Ultra marathon training: navigating the challenges of the Long Run
The long run, that training staple, is why ultra marathon running is hard. Most women do not run that fast. So a larger proportion of slower finishers (i.e. beyond 4hours for the marathon) will be women. This means obviously that cut-offs (as are the norm in many ultras and some marathons) will hit women harder and put more pressure on them. Physically, we are just not made equal. It’s a sort-off inbuilt discrimination in many races. But the slower running paces also mean that long runs take longer and are harder for us than for men which also means longer recovery times. After all, a marathon is the same distance for all of us.
Time on feet, keeping moving, is hard. Especially as most of us will have fairly sedentary lives and running, standing and walking, and activity generally, are only a relatively small part of it. Although running after children (let’s face it, more often than not this is a women’s role) does count towards it for once!
In fact, in my very first marathon in 2004 aged 27, it was just being on my feet for 5 hours that was the hardest. I had simply never done it in my live and nobody had mentioned this as a challenge in itself to me. I had an overwhelming urge to sit down on the side of the road. So this I think is a good tip for any beginner marathoner who will take a lot of time to finish – get used to moving and standing for a long time and finishing the race will come a lot more easily.
I also hadn’t trained properly for my first marathon- due to the (typical) first timer injury I never exceeded 26k in training and that was a one-off long run a long time before (i.e. usually scheduled to be followed by 4-5 longer runs in any training plan before doing a 3 week taper). I was very undercooked to start the run.
Now, in 2023, coming back to my first marathon since 2018 (and having run 73 marathons and ultras between 2011-208), I have clocked up my third 3h plus run and it is just super hard even though I take it very easy i.e. the first hour in low Z2, then allowing it to creep up to keep moving but trying to keep it as low effort as possible. It’s just a different dimension compared to 2h (which I can do with relatively little tiring when done in Z2 after my consistent training block since last summer) and takes time getting used to. We are all different but I am extrapolating here for the normal female and not for those to whom it comes easy for whatever reason. For me, it certainly does not even though the hours and hours of Z2 – collecting the heartbeats – should have put me into a good position.
Weather has been a factor yesterday with ‘wintry mix’ and a knee-deep Derwent Water wade being part of today’s run but it is important to remember that the long run and marathon training are not to be scoffed at. It’s an enormous time investment that requires patience and sufficient recovery afterwards. Expect to be whacked for the rest of the day and plan for it; we need to be kind to ourselves as our bodies adapt and give them the time to do it. It’s a massive feet of endurance to even get to the starting line for your first marathon.
Sure, events like London Marathon, with massive crowd support could be seen to make it easier (or, for some, a nice scenic trail) but you are still hitting the pavement (and trail) and a marathon is just genuinely a long way to go relative to most people’s activity/time on feet levels.
It obviously gets easier with habituation – see the 100 Marathon Club and its members some of whom have run in excess of 500 marathons. But this takes time. So to get the most out of your debut marathon, make sure you have sufficient time to prepare and get used to being on your feet and moving. Consistency is key which means not getting injured and addressing niggles along the way. Make sure to calculate in enough long run sessions in your ultra marathon training preparation.
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