“Should I do this tempo run today? What if I just ran them slower? Take it a bit easy?” I had just gotten ready for my morning run after a terrible night of 6 hours of sleep, interrupted by frequent fireworks going off in the distance.
It was already January the 7th and people still set off fireworks at night. As I laced up my shoes, I decided to not do the workout. Instead, I would go for an easy run and postpone the tempo workout.
Could I have forced myself to do the tempo run? Sure. Would I have proven to myself how tough I am? Yes. Maybe I would have felt proud for completing a challenging workout even though I was tired. But would it have been effective? I doubt it.
An easy run was clearly the smarter choice on that day and so I did what I often do – I adapted the plan without a second thought.
This ability to adapt and modify training on the fly comes from years of experience and, more importantly, from understanding the principles behind effective ultramarathon training.
When you know how to design your own training plan, you understand not just what to do, but why you’re doing it. This deeper understanding enables you to make informed decisions about when to push, when to back off, and how to modify your training to match your current circumstances.
That’s why learning to design your own training plan is such a valuable skill for any ultrarunner. It’s not about creating the perfect plan—it’s about understanding the principles well enough to adapt them to your unique situation, day by day and week by week.
This knowledge becomes especially crucial in ultrarunning, where the demands of training can vary dramatically based on your goals, lifestyle, and the specific challenges of your target races.
But before we dive into how to create your own plan, let’s first understand why pre-made training plans often fall short.
Why One-Size-Fits-All Plans Don't Work
I have never trained according to a pre-made plan. Sure, I have studied the plans laid out in various running books and drew inspiration from Bryan Powell’s “Relentless Forward Progress”, I quickly realized that I needed to develop my own specific plan. Because none of the premade training plans could accommodate my unique circumstances:
- I only had 8 months to go from non-runner to finishing a 61 km trail race
- My partner at the time and I had mostly the weekends to spend time together, so back-to-back long runs on weekends (a staple of most ultramarathon training plans) were impractical
- I had 6 years of almost daily kettlebell training under my belt and hence I was confident that my legs were strong enough to go the distance, I feared my aerobic system wouldn’t be strong enough (yet) on race day.
- I live in Germany’s big flat capital Berlin with limited access to trails and even more limited access to hills
This spurred a desire to be able to design my own training plans. Being a certified personal trainer, nutritionist and general fitness enthusiast for over 15 years at that point I wasn’t a stranger to training theory and exercise science. However, I wasn’t versed in the art and science of training for ultra-endurance events, and so I bought a bunch of books and enrolled in UESCA’s ultrarunning coach certification.
Over the years I have developed a framework for creating ultramarathon training plans that work with my and my athlete’s individual circumstances. And while I am a UESCA-certified ultrarunning coach I don’t follow their approach to creating training plans and coaching religiously. Instead, my coaching philosophy combines elements from various coaches and training systems and I constantly refine it based on my experiences and the emerging science of ultramarathon training and racing.
And while it may sound intimidating at first, creating your own training plan isn’t rocket science. Here’s how to approach it systematically.
Be Clear About Your Why
Before setting up a weekly plan or writing a single workout, you need to understand two crucial elements: your motivation for running ultras and your current abilities. Let’s start with your “why.”
If you see ultrarunning as a fun way to challenge yourself and your only motivation is to finish a local race as a bucket list item (and there’s nothing wrong with that!) then you can (and should) approach your training differently than you would if your goal was to podium at a prestigious mountain ultra.
Your why is unique to you and will determine how much time and effort you dedicate to training and how you approach your ultramarathon training when the inevitable obstacles present themselves.
And your reason for ultramarathon training and racing may change over time.
Your why can also be your biggest strength when training. It may be the motivation you need when you struggle to get out the door on a cold, snowy winter morning. Not having a powerful why, on the other hand, can be your biggest weakness. Which brings me to my next point.
