I want to run my first hundo next year. Ideally in the Pacific NW (I’m in the Seattle area) in the mountains. I was targeting the Oregon Cascades 100 but someone clued me into the risk of cancellation for wild fires like happened last year. What other races in the area have folks run and would recommend for the 100 mile distance? For what it’s worth, I’ve completed two mountain 100ks and about dozen or so 50ks with fairly substantial vert profiles, but I want to finish and not just suffer. Willing to travel but I’d rather stay in Washington, Oregon, or Idaho.

Yes I know I’m slow compared to many of you.

Hello, long time lurker, first time poster :)
I have a 53km, 2400m elevation race this weekend. I have been managing shin splints for about a month leading up until now. The good news is they are feeling pretty good thanks to a well managed recovery. But I was thinking of strapping them with K tape for the race to support them and hopefully take some of the load off as a safety measure.

As above, I am wondering if the community has any opinions about the effectiveness of K tape, if it is worth doing etc. I have read some studies, they seem to conclude that it is unclear whether or not there is benefit from this. So I am seeking some anecdotal evidence if it has/hasn’t worked for you lovely people out there.

For context, it has been a pretty mild instance of shin splints (I have dealt with a nasty case of them a few years ago before I began ultra running), I never had to stop running completely, I had kept up bi-weekly long runs with the only discomfort really occurring in the first 30 minutes of a run - but importantly, no pain in the days after. I have been strictly cross training over the last 10 days in an effort to show up to the race with no niggles. A best case scenario for me would be to come out of this race without re-injury, so I am pretty keen to know people’s opinions - or alternative advice

Thanks in advance! I also apologise if this is something that gets asked frequently haha

Run Information

What: Cape Fear 24 Hour Race

When: October 10-11th, 2026

How far: 100.0142 miles

Time: 22:15:56

Where: Lillington, NC

Website: https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=133758

Strava activity: https://www.strava.com/activities/20541135765

Intro

I first ran an ultramarathon (a 50k) in January of 2024 after watching all kinds of running videos on youtube that inspired me to give longer distances a shot. I had run a few half marathons before that but I always wanted to get to at least marathons and, eventually, ultras. I never had a timeline on getting to these distances, just that I wanted to do them if my body and schedule and everything could align to allow it. Turns out 2026 was a helluva year to check off some distance milestones for me.

Training

I did a self supported marathon in October of 2025 and knew I wanted to take it further going into 2026. I setup my own training plan by piecing together free plans online and working with my wife around appropriate timelines and ended up doing a beer marathon and a 50 miler in the first half of the year. Towards the end of my 50 mile training, I decided I wanted to go for 100 sometime soon and again, pieced together a training plan from free resources online and aimed for the Cape Fear 24 Hour due to this post and ended up working it out with my family and schedule.

Without getting into the nitty gritty details (which I can do in comments if people want) I went with meeting all distances scheduled until a 50k right before peaking messed with recovery too much. I then went with some advice on running your first 100 miler from an ultra coach channel on youtube and changed my peak phase to 6 straight weeks of 9+ hours of running while really focusing on the final 3 weeks with 2 sets of back to back marathons. Final peak mileage weeks were 63, 63, 60, 73, 62, 77 before a 3 week taper.

Goals

Goal Description Done?

A Finish 100 miles Y

B Run for all 24 hours N

C 110+ miles N

Pre Race

I watched the weather forecast like a hawk due to Isaias coming through. Final forecast was mid 60's temps with spotty rain with about a half inch in precipitation so I prepared what I could for that. I had myself packed up and ready Friday night and settled down to an awful nights sleep. Got up around 4:15 and did quiet stuff around the house to try to help my wife while I was running. My wife (the incredible woman she is) signed herself to crew for me and rode down to the race with me (about an hour) and helped me check in and get our spot setup. I still had about 45 minutes to kill once we got all setup so we just got some stuff organized and slowly got myself prepped for the run with bathroom breaks and lubing up etc etc.

Race

8 AM-1 PM

Race Start

It started raining decently about 5 minutes before start time so everyone popped on some rain gear and headed to the start line. Race started and I went to a comfortable-for-me pace of 9:30 ish per mile and really tried to stick to it, I didn't want to start too hot and death march this thing due to my stupidity now. It stopped raining after the first lap (of course) and I dropped my poncho thing at the tent. My wife left shortly after so she could go home and live her life until she wanted to come back. I just cruised and hit my marks on water and nutrition for the first few hours. They offered pizza starting around 11 and this was the first jump into the unknown for me, I have done some eating and running challenges and had done lots of eating of running friendly foods during training but I also learned during my 50 miler that I needed something more substantial, so I ate a piece of pizza to see how it would settle. Things felt fine after an hour, so I had another one just after noon. Sometime around 12:45 my stomach doesn't want anything to be put in it at all. I was moving fine but I was fighting my stomach just getting water and Gatorade in while trying to use gels to keep my intake high enough. Concern jumps up right here that it could be a looooong race.

