50km trail run - Saturday race day.

This 20 week plan will prepare you for a 50km trail run, building from 40km a week in week 1 up to 80km in week 17. Race day is set for Saturday, if your race is on a Sunday then pick the other plan in this series. You should have a good base of runniing 4-5 times a week and be comfortable running a 10k. The first 9 weeks lay a solid aerobic base, before adding hill sprints, strides and tempo efforts to improve your effciency. This plan does not include hard threshold intervals as it is designed for the novice ultra-runner. If you have done at least 1 season of regular running including a marathon and want to get faster then consider the intermediate plan which does include threshold intervals.

The training sessions are structured using threshold heart rate as most of your runs will ideally be done on trails. Ensure you set your trainingzones in TrainingPeaks accurately and monitor for any changes in your threshold pace as you get fitter.

Your weekly structure will be two longer runs at the weekend, and 3 days mid week with rest days on Monday and Friday. Included in the plan are foam roller/mobility sessions and core stability to help ensure you stay injury free. Every session has a purpose, with particular focus on run technique to minimise risk of injury.

Each week you are encouraged to spend time reflecting on your weeks training, what went well and what needs improving? This helps you stay focussed on the process of improving yourself rather than simply the end goal. Along the way there are other mental training exercises to help you prepare your mind as well as body.

There are also nutritional planning exercises, with additional reading material and self assessments. To help you optimise your training and race nutrition plan there is a link to partnerships with Precision Hydration (including a discount code) and CORE nutrition planning app.

Most importantly, have fun out there and enjoy the scenery! Let me know how you get on.