Assess Your Current Strengths and Weaknesses
I dislike generic training plans for ultrarunners primarily because everyone has different strengths and weaknesses before starting a new training block. However, if you want your training to be as effective as possible, you should start working on your weaknesses relatively far out from your goal-event. When creating your plan, consider the following:
1. Your General Physical Capabilities
Your general physical capabilities create the foundation for your ultra training. Unlike shorter distances where speed and power might be paramount, ultra success requires a broader base of physical attributes. Muscle endurance, joint stability, and overall durability often matter more than pure speed.
For instance, my background in kettlebell training gave me excellent durability and strength endurance, which proved invaluable in ultras, especially over mountainous terrain.
The impact of general physical capabilities becomes especially apparent in the later stages of an ultra. When your core is strong, you’ll be better able to maintain good form when fatigue sets in. I often get compliments about how my running form looks almost identical at hours 1 and 22 of a 24-hour race. I strongly believe that the many years of kettlebell training (which focuses heavily on core strength) are the main reason for my ability to move with good posture over many hours.
Ultrarunning is a sport in which not always the fastest runners win but those who manage their resources well. While raw speed is important, you also need to be able to endure many hours of physical and mental discomfort, consume calories and fluids continuously over long periods of time, and quickly solve problems.
If you are completely new to running and have never walked more than for 2 hours at a time you need to train all of these aspects much more than someone who is an avid hiker and has many long-distance hikes under their belt for example.
2. Your Running Specific Strengths and Weaknesses
Your running specific strengths and weaknesses will largely determine where you need to focus your training efforts. It is likely that you excel in one aspect of running but struggle in others.
If you have a road running background, you may have impressive speed on flat terrain but struggle to stay relaxed and run comfortably over highly technical terrain.
On the other hand, if you have been a mountain runner for many years and decide to take on a flat 24 hour race on a track, you might need to develop your speed to be able to keep going at a fairly steady pace over many hours.
When I started ultrarunning, my weakness was clearly my aerobic endurance. Years of kettlebell training meant I could grind uphill for long periods, but maintaining a steady pace on flat terrain was challenging.
Since I only had 8 months to prepare for my first 61km trail ultra and it was a pretty flat race, I started with a long aerobic base building block and prioritized easy runs. After 9 years of no running, focusing solely on getting time on my feet while staying injury-free was the priority.
Today, my approach to addressing weaknesses is more nuanced. It depends on where I am in my training year, how much training I’ve done in the months prior, and what the previous training focus was.
Factors like vertical gain, durability, and gut training now play a much bigger role than when I designed my very first training plan, where finishing the race was my only concern.
3. Your Mental Strength
Mental strength is perhaps the most underrated aspect of ultrarunning success, yet it often determines whether you’ll finish a race or drop out when things get tough. In ultrarunning, it’s not enough to be physically prepared—your mind needs to be equally ready for the challenges ahead.
If you’ve never spent more than a few hours alone with your thoughts, training your mind becomes as important as training your legs. This might mean doing some long runs without music or podcasts, practicing positive self-talk during challenging workouts, or deliberately putting yourself in uncomfortable situations during training.
The beautiful thing about mental strength is that it can be developed through consistent practice. Every time you complete a challenging workout, push through a low point in a long run, or stick to your nutrition strategy when you don’t feel like eating, you’re building mental resilience. These experiences compound over time, giving you a deep well of confidence to draw from during your races.
My background in kettlebell training had already taught me how to push through intense discomfort, which proved invaluable in ultras. However, I needed to develop a different kind of mental toughness – the ability to keep moving forward when I have already spent 3 hours just with the thoughts in my head or when the monotony of running just another lap seems unbearable.
I also needed to practice positive self-talk to silence the huge imposter sitting on my shoulder shouting relentlessly how foolish I was to think I could ever be one of those who could finish those ultraendurance adventures.
4. Your Training Environment
Your training environment encompasses both the physical terrain you have access to and the support system around you. Both play crucial roles in how you structure your training plan.
