In a perfect world, I would race an ultramarathon every weekend. Problem is, I’d need the recovery powers of Wolverine to make that possible (those claws would make opening gels a little bit easier, though…)
Finding the right balance between too many and too few races can be a difficult skill, with factors such as race distance, terrain, location and elevation all worthy of consideration.
With ultramarathons, if you’re racing, then you’re not training. Training makes you faster and, even with a sensible taper and good recovery, you are missing two or three weeks of training as well as putting yourself into the red on race day.
Even if you’re not “racing” and it’s just a “social marathon” you’re still going to deplete your body’s glycogen store and start damaging your muscles. A good bit of training and not starting a race knackered can make a world of difference.
The idea of racing too little doesn’t really translate to the longer stuff, although adding in some shorter races to get at race sharpness is fine. If you’ve got something in the tank at the end of the season, no big deal, just save it for next year.
Having a couple of main ‘A races’ a year, supported by some shorter, faster events, means that you can structure your training towards those big goals and really give it your best effort. Whether it’s a 5K, marathon or 100-mile PB you are after, it is vital to reach that start line feeling fresh.
Everybody is capable of different things, though, and if you really want to race every weekend, I’m not one to say you can’t. Just make sure you look at the long-term picture. I’m still hoping to be racing into my 90s so I can break the 4x100m age group record with my mates. Will your body still be friends with you by that point?
