Running in the mountains is hard. I’m certainly not going to say it’s harder than other running, but it needs to be treated differently. Many experienced runners get a sharp shock when they first race in the mountains.

I was quite an experienced ultra runner myself before moving to Chamonix three years ago. It took quite a while for me to adjust my running to suit the mountains, and even now I won’t claim it is any where near perfect.

I have now gathered some great mountain experience and I would like to share some of the main points that need to be considered if you want to be prepared for your first mountain experience or you want to improve.

1. Walk up hills. Now this is one of the biggest sticking points for flatlanders. There is something in many of us runner's brains, that thinks that walking means we have failed. Some ascents will be runnable, but depending on your state, the gradient, and the length of the climb, many alpine ascents should be walked. Walking can be a lot more economical than a run, and when it is very steep and long it can actually be quicker. My fastest time up the Vertical KM here in Chamonix was done when I walked around 60% of the course. There is no shame in walking. The best in the world will walk when the going gets tough.

2. Practice power hiking! The first point will only be effective if you have a fast power hike. This is something that should be practised. Some people hike incredibly fast and will take so much time out of someone who labours away running every hill. Practise with short steps. This is when poles are at their most valuable if you use them. It’s all about getting a fast rhythm going which the tapping of the poles can certainly help. If you don’t use poles, then push your hands against your thighs on the steep sections to utilise you upper body power. Ideally if you have access to a steep hill of at least five minutes, then do hill reps, but hike the whole thing. Try to improve your times.

3. Experiment with poles. Poles, like walking are treated with disgust by many. I won’t get into that, but if used correctly they can really help some people. They can help set a rhythm, add stability, help utilise your upper body during ascents and even help you if you are injured (I may not have finished the Spine without mine!). The major downside for me personally, is that it creates extra faff as your hands are always full which is frustrating. It is a very personal thing. Just give them a go. If you’re not keen, then at least you know.

4. Do not compare speed in the mountains to flatter runs. This may sound really obvious and easy, but it isn’t always. Roughly speaking, my time spent running is the same, but the distance covered is at the best, around half what I used to cover. So, initially this was difficult to understand. I knew it was hilly, but to go so much slower! The best way to measure your training is by time not distance. Height gain also adds another useful dimension.

5. Run all the flatter more runnable sections. If you are trying to go as fast as you can, then whenever the gradients ease, run. Many times I have found myself walking along a very runnable section of trail wasting time, dreaming of some unobtainable food probably! Stay focused on economical pacing and adjust accordingly. For me, one of the great things of mountain running, is that there are lots of changes in style and speed. The variety keeps things interesting. From running ups to walking ups, to dancing down the descents to racing along the flats, things are constantly changing, and the skill is knowing when to do what.

6. Train for the descents. If you don’t have access to huge, steep descents, then you will probably want a new set of quads after your first big mountain run. When you descend for an hour, it can feel great, liberating and will take you back to your childhood, but the forces this is putting on your untrained quads is extreme and either later in the day or, disguised as DOMS, a few days later, you will be crippled with an intense soreness. If you don’t live in the mountains, then find you local biggest hill and do sprints repeats DOWN it. Stay in control though as you will be no use with a sprained ankle!

7. Practice technical running. You could be the fastest runner up and down mountains, but if you can’t effortlessly cruise over the difficult terrain the mountains throw at you, you will never win. When you have a decent level of confidence on the technical terrain, you will move faster, have more fun and will be less prone to injury. To improve you need to find a hill that you hate to run down. Tree roots, steep, rocks, loose rocks, wet, slippery and super twisty is all good. Again, take short, fast steps.

8. Altitude. Here is a difficult one if you live in the UK or are not to far from sea level with no real easy access to the higher altitudes. Of course, not all mountains are high enough to have any real impact on your performance, but as soon as courses climb above 2500 metres, many people will start feeling the effects. The interesting thing is that some people just seem to cope much better than others, and that is not fitness related! What can be done about this? Well, if you have no access to higher terrain, then just be aware of the higher parts of races, and when you get there don’t fight it. Your performance will drop and things will become much more laboured. It’s fine, just keep moving and when you descend you will recover. If you push harder then you might well get into trouble.

Moving fast through the mountains is an incredible experience, and like anything, the better you get the more fun! Most people are hooked once they begin.

Remember that the mountains are the boss, so always have a great respect and always be prepared as things can change very quickly.

Written by Neil Bryant who lives in Chamonix, France. Neil has much experience in big mountain races and anything else ultra. He also is a coach training clients online all over the world. To find out more click here

Written by James Adams - http://www.runningandstuff.com/

I wrote this post a while ago and think it's about time I updated it. I've enjoyed (and suffered) a lot of stuff since writing this and thought I'd share. I've tried to organise it in sections but as you may well know I am pretty terrible at organising anything so it may not quite work. Enjoy

Like I said this is what has worked (or not) for me over the years and the greatest thing about ultras is that there is no "correct" way of doing anything. The debates will always rage on by people who want to try try to sell you "solutions" to everything. I say just keep it simple, experiment occasionally and enjoy the unknowing. "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" - Da Vinci

I've also added some links to other blogs and articles I have found very helpful over the years.

DON'T PANIC

• Don't panic if it all feels a bit big and overwhelming, it fells big and overwhelming because it IS big and overwhelming. Everyone else feels the same.
• Don't compare your insides with someone else's outsides. You may line up at the start and look around at the other runners and decide that they have everything sorted out, they all know what they are doing. In most cases you are wrong, they are probably crapping themselves just as much as you are, they just aren't showing it (and you probably are not showing it either).
• Don't seek too many answers or obsess about details. The joy of this sport is finding those out yourself. It's a very personal journey where you'll find that you do things differently to others. It's ok to talk to others and read articles about how to run ultras and you'll hear lots of "answers" to the question of how to do ultra-running. Caffeine is essential vs caffeine is evil, liquid food only vs solid food is vital, cushioned shoes cause injury vs "Barefoot? Are you f****g nuts?", satellite watches vs sundials, run vs walk vs run walk vs run sit walk sit run walk, Man shorts vs Girl Tights. No one has figured it all out yet and I hope that no one does. The day Ultras get solved is the day I'll take up something else. Mountain Pogo?
• And on the same subject, consider this. The Rubic's Cube, you are probably old enough to remember (Excuse the diversion I do this a lot).  I never really got into it but millions of people all over the world spend hours of fun (or torture) trying to get all the sides to match. Have a look at this. The puzzle has been solved. Any given starting point there is a series of moves that will guarantee victory. Imagine getting one now as a gift and also getting the solution? What would be the point? Like I said, the day Ultras get "solved" I am taking up something else. Penguin Tossing?
• Therefore there is no "Correct Way" of running Ultras
• And with that in mind feel free to ignore everything I have written hereThe further you run the simpler it gets