Let’s start with the physical environment. Where you live and train significantly impacts how you prepare for your races. Living in Berlin taught me to be creative with my training. With no mountains or technical trails nearby, I had to find ways to prepare for mountain ultras using what I had available – running repeats on artificial hills in my local park, and utilizing the treadmill to accumulate vertical gain.
Sometimes, creativity means integrating running into your daily routine. When I worked early shifts at the gym, I turned my commute into a training opportunity. While the commute alone wasn’t long enough for a proper training run, I would extend the route to make it work. Run-commuting can be an excellent way to fit training into a busy schedule, effectively turning ‘dead time’ into valuable training time.
This kind of adaptation – finding ways to train within the constraints of your daily life – is often what makes the difference between a sustainable and unsustainable training plan.
Your social environment is equally important, though often overlooked when creating training plans. The support (or lack thereof) from family, friends, and your running community can make or break your ultra journey.
In my early ultra training, I had a flexible work schedule that allowed for my beloved morning runs, but I also needed to protect my weekend time for my relationship. This meant I rarely did long back-to-back weekend runs that are so commonly prescribed in ultramarathon training plans.
However, thanks to my flexible work schedule, I could sometimes do a long run mid-week – a luxury most other runners don’t have. Consider how your work patterns, family commitments, and other activities flow together. If you travel frequently for work, you’ll need to build flexibility into your plan and perhaps have backup workout options for when you’re on the road.
Your training environment might not be perfect – few are – but understanding its limitations and advantages helps you create a plan that works with what you have rather than fighting against it. The key is to work with your environment rather than seeing it as a limitation.
Build Your Framework - Core Elements
With your why as your foundation, a thorough understanding of your strengths and weaknesses and an assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of your particular training environment, you can begin to design a plan that fits your goals and lifestyle. Follow the thought process below step-by-step and draft your ultramarathon training plan framework.
Weekly Mileage Versus Training By Time
The debate between tracking training by mileage or time isn’t as straightforward as some might suggest. A lot of it is personal preference, but your choice should align with both your race goals and your training environment.
If you’re preparing for a distance-based race like a 100-miler on relatively uniform terrain, tracking mileage can help you build confidence in your ability to cover the distance. If you’re training for a highly technical mountain race that features long climbs, then tracking hours spent training and vertical gain may make more sense.
I primarily use distance as my training parameter, especially when preparing for flat trail ultras or 24-hour road events. When I train for mountain ultras, I will add vertical gain as a training metric. I still don’t switch to training by time, but I keep an eye on overall training volume and reduce my weekly mileage if necessary.
Your experience level matters too. Newer ultrarunners might benefit from time-based training as it reduces the temptation to push too hard to hit mileage goals, while experienced runners might prefer the concrete feedback that mileage provides. The key is to choose a method – or combination of methods – that helps you train consistently while progressing safely toward your goals.
Vertical Gain - Does It Matter For You?
The question of how much vertical gain you need in your training is also highly individual and depends primarily on your target race. I’ve trained for both flat 24-hour track races and mountain ultras with significant elevation gain, and I use a different approach to vertical training for each.
When training for flat races, I primarily train on flat terrain with very little elevation gain. I will use the artificial hill I have close to my home, but I won’t include hour-long hill repeats like I do when I focus more on mountainous terrain. However, I do include some hill work, and especially hill strides and 30/30’s for flat races too, as it helps develop strength and running economy that transfers well to flat terrain.
On the other hand, when I am preparing for mountainous races that feature significant climbing I will spend several training sessions running up and down the same hill over and over again and utilize the treadmill several times per week to accumulate vertical gain.
The timing of elevation training in your build-up matters too. If you’re new to hills, you’ll want to start incorporating vertical gain early in your training cycle and increase the amount of vert you do each week gradually, allowing your body time to adapt to the new stresses. However, if you’re already comfortable with hills but training for a significant mountain race, you might need to progressively increase your vertical gain to match race demands. Just remember that vertical gain, like any training stimulus, needs to be balanced with recovery to prevent overtraining and injury.
