I Ran 100 Miles In 22 Hours. Here's What I Learned.

This is everything I learned from running my first 100 mile ultramarathon, the South Downs Way 100. In this video I discuss my training, my race preparation, my race strategy, how the race went, how I overcame the challenges and any lessons I learned from running 100 miles in 22 hours. Essentially a detailed race recap of the SDW100.

[@dannygrays]

Great recap James. Great practical advice and appreciate your honesty and sharing your running journey. Huge congrats again on your amazing achievement. Truely inspiring😊

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Danny! Really nice of you to say!

[@1birdwargames587]

When I watched your race video I remember thinking he’ll regret wearing black 😂

[@jamesday1]

😂 I was thinking exactly the same as I was running. As soon as my mates saw the video, I got a bunch of messages asking me what I was thinking 😅 90% of my running clothes are black so I think I might need to do some shopping before my next summer race!

[@CalmingAnxiety]

Love this. watched you other one yesterday. I was prepping for my first 50k ultra this year, 20mile runs all very comfy when last week I snapped my calf.....! oops. Will do a longer run next year now

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! Sorry to hear about your calf! Hopefully it's a quick recovery!

[@davidgray9887]

Super effort James, well done. Another great video!

[@jamesday1]

Thanks David!

[@daveyearp1499]

Awesome, Great job James! Many thanks for sharing 👍

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Dave!

[@philipking3010]

wonderfully analytical, love it. did wonder about the black t-shirt choice though....

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Philip! Yeah, maybe not the best choice. But my running clothes are 90% black so I think I might need to purchase some white running tops.

[@maxinesmith8167]

Big respect for the amount of planning you undertook. Having just run my first ultra last weekend, I can definitely seeroom to incorporate more pre-planning for pacing, aid stops etc. Well done, congratulations. It seems like you absolutely nailed it 👌

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Maxine! It definitely makes a big difference going into a big race with lots of preparation done in advance.

[@ariungalindev7426]

Thanks for the great recap James. Packed with practical tips! I’ll take it all on board for the RTTS on 8th July. Glad you’re recovering well.

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! Good luck at RTTS this weekend! Hope you have a great race!

[@30somethingmike]

Such a good insight James. The race pro point is a good one - I was planning to use that at the NDW100. The emotional lows in the night as so real. Ive had some absolute smashers in races in the past 😂 well done again, just fantastic effort

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Mike! I bet! Can't imagine going through a low moment at night without anyone around. Must be amazing when you come out the other side of that though!

[@AddictUltraRunner]

Brilliant video!!! Thank you! I'll be there next year for my first ever 100 miler, just started training! I have a marathon in May and a 50miler in October to get done first. Now it's been a few months... is there anything you would change around how to recover quicker? Did you learn anything between the race and the 2 weeks+ recovery? Bradley

[@trailrunningphil]

Interesting stuff mate. Very well done 👏

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Phil!

[@kathleenbolanos]

Those volunteers sound amazing! And what a terrific race experience. Great job &great perseverance!

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Kathleen!

[@Krilin84]

Thanks for sharing! Hearing more about the struggles and successes makes me appreciate the accomplishment even more! Running for 22 hours really blows my mind to be honest, you should be super proud of yourself for making yourself able to do that! I just finished my first ever organised event yesterday, a half ironman triathlon called Challenge Vansbro. I was plagued by anxiety and stress for weeks leading up to it, really regretting I'd signed up. But on race day everything went well apart from the major imposter syndrome I experienced getting myself ready in the transition zone. Training had been going well, averaging about 12.5h per week the past six months and I was able to perform slightly above my expectations, and even though the race itself was an okay memorable experience, I had no idea how proud of myself I'd feel afterwards now a day later for having taken part in a "real race" - as if I'd had a massive injection of deep "meaningfulness" into the raw core of my being, or something. Very strange and unexpected phenomena, lol. Directly after the race I was mostly just relieved that it was over from an emotional stress point of view, and almost felt a bit of disgust when thinking about going back to training again. But now just a day later my perspective has already changed into wanting to do more of these types of events just in order to extract this post-race sense of accomplishment and deep meaning. Can you relate to this positive post-race feeling? If so, is it something you get equally after every race you've done or has it changed over time?

