Sooner or later every trailer will arrive at a point in which he asks himself whether he is able to make the jump to the next level. For those who have tackled and succesfully completed a number of medium distance races this question will entail the idea of making the leap to an Ultra Trail. Officially the term Ultra Trail is used for any distance above 42km, though it is more normally accepted that such races should at least be close to, or arrive at, 50km. For the purposes of this present article however we will consider Ultra Trail races as being from 80km upwards. The reasoning behind this is that the difference in training protocol for a trail race between 30 up to 60km is not significant, whereas above 80km there are very significant differences which we shall explore.
In our opinion there are 5 major protocols (skills) which cshould be utilised in order to prepare an Ultra Trail race – Long Run, Hill Sessions, Progressive and Interval Tempo, Descending and Mental Training.
Long Runs
Longer race distances clearly imply that the time required to complete the race will be longer. This does not however translate into a straight forward mathematical formula – double the distance does not necessarily mean double the time. In fact it can often signify up to two and a half times. For example an athlete who is able to complete a 40km trail run in 5 hours may well find that he will require 12 or 13 hours to complete an 80km race. In order to train the adaptive elements to be able to cover such distances it is very clear that the “Long Runs” must be altered accordingly and should be progressively lengthened to include runs of between 4 up to 8 or 10 hours. However there are many athletes who either for life costraints or purely for psychological reasons are not able to undertake such long training sessions. In this case we can suggest the use of the classic “back to back” sessions in which two runs will be carried out on subsequent days (Friday and Saturday, Saturday and Sunday) as close as possible to each other, for example Saturday afternoon/evening and Sunday morning, thereby allowing the organism less time possible to recover muscle damage or re-establish glycogen levels. The second run will be carried out on sore legs and depleted glycogen stores, similar to the conditions which will subsequently be experienced during the race. There is an amount of debate on whether there is any advantage to dividing the total training time equally between the two sessions, or making the first or second session longer than the other. This is often a question of personal preference however we would suggest that the first experiments with this kind of training are divided in such a way that the second session is shorter than the first in order to avoid the possibility of a classic “bonk” while still far from home or the car. Experience with the protocol can then be applied and experimented with. In any case common sense would dictate that a source of quick release emergency carbohydrate (for example a couple of gels or bars) should always be carried on long runs.
An alternative method to the “back to back run” is to conduct the first session in a different modality such as bike, trekking, cross country skiing or even in-line skating. The important thing is to ensure a certain degree of muscle fatigue and depletion of glycogen. It is also possible to limit the re-establishment of glycogen stores by limiting the amount of carbohydrates ingested between the two sessions (pasta, bread, rice, sugar, potato, fruit) and preferring meals composed of protein, fats and vegetables (low carbohydrate content).
Clearly it is neither desirable, nor in many cases feasible, to cover the entire distance of the race during a training session, due to the necessary extended recovery period in this important training period. Neither however should the long runs be too short to stimulate the necessary adaptations. In general terms the longest run (whether single or back to back) should extend to between 50 – 75% of the estimated total race time or distance.
There are a number of skills which can and should be practiced during long run sessions. Considering the number of prolonged ascents which will be encountered during an Ultra Trail, it is almost certain that the majority of these will be conducted in a walking modality rather than running. A rapid but efficient walking style will not only permit a faster ascent but also a lower output of energy. This should be practiced during the long runs.
The length of the race will also imply that at least a part of the course will be conducted in night time conditions. Therefore programming the long run to include at least part of the night will enable us to practice the ability of running at night which is not as straight forward as may be imagined due to the partial loss of the dimension of depth (this can be partially compensated by the use of 2 rather than one light source).
The mental approach to racing will no doubt be put to the test during long runs, and for this reason, and although running in company is in almost all cases more pleasurable, it will be useful to perform at least some of the long runs without company.
Clearly both nutrition and hydration can be experimented during long runs and they offer an excellent opportunity to understand what may work best, both in terms of quality and quantity.
Carrying out these sessions with exactly the same material (shoes, clothing, rucsac) that will be used in the race is an excellent strategy, as is carrying a rucsac containing the obligatory race equipment.
Due to the highly stressful effect of long run sessions it is advisable not to carry them out more than once every 10 – 15 days, and allowing a period of at least two days of easy training sessions or rest in the following days. Other medium to long run sessions between each back to back should be carried out within an easy aerobic heart zone so as not to create excessive organic stress.
An alternative to long runs is the possibility of competing in shorter distance races. For example with the aim of participating in a 100km race it would be possible to plan for a series of progresiveley longer races such as a 30km, a 50km and a 70km. Clearly these races should be programmed at suitable distances from each other, and from the 100km event, so as to allow suitable post and pre recovery (tapering). For races of this distance the recovery period should last between 7 – 10 days with a gradual return to full training protocol, while the tapering period should be between 7 -15 days in which training volume, but not intensity, is reduced.
A similar progression can stimulate the muscular and neurological adaptations, assist in understanding which running skills need to be emphasised in training and allow experimentation with nutrition and hydration. The positive psychological effect of succesfully completing these progressively longer distances can also play an important part when affronting an even longer distance. On the other hand there is a potentially demotivating effect, in the case that the shorter event is not succesfully completed, and therefore it may be advisable to approach these races with a more conservative pacing strategy.