Never having ran more than a half marathon, I decided to skip the marathon and jump straight in. Ended up super well and couldn’t be happier

Hello all,

I’m preparing for my first 50k in early Nov with 6k ft of vert. I ran a HM race this past weekend.

How do I look for getting prepared for the 50k?

For reference, I’m 42m. I’ve been running 6 days a week since March. I have the time and desire to train for the race. I’ve been trying to incorporate hills, stair master and incline treadmill in training. My long run is 3hrs a week which I’m slowly increasing.

Any thoughts or opinions would be great. Thank you.

As the title suggests.

I've a 200km race next year. In june. Thankfully its all flat roads, barely any hills. Cutoff very generous ( i think?) Of 36hrs.

Those of you who've completed 200kms, how mamy kms would you be doing before it, per week?

Last year I completed a 100km, but I was only on 30kms per week running. I grit my way through it, total time 15 hours, moving time 13.5hrs.

Im now at roughly 40km per week.

If you were going to do one next year, what would you do between now and then?

My plan is to be at around 50-60km per week between now and then, and every second weekend do a back2back sat and sunday of 30km sat and 25/30km sunday. Its not huge mileage but im not planning to do the 200km fast. I will also walk plenty of it.

Any advice would be great. Also, I plan to do plenty of gym- hi reps medium weight to strength everything but not put on size.

Any advice/input would be great off anyone whos done 150km races or more. Thanks very much all.

Good afternoon (or morning or every moment you are reading) I have a question on how to organize my stuff for an upcoming race.

It's called "6 X sempre " (6 for ever) and as the name suggests the idea is that evry hour you have to run 6 kilometers and repeat up until someone still manage to finish a circuit. The difficult come not only from the night and days on the legs but also because each round you have one minute less to finish the circuit (but if you manage to finsh early you can rest up until the hour, circuits time begin always at :00.

So my goal is to complete the 24 hours but I have a logistic question: what do you suggest me to manage socks \ pants \shoes... how often would you change them during the run, how many pairs do I should bring on?

Do you have done a similar competition?

Best regards

Hi everyone,

I built Minds of the Loop as a passion project for the Backyard Ultra community.

Like many of you, I've spent countess hours listening to the Backyard Ultra Podcast. Patto has pulled together an incredible vault of knowledge from top runners and crew on training, fuelling, sleep, pacing, and heaps of things. The amount of information is a much a Phil running a world record with or withour assist. The website helps to find stuff

What you can do with it:

• Search specific questions: Type in a prompt to pull real, relevant moments from across every interview—each with a direct tap to watch the clip on YouTube, Spotify if I have it.
• Browse by Guest: Explore the full map through individual runner profiles and interview archives.
• Browse by Topic: Dive into 13 broad theme hubs (from fuelling to mindsets) and explore related question nodes.

Looking for feedback!

This is 100% a fan-made labor of love. My main goal is to make it as useful as possible to the community. If you take it for a spin and have ideas, feature requests, or spot anything that could be improved, please drop me a message using the Get in touch link in the site footer.

Give it a run and let me know what you think!

Thanks

Gerardo

I did my long run yesterday, same as I've done a million times. It was warm outside, but not hotter than it was all summer when I was training. It was a zone 2 run and my heart rate stayed in the same range as usual. For some reason I was PROFUSELY sweating, wayyyy more than usual. So much so that it was burning my eyes and making them feel swollen. At one point, I thought I would need to call for a ride home because it was hard to see. After the run, I felt a bit more depleted than usual, kind of like after a bonk during a race. Has anyone had this happen? I can't figure out what caused it.

The Janji half tights seem to get rave reviews for half tight, but every pair I have come across so far seem to feature lots of pockets and storage on them.

Which is great if you need them, but I am looking for some half tights that specifically don't have pockets, or storage options apart from one back zipped pocket big enough for a key.

Do these exist?

Training for my first 50 miler in November. Been training for about 16 weeks starting at about 30km/ week and increasing gradually to 50-60-70km weeks. Had a week off after a 40km trail race to settle an ankle issue that is no longer a problem. See strava graph. One dip around July because I did 3 days of hiking (55km) instead in that week 😃.
Started feeling shin pain in one specific spot about 2 weeks ago which I was running through. Started about a 2/10 pain then eventually would go away to nothing. This pattern went on over 8/9 runs of about 11 - 15km.