[@jamesday1]

Hey Kristoffer! Congrats on the half ironman. Pretty epic achievement! I totally get that imposter syndrome feeling. I definitely felt it a bit at the SDW100, but I felt better seeing that most runners were running their first 100 miler. I'd say I find it less with races/events now but when I started running I felt it massively. When I turned up to my first marathon in 2018 I was completely clueless and felt it. I think doing more local smaller races has helped me become more comfortable with it. The big thing I've realised is that I actually enjoy the training more than the big events. The races are great for progression and closing off blocks of training, but going out running each day is what I really enjoy the most. I think that mindset has helped me take some stress away from the races. I do feel however feel the imposter syndrone massively with these KZbin videos. I don't work in a creative job or in media. I'm not a running coach or an elite athlete. But I love it when I produce a video that I'm super happy with and I get positive feedback on it. I think what I'm saying is, everyone gets that feeling but about different things. I think finding like minded people definitely helps. If you find a local triathlon/running club or a local training group who you can go to these events with, I think that might possibly help remove some of that axiety. Hope that helps!

[@insiderugbywithmark]

Really solid recap and race James, well done from a Kiwi Ultra Runner in Mexico........

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Mark! Very cool that people from around the world see these videos!

[@Q8Patriot]

So inspired by your videos, thanks alot for sharing your epxerince during the race 😅😅

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! Really nice of you to say.

[@willpreeview]

Huge work mate on your SDW100. New to the channel and just getting some inspiration as I look ahead to my first 100 miler next year (most likely TRT 100) .Didn't know you were from Winch. Born and raised there and now live out in Reno, NV. Take care man and if you ever get lucky getting in for Western States let me know and be happy to take you for a pint!

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Will! Good luck with TRT100! Looks like a great race! We love winchester. Moved here a year ago from London. Reno must be a great place to live as a runner. Love following WS100 every year and watching films from it but not sure I'd love the heat in the canyons! But maybe I'll try and get in at some point. Would be an epic race to complete.

[@mijzzzz]

Great debrief and insights.thank you. Would be interesting to know about appetite the following week.

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! I've been eating a fair amount. The week following the race, I found my energy levels were super low and it didn't matter how much I ate, I struggled to improve it. It's been 3 weeks now and that is much less of an issue now. Definitely feel like my body is restocking the lost energy reserves. I was surprised how long it took for my energy levels to recovery from this compared to my 50 miler and 100k races.

[@KlaudijaGreen]

Hi James I recently discovered your YT channel and really love it. This recap is really helpful especially to someone like me who wants to run an ultra one day.

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Klaudija. Glad it was useful! I'm sure if you have a good time at Brighton, then you'll be ready for a trail 50k in no time at all!

[@KlaudijaGreen]

@@jamesday1 thank you! I’ll keep working on it! 💪

[@tzzsh]

Great work!

[@tzzsh]

Joe says Hello, or, Ahoy, like Bell

[@jamesday1]

Thanks!

[@runningwithstephen]

Watching this off the back of the actual SDW100 that you done. I can say now you planned that almost perfectly. Like you said, most people took over you at the start but they were the people you past later on in the race. Good on you mate!!. Do you think you picked up the pace at night due to not being able to see the hills and what was next , sort of thing? As well as having that picking them off attitude. Well done again mate.

[@jamesday1]

Thanks again Stephen! I think the nighttime was all down to the drop is temperature. I'd previously run the second half of the event when I ran the SDW50 so I knew the hills only got worse! To be honest, I was totally surprised to feel so good physically and mentally in the night section. Definitely wasn't expected!

[@wittywatty1]

Hi James, great job! Really enjoyed your 2 videos on this race. Would love to do ultramarathons in the future. How do you manage to avoid injuries during the training? It's the one thing I struggle a lot with!