Speed Work - How Much Do You Need?
Speedwork in ultrarunning is often misunderstood. When I started I did what many ultrarunners do – I focused almost exclusively on easy miles and building my aerobic base.
This approach served me well initially – Just 8 months after I started running, I finished a 61km trail ultra as the third female without doing any structured speedwork. However, as I’ve developed as an ultrarunner, I’ve come to appreciate the role that quality sessions play in ultra performance.
If you’re new to speedwork, start with strides. These are short accelerations of about 20-30 seconds where you gradually increase your speed to about 85-90% of your maximum effort. You might do 4-6 of these during an easy run, with full recovery between each.
Strides are perfect for developing running economy and form without the stress of longer intervals or structured workouts. They’re also an excellent way to recruit fast-twitch muscle fibers without accumulating significant fatigue.
Today, I maintain some form of speedwork year-round, though the volume and intensity vary depending on my racing schedule and goals. This doesn’t mean I’m doing track intervals every week – speedwork for ultra training can take many forms. Sometimes it’s hill repeats, sometimes it’s intervals on flats. The key is consistency rather than volume – you don’t need much speedwork, but you should maintain it throughout the year rather than completely abandoning it during base-building phases.
The amount of speedwork you include depends on various factors: your running background, current fitness level, and race goals.
If you’re new to ultrarunning or building back after a break, one quality session per week is plenty. More experienced runners might benefit from two sessions.
Remember that the goal isn’t to become a speed demon – it’s to improve your running economy and maintain some faster-paced running in your training diet. These sessions should never compromise your ability to complete your long runs or maintain consistent training volume.
Ultramarathon Long Runs - Make Them Make Sense For You
The long run is often considered the cornerstone of ultramarathon training, but its execution needs to be more thoughtful than simply running longer and longer each week.
Unlike marathon training, where there’s general agreement about long run progression and distance, ultramarathon long runs require a more nuanced approach. The relationship between training run length and race distance becomes increasingly complex as the distances get longer. Running 80% of your race distance might make sense when training for a marathon, but it’s neither practical nor beneficial when preparing for a 100-miler.
I vary my approach to long runs based on my target race and training phase. For a flat 24-hour race, I might focus more on single long runs that are loops run around my local park. These help me practice nutrition and develop mental fortitude. For mountain ultras, I might do back-to-back weekend runs with significant vertical gain.
Last year, I experimented with using shorter ultras as a long training run. However, I am more cautious with this approach now, after an injury in a ‘training race’ prevented me from starting my goal event.
The key is to make your long runs serve multiple purposes. Beyond building physical endurance, use them to practice your nutrition strategy, test your gear, and develop mental resilience. Some of my long runs focus primarily on nutrition practice, accepting that performance might suffer as I experiment with different fueling strategies. Others might emphasize practicing power hiking or running efficient downhills.
There are no hard and fast rules about how long your longest long run should be. And the length of a single long run during ultramarathon training might matter less than many people think. While the specific components of training like long runs are important, it’s the overall training volume that often determines your ultra success.
Training Volume - Finding Your Sweet Spot
While it’s impossible to prescribe exact training volumes that work for everyone, understanding general volume guidelines can help you build your framework. When I started ultrarunning, I started at 0 kilometers per week, gradually building to around 70-80 kilometers during my peak weeks before my first 61km ultra. Now, preparing for 24-hour races and mountain hundreds, I typically run between 100-120 kilometers weekly, with some weeks reaching 140-150 and sometimes even 170 kilometers during peak training.
However, these numbers are highly individual and depend on various factors: your running background, recovery capacity, lifestyle demands, and race goals. What matters more than the absolute numbers is finding a sustainable volume that you can maintain week after week while staying healthy and motivated.
