Ultramarathon training plans for 100 miles, 100 Km, 50 miles and 50Km

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Below are some selected ultramarathon training plans for various ultramarathon distances. I have not used any of these plans, but I have selected them on the basis of having a reasonable level of detail and some credibility.

Plan Distance Max Long Run Back To Back Peak Weekly Length (weeks) Days/Week Speedwork Time/Distance Level Of Detail Notes
Relentless Forward Progress 100 miles on 50 MPW 100 Miles 50 miles 24+14 miles 58 miles 24 5 Yes Distance Complete book See Below
Relentless Forward Progress 100 miles on 70 MPW 100 Miles 50 miles 24+20 miles 70 miles 24 5 Yes Distance Complete book See Below
Ultraladies 100 Mile Plan 100 Miles 30 miles 30+20 miles 75 miles 26 5 No Distance Detailed plan giving daily runs No details on paces for training runs, just distance
Umstead 100 Mile Plan 100 Miles 35-40 miles No 60-70 miles 5 + 1 day speed walking Suggested N/A Rough guide to each day of the week, but no weekly or daily details Written for the Umstead 100, but some useful advice for other races.
eRunningGuide.com 100 Mile Plan 100 Mile 30 miles 25 + 30 miles 73 miles 24 3-4 No Distance Detailed plan giving daily runs. No details on paces for training runs, just distance
Hal Koerner's 100 Mile Plan 100 Mile 35 miles 35 + 20 miles 76 miles 20 6 (including twice/day runs) Tempo, Hills, Fartlek Distance Complete book See below for caveats
Relentless Forward Progress 40 miles to 100K on 50 MPW 40 miles to 100K 31 miles 18 + 10 miles 51 miles 24 5 Yes Distance Complete book See Below
Relentless Forward Progress 40 miles to 100K on 70 MPW 40 miles to 100K 31 miles 25 + 12 miles 69 miles 24 5 Yes Distance Complete book See Below
Hal Koerner's 50 Mile to 100K Plan 50 miles to 100K 30 miles 25 + 25 miles 76 miles 16 6 (including twice/day runs) Tempo, Hills, Fartlek Distance Complete book See below for caveats
Ultrarunning New Zealand 100Km Plan 100 Km 5 hours (45 Km/28 miles) 4 hours+5 hours 16 5 Intervals + MP Mixed Detailed plan giving daily runs. Specifies each run, with some indication pace, but no other advice.
Ultraladies 50 Mile Plan 50 Mile 28 miles 28 + 12 miles 62 miles 20 5 No Distance Detailed plan giving daily runs. No details on paces for training runs, just distance
Runner's World 50 Mile Plan 50 Mile 5 hours (27-29 miles) 4 hours + 5 hours 16 5 Intervals + MP Mixed Detailed plan giving daily runs. Some indication paces
Relentless Forward Progress 50K on 50 MPW 50K 26 miles 20 + 14 miles 50 miles 24 5 Yes Distance Complete book See Below
Relentless Forward Progress 50K on 70 MPW 50K 26 miles 24 + 16 miles 69 miles 24 5 Yes Distance Complete book See Below
Competitor Magazines First 50K Plan (pdf) 50 Km 26 miles 26 miles + 1 Hour 16 5-6 No Mixed Detailed plan giving daily runs. Specifies each run, with some indication pace, but no other advice.
Ultraladies 50K Plan 50 Km 26 miles 26 + 10 miles 56 miles 20 5 No Distance Detailed plan giving daily runs. No details on paces for training runs, just distance
Hal Koerner's 50K Plan 50K 30 miles 25 + 15 miles 66 miles 16 6 (including twice/day runs) Tempo, Hills, Fartlek Distance Complete book See below for caveats

1 Notes

  • Back to back. Many ultramarathon training schedules use two long runs on consecutive days, and this is the longest of those back to back pairs.
  • Peek Weekly. This is the longest week, if specified.
  • Day/week. How many days does the plan intend you to run.
  • MPW. The number of Miles Per Week.
  • Speedwork. What, if any, faster running is included in the plan. MP = marathon paced runs.
  • Time/Distance. Does the plan specify the length of the run in terms of time or distance.
  • Level Of Detail. Some plans will give each days run, specifying distance and pace, where others may only give a broad outline.

2 Ultramarathon and marathon plans compared

Marathon training plans have been around far longer than ultramarathon plans and are far better established. There are many books published on marathon training, with different approaches. By comparison, ultramarathon training plans are new and don't have the history. Therefore, don't expect that same quality of training plans for ultras that you might be used to from marathon training.

3 Relentless Forward Progress

The cover of Relentless Forward Progress.

Bryon Powell's book "Relentless Forward Progress", subtitled "a guide to running ultramarathons" is one of the first books that focuses on providing systematic advice on ultramarathon running. The book includes a number of training plans that are mentioned above, but also includes a lot of breadth and depth. While I may not agree with all of the advice, it's a well written book that is well worth reading interested in running ultramarathons. I particularly like the way that Bryon has asked many authors to write up sections of the book to give their perspective. I'm especially impressed the way Bryon gave two different authors the chance to put forward their opposing views on the role of speedwork in ultramarathon running.

4 Hal Koerner's Field Guide to Ultrarunning

File:Hal Koerner's Field Guide to Ultrarunning.jpg
The cover of Hal Koerner's Field Guide to Ultrarunning.

Hal is an experienced, talented, and successful ultrarunner, having won many races. I had high hopes for Hal's book, and I think it does contain some useful advice and is worth a read. However, I feel that the book is based around Hal's personal experience which may not work for an average or novice ultrarunner.

  • The depth of Hal's experience comes through in the book, but so does his lack of wider research.
  • The advice to drink before you're thirsty and to drink beyond thirst is outdated and dangerous. While dehydration can slow you down, it really a serious problem, while over-hydration (Hyponatremia) can be fatal and has been for a number of runners. How does have a section on hyponatremia, but it's in a separate section of the book from hydration, and that the advice is unclear at best.
  • Hal uses the Hill training sessions as High Intensity Interval Training which I think is an important part of any training program.
  • Hal talks about descending, and gives plenty of advice on technique. (He ignores the critical aspect of Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, but that's true of nearly every running book I've read.)
  • It's nice to see that Hal mentioned Overtraining, but the advice is rather superficial.
  • The advice to force yourself to eat when you're not hungry is something I believe to be a cardinal mistake. I have found that eating what appeals is a far more successful, and if nothing appeals, forcing food down rarely has a happy ending. I believe that our subconscious and appetite has a far more sophisticated ability to determine what we need.
  • Recommending that gels are always taken with water ignores The Science of Energy Gels.

The book does contain three training plans, for the 50K, 50 miles to 100K, and 100 miles. These plans feel a little like an afterthought, tucked in the back of the book almost like an appendix. The plans that do include fartlek, hill repeats, and tempo runs but the details seem lacking. Hal mentions that the tempo run should be at 10K pace, but does not indicate how much of the 6-20 mile tempo run should be at that 10K pace. The 50 K plan includes a 30 mile long run, which seems a little excessive, as does the 25+15 back to back long runs.

5 See Also

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