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! Yeah, it's a difficult question and everyone has different experiences with injuries. I would say, building up how much you run per week in a slow gradual way makes a big difference. There's a 10% rule where they say never increase your weekly mileage by more than 10%. If you feel a slight issue with a muscle/joint, take a week of lower milage and then return to slowly building up. When I started running, I found 30/40k per week to be a lot of running. But over years, I've got to the point now where I can run 120k per week and my body is now conditioned to the distance. It definitely takes a long time to build up though. I ran my first marathon in 2018 I think, and it wasn't until 2021 that I ran my first 50k. I did a video a year ago about my long term running progression that goes into this in a bit more detail. Possibly might help. Another option is to get a running coach. The big benefit of a coach is they help guide you on when you are over-stressing your body and when you might be ready for some additional stress. Hopefully that helps! It really is a difficult topic.

[@poweredbypilatesuk4880]

So crazy to hear that your longest run for a 22 hour race was 4.5 hrs! Sounds like the training plan you made last year really worked out. Well done. Great time. Great achievement.

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! I got this advice from talking to an elite female british ultrarunner. She specialises in 100 milers and 24 hour races and said her long runs never exceed 5 hours. Apparently you don't get significant physical benefits by doing longer long runs. It's better to limit long runs to 5 hours and find improvements elsewhere. Super interesting.

[@leonardmilcin7798]

@@jamesday1ou get benefits, but the disadvantages make it not worth the while. Injuries, time investment, recovery times. Just not worth it. If you run over 5h straight your body can’t really tell it from two shorter session per day or on consecutive days. I personally prefer adding long runs on consecutive days. Also some benefits like ability to use fat better can be gained by alternative methods - I occasionally go on keto diet, I run when fasting, avoid sugary drinks when running, etc. This helped me improve my times a lot.

[@jamesday1]

Yeah, great points Leonard!

[@marshovision]

Awesome effort - Really can't get my head round running 100 miles. 👍

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! To be honest, even after running it, I still feel the same. 50 miles and 100k always seemed hard but understandable. It's amazing how by simply slowing down, you can just go further. I'm still not super confident about signing up for another 100 miler 😅

[@bev9708]

GREAT debrief video James!!! I was looking forward to it! I’m sure you’ve seen Ben’s great video too (Time On Feet)!! It’s crazy isn’t it how far off our goal pace we are in training AND YET somehow we actually do manage it on the day!!!🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️ I would just like to add one other very important thing you did to prepare that made a huge difference for you on the day … you prepared yourself mentally /psychologically / spiritually / emotionally that it was gonna be REALLY hard, that you were gonna suffer , AND that things were gonna go wrong!! Currently I’m listening to Matt Fitzgerald’s book "How Bad Do You Want It?" and apparently mentally preparing to suffer and have big downs or even disasters is scientifically proven to improve performance enormously in endurance sports!! This may seem obvious, but many total myths in running "seem" obvious and are in fact not true , so me, I always want to know what science says!!! So you were absolutely right to think so much about all that leading up to it… maybe that prep helped get you thru when it got worse than expected!! Once again James … huge CONGRATS on an incredible achievement !!!! So inspirational for many of us!!!

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Bev! Sounds like great advice! Is the book worth reading? Might add it to my holiday reading list 🙂 I do feel like I prepared practically well, but feel like I could have prepared myself for the suffering better. Really wasn't expecting to have such a low moment with the heat of the day.

[@bev9708]

@@jamesday1 Yeah heat is a killer ... I know I often intend to practice in the heat of the day, but usually I welch out!! As for the book James, it's not my favourite running book ever but since I'm only just now dipping my toes into endurance, I'm finding it particularly useful!! If you have an Audible account, you can get the audiobook for free, which is what I did!!! Me I'm an avid listener while out running, I find it an excellent way to keep up with my reading and catch up on old classics I've been meaning to read for 30 years!!😃

[@Alesha.F.]