You also need to learn how to read your body. Some runners (myself included) love high-mileage and thrive with a higher volume approach. Others do better on lower mileage training that includes more cross-training and more faster paced runs.
Recovery and Adaptation - The Key to Sustainable Training
All that training you do will be of little use if you injure yourself or come down with an illness because you have pushed yourself too hard. Recovery is an essential part of a training program, but many athletes who do not make a living from their sport often treat it as an afterthought. I am guilty of this too.
Many training plans have scheduled recovery weeks every 3-4 weeks built in as well as a weekly rest-day. I too tried to adhere to a standard “3-weeks-on, 1-week-off” cycle in the beginning of my ultramarathon journey.
However, I’ve since moved away from rigid recovery schedules to a more intuitive approach. Instead of predetermined down weeks every fourth week, I now use ‘aerobic building weeks’ – an approach that ultrarunning coaches David and Meghan Roche suggest. These weeks are periods where I build volume but decrease intensity, focusing on easy running that builds my aerobic base while allowing for recovery.
Again this may not work for everyone, but I have found this approach works very well for me. My body recovers quickly and I can get a lot of time on my feet in a single session without needing much rest the following days. If you hate recovery weeks try this approach. But be cautious and discipline yourself to really avoid high-intensity work during such an aerobic build week.
Learning to listen to your body’s signals is essential.
Some days, like that morning after poor sleep when I chose an easy run over the planned tempo workout, your body clearly tells you it needs easier training. Other times, the signals are more subtle – slightly heavy legs, decreased motivation, or deteriorating running form.
Be flexible with your rest days and your weekly structure. While some runners do well with a rest day every week on the same day, I prefer to take rest days based on how my body feels and what my training schedule looks like. Sometimes this means taking two rest days in a week; other times, I might go two weeks without a complete rest day, instead using very easy runs as active recovery.
The key is to maintain enough flexibility in your training structure to adapt to how your body responds. This might mean swapping sessions around within a week, converting a planned workout to an easy run, or taking an unplanned recovery week if you notice signs of accumulated fatigue.
Remember that the goal of training isn’t to prove how tough you are – it’s to prepare your body and mind for the demands of your target race while staying healthy and motivated.
Your Plan Your Journey
Creating your own training plan isn’t about reinventing the wheel – it’s about taking proven principles and adapting them to your unique circumstances. While it requires more thought and effort than following a pre-made plan, the rewards of having a truly personalized approach are worth it.
When I look back at my journey from complete non-runner to ultrarunner, what strikes me isn’t the specific workouts or mileage totals. It’s how learning to create and adapt my training plans has made me a more resilient and self-aware athlete.
Understanding why I’m doing each workout, knowing when to push and when to back off, and having the confidence to adjust my training on the fly – these skills have proven far more valuable than any pre-made training plan could have been.
Remember that your first attempt at creating a training plan won’t be perfect – and that’s okay. Like ultrarunning itself, designing your training is a skill that develops with experience.
Start with the basics, pay attention to how your body responds, and gradually refine your approach.
Keep these principles in mind:
- Your plan should follow you, not the other way around
- Flexibility is strength, not weakness
- Progress isn’t always linear
- Success comes from consistency, not perfection
The ultimate goal is to create a sustainable approach that allows you to train effectively while enjoying the journey. After all, that’s what ultrarunning is all about – the long-term pursuit of challenging goals while maintaining the joy of running.
Note: This is part V of the Ultrarunning for Beginners series. The previous articles in this series can be found here:
Part I: So You Want to Run an Ultra-a Guide to Getting Started
Part II: Building Your Ultra-Training Foundation: From Plan to Practice
Part III: Beyond Easy Miles: Understanding Different Types of Training Runs
Part IV: Understanding Easy Runs for Ultra Distances: A Scientific and Practical Guide to Building Your Ultra Engine
Part V: The Science of Speed in Ultrarunning: From VO2max to Race Day Performance
Part VI: Mastering Ultramarathon Long Runs: A Framework for Success