{"id":6551,"date":"2018-02-23T13:39:46","date_gmt":"2018-02-23T13:39:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fitproblog.mysites.io\/why-run-an-ultramarathon\/"},"modified":"2024-02-14T12:44:22","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T12:44:22","slug":"why-run-an-ultramarathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/why-run-an-ultramarathon\/","title":{"rendered":"Why run an ultramarathon?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What does it take to run an ultramarathon? And, more to the point, who <em>are<\/em> these people who spend hours and hours trudging the earth and scoffing picnic eggs to prevent exhaustion? <strong>Olivia Hubbard<\/strong> talks to big name on the ultra campus Robbie Britton, who likes to run far &#8230; <em>really <\/em>far.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Two runners, two filmmakers, one big island. Running the entire way across Iceland is a cold, wet, exhausting experience. So is filming it. Follow @thatcastrochap and @ultrabritton for more information.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/K5HqIMx40Vg?rel=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Video credit: Dan Castro<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mistercastro.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00a0(mistercastro.co.uk) \u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Being Robbie Britton<\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><strong>Olivia Hubbard: <\/strong><strong>Surely you can\u2019t just go from 10ks to the serious stuff?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>Robbie Britton:<\/strong> I started with a muddy half-marathon because a friend signed up and then the same for a marathon a few months later, but then it just went up and up. I think I did 26 [miles], then 40, 40, 56, 83 (in three days), 45, 66 (in two days), three months off with an injury and a chance to sail the Atlantic, then 56 and 100 miles. That was over about two years, so quite quick \u2013 but I had always been sporty. After that, I just kept looking for longer and longer races, searching for my limit. It took about two years of racing before I decided that being a bit more selective and a bit more competitive was much more fun.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><strong>OH: What training commitment are we talking about here?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>RB:<\/strong> It varies during the year and during the racing calendar, [depending] on the race, what I\u2019m concentrating on and where I am. At the moment I\u2019m doing about 15-16 hours a week on skis with a mix of cross country and ski mo, possibly building that up to 20+ hours a week while I\u2019m not doing the heavy impact of running. During the summer, it most likely won\u2019t be as high a weekly time running but it will be supplemented with strength and conditioning work, some easy cycling and maybe a spot of climbing or mountaineering. I\u2019d say it\u2019d be 12-16 hours of running in peak weeks, with double days and a longer effort at the weekend.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><strong>OH: Tell me about your relationship with the treadmill.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>RB:<\/strong> I\u2019m not a massive fan of the treadmill as my mind doesn\u2019t deal very well with it and I\u2019m constantly thinking about how not to fall off, which just isn\u2019t enjoyable. If I have to do sessions on a treadmill I try to include short, fast intervals that keep the mind away from the clock.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><strong>OH: Tell me about your competing\/completing theory?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>RB:<\/strong> Your emphasis changes in a lot of ways when you\u2019re changing from aiming to complete a race to trying to compete with others \u2013 and not always in a good way. For some, it can take the enjoyment out of the journey and the race itself because you become too obsessed with what others are doing and don\u2019t focus on yourself. Any ultra should be about competing with the course first rather than those around you, but it is satisfying to be so confident with experience and training to know you can finish regardless and try to race others around you.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><strong>OH:<\/strong> <strong>Some may say running for that long is \u2018boring\u2019.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>RB<\/strong>: I\u2019ve done all-night raves and been bored by about three or four in the morning because it just gets a bit repetitive and some parts of 24-hour road races can get a bit monotonous but you find ways to entertain yourself. On the trail it is far from boring \u2013 your mind is always active, watching your footing, taking in the sights around and thinking about what\u2019s to come. \u00a0I might take their comments a little more seriously if they give it a go.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><strong>OH:<\/strong> <strong>What are your career highs and lows?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>RB: <\/strong>My career high was getting a team gold and individual bronze for Team GB at the World 24hr Running Championships in 2015. Nothing else even comes close to how I felt in that final hour. As for lows, there have been plenty of those but I like to think I\u2019ve learned from all of them and don\u2019t see them as negative experiences.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><strong>OH: What has been your f<\/strong><strong>avourite race and why?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>RB:<\/strong> UTMB (the Ultra-Trail Mont Blanc) \u2026 for the mountains, the atmosphere and the music at the start of the competition \u2013 that race speaks to me.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><strong>OH: <\/strong><strong>And your favourite running shoe?