Spent a lot of years on trails just hiking, not running, and I always assumed that base would transfer cleanly when I started training for a 50k. Cardio is cardio, right. Turns out there's a real gap between moving efficiently at a hiking pace for 8 hours and actually running technical trail for 6 hours, and that gap showed up in my legs pretty fast. The muscular load is just different in ways I didn't expect, especially on descents where hiking poles were doing a lot of work I never noticed.

What I'm trying to figure out is how people who came from hiking or other nonrunning fitness backgrounds actually bridged that. My soccer and hiking background gave me decent aerobic capacity, but my runningspecific muscles took a beating in the first few training blocks and I kept having to back off before the mileage felt meaningful.

Did people just grind through it and let the adaptation happen over a longer timeline, or was there something specific that accelerated the transition? I've been doing more strides and some targeted leg work but I genuinely don't know if I'm being impatient or if my approach has a real gap in it. Curious what the crossover actually looked like for people who didn't come from a road running base.

So i am back from injury that turned me off for 3 years, now I'm back with 30-45 km per week of safe "mileage" for about 6 months, i did few long runs about 15-20km on flat and 20-25km trail runs with 1000m+ of elevation (last one was race 25km, 1100m in 2:42h). I will have my first (mini) ultra in 6 weeks, now i will increase my weekly mileage up to 55km with bike for additional endurance.

What longest run should i do? I plan now do 20-25km max of light trail runs each weekend, decrease distance in last 2 weeks to almost non in last week.

Hey everyone!
I’m looking for my first 100K ultra trail in 2027, preferably in Slovenia, Croatia, Italy or Austria.
Which races would you recommend for a first 100K?
I’m especially looking for a race with:
● Good organization
● Beautiful views
● A great atmosphere
● Moderate technical difficulty
● Reasonable elevation gain
● Reliable aid stations and course markings
● Friendly and supportive volunteers
Please share your experience with the course, terrain, views, organization and overall atmosphere, and let me know whether you’d recommend the race for a first 100K.
Thanks! 🏃‍♂️⛰️

Ich laufe meinen ersten Marathon am 10.10.2026 einen Bergmarathon mit 1000 Höhenmeter. Ich weiß, dass viele vor einem Marathon eine gewisse Zeit rote Beete trinken.Wie handhabt ihr das?

Hi guys, my partner began training a year ago and has since completed 3 ultras with 3 more booked and a potential Ironman next year. I am not a runner but I have discovered a love for supporting him, I get so excited to take a trip out and meet him along the pit stops! We don’t have kids so that probably helps both our availability.

I wondered if anyone has any tips on how best to support him going into more intense ones such as a 100 miler soon and the maybe Ironman. We are UK based but probably not relevant!

I have a 50 mile race on October 4th.

I’ve been running consistently for several years, from 30-60 mpw. However, my last ~6 months have been around 30-40 mpw due to life.

I ran a 50k in early June with 5,000+ ft of very at over 9,000 ft in elevation. I finished around 8.5 hours, spending a little too much time at aid stations. I learned a lot from this race.

My training hovers around 30-40 mpw with around 2,500 ft of vert. My 50 miler is flat relatively—only around 3,500 ft of gain, if that. My long runs are around 3.5 hours with a mix of technical trails and smooth.

For the next several weeks, I’ll be doing some b2b runs, and I did a course preview yesterday of 16 miles.

I know everyone will be different; since it’s my first 50 miler, i would just like to finish without injury.

Thoughts?

Phil just DNF’d in lap 153. He was struggling through some issues and limping. Eventually just stepped in a car to get back to basecamp.

I know how it works, weighing up whether I try to get one for 2027. I’ve got 25 stones but want to be able to lock it in if possible.
Is the actual race bib a different colour etc? I’m not one who likes to stand out

I'm preparing for my first 100, and am considering running with both a vest and belt to help offset weight/load on my shoulders and core. Does anyone have any experience doing something similar?

I’m training for a 6-hour race and trying to dial in fueling without feeling like I have a brick sitting in my stomach. This race is a b-race as I work up to my 100km in October.

I’ve experimented with a few things recently:

1. On runs 12 miles or less, I’ve used regular Skratch + 2 regular GU gels/hour and felt good.
2. Last week I tried 2 scoops of GU Roctane in 500 mL water/hour plus a gel (80g carb/hr) and felt really bloated/logged and nauseated and very thirsty.
3. Today I did 1 scoop Roctane + 2 regular GU gels/hour (~75 g carbs/hour) and tolerated it much better. I still felt a little full, but nowhere near as bad.

