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Mark Agnew

Training for an ultramarathon is time consuming and a small injury can ruin your schedule. But changing your plans to include two shorter but tough sessions in a weekend is a great way to replicate that tired leg feeling.
I headed out for two 21km runs over the notoriously tough Twins as I wind up to my first 100km race, the Vibram Hong Kong 100, in January.
I spoke to two runners – two time Hardrock 100 finisher Andre Blumberg, and Irish national runner Brian McFlynn – to find out why I was putting myself through this torture.
﻿Watch: Back-to-back training for the HK100





﻿Practicalities

Blumberg said that back-to-back sessions are sometimes just easier to fit in your schedule. Not everyone can head out on to the trails at the weekend for 10 hours. But, by splitting it up, you still practise on tired legs as you head out for day two, but you have time for your pesky obligations and family.



﻿Injuries

McFlynn said that running back-to-back sessions lets him fit volume into his programme but has far less risk of injury than slogging it out on the trails in one long go.

﻿Mental training

Getting motivated for the second day can be harder than just pushing through a long run. This is great for training mental fortitude that you’ll need during the race. Blumberg said you can make it more mentally challenging by doing the first of your two sessions straight after work on a Friday, when you are already mentally spent from the office.

﻿Don’t take it lightly

Just because you are splitting up your sessions, doesn’t mean you should underestimate them. They are still tough, especially in hot or humid weather. “I have quit on back-to-back runs before because I haven’t taken into account the weather,” McFlynn said.




















View this post on Instagram



















So #spartathlon was pretty epic. 246km nonstop from Athens to Sparta in 29:24 hours and 37th overall. Epic local support, epic challenge, epic cyclone ‘Zorba’, epic feeling after my first ever post-race bottle of IV fluid. Will definitely be back for this one. 1 / 3 / 6 @travelasfarasican
A post shared by Andre Blumberg (@aublumberg) on Oct 2, 2018 at 1:20am PDT




﻿Still go on long runs

“They both have a time and place,” said Blumberg. There are some things you just cannot replicate on shorter runs, like nutrition or if your gear fits properly.

﻿Enjoy it and reward yourself

“Enjoy the runs as much as possible, inevitably the distance will come into play and will result in a good effort,” McFlynn said. He added you should reward yourself with a big meal at the conclusion of your training. “But save the post-run beer until after the second day.”


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How filming Four Trails, about 298km Hong Kong ultra run, was almost as hard as the race

Extreme fitness

Why you should include back-to-back training sessions in trail running, to obtain volume but reduce injury risk

Team Gone Running-Joint Dynamics: (from left) Brian McFlynn; John Ellis; Jeff Campbell; and Michael Skobierski, winning the 2018 Oxfam Trailwalker. Photo: Felix Wong

How to recce a trail race – get the most out of your HK100 course exploration

Marie McNaughton says mental training is as important as physical training on a race recce. Photo: Franke Tsang

Janice Cheung nominated for most improve female trail runner went from 41 hours on trailwalker to winning in 15 hours. Photo - Alan Li @we_run_we_photo

HK100 winner Lu Yangchun’s journey from a remote village to one of China’s top track and trail runners

Lu Yangchun grew up in a remote mountain village, and has worked her way up to being a professional runner through the state sports school system. Photo: Ian Corless/Adidas Terrex/UTMB

Lu Yangchun in traditional Yi ethnicity folk costume Photo Handout

Lu entered Hong Kong 100 to try the 100km distance for the first time Credit adidas TERREX

Lu on her way to win Hong Kong 100 - she does not do specific mountain training but says that her legs remember the mountains of Yunnan where she gspent her childhood Credit adidas TERREX

Lu Yangchun after OCC in UTMB TV studio Credit Pavel Toropov

Lu won Hong Kong 100 against her own expectations Yao Miao assured her that she would do well Credit adidas TERREX

Lu Yangchun grew up in the mountains but different from those in Hong Kong Credit adidas TERREX

Sport

Outdoor

Trail Running


Having two tough sessions in a weekend, instead of one big run, is great preparation for an ultramarathon