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>RB: <\/strong>Currently I\u2019m using the Salomon Sense Ultra 4 SG and it\u2019s been a rollercoaster ride, but now we\u2019re friends. Adidas Adizero is always a good shout but I wish they\u2019d stop tinkering with the trail shoes so much.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><strong>OH: <\/strong><strong>Tell us about your worst mile.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>RB: <\/strong>In a 100-miler it is normally around 25-30 miles when your legs start feeling tired and I always think \u201coh no\u201d but it happens every time. You\u2019re supposed to feel a bit tired in the legs after 25 miles, but it doesn\u2019t really get any worse. You just keep going.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> When I\u2019m close to my limit I normally start wanting to lie down on the floor and have to avoid staggering around like a drunk a little bit. It\u2019s normally just that I need some food or drink though, so fixing that sorts me out and off I go again.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><strong>OH:<\/strong> <strong>What are your kit bag essentials?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>RB: <\/strong>Nearly every 100-miler I do needs a great head torch and I use the Petzl Nao because it lasts for ages and blasts out a light that covers the whole trail. The only 100-miler I didn\u2019t use a head torch on was the Petzl sponsored South Downs Way 100, which I finished in the hours of daylight. How\u2019s that for irony?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><strong>OH: What\u2019s in your lunchbox?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>RB: <\/strong>Rice cakes, sweet potato brownies and other bits. When we ran across Iceland in October 2015 I was eating a lot of Chia Charge protein bars as it was a big adventure and I wanted my body to recover each night, but I\u2019ll often eat sweets like fruit gums or skittles as I rather enjoy those.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>My pre-race meal is simple porridge with water, some banana and nut butter. Otherwise I make up a little bowl of rice with jam and nut butter if travelling away.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><strong>OH:<\/strong> <strong>Do you find it hard to discipline yourself to rest?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p><em>RB: When I overdid it in the build up to Spartathlon it was hard to completely rest and wait for race day because you just want to be firing on all cylinders in the last block of training before the race, but the best thing for me at that time was rest. I had invested a lot of time, money and time of loved ones into that race and I felt like I was letting them down a bit, but I still went out and gave it my all. I wouldn\u2019t have even made it to the start line without the sports masseuse Simon Lamb, who I was working with at the time. He saved that race.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>&#8220;We always associate training with getting better but that isn\u2019t always the case, as rest is just as integral in growing stronger. It took me a while to realise this but now I don\u2019t see rest as skiving off but as an essential training session. I rest like a boss and watch a lot of Netflix. I like the idea that you don\u2019t over-train, you under-recover. When you think of it like that, you can really boost how well you work.&#8221;<\/em><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4><strong>OH: Can you talk me through the changes in emotion over the course of 100+ miles.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p><strong>RB: <\/strong>Running 100 miles is a journey all in itself and it can get a little painful at times but the mind suffers in some strange ways too, making you see things in the dawn light that aren\u2019t there, like your crew or an aid station \u2013 things you want to see when you\u2019re tired.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/index.php\/why-run-an-ultramarathon\/2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here\u00a0<\/a>to turn the page and find out Robbie&#8217;s top training tips and where he goes for his running education.<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>\u00a0<!--nextpage--><\/h3>\n<h4><strong>Olivia Hubbard: \u00a0<\/strong><strong>Share some of your race recovery tips.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Eat <\/strong>something with protein and carbs in there to replenish your glycogen stores and repair the muscle you\u2019ve damaged.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t<\/strong> rush back after a race.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Do<\/strong> stuff that gets the blood flowing a little to aid recovery, like gentle cycling or swimming.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong>OH:<\/strong> <strong>Who are your sporting heroes?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>RB: <\/strong>Mark Cavendish (British professional road racing cyclist) or Emil Z\u00e1topek (long-distance runner best known for winning three gold medals at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki), for very different reasons. Mark is a true endurance athlete who can still smash out an amazing sprint at the end of the day and he knows when he is the best in the world and isn\u2019t afraid to show it. Many see him as cocky but he\u2019s just confident. Emil Z\u00e1topek has so many great stories but my favourite isn\u2019t about running but when he hid his Olympic medal in Ron Clarke\u2019s suitcase because he deserved it. Seen as an instigator of interval training and multiple Olympic champions, I\u2019ve got a picture of him in the living room.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><strong>OH:<\/strong> <strong>Quite simply, why do you do it?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>RB:<\/strong> Try it and see. The closest I get to discovering my own potential, the more joy I take from it. The nearer I am to personal destruction, the happier it makes me. Strange, eh?