Great recap thanks, you are helping to inspire me to start running at 5 months postpartum. Obviously not going to start with an ultra. What are the soft things you take for feeling sick and not being able to eat?

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! Good luck with returning to running and congrats on the baby 🙂 They are belvita choc chip soft bakes.

[@LondonMaori]

SDW was my first 100 miler this…….my god it was hot but made it through and the amount who dropped out shows how tough it was !. I spent the next week laying on the beach in Spain recover.

[@jamesday1]

Agreed! So many of us were there for our first 100's! A brutal entry into the world of 100 milers. Sounds like you had a great place to recover though!

[@LondonMaori]

@@jamesday1 I didn't lace up my trainers for 3 weeks. Took me until end of September to fully recover before I did the lockness marathon in October. Got one eye on the Winter downs 200 for next year because 100 miles isn't stupid enough 😅😅

[@jamesday1]

@@LondonMaori That race looks wild. 200 milers are another beast but that one looks like it's going to be extremely muddy and wet.

[@7symi]

Great videos on the SDW I’m doing this next year as my first 100 miler so really helpful content, where did you go to get your predicted finish? Thanks

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! Good luck with your first 100! I typically use the McMillan Running Calculator which you can google. The predicted race times for current and goal are really useful. There are plenty of other running calculators out there if you search online.

[@7symi]

@@jamesday1 thank you 🙏🏻 that’s really helpful

[@sjbgilmore]

Well done! Great video! What’s the ultramarathon time predictor/calculator you used?

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! I use the garmin connect one currently. It's called pacepro strategy. I am currently looking at other options as the Garmin tool isn't great for ultramarathon distances. Someone in the comments suggested ultrapacer but I haven't used that properly yet.

[@Jon-hb6gx]

Your prep paid off! Applying suncream and getting the third water bottle out - do you do these things while running or on an uphill walk or at some other point..? Really interesting in practical bits like this.

[@jamesday1]

Thanks Jon! I had a big focus on keeping moving during the race. So suncream I typically did whilst walking - Just put my pack on backwards so I could easily take items from the back pocket. The third water bottle I had in the pocket at the bottom rear so I could reach around and pull it out whilst running. The garmin says I spent 11 hours running, 10.5 hours walking and 30 minutes idle - so lots of time walking up hills to get things like suncream and bottles sorted.

[@Jon-hb6gx]

@@jamesday1 So, so helpful. Thanks ever so much James!

[@newbarker523]

James, thanks for filming/sharing your race and your insights. I have a small question. When you want to fill your soft flasks, do you remove them from the vest, or fill them in-situ, while wearing the vest? After removing the flasks, they are a bit awkward and time consuming to get back in. I've got a Salomon ADV Hydra 8.

[@jamesday1]

Yeah, totally understand. I always take mine out so I can put the most possible water in. If you put them half in, the movement of running does seem to help shift them down. but always a bit awkward! I think Salomon have a version with a more solid base which are easier to push down.

[@newbarker523]

@@jamesday1Thank you for taking the time to answer James. I know it was such a picky/technical question, but all these seconds/minutes add up so great to hear your take on it. Very glad I've found your channel. Keep doing what you're doing and have a great 2024.

[@tomasposada4241]

How do you find out the exact breakdown and e elation of the race? Do you open the GDX in a special program to do your splits?

[@jamesday1]

Hi Tomas, I've used are Garmin pace pro which you can upload the course file and it gives you a detailed breakdown of the elevation with splits. I've also in the past found people who ran the races from the previous year - search the results, find the runners on strava and find their activity from the event. Another way is to get the course file and upload it into a website like Plotaroute or Komoot - these will give you an elevation profile. Hopefully that helps!