  

 WHILE RUNNING

• Try not to extrapolate, i.e. thinking "I feel this bad after X miles so I'm going to feel this more worse after Y miles". Long distance running is a roller coaster of ups and downs and the longer you go the bigger the ups and the bigger the downs. You may feel shit now but your body is an amazing thing and a combination of positive thinking, progress and all the chemicals your body will produce may mean you feel ecstatic a few miles later. My first GUCR I could barely walk just after before 100 miles. Later on I ran miles 120-130 like I was gunning a 10k. I can't really explain it but I knowing it could happen helps me through the rough patches. I had a similar experience in the Spartathlon 2010. The first 50 miles I ran 1 hour slower than last year but felt twice as bad? I was a little concerned as I had 100+ miles to go, feeling shitter than last year and 1 hour less to do it. However the next 80 miles (yes EIGHTY) just seemed to fly by, I was cruising. It's important to remember these times as I know I am going to need them in the future. You won't just hit one wall in long ultras, you hit several. But the more you break down the better it feels at the end (and for a long time afterwards).
• Don't take every little set back personally. When you are exhausted it is common to feel paranoid that things are happening because the world is conspiring against you. If a gate is stuck or a stile is wonky or a dog gets in your way. These things will happen and it is important to just shrug or even laugh them off. In the MDS while I was close to collapse and walking over the rocky terrain I kept tripping on the rocks. At some point I got so angry I picked up one of the offending rocks, shouted at it and threw it away. Anger like this is counter-productive. Remember "Mind like Water" - How does the water react when you throw a stone in? With an exactly proportional response to the size of the stone, soon all evidence is gone. Don't make a tidal wave over a little stone.
• Similarly, celebrate a little when these little things go right. Like when someone holds a gate open for you or people spot you and get out of the way, or when a part of the path is not muddy or when the sun goes behind a cloud on a hot day. The more reasons you find to smile the more you will smile and the better you will feel.
• Try to pay attention to your running form at regular intervals. I used to use mile markers in marathons to remind me to check that my head is up and shoulders relaxed etc. Perhaps do it every half an hour or so or every time you see a bridge or regular feature.
• Recently I've been trying drills in long runs. Focus on one part of good technique for a mile or so. It takes your mind off the hurt a little. The fancy term is Proprioceptive Cues that I learned reading "Brain Training for Runners" by Matt Fitzgerald.
• No one is going to judge you for squatting in the bushes. If you need to go then go, don't suffer too long holding it in. Everyone does it. Inevitably one day you are going to be squatting in a secluded place and then get rumbled by a large band of scouts and a brass band marching through. Just nod and smile, you won't ever see them again.
• Try not to stress about the distance that you are covering or what your garmin may be saying. Particularly the really long runs. Sometimes you feel like you have run for miles yet you have barely covered one, sometimes your view of time is distorted by the tiredness, sometimes the distances advertised in the race are wrong. 
• Learn to love the 30 minute mile for you may meet a lot of these. It is still a mile just like any other.
• Don't waste too much energy avoiding water and mud in the wet times. If it rains you are going to get wet, accept in, embrace it, love it.
• Smashing it VS pacing it? Sounds obvious that you should pace evenly but ultras are a different thing to 10k or Marathon races. There is something to be said about going faster at the start and "banking miles" early and many of the elites follow this. Check out this great blog post from Stuart Mills on the subject of the best 100 mile times in history. However I know a couple of people who pace quite evenly. Pat Robbins who wins the GUCR every year follows a strict 25/5 run walk regime and never seems to slow down. Early on in the race he is way back but sure enough every year he tears through the field. Ian Sharman recently recorded a fantastic 100 mile time with "almost" even 20 mile laps.I quite like to get the miles in early and think that if you start fast you slow down but if you start slow too you still slow down.
• RFM. It's easy, get a T-Shirt if you keep forgetting.

GENERAL RACE STRATEGY

• BEWARE OF THE CHAIR - The most common warning I see in the really long ultras. Don't sit down at the checkpoints if you can avoid it, you get cold, stiff and sleepy. It can be a real effort to get up and waste energy (not to mention time) getting going again, time and energy you could have spent doing another mile. I sat in a lot of chairs in the GUCR and Spartathlon, believe me you never feel rested more for sitting in a chair for 10 minutes. Winston Churchill said it best - "when going through hell keep going".
• Organise fresh clothes if at all possible. They feel great when put on and the smell of freshly laundered clothes can be uplifting when you have spent hours smelling of sweat, piss and dirt.
• [HIGH HORSE ALERT] Read any running book or article and you'll be told about the importance of having a plan. You must have a plan, with goals and objectives and a strategy and you must plan to reach your goals and targets and they must be SMART and you will never succeed unless you have all your goals and plans and targets defined and blah blah blah. Dunno about you but that sounds like the crap I have to do at work. I run to get away from that sort of thing. Don't turn the hobby that you love into a shitty marketing job.
• My point above is that "Planning" is different for everyone and in some cases (including mine) is actually stressful and counter-productive. We are not all planners. Some of us are wingers. I suspect that there are a disproportionate number of wingers in ultras than in other distances and in life in general. When I first did the GUCR I was unable to even estimate when I would be at the first checkpoints. I just shrugged and said I'll see how it goes. Badwater I just said to my crew to make sure I had water and make sure I don't die. The problem is you get all this PLAN PLAN PLAN shoved at you that you think it's a neccessity and it ends up stressing you more. If you are a planner then plan away. If you are not a planner then don't try. I am running across the USA next year and have already been subjected to the dreaded "Plan" and "Budget" words. Those things just kill the adventure for me. I'll take a credit card and a spare flapjack and see how it goes. What could go wrong?
• When you get really tired concentrate on moving forward rather than your exact position and distance. Ineviably you will slow down but the effort seems the same so it can get frustrating when you feel like you are not moving as fast as you think you are. Then the paranoia kicks in; "The distance markers are wrong", "The course is long", "I'm lost" etc etc. My first GUCR I thought I was at the 100 mile stage and only when I ran on another half a mile I realised that I was only then at 100 miles. What was half a mile out of 145? Well at the time it was massive and started me on a downward spiral that nearly cost me a finish.
• Realistically there is a point where the sensible thing is to drop out. It depends on how far you have to go, how bad a shape you are in and how much the race means to you. "Finishing at any cost" is a silly thing to say if the "cost" is that you can't walk for 6 months. Similarly a race may mean so much that you are willing to rule yourself out of action for a few weeks just to get to the finish. This all gets blurred in the long and drawn out mess of an ultra. Be careful, but don't sell yourself short, the worst thing is sitting around the next day thinking "you know what? I could have finished that". When I was marshalling at the GUCR 2010 I saw some people drop out who looked in proper pain and I thought "yeah they really should have called it a day sooner". But more often I saw someone give up cos it all "got a bit much" or they lacked motivation to finish. In those instances I just knew that those guys were going to be very pissed with themselves tomorrow.