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><strong>OH:<\/strong> <strong>What\u2019s coming up?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>RB: <\/strong>Next for me is the Ice Ultra in Arctic Sweden: 230km across snow, ice and mountains. Should be good fun. I\u2019m ignoring my own advice of not rushing recovery by doing a 74km cross country ski race a few days later, still in Sweden, but it seemed like too good an opportunity to miss.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>After that I have the Highland Fling in Scotland, which is the British Trail Running Championships, and I haven\u2019t thought much past that. Well, except for my mate Neil\u2019s stag party in early May. It fits in well with the race calendar, so that will be part of my recovery.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><strong>OH:<\/strong> <strong>When will you be cutting the mileage off? <\/strong><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>RB: <\/strong>I like to have a three-week taper before a big race, cutting down from one last big effort three weekends before and reducing the volume and intensity while maintaining frequency (thanks Nick Anderson for that quote). If I need an extra day off before a race because I feel tired, then I take it.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><strong>OH:<\/strong> <strong>What\u2019s your PB marathon time?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<blockquote><p><em><strong>RB:<\/strong> 2:59. I snuck into the sub-three club on a humid December day in Chennai. I think I\u2019ve gone through quicker in a trail ultra though. It should be about 2:30 if I tried.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3><strong>Education, education, education<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4>OH: What\u2019s the one piece of educational advice that you live by?<\/h4>\n<p><em><strong>RB<\/strong>: You never learn something from someone who agrees with you. Be\u00a0prepared\u00a0to discuss what you know with someone who thinks the opposite. They may be right.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>I work with the guys at Profeet in London who have several specialists in biomechanics and running efficiency, so I often consult with them with regards to particular coaching clients and they have always been really helpful.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>As for running theory, I\u2019m a firm believer that we have forgotten more than we think we know, especially when it comes to ultra\u00a0running, where most of our records were set in the 80s and 90s. With this in mind, I am always reading older books about running theory, looking at great runners like Bruce Fordyce, Don Ritchie and Yiannis Kouros, who all have long-standing world records. Currently, I&#8217;m\u00a0looking back at the Coe and Ovett era, reading up on their training,\u00a0competing and lifestyles to give an insight into the faster end of the spectrum.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Working with Renee McGregor and\u00a0reading\u00a0her book <\/em>Training\u00a0Food<em> has given me a much greater knowledge of what goes into my\u00a0body\u00a0and how important diet and nutrition is. It&#8217;s not just about eating the right things, but at the right times and in the right amounts for who you are and what you are doing. My\u00a0training\u00a0has improved as a bonus and, even though I have been increasing my workload, I haven\u2019t had an\u00a0injury\u00a0all year and I think Renee is, in part, to thank for this.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2><strong>About Robbie<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>In the last six years, Robbie went from running his first marathon to competing for Great Britain in the 24hr Running Championships and finishing third\u00a0in the world. Born and bred in the South East of England, Robbie is currently living and training in Chamonix, France and says \u201capart from this addictive, painful, ridiculous sport I\u2019m in, I\u2019m a pretty normal bloke really. My French is coming along OK, but I still get told off for pronouncing <em>eau<\/em> incorrectly at checkpoints and never get what I ask for in the butchers.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h4>Stay tuned for our ultramarathon running blog part two, where we\u00a0talk to Cambridge-based ultra runner Katie Samuelson, who only needed to turn to her 74-year-old father for inspiration. Our final words of wisdom come from Hackney run club founder, father and short-wearing enthusiast Matthew Jeary, who shares his top tips for making your first tracks to an ultra.<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Share your opinions, tips and experiences via our social channels: Twitter: @fitpro_online Facebook: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/fitproltd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">facebook.com\/fitproltd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Instagram: @fitpro_ltd<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What does it take to run an ultramarathon? And, more to the point, who are&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6552,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[624,137,25,625,626,627,628,629,630,631,632],"class_list":{"0":"post-6551","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-training","8":"tag-100-miles","9":"tag-featured","10":"tag-fitpro","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-marathon","13":"tag-outdoors","14":"tag-robbie-britton","15":"tag-speed","16":"tag-trail-running","17":"tag-ultra-running","18":"tag-utmb"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6551"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6551"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11436,"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6551\/revisions\/11436"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fitpro.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}