Running a 50km ultramarathon is the first milestone when graduating from Half and Full Marathons to Ultra marathons. Fortunately the basics of running never changes whether we start running long distances with a 5km run or we are learning to run our first 21km, or 42.2km. Then what are the basics of training for any run, or more particularly a 50km run? So it is assumed that the reader is already a marathoner and has completed at least one Full Marathon and many half marathons, of course. I shall break this analysis into three parts: Pace, Diet and General Tips.
Pace
Let us take a runner who runs a FM distance in about 4hrs/4hrs 30min. To achieve this, the average pace is around 5:41 / 6:24min/km respectively. The same runner would be doing a Half marathon in approximately 1:45 min at an average pace of 5:00 min/km. So it is clear that as you graduate from HM to FM the pace has reduced by approximately 1 min/km. While the average pace is only indicating the final result, what is more important is the starting pace, mid level pace and final stretch pace. Half marathon and below distances are well within the human energy threshold, so a suitably trained runner can exert himself/ herself to achieve a slightly better timing, even though there would be consequences of pushing yourself beyond your normal pace, which would be felt mostly after the run in terms of muscle soreness, cramps etc. However, this is not likely to work in case of a Full Marathon, because this distance is beyond the normal human energy threshold, and therefore a strategic pace maintenance especially in the starting of the run is very critical. If the pace is the same/ higher than normal HM pace, there is a high probability of cramps /muscle failure/ fatigue after approximately 28-30 kms. Many people refer to this as "hitting the wall". Maintaining a slower pace in the beginning sends messages to the brain that you are in for a long haul and there is a conservation of energy that kicks in automatically. Just as one has to reduce the pace in a FM as compared to a HM, in case of a 50km run, the same capability runner has to further reduce the average pace to about 6:00/ 6:30 min/km to get a completion time of 5 hrs / 5hrs 30 min for a 50km run. Please note that this average time is inclusive of all pit stops at aid stations, walking time etc. during the run. So the actual running pace may be a bit faster than this. As you start the run, run very slowly, for an ultra it is recommended not to warm up too much, just some dynamic swings to open out your hip joints and knee joints are sufficient. Warm up as you start running, that will ensure that you do not have a higher pace while starting. This is the most important part of the run. As you get warmed up in this distance, there would be a feeling to increase pace, it is important here not to increase the pace and continue running at the same pace.