NUTRITION (What I don't know about nutrition can be written on the back of Canada)

• The dangers of OVER eating are feeling a bit sluggish, perhaps some stomach problems, going to the toilet more and if you have a wedding soon not getting into a dress. Relatively trivial. The dangers of UNDER eating are stomach problems, cramp, fainting, exhaustion, anger, depression, muscle damage, organ damage, death and perhaps more importantly there is a greater danger of not finishing. You may have read books about runners who can run 100 miles on a can of coke and an apple but these are likely to be the elites who have done this many times before and have well practiced routines. If you are not at the sharp end and relatively new to this they I would lean on the side of over eating rather than the opposite. You can always change it the next time.
• I hear the phrase "fuelling the Ferrari" used quite a lot when giving advice on nutrition to runners. Well I'm not a Ferrari. More likely I am a rusty old camper van with a big dent in the side and smells funny. The fact is that when running for hours and hours the act of eating can become a struggle. You may not feel hungry or you may have trouble getting stuff down. In these cases ANYTHING is better than nothing.
• In my experience the biggest mistake nutrition wise is not eating the wrong types of food but simply just not eating enough.
• You can use food as a reward. Derive pleasure from it. Don't think "I will eat a Kit Kat because it has 300 calories in it", think "I will eat a Kit-Kat cos I really like Kit-Kats". I love it when checkpoints have savoury stuff like sausage rolls and sandwiches. It gives me something to look forward to when slogging through the mud. Try and make food and the thought of food a positive thing. 
• If it's true and "you are what you eat" then I am a pile of shit. Stuff I have consumed in races over the years include pringles, sausages, McDonalds (122 mile point in Badwater), Subway (65 miles into GUCR), enormous amounts of spicy meat and cheese in the UTMB, coke, coffee, Fish n Chips, milkshake, Pot Noodles, sausage rolls, soup.
• Drink early. I learned quite early on that it's easy to jog 15 miles and ignore feelings of thirst because you want to get ahead but then it catches up on you and them some. It's hard to come back from dehydration.
• ELECTROLYTES - I have only recently discovered these (I previously relied on the salt content of crisps). If you are running a long way then take these from the start. There are plenty of easy to carry products out there. IN Badwater I asked my support team to put them in everything I drank. Electrolytes are simply the salts that are cruical for the electrical activity in your muscle movement. If you flush them out with pure water then you risk cramp in the muscles (including those in your heart).My preference is Elete but there are others. Here is a more in depth article on how they work.
• Protein - another one of those "you must take it/you must not take it" debates. I try to eat it as normal on a long run which generally involves protein and fat. From personal experience and lots of others too there has been great feedback for the 4-1 carbs to protien energy drink/powder you can buy. I think you need protien, you need to recover as you go.
• Protien is especially imortant on multi-days. At the end of a run where I am doing the same the next day I try to guzzle some milkshake, beef jerky and nuts within an hour of stopping. If you are doing multi-days this hour after you stop running is perhaps the most important for eating, drinking and stretching. Here is a great article from 1 Vigor on the subject of recovery nutrition. Eat within the first hour and anything is better than nothing.
• Camelpaks and bottle belts are the kit of choice for carrying water but don't rule out a hand held. It's not ideal in terms of running form but if you are prone to not drinking enough and if it's very hot then a hand held bottle could be very useful. I use backpacks where lots of kit is required (UTMB, ONER, Gran-Canaria or general UK ultras), I use a bottle belt where checkpoints are frequent and kit needs are low (Spartathlon, Davos, some UK ultras) and I used a hand held for Badwater.
• Don't get suckered too much into the expensive "science" food. Read the second half on any running magazine and there will be loads of ads claiming to have "unleashed the power of the daisy" and swearing that your running will improve by 23.7% Most of the runners I know get by on stuff you can buy from a regular supermarket.

