday and then 10 miles on the Sunday this allows you to get some big miles into your legs without affecting your normal social life and also allows you to experience the joy of running on legs that don’t feel like yours on Sunday.
Another tip is to train on the terrain the ultra will cover. Even one run a week will makes a difference.
Q. What equipment do I need for running an Ultra Marathon?
A. Each race director will stipulate the mandatory equipment in the race description. The harsher the ennvironment, the more kit you'll need.
Basically, the equipment you’re normally need is:
- Trail shoes (most of the events are off-road).
- The ability to carry a minimum of one litre of water.
- Full waterproof coverings (Jacket and trousers with taped seams)
- First aid kit
- Head torch and spare batteries
- Hat and gloves
- Food to keep you going between feeding stations
- Something to carry it all in.
Q. Is ultra running an expensive sport to get into?
A. Like every sport, there is expensive kit and not so expensive kit. I have found most of the ‘not so expensive kit’ is more than adequate to provide what you need when starting out. If you get into the sport, then it’s easy to swap out pieces of kit for more expensive ones.
Most factors that affect the price of equipment are weight or something that has a special feature.
The environment you run in (wet and muddy), plus the fact you’re normally using the kit for lengthy periods of time e.g. 5 hour outing, may wear the kit out quicker than normal so cheaper can sometimes be better.
Q. What food do you eat?
A. Anything I can get my hands on.
I'm always trying new foods on my training runs. I try to keep to whole foods as this is the type of food you'll find at any of the events feed stations.
There are, on occassiosn, when I'll take a supplement type of food as my main intake i.e. Tailwind or Mountain Fuel, and just have a graze at the feed stations.