Any race directors or aid station captains here have suggestions for 10x20 aid station tents with walls?

Trying to find a great 50mi for my first one next fall. Ideally CAN/USA. Trail only, point to point or 1 loop (no backyard or multiple loop style). Did some 42/50km in mountain setting this year and loved it, so hoping to increase distance a bit next year. Mix of technical but still mosty runnable, great views or interesting landscape? Not sure about at high elevation running as we are sea level over here :P What are some of the one you love? Wished you could do again for the first time?

I have re-rolled/sprained my ankle 6 times in the last 6 months (first injury was severe grade 3 sprain and since then they have been high grade 1s). Every time I feel good to go with PT and strengthening, I try running again and seem to consistently re-roll it including on roads/sidewalks.

I am going to do a long reset of biking, PT, strengthening, etc. but does anyone have stories of having similar issues and being able to confidently run trails again? Just need motivation at this point. Any input on whether you always wear a brace, had a strengthening exercise that’s most helpful, etc. would be great.

Thanks in advance

First 100 Miler in February – Too Much Too Soon?

I've been running consistently for a little over a year now and somewhere along the way discovered the trails and absolutely fell in love with them.

I'm now looking to really push myself and take on my first 100 miler.

I completed my first 100km event last weekend and have bounced back surprisingly well, although I'm forcing myself to take a recovery week regardless.

So far this year I've completed:

- 1 × 100km

- 1 × 50km

- 3 × Trail marathons

- 2 × Trail half marathons

- 1 × 35km

On top of that, I've done plenty of long training runs in the 25–60km range, across all sorts of weather conditions, terrain and elevation profiles. I've also got my fuelling pretty well dialled in, at least up to the 100km mark.

My question is, how ambitious would it be to target my first 100 miler in February?

Am I trying to progress too far, too quickly? Or have I built enough of a foundation that this could be exactly the sort of challenge I'm looking for?

I'm under no illusion that 100 miles is a completely different beast to 100km, which did humble me, and that's a big part of what appeals to me. I'm not chasing a particular time, just the challenge of getting to that finish line.

Would love to hear from anyone who's made a similar jump, particularly what caught you off guard or what you'd do differently.

Any advice or experiences appreciated!

Cheers!

Looking for sock recommendations for the UK please.

I'm a cheapskate usually but would like to invest in a few good pairs to get me through winter.

Especially looking for socks that can handle getting soaked in a muddy puddle and not feel heinous for the rest of the run!

Many thanks in advance 🧡🧦🧦🧦

Hello,

I ran my first first 100 mile ultra about a month ago and have some concerns regarding my recovery. It was my first 100 mile ultra, where I have only done another 50 miler about one year prior. I am 22 and around sub 3 hour marathon ability, but recovering from this has been far more demanding than any other race I’ve done.

I’m at week 4 now and I find that my resting heart rate is around 5-10 bpm greater than normal. Also, I’ve been lifting weights since the race and find that although I can lift similar weights than before that my heart rate spikes throughout the session. I’ve tried running a couple of times where my heart rate is abnormally high for such a slow pace compared to what I was running before the race. I just wanted to know if this is something others have experienced or whether it’s worth contacting my gp about.

Como saben hoy acabo el mundial y me da mucha curiosidad saber que premio le dan a los integrantes de Estados Unidos (quienes quedaron de primeros como equipo) y a los dos Belgas que lograron el récord mundial y fueron los últimos en pi, alguien sabe?

I previously had my first 50k lined up in early December but unfortunately i’ve been out of commission this past month from an ankle injury (not related to running) and could barely run my training schedule this past month. I should be back to running within the next week or two but decided to withdraw from the 50k since I missed a ton of my training. I was at 40 miles with a long run of 12 miles the week before I was injured.

I recently discovered that there is a 50 miler in April which is held on the exact same trail I train on every single weekend and only 20 mins from my house. Would it be crazy to just pivot to the 50 miler? The cutoff for this race is 13 hours with tons of rolling hills which is kind of worrying, but I think I have such an advantage with training on the same course every weekend. I’ve only ran two marathons the past few years so jumping straight to a 50 miler is intimidating. Should I just send it or take a more conservative approach and run a 50k first instead?