MIND GAMES

• When out for a long time and trying to work through the tough times I find it really helps to think in the third person and take yourself out of yourself (if that makes any sense at all). I am quite comfortable thinking about myself in the 3rd person and years of Facebooking has made James very good at this.You can be as ridiculous and as egotistical as you like, if it helps you out of a funk then so what? No one needs to know. Here are a few that I use. There are some that I won't share right now and some that I might never share.
• Imagine your own funeral (ok perhaps it sounds silly to imagine you are dead but hear me out). Hopefully your funeral is years and years away. When it happens people are only going to say what a great person you are and how you touched their lives. Think of the speeches made and the conversations between your old school teacher and training buddy. I've even got the location of mine sorted, hmmmm maybe I should contact the council.
• Think of the stories you can tell about your experiences. There is nothing more boring than listening to someone saying "I entered a race, trained really hard and then got a pb, then I entered another race, trained really hard and got a pb, then I entered another race and I trained really hard and I ... *SLAP*". Remember that you are creating your own stories as you go. The more stuff that is going wrong and the harder you find it the more captivating your story will be in the pub. Try and remember everything so that you can re-tell it when you are nice and dry and warm and full of food with your feet up. Others will appreciate it.
• And try to think of every set back as a funny story for later. Soon you'll be wishing mis-fortune on yourself....
• Imagine you are supporting someone you know in the race you are doing now. This kept me occupied for 10 hard miles in the Spartathlon this year. There are a few people I know who want to do the Spartathlon and I imagined I was here with them supporting them through their run. You can only guess as to the kinds of problems they will run into but your amazing and uplifting words and advice can help them through it. That then makes you feel much better and perhaps even forget for a while that you are actually running that very tough race yourself right now
• Persuading someone else to do the race you are doing. You may not believe it but some people don't like the idea of running 145 miles of canal on a Bank Holiday Weekend. The thought of this is incredible to me but each to their own. Pick someone who you know will say it's crazy. Tell them it's crazy but they still should do it. Argue with them (though not out loud near medics as they might think you have lost it and pull you out).
• Imagine your friends back at home tracking your race.I do lots of Facebooking and texting during long races and tend to get this feedback anyway but in it's absence you could still make it up. Think of a status update and then your friends responses. You know all the people who will say that you are doing awesomely as well as those who say their Gran could run faster.
• I imagine doing speeches at the start of events or to general crowds of ultra-runners. Invent questions and give your answers and pretend that the whole audience are in stitches with your hilarious jokes.Of course they are hilarious cos it's all in your head.
• More and more ultras nowadays have lotteries to enter. The UTMB, Badwater, Western States, MDS, GUCR all have more people wanting to participate than there are places. This leads to disappointment for many as well as headaches for the organisers. When running imagine someone sitting at home who applied to do what you are doing now but did not get in. Don't do him/her a dis-service by bailing out for some wimpy reason. Finish it for the person who could not start.

RACE ETIQUETTE

• Be respectful to other runners feelings. There will be times when you overtake another who looks a mess, try not to look too smug or comfortable as you do. No one likes getting flown past by a runner who looks like they are not even making an effort. It's funny how you can occupy the same part of space and time yet be in completely different places.
• Similarly don't contaminate someone else's race with your own suffering. When you are on a roll you don't want to hear someone moaning about how bad their race is going. Remember you could be having the worst race of your life but be right next to someone who is having their best.
• It's great to find someone to chat to during a race but sometimes people might not be in the mood. It's nothing personal, they just may be struggling. Sometimes a question can feel like someone plunging their fist into your brain and trying to pull somthing out. Don't feel you need to talk all the time and respect others need for mental space.
• SO don't be too afraid of saying "I don't really feel like talking". And don't take it personally if this is said to you. In some of my longer races such as the ONER ot Trans Gran Canaria it was nice to have friends around just up ahead or behind and just seeing them and exchanging a few words and jokes every now and then. I could not imagine jabbering on for 24 hours though. Some people however love this.
• BE NICE to the marshals and the organisers. It can't be much fun standing in the rain for hours only to get abused by a grumpy sweaty beast as he starts crying that there are not enough green jelly babies at the checkpoint. Also, give some slack to the race organisers. I think it's great how many people out there are willing to put themselves on the line and organise these events. They have made my life so much better over the years. Organisers and race directors will make mistakes too, don't beat them up about it.

HOT, COLD, KIT Etc

• There are a lot of great blogs and resources out there to give advice on extremes of temperature. Marshall Ulrich's great blog has some stuff on dealing with both Hot and Cold. Also this is a great little website full of stuff about really hot running
• PROTECT YOUR HEAD. Sun hat when it's hot, fleecy hat when it's cold, hood when it rains. Your head will be going through enough without you beating it up more with the elements. A good UV protection hat for warm and a buff for cold are 2 essentials
• Do not underestimate the slow sapping power that the sun has. I got spanked on both days of the GUCR last year and really suffered. Wear a good hat and sun cream, have some on you if you are doing a very long run.
• Don't ignore thirst ever
• If you are run/walking then run in the sun and walk in the shade, spending as little time as possible exposed and giving you longer to recover where it's cool. I do this in the GUCR when there are trees and on the Spartathlon where there are bridges, spending longer in the shade helps your body cool from the constant stress of overheating.
• IN training for Badwater I did 1 session of Bikram Yoga a week for 10 weeks. This is much less than is recommended and that most people do but it was fine for me. More than anything it made me learn how to deal with the shock of that kind of temperature while working. The first 10 minutes are hell but you adjust and manage it.
• In the cold its layers that are the key. The warmth is generated by your body and kept in by air in the layers of your clothing and so the more layers the warmer you will be rather than the total volume of clothing.
• The more and more I get into ultras the less and less kit I think I need. You sure can buy a load of crap these days. My first ultra I am sure I obsessed about everything I wore, bag, shoes, tights, shirt, shades, GPS etc etc. My most recent Spartathlon I just made sure I had some shoes and shorts and I was sorted. I am sure you've been called an idiot lots of times because of your choice to run a long long way. I'm sure you've learned how to laugh that kind of thing off. However don't actually BE an idiot pay for things that really are not necessary. "It's not about the Bike" as Lance Armstrong famously said. That is totally true of ultras too (apart from the bike bit obviously).
• Having said all that there are a few bits that I use though all of this stuff I will tend to buy when it's on special offers and rarely will buy the really expensive brands
• Make it your life mission to find comfy pants. Men and Women come in all different shapes and sizes in that region so we are likely to all find different answers to this. I've been using compression shorts designed for Rugby players, seem to work. It may take a while to find the perfect pair but once you do stick with them (ok not actually "stick" to them).
• I don't really like head torches, I prefer the little hand torches (you can get them from outdoors shops for a few pound). Head torches make me crane my neck and probably screw my running up. I don't trip over any more in the dark that in the light. Enjoy the moonlight.
• Some sort of hand sanitiser or wet wipes are very useful. Your hands are going to get very dirty. It's easy to forget sometimes that you are stuffing jelly babies into your mouth with the same hand that has just wiped your arse.
• Toothbrush, flannel, take every opportunity you can of washing your hands (and other regions) in the really long stuff