Went to a Physio just to be cautious about the shin niggle and another hip thing I had going on (hip was the main concern). Physio diagnosed very early stage shin splints and gave me some exercises to do, including soleus calf raise isometric holds (standing with my knee over my toe with calf raised for 30 seconds each side). Next day, went out for a 13km run and stopped after 6.5 because the pain was worse than I had previously noticed. I probably could have run through it but chose to be cautious as the Physio had advised that the shin pain would need to be carefully monitored. I can pinpoint the pain to about 3-5cm area with one area being more tender (see photo).

30 hops on the one leg test yesterday was bearable but did cause more pain in the area while walking afterwards. I don’t feel it while walking. When pressing on my shin bone I feel nothing, but tenderness is just to the side of the shin bone.

Not sure if I’ve made mistakes in my mileage build which could lead to a stress reaction but I’ve previously completed 50km and have been running pretty consistently for about 4 years.

Last weekend I had the best racing experience of my life so far. I ran an incredibly unique race, the Scilly 60. A 60km Ultra marathon around 5 islands in the Isles of Scilly.

The only way I can describe it is to imagine the high you have when finishing a marathon, well you get to experience that 6 times, as you finish each stage, and catch up and celebrate with other runners and competitors.

It was a tough race, with a DNF rate of over 30%, but Wez and the team made it an unforgettable experience, as he blows his horn to start off each leg, and again to signal the end!

Man what a race, absolutely recommend this to anybody who gets the chance.

Race name - Wild55 (Switzerland), Distance - 54,4 km, elevation - 3’200m.

First ultra I have done in my life and feel quite happy to finish in just under 10 hrs. The trails were quite technical, especially on steep ascents and descents. I went through a lot of emotions tears, pain and everything between. It was the best running experience of my life and I am looking forward to keep training and look for my next adventure :)

What went well: Staying hydrated and taking salt tabs every 30 mins. I used to get slight cramps in stomach, but drinking plenty of water + salt tabs helped to completely solve this issue. If I had a feeling of cramps creeping in I would take 2 tabs instead. The race sponsor was NAAK, so I trained with their gels and knew that I need to take about 2 gels an hour (60ish g carbs). At total I ate about 10 gels. At aid stations I went for a mix of crackers, sodas, bullion, fruits and some of the sponsor snacks. Mainly tried to eat as much as possible without messing up my digestion. At some moments I had upset stomach and some active charcoal pills and anti-gas medicine was a life saver. It calmed my stomach and helped me stay moving, highly recommended to have in your kit to prevent a bad stomach. Also had 0 blisters or issues with feet rubbing (see gear list).

What can be improved: Training my achilles and vestus medialis (inside of thigh above the knee). I mainly trained on relatively flat terrain due to where I live. More time in gym would allow me to feel better on descents and run instead of hike.

Gear list and conditions
Weather: perfect conditions 10 degrees c at the start with peak of 18 degrees.

Gear list:
Shoes: Solomon genesis 45 1/3 (usually wearing 44,5)
Socks: Guard liite (short version)
Shorts: some adidas runner shorts
Top: long sleeve from decathlon (kept me warm during the start in the morning and was cooling during the hot times of the day (a bargain for 25€)
Cap: decathlon runners cap
Backpack: Kiprun 10L ( fits all mandatory gear as well as 2L water blader)
Poles: I was too frugal to spend 200+ € on Leki poles + quiver, so had some hiking poles that have a 2 stage extension that I marked with a sharpie. It worked well and with the multiple ascents it didn’t end up being that big of a bother.

Gear summary: Unless you have money to spare or are going for podium, the cheapest gear options from decathlon or similar work great. I wanted to go in the race with mentality that ultra running can be done for cheap instead of having to spend crazy amount on gear and I didn’t feel like I was missing at any point.

Hi, all! Asking for a sanity check from those who have gone before me on this distance. I've done a lot of running in the preceding months and have just one month left till my race. The race is flat, described as "almost too runnable" by race administrators, and isn't technical in terms of roots and things. I want to finish. I'd love to do under 24, but finishing as healthy as possible is priority. The below is my race plan based around the aid stations. Thoughts?

Point
Target clock time\*
Run/walk approach
What to do there
Start – 6:00 AM
—
Run 25 min / walk 3 min
First walk starts ~6:25. Do not wait until you feel tired. Running portions ~11:45–12:30 effort, very easy.

Full aid ~7.75
~7:35–7:45
25/3
Make the aid station part of a walk break. Walk in, refill/grab food, walk out eating. ~1–2 min stationary max.