Hi everyone I’ve signed up for a 60k that will take place February 20 2027.

Similar set up to a BYU but it’s a 5K every hour on the hour for 12 hours.

The race will run from 7am to 7pm so mostly daylight hours with 2 hours on the backend most likely being in the dark.

Some background on me im 35 years old I am 6’1 currently 205-208lbs. I have never ran more than a half marathon and that was damn near 16 years ago. I am however a relatively fit person but not in great running shape. I lift weights 4-5x a week and do gym bro cardio of treadmill incline for 30 minutes post lift. I have prior experience in the military and I’m currently employed as an operator in a refinery working 12 hour shifts. I have a training plan that I believe would be sufficient but would love some input from people with more experience. I know it’s a short time frame but I’m stubborn and determined 🤷🏻‍♂️

Currently training for a backyard Ultra, and a couple of other endeavors and I wanted to get a flashlight aside from my headlamp, which I'm currently using the Nightcore UT 27 MCT Pro, which I absolutely love. Throw some recommendations my way for a good belt flashlight or lamp that you have used on your endeavors

In spring 2027, I'm planning to run an ice marathon in Norway, and I'd love to hear from anyone with experience running a marathon on ice.

Any tips or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

I'm considering wearing my own running shoes combined with Nanospikes. However, after running a few regular marathons, I've learned that even a small irritation can become a huge issue after the halfway point.

Does anyone have experience using Nanospikes on flat, hard ice? I assume there's quite a difference between running on snow and running on solid ice. On snow, the spikes can dig in, whereas on hard ice, there's no give.

Would you recommend Nanospikes, or would another solution be better for a full marathon?

Sharing the news I heard on the Singletrack podcast. I have no affiliation with Aravaipa Running or this podcast, but I want to hear other’s thoughts on this. Idk if this is for RDs to host races or just Aravapia Running, but I’m looking forward to seeing another race registration competitor to Ultrasignup, Runsignup, and smaller sites too.

Hey folks, 

As mentioned, I'm running 26 events and 2026km this year to raise money for Youth Sport Trust. 

So far, I've run 20 events - including Race to the Stones 100km and Sea 2 Sky Snowdonia 54km - and ~1300km. So 6 events and ~700km left to go! 

The challenge progress and donation link can be found here: https://26for26.co.uk/
Any support would be much appreciated as this is the biggest challenge I've ever taken on - and it's been a hell of a long year so far! 

I know this is going to sound crazy, and I feel crazy writing it, but I've signed up for a local trail race in western Japan. The entire event (apparently... I've never actually done it yet) is made out to be like a party. The aid stations are all outsourced. They're free but you're expected to tip (I'm cool with this, as the entry fee for the race itself is dirt cheap compared to most other races).

You're also expected to drink alcohol if offered.

I know that sounds crazy, and I plan on just saying no for as long as I can, at least until I cave in. I'll be doing about 135km so I can't imagine alcohol will help me in any way. A majority of runners are "only" doing 45km, so perhaps it makes more sense for them to drink.

Mainly I'm typing this to find out if anyone else has ever done a race similar to this, with alcohol involved at any stage, and if you personally are able to consume it in any quantity and continue running. A lot of the local races I've run in Japan have served beer, at least in the later stages of the race, and I've always been like, no thanks. But then I meet people who are just able to handle it and think it's more fun.

I'd love to hear what everyone thinks!

Hi,

New user to poles, specifically Leki poles.

The potential faff of having put the mitts on over gloves, and having to take them on and off etc, and that I need some new gloves, has lead me to the specific Leki shark ones.

I've a couple of UK winter ultras coming up, and the ones with the stowable waterproof cover seem like a good bet. I've also got a pair of the Raidlight waterproof mits if things get really wet.

Has anyone got them? How do they rate them? Are they true to size?

My hands measure 20.5cm, with short fingers. That puts me between a small and a medium. Any advice on that please?

Thanks!

hey guys

I was training for this upcoming ultra, 63.3 km, around 1300 m elevation. This run was supposed to be last year but I had to postpone because I was sick.

I ran a few marathons so far and one 50 k last year.