GENERAL MOTIVATION

• You probably compare yourself to others all the time. This is one of the best ways possible to make yourself unhappy. Road runners have this thing called "age-grading" where they compare their time for some fixed distance with the fastest person of a similar age over the same distance and then say things like "I am 63.7% the man that Haile is". Depends how you measure it I guess. I am 182% the man that Haile is (in mass). Such comparisons don't really belong in ultra running.
• Don't compare yourself to others in terms of time/volume etc. You will meet all sorts of people at these events all with different backgrounds, different motivations and different levels of ability. Some will have not been running for long and maybe have families and are short on time to do running. Others may have been running for years and get all the time in the world to train. Some are here to win, most are here to finish and enjoy. Have your own measures of success that are completely independent of the performance of others.
• Ignore the cancerous voices that may pop into your head that may talk of disappointment. I get this sometimes, the frowning of letting someone down. You are only doing this for yourself.
• Think back to times when you were suffering as much as you may be now and remember how you got through them. Key moments like this for me were; Jurassic Coast challenge in 2008 - on the third day I could barely walk before the start but managed to run the hilly 30 miles of that day, Rotherham 2008 - The weather was Baltic, everyone around me was suffering from hypothermia and the checkpoints were indoors. It was the hardest thing in the world stepping out of those checkpoints and into the rain. I knew that in 5 minutes time it would be fine again.
• Also, think back to the times when you were not nearly the runner you are now. Everyone started somewhere, perhaps a 4 mile run on a treadmill seemed like an effort a few years back. Keep in mind just how far you have come over the years. I remember when 4 miles on a treadmill would make me weak at the knees, I remember the fear of my first marathon. In Greece I passed the marathon stage of the Spartathlon in 3.47, that was my marathon pb in Berlin just 4 years earlier. The glowing feeling of progress propelled me all the way to 50 miles

• For some reason I find miles 16-22 quite hard in any race, marathon or 150 miles. I don't know why but I've learnt to ignore it.
• I spend a lot of my time in races thinking about even longer and harder races that I want to do. It sounds like a bad idea to be taking yourself into an even harder place when you really should be thinking about fluffy kittens and pillows and candy floss but it seems to get me through it. I spent most of my time in my first ultras thinking about finishing the GUCR. I spent a lot of my time in least years GUCR thinking about the Spartathlon. I spent some of my time in the Spartathlon thinking about Badwater. I don't know. Perhaps the point here is to always have a "next step" to think about. Now I always think about running into New York.

YOUR BRAIN - YOUR WORST ENEMY

• Don't freak out when you hallucinate. It is normal for the brain when tired to see things that are not there. Your brain "sees" not by seeing everything but by looking at only a small area and "filling in" the rest itself. It's how optical illusions work. It is easy for the tired brain to "fill in" your surroundings wrongly, like when I thought a pile of branches were a giraffe or some flowers in the dark were actually small faces with hats or when I thought the canal by night was a huge quarry.
• And don't worry too much about the King of the Mushroom people. He's a pussy.
• Beware of the dangers of over-thinking. You are a long distance runner and hence are likely to be much brighter than the population at large. Hopefully this has worked out well for you in other aspects of your life but it could actually work against you here. Relying on your brain too much can be hazardous. You have probably heard the old cliché of "it's all in the mind" a million times and this has a lot of truth in it, however relying on your brain to make calculations and objective decisions can be futile sometimes. Don't waste considerable energy thinking too much, try to switch off.  Forrest Gump never looked in trouble did he?
• My marathon PB is still from a race I did the day after a 24 mile fell race. The point here being that sometimes things just don't make any sense.
• One of the most important things I have learned is that my mind can become useless at any objective thought or decision making. It is hard for someone to admit that they are mentally losing control but it does happen and can be hazardous if you try to "think" your way out of it. This is the point to go with what "feels" right. To quote Homer Simpson - "Shut up brain before I stab you with an ice-pick".

NOSTALGIA

• Write about your experiences, if only for yourself. I love reading back about races I've almost forgotten. I love looking back at how different I was when I started out running distance, when a marathon would terrify me. Put it on a blog and allow others to learn about what you have done, it does not matter if only your Mum reads it.
• Many people will never understand why you would do a thing like this. Don't waste too much effort trying to explain what they will never understand, even in your head. I will never understand why people sit in their living rooms and get excited by z-list celebrities cooking for other z-list celebrities. I suspect I am not missing much
• Imagine a life where every race you did went to plan, where every race was a PB. Where everyone you loved loved you back, where every job you applied for you got, where your football team win every game and the sun always shines. Every test is an A+ and you never once got the flu. Wouldn't that be wonderful? Really? No. I'd kill myself. That would be a miserable existence. The best life experiences are when everything fucks up, when everything falls to pieces but you just about manage to hold onto yourself enough to get through it. Those are the times worth keeping.
• The crippling lows and euphoric highs are why I do this. You have to go a long way to feel at your lowest but in the same race and after that you can feel the greatest you ever have. Every low point you have you can use as a learning experience, a reference point to help you deal with it when it happens again
• As I grow old I'll forget things. I'll forget the least important things first, like what my pin number is or the name of my grand-daughters name, I'll then forget the unimportant things like how fast I could ever run 26.2 miles on a road or how I felt when running some 80% wava race or whatever. But I'll never forget the time I was running through the Canadian forests when 3 hours elapsed in 10 minutes because I was having so much fun. I'll never forget the top of that sand dune in the night in the Sahara when I looked around and could see nothing but stars, that moment I was the only person on Earth. I'll never forget staggering through a crowded street in Sparta to the adulation of runners and people of the town who had no idea who I was but know what I did. And the last thing I'll forget will be the turnaround I enjoyed in my first GUCR, I went from crawling to running, then from running to running quite fast. Then from running quite fast to being all of a sudden overwhelmed and having to hold onto some railings while I burst into tears. I thought at the time that the emotion was due to me realising that I was going to finish the race, but it was more than that. It was the moment in my life where I realised that I could finish anything. Anything is what I intend to do.
• BEWARE of how addictive this all is. I entered my first ultra with the intention of doing more but never thought I'd be looking to do them every week. It takes over, you are always looking for different things to do. Longer, hillier, hotter, more navigation, less sleep or whatever.

Written by Nick Jenkins - http://nearlyshoeless.com

Uphill Running – The best technique is the one that you already do.

It’s been close to 4 years now that I’ve lived in the Ariège Pyrenees, and if there’s one thing I do a lot of its up hill running. Now, when I first got here I was a touch over awed by the climbs, In the UK I lived close to a place called the Malvern Hills and in order to get a cumulative vertical gain of 1500 Metres I had to run the entire 9 mile chain twice. Now on my doorstep, I have close to the same amount of vert in one climb, about 1200 metres, from door to the top of the valley in about 4.5 miles. It’s been a somewhat steep learning curve (sorry).

