What is an Ultra? Anything beyond a marathon distance of 42k.
Got an event booked? Training is the most crucial part to succeed and do something well, although at a lot of these Ultra events just finishing is the main objective!
Our team of 24 pople from TFD booked ‘The Gower Peninsula’ 100k continuous Ultra to really push our limits and to see what we could achieve! (Hoping we all would cross that finish line). We started training in April, four months prior to taking on this epic challenge. Our first training walk was 20k then increased the distance over the weeks taking us up to our biggest distance of 50k. When it comes to training you need to be smart, not upping the distance too quickly and not over training, some weeks the distance might drop down just to give your body a break from walking these big distances.
When trying to decide what Ultra to take on we chose this one for the reason it looks stunning but also as it was quite a tough one, 2200m of elevation. Getting those hills in on training walks was a must! Climbing under fatigue and after walking long distances is going to help tackle those hills on race day! Back-to-back walking is great as it trains the body to keep going when tired and fatigued.
Training as a group was very enjoyable, chatting between each other and before you know it you have done another 5k. Anything to take your mind away from one foot in front of the other such as podcasts, chatting and music makes the world of difference.
Building endurance and stamina for walking hours and hours before tackling something like this is a must!
Organisation is key! Studying your route map, knowing where there are hydration stops, food, foot care available etc. Other things to think about are nutrition, hydration and clothing and gear. Get used to using electrolytes if you want to use them, during training walks rather than trying something new for the first time on race day. Your body will burn lots of calories so make sure you fuel yourself with food that will help you keep going.
A time-consuming training plan, endless hours of steps but the feeling when crossing that finish line is worth every second!
When will you be planning an Ultra?
Blog by Kim Sevier – Personal Trainer (KS Fitness)