The Journey
So for the average person the question I always get is How do you guys do it?
Well lets take a look at my outlined race plan for the next two years going through to Badwater 135 miles in July of 2018. Running is an incremental sport, and so as much as I may not have been running for many years, I have week on week incrementally raised my weekly training and Mileage by the recommended and no more than 10 percent per week for 3 weeks and then reset in week 4 to week 2. More about training programs in a later article.
This is also applied to the races you choose to do, and much thought needs to be put into the race build up to that one crucial event you earmark every year. You will see some races I will run hard, but for the most part they are just used as training runs, time on the feet and legs, and enjoying the sport with friends. *We need to remember that we all run for the love of running, and if you like me that does not make money from this sport at all, it must still be fun and enjoyable!*
You may ask, Why use races as training runs? Well as an Ultra runner your weekly mileage is obviously much higher than lets say a Half marathoner, and so you weekly long runs become increasingly longer and longer. So why not use the opportunity? You then don’t have to train alone and you get to spend time with incredible people achieving their goals. And well I always say the biggest benefit is not having to carry my own water! Water Tables or Aid Stations are the greatest invention in running, and worth every penny of your race entry.
So with all that said, lets just for now map out the Key Checkpoint Races on our journey together along the way to Badwater 135 Miler in 2018.
- 10 December 2016 Ultra Trail Cape Town 65km (My last Ultra for 2016) (Easy Run)
- 20 December to 20 January Well Deserved Break from Running (just a few short 10 km runs planned weekly.)
- 22 January 2017 Red Hill Marathon (Easy Training Run)
- 29 January 2017 Kloof Classic (Difficult Half Marathon with Serious Climbing)
- 19 February 2017 Peninsula Marathon (Run for a Comrades and Two Oceans Ultra Seeding Time.)
- 15 April 2017 Two Oceans Ultra Marathon (Easy Training Run, Thinking of doing the 56km Loop twice.)
- 22 April 2017 Weskus Marathon (Easy Training Run)
- 4 June 2017 Comrades Marathon (Up Run. Training Run)
- 7–8 July 2017 Washie 100 Miler (Last Long Training Run before the Tahoe 200 in September)
- 7–9 September 2017 Tahoe 205 Miles (This is the Event for my 2017, and will be my qualifier for Badwater 135, and UTMB
- 27 January 2018 Red Hill Marathon (Easy Training Run)
- 18 February 2018 Peninsula Marathon (Run for a Comrades and Two Oceans Ultra Seeding Time.)
- April 2018 Two Ocean Ultra Marathon
- June Comrades Marathon
- July 2018 Badwater 135
- October 2018 Moab 240 Miles
*this will be updated as we go along the journey and more races / training races are added.*