About a year and a half ago I wrote this article At the time I found it pretty difficult to sustain up hill running for more than a few hundred metres of gain. Fast forward to the present day and I’m now able to run in access of 1000 metres in one go – running – no walking, no poles, no chairlifts. Just pure up hill running. I easily pass people on the hills in races now, when folk seem to start walking I’m still happily grinding out the climb at a reasonable running pace – it feels good!
In this post I’m going to share the secret of efficient up hill technique, and how you can get better at up hill running…

The Main Secret:

Put one foot in front of the other continuously and don’t stop until you get to the top.

Sounds easy enough. It is. There is no secret, no best technique and no special way to run up hill. Practice enough and your body will automatically work out its preferred and most economical way to climb.

But what about all the trainers and coaches who preach perfect form? Isn’t there “one best way” to run up hill?

It’s been very well studied that the pursuit of perfect form can be detrimental to our running economy.  And let’s be honest, if there is an area of running where economy is vital it’s in hill climbing.   In his book “80/20 Running: Run Stronger and Race Faster” Matt Fitzgerald goes in to depth on the subject of running economy and the”cost of correction” Fitzgerald provides solid evidence that runners who change their natural style or stride perform worse as a result.

Over the past few years I’ve come to see this personally. When I started down the minimal path, I like many others became obsessed with pursuing the idea of the “correct way to run.” In the process of transitioning to minimal shoes I looked at mimicking barefoot running form whilst shod. It took a lot of concentration but I gradually adapted. I stuck doggedly to it for the years that followed: the idea that there is a one true perfect form that fits all runners. I was convinced that a fore-foot or mid-foot landing was “optimal” and a cadence anything less than 180 would leave me sidelined with injury. In the past few years I’ve become less dogmatic, studies have now proved that there is no best foot strike or “best way to run” and according to Matt Fitzgerald book – Mo Farah’s cadence is just 160!

In my own experience, as I’ve naturally gravitated from a zero cushion, zero drop shoe to a more moderately cushioned lower drop shoe, I’ve seen my stride relax too. I’m no longer concerned about fitting in to the constraints of a branded running form. As a result of letting go and allowing my body to find its own stride again I’ve seen year on year race improvement, fitness gains and continual PB’s on my Strava Segments!

As Matt Fitzgerald writes, “Each runners stride automatically becomes more efficient over time so that conscious changes in technique are always counterproductive.”

An example of this “Self Optimization” in my own uphill running – I barely move my arms anymore. A form obsessed coach would seriously criticize this, but I’ve come to accept that my low relaxed carriage and almost non-existent arm swing is my body’s way of conserving energy as I run up hill in a steady aerobic state.

All of these changes are a result of letting go of an idea of “perfect form” but one thing I’m still careful about is posture. We can’t forget that the majority of workplace environments cause bad posture. Modern life generally sucks from a postural standpoint (I know another one.) One thing I do think about when running up hill is not to slouch too much, to pull my shoulders down a little, open my chest a bit, keep my abs flat… But In my case I really need to do this when I’m not running! I’m tall and as a result of growing up surrounded by short people I’ve developed a poor posture that I have to fight against daily! Cursed gravity!
In summary, the secret to uphill running is just to do it, don’t over think and in time (it took me three years) and with enough hills you’re body will self optimize its own perfect technique that’s tailor made for you.

Further TRT’s for uphill running…

Grinding out the vert.

This is where it gets fun, in hill running the greatest sense of achievement, I believe, is to grind out a climb without walking. There’s nothing better than reaching a col or a summit and thinking, “I didn’t walk any of that.” As my stride has developed over the years I’ve noticed my ability to keep on “running” up hill has too. In fact I prefer running up hill in a quiet meditative aerobic state than power walking. The later is undoubtedly more efficient on steep grades, and after a while energy levels can’t support continual run climbing, but I can slow it all down and pace myself up the sharper bits and as time goes by I find I can go longer uphill in “running” mode before I call it quits and revert to walking.

Set your goals and the pace will adjust like magic.

Imagine running a half marathon the best you can do, you reach the finish line completely drained then the race director tells you that it was supposed to be a marathon! – you need to tack on an extra 13 miles. The chances are you’re NOT going to do it. You will more than likely crumple in to a deflated pile on the floor, the prospect of another 13 is ridiculous.   Even though you may have run a marathon before and know you can complete that distance – that wasn’t the task that was set for you, Your brain and your body say NO!

Humans are task orientated, we like to know how long something is going to take, when we have a specific goal, like the end of a race, we’re quite willing to suffer for that finish line. It’s accepted that there is a certain amount of psychology that underpins the physiology. Hill running fits nicely in to this paradigm – if we know how long the climb is going to be we can make it to the top!

If you set out that your goal is to reach the top of a mountain, on a known path, where you can perceive the finish you’ll easily be able to pace yourself to the top – over a period of time you will get quicker and quicker at this route – simple logic. Your stride will self optimize, you may walk less (if at all) and you will gradually find it easier.

A great pacing test is to run up hill as fast as you can to a given point. You should, without really trying too hard, manage to pace yourself to the finish  – as long as you are familiar with the trail.   Every month I do the same “Vertical Half Kilometer” time trial – a steep 500 metres of gain in less than 4 km which is now saved as a Strava segment. So far, apart from the odd occasion, I’ve made an improvement each time – got it down to just over 30 mins. At the beginning I took off dramatic chunks from my personal best but now I guess I’m close to the fastest I can go, I’m taking seconds off, no longer minutes.

It’s all about pace. And I’m sorry there’s no magic pill, you have to practice and repeat your routes, practice and repeat. You will get faster I promise.

But what if you don’t know the climb?

There’s usually a situation where you undertake a climb for the first time and you need to perform to your very best. Maybe a race or perhaps you are attempting to escape from prison.

The approach I’ve tried most often is to use a simple stopwatch timer – armed with the knowledge of how long it takes me to climb at a steady running pace and the amount of vertical gain in relation to the linear distance required to reach the top, I can usually get the pacing right – It’s even easier when you emerge from the tree line and can see the summit! But that’s not always possible – weather can obscure peaks and a climb can seem to take forever.