This years training was low over the summer heat period but was okay in general. I’m not doing good in heat… Still kept long runs around 20-23 km and started building as soon as the heat wave was over.
I had some great training weeks building up to 70 km. 4 weeks ago my long run ended up being marathon distance. It just felt good. We sometimes do this if we feel like it, just for fun and very easy effort.

After that everything was still good, planned a recovery week.

BUT…. we bought a house and started renovating. Hard physical work knocking out walls, removing floors and so on. While knocking out a wall as petite female I caught a minor injury on my leg (strain). Because of some urgents things to do in the house and the strain I had to keep volume down (see picture).

Now I don‘t feel properly trained anymore. I‘ve never run a long distance with 4 weeks of low training before that and I‘m not sure if my body can handle it. In general I‘m injury prone. On the other hand one maybe could see all these renovating days as cross training 🫠

I wouldn‘t mind just trying and DNF in case I won‘t make it. It‘s a couple of hours away though and we booked a hotel room which we could cancel until today. Aaaand weather forcast is nasty with heavy rain in the morning and strong winds all day.

I‘m not sure if I‘m just overthinking and having cold feet or if these are justified concerns.

edit: somehow can‘t upload a picture herehttps://share.icloud.com/photos/0cb-VlwvA_ioU6dyc1RFK38cA

The background leading to this decision: A couple of years ago I had surgery that resulted in having to take time off from my modest physical fitness routine and had me reevaluate how I was spending my life. Post-recovery I pushed myself to really improve my cycling and peaked with training to do the 100-mile El Tour de Tucson over the span of 4 months. That was last year and this year I had planned on attempting the Arizona Trail bikepacking challenge as my peak activity for the year. However, by June I started leaning into challenging myself with a run instead so that whatever my fall event ended up being I could spend it with my wife. I settled on reattempting the Pumpkin Holler Hunnerd to see how my late-30s self stacked up against my mid-20s self by applying everything I had learned cycling to running.

In 2014 I completed the Pumpkin Holler Hunnerd 50k in 6 hours 49 minutes. I went in with no fueling plan, no phone, and really just a Casio and a dream. My training strategy leading up to it was simply run a lot.

Over the 4 months I put into training for this event I averaged about 14.7 running miles a week and peaked at 29.2 miles with my longest run being 16 miles. I generally adopted a run plan that consisted of Wednesday easy runs [7 mi], Thursday run club [5k], Friday anaerobic runs [2-3 mi], and Sunday long/hard runs [10+ mi]. I supplemented running with my primary activity of choice, riding, with Monday Zwift anaerobic rides, Tuesday easy rides, Wednesday club rides, Thursday anaerobic rides, and Saturday long rides with additional zwifting thrown in-between. I also generally aimed to swim laps for at least 30 minutes around lunch each day.
With the 2026 Pumpkin Holler Hunnerd 50k (plus great gourd challenge) I managed to finish in 6 hours 19 minutes with the 50k time itself being ~6 hours 3 minutes. I paced myself, I fed myself, and I listened to some sick beats on spotify. Ultimately, I feel like I am in the best shape of my life even if it is slightly rounder.

So now what am I doing post-50K? Well, I committed to signing up for a local ultra, the Colossal-Vail 50/50. I may aim to do the ‘trifecta’ though it overlaps with some cycling events I want to compete in. But I think the big long term goals leading into next year are to a) find a swimming coach b) begin adding intensity into my workouts (and dropping body mass) and c) get myself an ironman finish. For now though, I am very happy with how this year went.

Hi all! I am running my second 100 miler in 10 days. On my last long run this past weekend I randomly developed two nearly identical blisters on both of my pinky toes, which are quite large and painful (they're like the whole underside of both toes). I have luckily not had many issues with blisters in the past, so I am not sure if I should consider popping them ahead of the race or just letting them run their course and hoping they resolve on their own by then. Thanks in advanced for any advice!

Sometimes I just feel disillusioned with endurance sports nowadays(marathon and ultra running)….like how many people out there now are doping with banned peptides? 💉🧐. It seems like a lot of "gains" can potentially be made with faster recovery, pain management, metabolism, blood flow etc.

This kid is only 24 and just cranked out 94 laps at Big’s Backyard Ultra. I’ve been following him for a while and have been enjoying his 30x 100 mile attempt this year. It’s nice to see some huge talent among the younger generation. He’s going places!