I booked my first 100 MILE RACE! I'm scared...

[@mathiasdonoso5768]

Hey Chris, everything you do now will help you have a smooth first 100 miler. They say the first 50 miles are physical and the last 50 mental, but I'd say the last 50 are actually down to simple admin so there's nothing to be scared of. Have a plan for eating, footcare and weather/terrain. People often worry about sleep and the night, but that's rarely an issue compared to the 3 things I listed. Good luck!

[@ChrisBranch]

Hi Mathias, this is encouraging advice, thank you. I like the sound of the second half coming down to good admin and logistics - that gives me simple and tangible things to aim at. And as for your first point, yes, I am really sticking to the plan and I feel each session building on the last. I’ve got a 50-miler in 3 weeks, so it will be good to see where my legs are at. Thanks again for the comment 🙏☺️

[@mathiasdonoso5768]

@@ChrisBranch exactly, it's simple really, after 50 miles it's all down to basic self maintenance much more than fitness. The only thing I found tough to plan was food as the only way to see how the stomach behaves beyond 50 miles is to go beyond 50 miles :D Worth having a few options in your drop bag and/or be ready to try different foods at CP. They say nothing new on race day, but any food is better than no food at all.

[@rob.pittaway]

I have the Uphill Athlete book next to me as I watch this. Well done for booking this, I was looking at cycling the route this year on my gravel bike. I now feel like I might need to do more running, only a 20 miler booked so far, around cycling events. Keen to try my first 50k though towards end of year. Good luck mate!

[@ChrisBranch]

Thanks Rob! And I think I'd prefer to try and run 100 miles than cycle it - I'm not saddle-ready at all! Both are tough :) Let me know if you find a 50k you're interested in though!

[@mattthomaslynch]

Hey Chris, your plan sounds good, great that you have a couple of warm up races in there too. I’ve entered the Brecon Beacons ultra as a 50th birthday present this summer. I’ve spent January doing mainly base running using the Maff formula. Did my first heart rate trail run today which was great but hard to walk up those hills I’m so used to running. Your video on doing intervals on the trail was great, first time I’ve seen any runner doing speed/heart rate work on the trails. Looking forward to the next video 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@ChrisBranch]

Amazing! I love celebrating birthdays with a big physical challenge. That looks a fantastic race too. Maff running can be a little tedious at first (especially when you're used to running up those hills!), but when you layer in some speed work, suddenly you feel the engines ignite and that aerobic base building becomes worth it. I'll certainly be sharing more videos along these lines in coming weeks ☺️🙏

[@ESB234]

Sounds like you’ve got a great plan figured out. Would love to he hear how it all goes after you’ve completed it. Interesting to hear about the Lumi ice bath, I was considering purchasing one. All the best, Chris!

[@ChrisBranch]

I'll definitely be making videos about the race, it's my biggest thing by a long way. And I'll make a whole video about recovery where I'll include more info about the ice bath ☺️🙏

[@toadstoolze]

I have a 50 mile ultra in April and similar to yourself I'm struggling to fit in any strength training especially now the mileage has increased... Would like to see your strength training routine. Keep up the good work ✌️

[@ChrisBranch]

I think I'll make this one this week ☺️🙏 Good luck with your training!

[@fatherdamo2]

Good luck with the training, hopefully see you in Snowdonia!

[@ChrisBranch]

Thanks so much! And yes, I'll be there :)

[@SimonBoothPhotography]

I heard you mention increasing nutrition for the increase in training as It prevents injury. I don’t suppose you could point me to that study. I’ve lost a stone and a half this year through diet and running but have been plagued by hamstring injuries. I had wondered if it might be because of low calories. I’d been running for years before with no injuries at all. My quantity has increased as well this year so I wasn’t sure which was responsible. The furling seems to make sense but I don’t want to put the weight back on.

[@ChrisBranch]

Hi Simon, thank you for the question. I read it in the book 'The Uphill Athlete', by Steve House and Scott Johnson. It's a great book that collates evidence to discuss everything related to endurance physiology, and it's interspersed with inspiring athlete stories. From memory, a calorie deficit can work for a while, but will eventually increase a risk of injury. With recurring pain, I would also question the strength of the muscle (exercises like the single-leg Romanian deadlift, and Nordic curl regressions are my favourite for hamstrings). I understand the desire to not put weight back on, but if you have increased your running volume, your base need for calories will have increased as well. Certainly worth experimenting with to find the happy medium 😊🙏 PS. I love your channel! I discovered you after you called out Thomas Heaton for not liking summer landscape photography 😂. I'm a keen photographer myself, so I appreciate your work 🙏

[@SimonBoothPhotography]

@@ChrisBranch Well fancy that hey Chris. Small world. I’m going to get that book. I’ve just finished mine. Running is my thing away from photography. Something that until recently I’ve not managed to feel any good at. It seems for me at least, running more than three days a week was pivotal to my improvement. Just wished I’d tried it years ago. The long runs on the hills really appeals to me and so searching for this kind of content on KZbin is how I found your channel. My partner and I both enjoy your style of delivery and find the videos inspiring to watch.

