Race Selection.
Choosing the “A” race that you’ll run during the upcoming season is always an important factor when deciding how to train. Will it be a hundred miler or a 50K? Will it be flat and fast or in the mountains? For creating the training plan, race selection will impact the date when training starts, elevation gain, weekly volume and long run distance.
Depending on the distance of the race the training plan will be set for 16, 20, or 24 weeks. This would be for the beginning of base training through race day. Of course the training plan can followed year round with off season training that will help to build strength and allow the body to recover from large volume weeks of running.
One thing that sets ULTRA running apart from most other types of running is elevation gain. While not all ULTRA races have have huge climbs, it is much more common to see 100 - 200 ft/mile elevation gains in ULTRAs than in your local 10K or road marathon. If your selected race is pancake flat in Florida, elevation gain will not be part of your training plan. If your race is in the San Juan Mountains, then you’ll be racking up some vertical gain in your training. Successful training plans have a focus on race specificity so that the runner has the best chance of succeeding in that race. A flatlander who only trains on railway trails may be very fit and able to crush it on flat fast courses, but will lack the climbing strength needed to hang with the billy goats on a mountain course.
The race distance will also determine, to a large extent, what your weekly volume and long run distance will be. In general, about 6-8 weeks prior to the race is when the “Big Weeks” occur. Big Weeks are what we call the 1-2 weeks that peak out at the highest volumes and have the longest training runs (also most elevation gain) before starting to increase the intensity a bit and decrease the volume. If, for example, you are running a 50K your Big Week might have 50 miles of total running with a long run of 16 miles. On the other hand, for a 100 miler your Big Week might have 70 miles of running with a long run of 24 miles.