Another method is to use an altimeter, this is probably the best technique when you can’t see anything and its about as accurate an indication of how much more climb you have left to go than anything else.  You can relax and just see the vertical gain accumulating before your eyes. Perhaps the best approach.
The key thing is to be able to visualize the end goal and your pace will adjust like magic! Speed will come after practice.

What NOT to do:

Type “uphill running” in to YouTube and then copy someone else. Don’t Do that. Do not attempt to copy the rigid straight jacket techniques found in

. Leave the pseudoscience alone – walk away.  In fact it’s been shown that as an athlete gets fitter and more experienced they tend to have a more variable stride – looseness or fluidity develops. I’m not suggesting that professional athletes run around with their arms flaying all over the place, but they certainly don’t stick to the confines of a branded running style. If you take the time to look at a YouTube video of a top mountain runner like Killian Jornet, you’ll understand what I’m talking about; an individual, relaxed and fluid stride that is unique to Killian. Get out there and practice enough and you’ll be rewarded with your own best uphill running technique.  Enjoy the grind!

Written by Nick Jenkins - http://nearlyshoeless.com

I love winter running, Its the only time of the year that I can actually justify wearing tights in public, in the daytime.  Early starts with the head torch, starting off cold under copious layers then warming up and regretting all of those layers.  The sound of crunchy snow underfoot, the fleeting glimpse of wildlife in the woods and the lure of snowy peaks… I love it.  This article is all about winter running and what you need to do to be able to do it, I’m going to start with the very basics in this post, then part two will be focused on what I think we’re all calling “Alpine running” – crampons and ice axe stuff… But for now we’ll start with the most important bit when running in wintery conditions.

The importance of warmth

It’s a balancing act, putting on the right amount of clothes in relation to the temperature outside – the fundamental requirement is not to freeze your bollocks or tits off.  In all seriousness hypothermia is a real thing and could happen if you aren’t suitably attired for the temperature.  Personally I can “get away” with shorts in temps as low as 2°C (35.6°F) but as I get older (and perhaps a bit slower) it seems that each year the Lycra is coming out of summer hibernation a bit earlier…

So lets have a look at a what to wear when the temperature creeps towards freezing.   The best approach is to combine 3-4 thin layers that you can remove and put back on as necessary.  I go for a technical t-shirt under a long sleeve thermal layer, these could be made out of a) Merino wool if you are rich, or b) Polyester if you are not so rich.  I go for poly as I found that the merino tops that I can afford often shrink a little in the wash.  A quick example of quality is my original long sleeve Helly Hansesn Lifa top which is still going strong after 11 years of use.  Bomb proof – and truly deserves the moniker of “Smelly Helly”.

On top of that you may want to add a lightweight fleece top or a sleeveless gillet type of thing.

Finnish off the layering party with either a windproof or waterproof top depending on the weather.  More info on “what waterproof in part 2.”

The body will pull heat away from the extremities to protect the core so make sure the hands and feet are toasty warm – I use a combination of proper ski glove mitten type things and normal runners glove – I’ve just purchased a new pair of Ronhill gloves with a tuck-in-able windproof over mitten which are quite frankly really bloody awesome.  Here’s a picture

On my feet in winter I always, without any exception wear proper wool hiking socks.  This really is my best beginner tip.  Wool will stay warm when wet – and you are going to get wet if you run in anything resembling snow.  The extra thickness will help with insulation from the ground too.  I use socks made by a company called Bridgedale, they are well made and seem to last for ever, one thing you might have to do is remove the insole of your running shoes to accommodate a thicker sock, you can also try sizing up.  Two shoes which work well in my arsenal are the Inov 8 roclite 295 and the Saucony Peregrine 4 (I take the insoles out in the Pery’s but not the 295’s).  A slightly less minimal shoe is my preference – the increased stack height and added foam will contribute to the insulation from the ground.

Winter isn’t really a time to start barefoot running either, unless you want to be a bit of an attention seeker.  You also hear about people who continue with shirtless running in winter… Look, I’ll never call anyone a moron for doing stuff like this, however, if the practices of winter barefooting and non-summer bare chestiness are combined with one of those knowing, smug looks that suggest that the secret of everything has been found…  Well… I will most likely refer to a person like that as sactominious twat.

In this case a beard will not be a saving grace.

Back to the advice.  On top of your bonce you need a hat, I usually start with a normal beanie, then as I warm up I take that off and pull up the buff (which was around my neck as a scarf) on to my head – clever, I know!  On my legs if temps are well below freezing I wear boxer type underpants, long johns and Lycra leggings – I’m a big fan of RonHill Tracksters, they’re not too tight, they have stirrups for keeping them from riding up, they are mega cheap, warm and really these days kinda cool in a retro ironic hipster type way.

The next really important thing to discuss  (ladies this one is purely for the chaps) is how to “dress”… Lets face it, it’s difficult not to notice a poorly dressed man, there’s nothing worse than “positioning” yourself to either side when wearing Lycra… The best thing is to go for symmetry and dress down the middle and nothing says “I’m embarrassed about being a man” than wearing shorts over tights.  You end up looking like a grownup pretending to be a super hero, its 100% geeky – it just doesn’t look good.   I’ve heard it argued that “overshorts” are good if you run in the wind, or if temperatures are really low.  This is, quite frankly, a poor argument.

Nothing beats putting on a full windproof over-pant and thus covering the entire leg – if it’s really that cold, then that’s what you need to do.  Inov 8 make my favourite, the out of production Mistlite 130  (now updated to the Race Elite 85 windpant) which I’ve used to climb high peaks in raging weather.   You can pay a lot more and buy fully waterproof taped over pants… I dare say that they are worth the money but I still have yet to find conditions where my windproof inov-8’s were lacking.

All you need now is a bag to chuck in the discarded layers as you warm up, for long winter runs I need about 10-12 litres of space – I’m currently using the Ultimate Direction PB pack, it is very good.

Before you head out the door take heed of this advice – it’s okay to be wet and warm but not wet and cold, If the weather looks bad then either don’t go for a run, cut it short or wear a proper taped waterproof coat with a hood.  As I mentioned earlier, I’ll go a bit more in depth on waterproof shells in part two.   We also need to factor in wind chill – running will warm you up and you’ll be fine if you keep running, but if you need to stop for any reason you’ll get cold quickly. On big outings I always bring an extra windproof layer that I can bundle over or under my waterproof, takes hardly any space and can really make a difference.  In recent years we’ve seen the proliferation of micro down jackets, which I have yet to try but look like a nice lightweight alternative to a fleece used as a midlayer, the only down side (err…sorry) is that once wet, duck down will be really cold.  A waterproof outer layer is a must and even then in really bad weather its hard to avoid a soaking.  So, remembering that wet and warm is best, we’re probably better off using a fleece as a mid layer.

