I’ve got four three-ring binders that sit on my bookshelf, each representing one year of high school cross country—the arena where my lifelong love for running was ignited. The fact that I have these memory-laden mementos is a testament to the good fortune of beginning my journey under the tutelage of enthusiastic coaches. To this day, I still flip through these occasionally for nostalgic inspiration.
Near the front of my 1988 freshman year binder is a printout titled “10 Commandments of Distance Running,” a piece that formed the framework around which our training was designed. I found it instructive to examine this list through the lens of 25 years of subsequent ultrarunning experience:
Mileage is the name of the game.
Depending on experience and fitness, a new ultrarunner will improve dramatically by simply increasing their “time on feet.” Aerobic volume is the foundational baseline of endurance and adaptation to mechanical loading. Eventually though, we’ll plateau and different training stimuli (speedwork) will need to be introduced to see further gains. The mileage sweet spot will vary greatly among individual athletes as well.
You must establish consistency in your training.
Let both the micro and macro cycles of your training look like a steady state run, not an interval session, when the days you put in the prescribed work are graphed. Measured daily doses as opposed to sporadic binges yield greater dividends over time. This includes refraining from fully disappearing in between the couch cushions just because it is your “off-season.”
Get enough rest.
Fundamentally, training programming is nothing more than attempting to perfectly balance the stress-to-rest ratio in order to yield the greatest fitness gains. The proper amount and type of training stimulus, balanced with other life stressors, breaks you down in manageable doses while the proper amount of rest builds you back up a bit more fit than before.
You must run your training distances at a faster pace as your conditioning gets better.
A better way to state this is: “If you run your easy days truly easy and your hard days truly hard, the pace you are running at a conversational effort will naturally get faster.” In other words, your baseline aerobic fitness will have increased. And if you never mix it up? Well, as the saying goes, “Long slow distance makes long slow runners.”
Don’t neglect the weights.
When the running-specific muscles become extremely fatigued in a long ultra you need overall strength or, durability, to lean on. Core strength and running specific strength exercises are preferable to standard “for the beach bod” fare. Program strength training to not compromise running, especially during peak volume or intensity phases.
Train through your minor injuries.
If we only ran when we felt perfect, we’d rarely run. This is highly nuanced though and requires gaining experience to really be dialed in to what your body is communicating to you via its various aches, pains, tweaks, and tightness. Avoid training through pain that is sharp, gets worse as you run, or forces a gait change. And it is worth remembering: a few days off that may not have been necessary is far more ideal than several weeks or months of forced downtime.
Prepare yourself psychologically.
This cannot be overstated, especially regarding longer ultras, for which you can only physically train so much relative to the race distance/duration. Know your “why” intimately in order to withstand those inevitable moments of weakness and questioning and have tiered goals to fall back on in case your dream goal slips out of reach.
Never alter your routine drastically.
The body and mind operate optimally on predictable patterns. This is especially true when it comes to training. Find a routine that works for you and make an effort to maintain it. When it comes to changing variables such as duration, intensity, and frequency, use the “10% Rule” – do not increase any stimulus by more than 10% within a 7-to-10-day training block. Ten may not be the magic number, and you may be able to handle 15 or 20, but the point is, it is not 50 or 75. Refrain from extreme changes.
Distance runners are not made overnight.
It takes time and patience, and compounded effort over the course of many years, to fully realize your potential. Embrace the process of becoming a runner over ephemeral outcomes and this lack of instant performance gratification will matter little. Think of it this way: even if you race ultras ridiculously frequently – say once a month – that still leaves 353 days per year where enjoying the process is all there is.
Use a training diary.
GPS watch and online metrics have gotten so excessive as to be detrimental, leading to counterproductive in-the-moment obsessiveness. This digital feedback should not preclude the value of training by feel (rate of perceived exertion) and learning to read the idiosyncratic signals your body is constantly sending. The primary benefit of keeping records, both of metrics and thoughts, is being able to look back periodically, recognize patterns and adjust accordingly.
George Sheehan, the inspirational doctor-runner-philosopher of the 1970s and 80s, once commented that, “We are all athletes. Some of us just aren’t in training.” I would add that we are all coaches as well, at least to ourselves. Whether what you are doing is architecturally sound is an entirely different matter.
If organizing all the building blocks feels intimidating or overwhelming, or you simply don’t have the bandwidth available in your life, consider seeking out a coach. With a little luck, you will develop a relationship with a mentor, as I did so many years ago, that sets you on a path of self-discovery leading not only to personal records, but personal growth.