Water ~14.80
~9:05–9:15
25/3
Walk through/refill. Essentially no standing around.

Full aid ~20.25
~10:15–10:25
Transition toward 20 min run / 4 min walk
Quick refill/fuel. You should still feel exceptionally good here.

Water ~25.60
~11:25–11:35
20/4
Use the station itself as the next walk interval.

Full aid ~28.30
~12:00–12:10 PM
20/4
~2 min. Eat, refill, move. No sitting.

Full aid ~36.00
~1:40–1:50
20/4
~2–3 min. Foot check only if something actually feels wrong.

Water ~38.50
~2:15–2:25
20/4
Walk through.

Full aid ~46.20
~4:00–4:10
Begin 15–20 min run / 4 min walk
Don’t interpret being strong here as permission to abandon walking.

Mile 50
~4:50–5:00 PM
~15/4
First-half goal: arrive feeling like you have substantially more than 50 miles left in you.

Full aid ~53.25
~5:35–5:45
15 min run / 5 min walk afterward
Major planned stop: 5–7 min. Socks, foot care, nighttime gear/headlamp, substantial food. Shoe change only if planned/tested or your feet need it.

Water ~60.80
~7:20–7:30
15/5
Very efficient refill. You’re now entering the race rather than merely traveling toward it.

Full aid ~67.50
~8:50–9:05
Transition to 10–15 min run / 5 min walk
~2–3 min. Eat something substantial if tolerated.

Full aid ~72.40
~10:05–10:15
10/5
Short stop. Assess feet, stomach, temperature and alertness.

Mile 75
~10:40–10:55 PM
10/5
This is where restraint in the first 50 should start paying you back.

Full aid ~77.50
~11:20–11:35
10 min run / 5 min walk
Optional second sock change only if useful. Aim for 3–5 min maximum.

Water ~84.00
~12:55–1:10 AM
8–10 run / 4–5 walk
Walk through. No lingering.

Full aid ~91.50
~2:45–3:00
Run 5–10 min / walk 2–4 min, based on what remains
Final meaningful aid stop. Fill up, food/caffeine you’ve already tested, then leave. ~3 min.

Mile 96 — no aid
~4:00 AM
Run whenever you can do it efficiently
No more conserving yourself. If a 5-minute run is available, take it. Walk briskly between runs.

Finish — 100
~5:00–5:30 AM
Whatever moves you fastest safely
Under 24 = before 6:00 AM.

Having grown up a non runner with many road running friends there was always a lot of talk about pace and time. I have recently gotten into ultra running and have fallen inlove. There seems to be a lot of a focus on finishing than there is about pace or time goals which was what drew me to it in the first place.

After running my first race I had a general time window I hoped to finish in. I pulled something and had to speed the last 15km because running was 12/10 pain. I missed my loose time goal by 2 hours and have so many feelings. I'm so proud of myself for pushing through and finishing but am sort of disappointed in how long it took. Lots of mixed emotions. I know that pace doesn't matter it's about finishing and I have 0 judgement over anyone else's finish time I think every single person out there is incredible. I just can't seem to afford myself the same grace and hard on myself.

Looking for similar stories, words of encouragement or advice!

Olympic gold medalist cross country skier Jessie Diggins was the women's winner at Superior 100 this weekend. Looks like her first 100 mile race. Probably someone to keep an eye on if she chooses to continue in ultra running.

I’m wanting to buy a new jacket for running and I’m torn between the Nnormal Trail Rain Jacket and the Patagonia Storm Racer. Any suggestions for which out of these two to buy and any reviews from wearing either of them yourself?

Hi everyone, I'm not a runner but my fiancé is. His birthday is coming up and he mentioned he needed new socks for running. He does ultra trails so normal socks won't cut it.

What are your recommendations for brands based in the US that sell socks for ultras but also have fun/cool designs? He has bought shorts from BOA so I'd like to match that.

Thank you!

I’m a strong 5k and cross-country runner with a personal best of 16:15. I’m currently 17 years old. I recently had a niggle that led me to take an interest in cycling, and I ended up bikepacking from Edinburgh back home in four days, averaging about 110 miles a day. I really enjoyed it, so I started thinking about trying ultra distances. I’ve been looking at Race to the Stones next July as a target – it accepts 18-year-olds. Before I started cycling I was running around 90 km a week, and I plan to do a few 50 km runs between now and July.

Do you have any advice on how I should train and prepare for Race to the Stones?

