HOME PAGE | COACH WEBER'S BIO | COACHING | LETTERS TO THE COACH | ULTRA CALENDAR  

Ultramarathon Training Paces 
Associated with Current Marathon Performance

I encourage EVERYONE to see a doctor before altering their diet, taking a supplement and/or performing athletic, fitness or other strenuous physical activity. It is your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of any information, instruction, opinion or advice contained in the content of the Coach Weber website.

Coach Weber

Notes from Coach Weber:

01.  When considering ultramarathon training paces for my athletes, my first question is what he or she recently ran a marathon in.  With that time and with the information as to what conditions that marathon was run in to include altitude, terrain, temperature, I can begin to recommend appropriate paces for the weekly training runs.  Adjustments must be made if the marathon conditions are significantly different than the training venue.  That said, the following chart can still provide some basic guidance.  

02.  All too often runners moving up from the marathon do not have appropriate expectations for what an 'easy pace' is.  Success at the ultramarathon for most runners is gained by developing a whole new definition of 'easy.'  Everybody wants to get faster, but in the ultramarathon, slower is ultimately faster (to a point admittedly).  In a 50 mile run, medals and finish times are not given at the 10 mile mark ... it is at the 50 mile mark.  Running too fast in the opening miles usually means a melt down late in the race adding many minutes, possibly hours, to the finish time.  Running at an appropriately easy pace that is based on something more than guesswork, wishful thinking, or a performance from the distant past, brings great rewards and the best times possible for an ultradistance athlete.

03.  Most ultramarathon running, whether it be training or racing, is done in the aerobic zone that corresponds to 65% to 85% of the maximum heart rate for the athlete (note that maximum heart rate is usually a 'ballpark' figure for the athlete unless that athlete has been tested in the laboratory).  Within that aerobic range, I have listed 6 paces or 'gears' if you will.  

04.  Perhaps on a treadmill the athlete can be very exact, but in the real world outdoors on roads and trails, one must accept that there is going to be some variation as to what's what on a given day.  Put another way, athletes are not robots and trying to be too exact, especially on a long run on interesting terrain, can be counterproductive.  Stay as close as possible to the zone assigned, but relax and understand that your body is constantly monitoring the total situation and providing feedback ... the athlete just has to listen.  For example, running along Turquoise Lake in the opening hours of the Leadville Trail 100, the athlete needs to rely more on what their breathing sounds like and it's rapidity to guide the pace than a tightly programmed heart rate monitor.

05.  I'll often have an athlete blend a particular running pace with walking to add even more sustainability.  For instance, a 4 hour marathoner, heading out for a 30 mile training run, might be asked to "run for 10 minutes at 10:15/mile (easy aerobic pace 3), then walk for 5 minutes" right from the start repeating this pattern throughout the entire 30 miles.  Excellent practice for taking one's first 50 mile, 100K, 24 hour or 100 mile event.

06.  Interval training is appropriate for the ultramarathoner at the appropriate time.  Interval training done too soon or at too high of a percentage of the week's total mileage does not benefit the athlete.  I can say that I have trained some of the best ultramarathon runners in the country and had them do little or no interval training in the first one or two years I coached them.  Their success was based on mileage ... big mileage done in the aerobic zone.  My point is, in the ultramarathon game, first see what you can accomplish based on mileage ... big mileage.  Then, when more mileage is neither possible and/or is not resulting in improvement, then look to interval work to break that performance plateau.

07.  And yes, it is my experience that if a person cannot run a 6 hour marathon on a standard course, they need to get there before proceeding to the ultramarathon distances.  Now, a 6 hour marathoner, with a good hydration and fueling plan, and the proper mindset and conditioning, can participate in a carefully chosen 50K event.  Most 50K events allow 8 to 9 hours, so it's a possibility for the 6 hour marathoner to get it done within the time limit.  Now, a pancake flat marathon in 6:00:00 done at sea level and ending up in the Emergency Room does not bode well for a completion of any ultramarathon much less a difficult one.  As I like to say, "Ultrarunning may be a stupid sport, but it is not for the stupid."

HOME PAGE | COACH WEBER'S BIO | COACHING | LETTERS TO THE COACH | ULTRA CALENDAR  

©1997-2010.  Coach Scott Weber.  All Rights Reserved.