Traction.

Before I wrap up part one I will touch on traction and grip.  Snow is a bit slippery at the best of times, but honestly if there is a lot of it and its soft then a fall isn’t the end of the world – try out slushy snow or powder without any extra traction devices, I think shoe skiing should be recognised as a sport on its own…  You need more grip when you encounter ice – after a cycle of freeze/thaw the snow will get more and more consolidated and turn in to a sheet of neve or snow ice.

On a woodland trail a slip can be dangerous, on a mountain side a slip can be life threatening.  More about the high mountain stuff in the next article, but for now we’ll touch on traction options for general trail running outings.

Your traction options..

You can screw permanent spikes in to your shoes, there are official products available or you can use Tek screws

If that doesn’t float your boat, perhaps you want something less permanent – you could purchase a product like Yaktrax which slip over the shoe. They have a number of different models to choose from – some use a metal ringed cord system similar in idea to snow chains for your car tires.  They also offer a product that has tiny spikes or dobs under the forefoot area.  Great for low level stuff and potentially the more comfy option for all day use.

Further up the hill I’d encourage the use of micro crampons such as Kahtoola Microspikes or Hill Sound Trail Crampon. Depending on your experience these could quite happily see you through sections of relatively technical stuff such as wide slopes of neve snow, iced up ridge running or single track and even short sections of more technical mountain – there certainly is a bit of a  debate about when a trail runner should put away the micro crampons in favour of real crampons with front points, micro’s are without a doubt the easier option to “run” in  however, you wouldn’t want to climb a frozen waterfall…But that’s not what we’re really contemplating is it?  We’re runners and we need to draw a distinction between true alpinism and “alpine running” which I will ponder over more in part two…

…Until then…Happy Winter Trails.

Hey – if you’ve like this article, why not hit the share button on your favourite social media outlet or give me a little like button love.   All the links above are non-affiliated you won’t be helping me at all if you buy anything as a result of reading this, but a share, well a share is worth so much more than money…

A little disclaimer…Trail running is dangerous and mixing it with winter is surely a recipe for disaster.  I take no responsibility if you hurt yourself after reading my blog.  None at all.  The information provided is my personal opinion only – you follow it at your own risk.  Really, I think it’s best that you just stay indoors with a nice hot cup of tea until the spring time.

Written by Andy Mouncey - http://www.bigandscaryrunning.com

At least, that’s what all the lead characters in the great movies/TV thrillers have. In fact, they go further than that because they give at least one entire wall of their house/office over to The Plan which is then peppered with pictures, photos, lines, notes and pins.

Claire Danes as the CIA operative in C4s USA TV series Homeland

Russell Crowe’s police officer in American Gangster

John Malcovich as the creepy assassin in Line Of Fire

Robert Downey Jnr as Sherlock Holmes in The Game Of Shadows

Heck, any police/crime/CSI drama worth it’s salt knows full well that you have to have at least a large wall-mounted pin board or three and periodic shots of people moving pins and paper around while stroking their chin thoughtfully under furrowed brows.

Even Tom Cruise in his Mission Impossible office knows you gotta have a plan – it’s just that he’s pimped his to be all virtual and whizzy so that it does really cool things as he waves his arms about.

A Big Wall Plan means you can:

Have an excuse for standing around looking as though you are daydreaming when in actual fact you are just ‘working your plan’

Move stuff around to create something different if you want to change the view

Physically rip stuff off/screw stuff up and throw it away which always feels very theraputic

Truly, in TV-land at least, The Plan is central to your storyline.

We (that’s me and friend Speedy Paul) were therefore very impressed when other running friend Andy B announced the other day as we were all halfway up an early morning ascent of our local mountain Ingleborough in the Yorkshire Dales that he had drawn up A Plan:

‘Ooooo! That means you’re all focused and structured and motivated and everything, then!’ we sneered, secretly jealous of his new-found dedication to The Search For (Sustained) Speed, and starting to remember the times when we too had A Plan and how that plan had actually really helped.

‘When I had A Plan before,’ said Andy, ‘It really helped…’ and he then proceeded to sell the benefits to an audience who were actually already converted – it’s just that we’d been doing the Spontaneity v Obligation bit for a while, and were actually quite comfortable with that, thankyou.

Too late: Andy had sprinkled and the Seeds Of Doubt had been sown.

Time to turn the tables and put the focus back on him.

‘Well it’s all well and good having A Plan,‘ we said, ‘That’s the easy bit. And now you’ve gone and Shared The Plan – which is a considerably more scary proposition especially for a repressed bloke, so well done – which means all that remains is the really hard bit: Working The Plan.’

We paused for dramatic effect – and to concentrate on our breathing as the slope kicked up viciously.

‘But don’t worry: now that you’ve told us we can be really helpful by asking you all about it every time we see you. We could ring you up and remind you. Send helpful and motivating messages. Give you an opportunity to report on how well you’ve been doing your homework - and belittle you and make you feel like a worthless worm if you miss a session.’

We grinned across at him with adoration shining in our eyes: ’We can be your special support team!’

And so it went on.

But however much we sought to have a little boyish fun at his expense the fact remained that Andy B had A Plan and was therefore clearly about to Go Places: We didn’t and by implication we weren’t. And that sucked.

By the time I got home the cogs were still churning: I wanted to Go Places – heck, I always want to go places - I had an office wall (which was blank) so what was I waiting for?

‘I know what the problem is’ I said to my wife Charlotte - we’d been worrying away at the business recently looking for ways to get to where we wanted to be faster – ‘I don’t have A Big Plan up on my wall. I used to have one, but…’

So that afternoon The Plan went up on the wall: business, family, running – it all went up there – and I spent many happy and smug minutes standing staring and stroking my chin thoughtfully.

Later that day I spoke to Andy B on the phone.

‘So that run this morning, then’ I asked. ‘Were we on or off Plan?’

‘Nah, don’t worry,’ came the reply ‘I haven’t started yet.’