[@bikeinmotion]

I don't understand why 2 years after introducing the pacepro calculator Garmin still doesn't calculate steep uphills with slower then about 8.30./9.00 per km. I mean it was introduced back then at UTMB. They must be aware that it does not make sense for alpine ultras. Even for faster runners. I had splits with like 8.00 for 50m elevation in a km and the next km with 250m elevation in 8.30 - with hill effort all the way to easy. Comon Garmin :)

[@jamesday1]

Totally agree! It feels like it wouldn't take much for them to tweak the calculator so it didn't have the limit on adjusting the pace/elevation.

[@bev9708]

Just wondering what have you been doing to recover James … a total break from all running and gym for 2 weeks or have you embraced the regular easy recovery runs strategy, and/or maybe a little gentle yoga??

[@jamesday1]

So I took just over a week fully off running. I started to add some easy runs and they felt surprisingly hard so I kept things easy until they felt easy again. This week, I tried some harder running and again, they felt much hard than they should. So I'm going to make sure I ease back into training only once I'm ready. I've not done any gym work or yoga but interestingly, my issue isn't related to my legs/muscles/joints. It's more about my energy levels and my heart. I just think I put a lot of strain on them and it's taking them a bit longer to fully recover. Slowly getting there though!

[@bev9708]

@@jamesday1 Yeah that makes so much sense... it was my experience after my 50k ultra too, just overall easily fatigued, AND hungry too!!! What you did is at least 100times harder!!! The difficulty is exponential!!!

[@jamesday1]

Yeah interesting. I wouldn't say 100 times harder. I think what I've learned is that the different distances are different kinds of hard. Running a 5k as hard as possible is brutally hard, but it's over quickly. Most of my 100 miler was very pleasant enjoyable running. Just because I've run 100 miles, it doesn't make a marathon PB attempt easy. I think it all comes down to pacing. If I try and run a 20 hour 100 miler, I would be wrecked, but a 30 hour 100 miler would probably be quite comfortable. As long as you've got the training to run the distance, and your pacing is right, I'm confident you could run a 50 miler/100k race now 🙂

[@bev9708]

@@jamesday1 SO TRUE!!! Certainly I'd much rather do an easy long run any day than try to beat my 5 or 10k PB!!! Well, I'm working up to a 50miler for sure James, but my 50k was on an easy flat mixture of bitumen and dirt road so next step for me is to get my first trail marathon under my belt in September with 1400m elevation gain, and then hopefully a trail 50k in November!! I've just completed 4 weekends in a row of races starting with the 50k, since then all on trails with lots of steep climbs and descents from 21k to 28k... it's shocking how draining they are !!! But I'm sure getting there, getting stronger!!! 😁💪🏻🏃🏻‍♀💪🏻

[@Mookiethedog]

Yo what are "soft bakes"? Cookies?....great video

[@1birdwargames587]

They are like a soft cookie but they have oats in them. So not exactly a cookie but very similar. They are made by Belvita in the UK and they are sold as a breakfast meal replacement. Also similar to a Nutri-Grain bar.

[@Mookiethedog]

@@1birdwargames587 Yo...thanks!

[@jamesday1]

Yeah exactly, the belvita softbakes w/ choc chips. They're not exactly super healthy, but they are easy to digest. A bit closer to solid food than running gels/tailwind is what I was going for.

[@eric-running-to-chamonix]

My feedback on pacing keeps getting deleted. I'm not sure how to share this with you. I'll try two words ultrapacer vs PacePro, but I guess you'll have to figure out everything else on your own. ☹

[@Strategic_wins]

Good tip

[@eric-running-to-chamonix]

Sheesh. I tried adding a few more relevant words but that comment was deleted as well.

[@jamesday1]

Thanks! No idea why the comments deleted! Found the ultrapacer website. Looks like a useful site. I'll have a play with it and see how I get on.

[@RunningWithDanny]

How much weight did you lose for the race mate

[@jamesday1]

I started working on my diet about 6 months ago and managed to drop 5kgs however I was aiming for about 10kgs of weight loss. Still some work to do, but I plan on working on that over the next few months.

[@RunningWithDanny]

@@jamesday1 even 5 kg (11lbs) is a huge difference