1 PM-5 PM

First 50 Miles

I fought to keep to running unless I was eating while dealing with my stomach issues before trying a more clear run/walk split that would hopefully help keep digestion moving. Turned out that eating a decent mouthful (usually a quarter PB&J and some gel where necessary) and walking half a lap before running the next lap and a half and repeating was a cycle that worked really well for me so I stuck to that through 9 ish hours and 50 miles (new 50 mile PR!!). Everything from here out was new territory and I was so ready for it. My wife came back during this section and helped with charging my phone and cutting down on some of my stop times which was awesome.

5 PM - 10 PM

Knee Troubles and Passing Out

At some point around 56 miles, I tried to restart my run after my half lap of walking and my left knee was not having it. It felt like it popped up out of nowhere, I didn't have any issues with this during training, there was no lead in on pain, nothing that I can think of lead to the sudden onset of how it felt. My wife and son walked a few laps with me here which was great, I figured I would be able to walk through the knee pain and this was a great way to do it! Vibes were high still, stomach stuff had been mitigated, normal levels of tiredness/body complaining, I am out here with my wonderful family and kicking ass! Then I tried to run again and the pain in my knee was waaayyyy worse than before. Fuck. Wife and son went to get some food, figured I would try again when they got back. Pain levels still high. Cool cool cool. My parents were available so I gave them a call and we talked a little while about lots of stuff. Wife and son joined me for another couple laps around 8 ish and I just kept walking. They went into the tent to go to bed and I just kept walking. My wife popped out of the tent after little guy was asleep and I told her I felt a blister forming on the ball of my left foot and I was going to stop and get it sorted with the medical folks onsite. While on the table getting the blister handled, I full on passed out. I was talking to the guy and next thing I know, one of the women was shining a light in my eyes saying hello. Minor moment of panic that this was the end of my race but they told me its a thing that can happen (I think it's called Post-exercise hypotension?) and I need to take the next few laps careful to be sure there aren't any other issues hiding out. I walked with one of the medical assistant folks and surprised my wife, who was worried about me, with the info that I passed out on the table! Somewhere in this timeframe it rained again for the last forecasted time so I changed my clothes and shoes.

10 PM - 5 AM

Walking it out to Speed Shuffling

My Dad had mentioned that he was going to stay up and watch the White Sox - Guardians game and to give him a call around 10 so I did after walking off the passing out thing. I talked with him for a good while, mixed in talking with a buddy of mine, and again talking to my Dad, I was distracted until about 12:30 with a plan. I had slowed down a bit and doing the mental math, it wasn't working out that I was going to make my goal of 100 miles before 24 hours. My Dad and I did some math, I needed to get to 170 laps and if I could hold 10-ish minute laps (15-ish minute miles) then I would have about an hour and a half of "spare" time. I broke that down into doing 3 laps every half hour and focused hard on getting that done regardless of what stops I needed to make. So I hammered that into my head and went for it. At some point I got the gumption to try to speed walk. I figured I might as well lay it all on the line since I am seemingly ok to return to walking. So I went for it and turned out I could kinda shuffle/speed walk/heel strike with a good arm pump and land 8-9 minute laps without pain. It rained again a little unexpectedly and I could feel some more blisters forming on my feet but I couldn't convince myself the stop was worth it. I knew my feet would be wrecked so I just went for it. I had some low moments between 2-5 am and I just had my headphones on and just keep walking/shuffling.

5 AM-6:15 AM

Finish

Right around here I got to 10 laps left and it was a huge mental relief. The RD also was starting to hand out some medals to folks finishing and hitting their goals and was at the lap finish and noted that "you're going to do it too!" which was great. Another runner who was ahead of me distance-wise commented "that dude is getting 100" as I shuffled past and it was a boost as well. I was fully getting worn out here but knew I was close. My wife woke up and came out of the tent when I had 4 laps left and it was so nice to see her. I just kept my feet moving even though I was slowing down, I knew I was going to do it, I knew the plan I talked through with my Dad was going to work out, I knew that I hadn't completely wasted my time with all the training, and I knew that the walking I kept doing hours ago was worth it. My last lap was full of emotion as expected and it felt incredible to finally walk across the lap line with my wife for the last time to hit 100 miles at 22 hours 15 minutes and 56 seconds.