[@georgejenkins1849]

Hi Chris. Really useful stuff here. Trying to self coach a 76 year old body into trail running with a goal of SerpentTrail as first ultra. Using a plan of 10k 24k and then 50k. 4 hour London marathon runner 4 years back and paratriathlete so have some basics. Any specific focus you would suggest given this scenario. Thanks

[@ChrisBranch]

This is brilliant! Your plan sounds good, and you obviously have some great experience behind you. Two things that spring to mind is that you must really keep up with your strength training to help avoid injury, and you might want to do more base running than those of us a bit younger. I remember reading about the chap who broke the over-60 marathon WR last year at Manchester (he ran a 2:30 or something stupid like that!), and 90% of his running was done at a 9-min mile, which must have been super easy for someone that fit. The most important thing is staying consistent and avoiding injury, so managing your intensity and keeping strong will help. Best of luck with your training 😊🙏

[@rob.pittaway]

Hi Chris, do you have any suggestions for training program for someone who has done a trail marathon but is not very experienced just yet. My wife is doing the Snowdon Marathon but can’t find a good trail marathon plan, as lots of them are for more experienced runners.

[@ChrisBranch]

Hi Rob, I'm currently following a plan on Training Peaks written by 80/20 Running and I really like it. I just checked, and they have plans for marathons too. This is a link to their 'level 1', but they have tougher plans too as you go up the levels www.trainingpeaks.com/training-plans/running/marathon/tp-107696/80-20-running-2023-edition-marathon-level-1-4-to-7-75-hours-per-week However, the Snowdon Marathon isn't 'just' a marathon! The terrain makes it a very different beast, so I would recommend this plan by Uphill Athlete. It's aimed at trail ultra runners, but your wife can just trim the distance of the long runs a bit if she wants. www.trainingpeaks.com/training-plans/running/ultra/tp-108683/intro-to-ultras-training-plan-v2-1-20-weeks I hope that helps :)

[@trailrunningphil]

Good luck with the training mate. Im not scared of any of the races Ive signed up for I guess, but I look forward to watching your progress and how you take on this 100 miler. Is being scared a good place to start from or is that just to get people to watch this video? ;)

[@ChrisBranch]

Haha no, I'm genuinely scared. It's an interesting question though about whether it's a good place to start and you've got me thinking. The way I think about it is that when I have a race in the diary that scares me, it forces me to stick to my plan and make progress; I can't coast and hope that I'll be fine on the day. When I stick to my plan and make progress, I'm happy. It's like I'm reverse-engineering the lifestyle I want by picking a goal that forces me to stick to it. Not sure if I'm making sense, my brain is tired 😂🤦‍♂️

[@trailrunningphil]

@@ChrisBranch No I get it for sure. I just also think that your mind also needs training to get you through those 100 miles. Yes, the training plan is SUPER crucial, but when it gets really tough, its part of your mind that you want rely on. Consider ways of training that mind as well as your body to achieve your goal.

[@ChrisBranch]

@@trailrunningphil oh I see what you mean in your first question now. I think I'm a 'healthy' level of scared at the moment, but that's only because if I had to run it today, I wouldn't be able to. With the next few months of training, that should dissipate the fear a little, and I'll also be using the first two races to prepare my mind. I'm also into meditation and things like ice baths for mental prep. This is a huge topic and I could explore it more in a video. Have you got any tips from your experience?

[@trailrunningphil]

@@ChrisBranch it is a huge topic and one I'm just really fascinated by. Is it mental strength or mental calmness I wonder or are they the same thing?! Positive affirmations and visualisation are both good things to practice. As perhaps meditation whilst running. Is that something you have tried?

[@Kelly_Ben]

I'm a huge fan of "scary" goals. I love the saying "Set a goal so big you can't achieve it until you grow into the person who can". Honestly, if it's an achievable goal, training will often take a back seat to other priorities, because subconsciously, I'm not worried about meeting the goal- I feel it's"in the bag".