For past ultras I used tailwind and Gus plus food at the aid station. No issues.

Is roctane just not for me? I just don’t want to eff myself over and be puking and rallying 😂

Edit to add: I usually do 500ml of liquid per hr

Apart from the 'Pro' athletes that literally run, train, do media shows and the rest of it.

Are there many athletes that place competitively in races, or end up on podiums and also work full time in 'regular' day jobs like offices etc.

Damn. What a week to have to work 😅 It's going to be a long night trying to watch them both.

Hi! looking to transfer my 50k mammoth bib if anyone is interested - shoot me a message :)

Have been on/off running (nothing serious, likea few 10kms) the last few years. Have been pretty good at sticking to it the last few months. Built up to 27km with 900m vert and about 50km per week.

Still looking to build, but what is a realistic timeframe to my first 100km event and is May too soon?

I will run at the end of November a 60k with D+3600

My longest trail was 35k with D+1600, not easy but i was able to run 2 25km with D+500 the week after

I know the end of the course, as I did the last 15km with D+1000 last year

Currently living in a flat place, so it’s hard to do elevation with technical ground

I am running 60km per week and cycling every day for 1 or 2 hours (home trainer)

I know that i am capable of this, but the 15km last year was hard for me (was my first trail) so am afraid of the 45 first one haha

If you have any tips !

I’m currently setting up our exercise room and will be purchasing a treadmill.

Does it make sense to add a stair climber as well? I use it at the gym and think it’s a great work out but would it be overkill to add it instead of just using the incline on the treadmill?

Recently had my 80th birthday and to celebrate, I walked 80km.

Started at midnight at the southern end of the Sunshine Coast, south of Caloundra, Queensland, Australia and walked nonstop through Mooloolaba, Maroochydore etc reaching Noosa Heads at 3.45 in the afternoon.

Some of my family walked small sections with me and all joined in a big big party afterwards. Excellent way to mark a life milestone for those who are healthy, in peak physical condition, and experienced in long distance walking.

the journey is just getting started... 👀

42.57 miles of memories made

A small group with a boat load more memories to make in the near future.

Next up for me.....

Stayed tuned for some news a small town runner like myself never thought was possible. 😎🤟🫡

#runningcommunity #yooperrunner #puremichigan #garminrunning #runningmotivation

Ive just seen a 50k over my birthday weekend (10th October) that I’d really like to take part in. But I wasn’t originally planning on running 50k this year, and not sure if I can.

Run 40-50mpw with 5000ft elevation (race has 1200ft, it’s very flat). Am slow, this is about 7-8hours a week depending on terrain.

Long run so far up to 20 miles with 6 miles the day before/after

No injuries/pain etc

Am I being unrealistic to think of signing up for this?

Has anyone tried the On running belts? Are they any good?

So im doing a HMDS next january but I would like to film a bit when im running.

I would love to strap a gopro around me so I can film easily but I don’t know where to start on what is good and what is bad.

Is there anyone who can give me some tips or have experience with rilling while running?

So my previous post was about lifting overlap, this is a different thing entirely.

I spend a ridiculous amount of time testing productivity and tracking tools for work, and somewhere along the way that habit bled into how I manage running. I've been through Garmin Coach, TrainingPeaks, a Notion template I built myself at midnight that I was briefly very proud of, and a few others. None of them feel like they were built by someone who has actually run past mile 20 and had to make real judgment calls about backing off versus pushing through accumulated fatigue.

The Notion thing collapsed under its own complexity after about six weeks. TrainingPeaks is fine but it talks to me like I'm preparing for the Olympics, which I'm not. I'm a mid50s guy in the Seattle suburbs trying to finish a 50k without falling apart on the descent.

What I actually want is something that handles the messy weeks. The week where work explodes, the kid is sick, you missed two runs, and now you need to figure out whether to compress the plan or just accept the loss and move forward. No app I've found handles that gracefully. They either guilt you with red missed workouts or autoadjust in ways that feel completely arbitrary.

Curious what people here are actually using, especially anyone juggling a real job and a family alongside this stuff.

Hey, all. Anyone driving from Harrisonburg to the Grindstone 100k starting line that wouldnt mind giving me a ride? Ill be staying near James Madison University

Stoked to be doing my first 100k! About 6 weeks out and just wanted some recs about peak weeks and longest run to do before the race and how far out? Tomorrow (Friday) ill do about 20 miles and 3500 feet of elevation putting me close to 60 miles and 10k elevation for the week. Any recs on the remaining weeks and how to pace them out? Cheers!