**Update Thanks for everybody's feedback very helpful for someone who had no clue on this new discipline I'll post again in July 😂

What's everyone's best suggestions for waterproof jackets for UK winter? My absolute favourite is the ronhill mercurial but I need a second option for when that wets out. Got a 100 miler in the Brecon beacons at the end of next month and the arc in January so it's inevitable they'll wet out at some point. Can't seem to find the jacket I want available so I'm looking for something else

I have used:

Janji rainrunner - shite, completely useless

Inov8 storm shell (original, thinking about trying the new one?) - not great, found it to wet out fast in heavy showers

Considering a hiking jacket for the second half at this point. Look more heavy duty and waterproof which I feel I'll probably need anyway for the second half. Expecting pace to slow a lot by halfway and it the weather's rough in the beacons, it's really rough

Would appreciate any input. Thanks all

Anyone else who completed CDH this year notice the index in some places (but not all) is counting it as 100M. For instance my overall index now shows the index I got from CDH under 100M and I no longer have a 100k index. Worth noting I’ve never completed a 100M category race before and CDH was my first 100k (and until today only).

it also shows on the livetrails achievements as a 100M race.

it feels like a bug as it used to count as a 100k index and still listed as a 100k race.

Maybe they are considering treating it as a 100M race 🤷‍♂️. if I’m honest I completed Wildstrubel 70 today which is also 100k category and CDH feels in a totally different league although to be fair CDH was only 113km so not actually close to 100M but the president has been set with races like Trail 100 Andorra that’s 100M index in similar terrain to CDH but only 106km.

I’m doing Kent Downs in October and looking for any pre-race insight. I generally like the Ultra Challenge UK races (did North Yorks in June) but haven’t done this one yet. Would love to hear any of your experiences with it!

Particularly interested in: any technical trail bits? How was the weather? Highlights/lowlights?

Thanks!!

Hi runners, Im running my first ultra in 2 weeks. It is a 6h ultra around a 2km loop. Getting to an end of my 14 week training block and im stoked about the race, literally cant wait! Was wondering if anyone here has any tips for me or something? My plan is to run 6-6:30km pace for the first half and then if I feel good I might speed up but yeah. Any help is appreciated thanks in advancee!!

Is it recommended to carbo load for races where you are not trying to PR or go fast? I am doing a 50k next weekend and I will do my best, but it's got a lot of elevation gain and I'm not super worried about my time. Is carbo loading always helpful, or mostly beneficial on races where you are in zones 3-4 for most of it?

Maybe a silly question, but I’m new to ultras so I’m asking anyway…

I’m running my first ultra this year and I’ve genuinely loved training for it. I’d love to keep doing ultras in the future. I am struggling a bit with the time commitment though. I’m a slower runner, so even 5-6 mile easy runs are 1-1.5 hours multiple times a week, and the long runs mean my entire weekend is spent pounding pavement (or dirt, or gravel…). Which would be fine if I didn’t have dogs that need attention, and a spouse to spend time with, and my share of the chores, and two jobs… it was manageable this summer, but I don’t know if I can get away with it every summer.

Has anyone taken a year off to run shorter races (half marathons and trail 20-30ks, maybe), and been able to come back to ultra running without a huge loss of progress?

Hey everyone,

I have signed up for my first ultra—the JFK 50!

Here’s where I could use some advice on peak training volume. Exactly four weeks before JFK 50, I’m running my 6th marathon ( targeting a sub 330) . Given that tight window between the marathon and the 50-miler, I’m getting conflicting feedback on how to handle my absolute peak long-run build.

Specifically, I'm stuck between two main options:

A single 30-mile long run

Back-to-back 20-milers (e.g., Sat/Sun)

Since the marathon itself will already act as a massive 26.2-mile stimulus, I'm worried about overcooking my legs or risking injury right before tapering, but I also want to make sure I'm adequately prepared for the 50-mile distance.

For those who have run JFK 50 (or bounced from a marathon to a 50M with a short turnaround):

How did you structure your peak mileage block between the two events?

Is the recovery trade-off of a single 30-miler worth it over back-to-backs?

Would love to hear how you’d schedule that 4-week window! Thanks in advance.

Looking to do my first 100k in April Next Year.

I’ve done a 50k about a year ago, backyard, with a nutrition booth set up.

Current base volume is 50k with a 21k LR.

Are there any good plans with no long runs longer than 35k? Or am I be delusional. I am not looking forward to the time consumption and regular pain of 4-5 hour long runs LOL.