Training - 50K and more

A marathon is 26 miles 385 yards long. Any race that’s longer than this distance is called an ultra marathon. There are also timed events: 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, and even multi day-races. Some are run on roads, some on trails, and some (mainly timed events) on a track. The most generally accepted Standard events are 50 Kilometers, 50 Miles, 100 Kilometers, 150 Kilometers, 100 Miles, 24 Hours, 200 Kilometers, 48 Hours, 200 Miles, Six Days, 1000 Kilometers and 1,000 Miles. See http://www.ultrunr.com/what_is.html to know more about what is a ultra marathon. 

The Bangalore ultra marathon consists of 26k, 52K and 78K runs or any distance you can run in 12 hours. Anyone who has been running consistently for a couple of years and has done at least one full marathon should be able to run the 52K race. Even if you have not run a full marathon before but have run a long run of at least 20K (or half marathon distance) then you should be able to train for your first 52K race in the next 3 months.

The 2 key differences in training programs for an ultra as compared to training for a full marathon are:

• ‘longer’ long runs  - say a 30 miles/48Km long run
•  multiple ‘back-to-back’ long runs – say a 30Km on a Saturday followed by a 20Km the next day

Here are links to a few tips and training programs: 

• Training Guidelines and Schedules by Sarah Brown
  http://www.nttr.org/html/training_guidelines.htm
• You can input your race type and date and it works backwards and gives you the schedule - http://www.scrunners.org/ultrasch.php
• Ultra marathon training - http://www.marathon-training-program.com/ultra-marathon-training.html
• The ultimate ultra marathon training plan - http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244--7556-0,00.html 
• Training for your first ultra - http://www.planetultramarathon.com/trainfirstultra.htm 
• Training for your first 52K – As per this program you need not have run a full marathon in order to run a 52K. If you can answer yes to the 3 questions below you can complete your first 52K. 
   1. Do you run 3-4 days a week? 
   2. Have you been running consistently for 2 years or more? 
   3. Can you run 10 miles non-stop?
  Training for a 52K properly takes 3 months. Read on.. http://www.rockcreek.com/articles/trail_running/articles/Make_The_Stumpjump_Your_First_50k.asp
• Ultra training 24 weeks to a 54 mile race - http://www.halhigdon.com/ultramarathon/ultramarathon2000.htm
• Another suggested training program for a 52K run including a downloadable xls version is available at - http://www.runforthetoad.com/trainingprogram.html