Last year was the peak of my running achievements to date, most notably completing my first two 100-mile+ runs. Perhaps these will remain my biggest achievements, but I had to raise the bar for 2024; I haven't yet had a DNF result, so I clearly haven't pushed it too far. The choices were go longer, go faster or go tougher. I felt I wanted to master the century distance, but also wanted to go a bit tougher, so I entered the UTS-100M in May. This is a "savage"(by their description) route around Snowdonia, featuring somewhere around 10,000M/35,000ft of ascent and some very difficult terrain. Perfect, and also an intimidating prospect.
Two century runs in a year seemed like the right number, given the scale of training, planning, recce'ing, tapering, resting and cost. I really enjoyed the 13 Valleys in the Lakes last year, and with it taking place at the end of September, the spacing works well with the UTS. Repeating an event brings benefits - confidence, and the opportunity to make many improvements to strategy, pacing, equipment, etc. I also hope that some more moderate conditions might give me the opportunity to fare better.
This combination still didn't feel like enough of a challenge, though it probably should have. I spent the most of the winter so far obsessing over the Arc of Attrition 100, a brutal winter race around the tip of Cornwall. I didn't get a place for 2024. However, I discovered that completion of a summer event by the same organiser would guarantee a place on the Arc 2025. So in August, conveniently between my big two, I will attempt The Plague - a 100km coastal out-and-back starting just west of St Austell. This is still a significant undertaking, but given the focal events of the year, it feels like one I should be trained and ready for by simply maintaining the training level after UTS.
I started the countdown to UTS a few weeks ago, to focus my training efforts and acknowledge the scale of progress I must make. I need to once again be 100-mile ready, but stronger for the severe hills, whilst still being able to maintain enough pace to meet the cutoffs. I feel I was ready for such a challenge when I did 13 Valleys - itself a hugely challenging event - but that event took a lot longer than expected, for a variety of reasons. The UTS adds around another 10,000ft of elevation, but the cutoffs are only a little more generous. The doubts creep in easily; how much do I need to raise my game to even meet the cutoffs? Is it possible?
I honestly don't know what can be achieved by May, especially given work, family and the business of life, but my training plan is this: minimum 50-miles and 8000ft a week, lots of difficult terrain, and don't get injured. This means not too much speed, squeezing in the rest days, but otherwise time on feet and heading for the awkward and steep climbs whenever possible. I don't feel the need to plan lots of big distance runs, though some recces of the route will provide a good opportunity to revisit the logistics of long runs.
Today marks 100 days until the UTS-100M. It remains intimidating, but four weeks into the training plan, with a marathon and a few big hill runs already done, my confidence is growing. Note to self: don't get injured.