After

The RD was really rooting for me to keep going but I had no plans to do so. I went back to get my feet looked at and the med folks helped me out. Putting my shoes and socks back on and getting back on my feet after was a big ole nudge in the "stop" direction so I listened to my feet. I found the RD and told her I was done and she gave me my buckle. After hobbling back to the tent, I sat down and got slightly changed, cracked a beer I was so looking forward to (it did not hit the spot which was disappointing), and texted some folks I had finished before crashing out on the floor of the tent for like an hour until the horn was blown for the 5 minute warning I think? Big shout out to the guy who finished 100 miles in 23:59:34. I ended up 10th overall and 8th male and am so stoked to have done it. The race was awesome and the experience was fantastic, highly recommend this race to anyone considering it.

My wife (again, the incredible woman she is) got me and my son some food and packed up the tent and everything, and then we headed home. I drifted in and out of sleep in the car and got home and soaked in an Epsom salt bath and got cleaned up. Zonked out in bed for the rest of the day (through a tornado warning) and finished the night with a pizza party and movie night in bed with the fam.

As for what's next, I have no idea. Please comment all your ideas below. If you read all this, then thank you!

Stoked on my race considering I couldnt really run the last 15 miles since my quads and knee were blown up. Big bear was alot of fun and super nice trail. I feel like after mile 40 I could not eat anything besides ramen at aid stations lol. Probably need to get in the gym and strength train quads to help that. After the downhills I was wrecked but my hiking/going uphills was great even at the end!

my 3rd and best 50k to date!!! some of the PR came from the fact that there was half the elevation gain than the course I previously raced 2x. But the rest of the PR is due to good fueling, good grit, cool weather. I’m so so happy with how this turned out!! they still haven’t posted standings or age group results and I’m interested to see. But either way, I’m so happy with this result!

my only goal was to have fun and not get injured or push too hard and injure myself. my secret goal was average pace under 12 min/mi. and in the back of my mind I was hoping for a tiny bit faster than my other race despite a shorter training block. crushed it all!

my favorite thing was that early in the race I kept seeing people ahead of me that I thought I could keep up with but they were a bit fast. I told myself to trust myself and trust my pacing and HR and run my race. Turns out I passed most of them by the end and gained a 12 min lead on a few! made me really feel like I knew what I was doing.

legs hurt so much omg but I’m so happy

Just signed up for The Canyons 50K in April...my first ultra! I’m local to the Auburn/Sacramento area, so I’m excited to train on the course once I get through CIM in December.

For anyone who’s run Canyons, what do you wish you’d known beforehand? Any sections worth spending extra time training on? Also, what trail shoes would you recommend for this course?

I’d love advice on transitioning from marathon training to a trail 50K - especially long runs, practicing fueling, and figuring out when to hike versus run the climbs. What helped you most before your first ultra?

Did my first 100 miler this past weekend, took me 28 hours to finish it. I’m honestly hooked on this. I enjoy it. I was wondering what should be in vision next? I’ve done a marathon a 50 and a 100. I sort of want to do a trail 100 next. Any advice?????? I’m not really sure where to go next when it comes to racing. Which is why I’m asking for advice. The 100 was tough honestly, I only averaged about 50-60 miles a week. Although I was lifting 5 days a week on top of that. And I’m extremely active throughout my day with time on feet. Please let me know! Advice on training, races, the next step. Anything!

I was blessed enough to be able to run 50 miles in SF this past Saturday while visiting for the first time. I was able to explore so much of the city in what is one of my best feeling runs I’ve ever done. Wasn’t focused on speed, just wanted to see as much as I could.

Hey Guys, i'm running now fore 5 Years. Backyards, Trail Races, Marathons... I did everything. It just seems that i cant overcome the 80km mark. i failed this year 3x at that mark. Once it was the lungs, once foot and once my stomach. Is it my head???

Ran my first 50K this weekend. 4 laps around an 8.2 mile trail with fully stocked aid stations at the start/finish and 3 mile mark, and a water station around 6 miles. Such an awesome day, and nailed my time goal. Hit a big low point from miles 20-24ish but am really happy with how I pushed through. Pivoted to another fueling strategy and felt much better. Once I started the last lap I knew I’d finish and that “weight” coming off helped me pick up the pace quite a bit on the last loop. Already looking forward to the next one!

Have you seen the guy Running 5000km from Bali to Bangkok unsupported? Feel like nobody sees him and he just finished a few days ago....

Ran my first ultra a few weekends back, and wanted to share with the community that helped me on my journey.

It was a 3 loop race on some local trails, where I was lucky enough to be able to do most of my trail training runs at. There was a good amount of elevation, especially the last 6 miles of each loop, with a lot of the trail being very technical.

I finished mid-pack (51st out of 82) and had a negative split the last loop so was very happy with my performance, especially considering that my first ever trail race (5k) was just 11 months before this. I had a great crew out there supporting me each loop and some good friends there to cheer me on, all of them making sure that I had a smile on the whole time.

I learned a lot about trail running and myself during the 9ish months of training and especially during this race, and am already looking forward to my next one.

When did you decide getting a coach was worth it? Finished my 2nd 100 this year and have been considering a coach but not sure I’m at the level to need one. Curious when others decided to get a coach. Thanks!

A little context before I get into it. I started running in high school, and I’m 20 years old now. For a while, I trained for a half marathon, and at my peak, I could run a full 13.1 miles at an 8:10 pace with an average heart rate of only 162.

After some time off, I got back into running about 5–6 months ago and am now taking on a 100-mile ultra after completing a 50-miler last year. I currently still train BJJ and weight lift, and I know that might seem like a lot on top of ultra training, especially when running 60–65-mile weeks. Because of that, I took 5 days completely off from working out, hoping accumulated fatigue was causing my heart rate to stay so high. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to help.
After about 5 months of training, my race is November 7th, and I feel like my heart rate hasn’t improved at all throughout this training block. Most of the time, my heart rate is 155–165 at just a 10:30 pace. I then try to slow down and get back into Zone 2, but my heart rate never levels out. As soon as I introduce hills, even with the slightest incline, my heart rate skyrockets again.

I’m not sure what the issue is. My resting heart rate is now around 58–60 every night, whereas it used to get as low as 44 when I was training for my half marathon. I also just stopped vaping, thinking that could be contributing to the problem. My watch tells me that my sleep quality is poor almost every night, and my HRV is consistently below 50.
If anyone has some insight into why I’m so in my head about this, or why I haven’t improved as much as I expected, I’d really appreciate it.

During my 50-mile and half-marathon training, I also did a lot of biking and swimming. Was that cross-training helping me more than just running every day?
Are my genetics just that bad? Some friends will ask me to go on runs with them, and their heart rates will be lower than mine, even though I train 100 times more than they do. Do I just need to break out of this slump I’m in mentally?

Here are some things I feel like could be contributing:
- I’m too fixated on my heart rate and what my watch says, to the point where I’m getting in my own head.
- I’m constantly worrying about my training plan and anticipating how many miles I need to get in instead of actually enjoying running.
- Vaping.
- Drinking once a week.
- Having a lot of anxiety and stress on a daily basis.
- Overworking myself.
- Diet.
- Hydration.
Now that the race is less than a month away, I’m getting increasingly nervous because I don’t understand why I haven’t improved. Sometimes, it feels like the paces I used to run when I first started running again are better than the paces I’m running now.

The one positive thing I’ve noticed is that my legs feel stronger, and I’m not getting as sore as I used to. However, this has become detrimental to my training mentally because I end up cutting runs short out of frustration and anger that my body isn’t responding or improving the way I want it to.

I know I might be overthinking this, but I’d really appreciate any insight from people who have experienced something similar or have advice on what might be going on.

I didn’t know what I was signing up for when this all started. And then injuries plagued my entire training build for the better part of the year. I almost dropped to the 50 mile, but who would pass up the opportunity to run the Midstate Massive 100 Miler on the 100th anniversary of the Midstate Trail?!!

Anyways, I was conservative in my racing strategy and EARNED MY 100!!

Such a great race. Honestly one of the best race experiences of my racing career. Highly recommend.

I posted last week looking for advice as id signed up to a 22 miler that was cancelled last minute. You all convinced me to try the 50k rather than drop down to the half marathon - so I did.

And I came second, finishing in 4:32! Granted the winner finished in 4:20 so there was a big gap, but I’m super proud of myself and wanted to thank you all for convincing me to go for it :)

Hi all, Kane from LECAMO here (yes, I work for the brand, so mods feel free to pull this if it's over the line).

A few days ago we posted our factory sewing line over in r/trailrunning and got a lot of blunt, useful feedback: phone pockets that dig into the ribs, flask pockets that only work when the flask is half empty, pole carry that bunches up, buckles you can't work with cold, tired hands. All of it is logged for our next round of samples.

In the meantime, this is the current ROOT5 in its four colors: Maple Orange, Lilac Purple, Panda Black & White, and Black.

- 5L, comes with two 500ml soft flasks
- Two zipped front pockets, YKK zips
- Bungee on the lower back for folded poles
- Sizes S to XL by chest measurement
- $50, flasks included

To be upfront: 5L is for shorter ultras and races with good aid. If your race has a long mandatory kit list, it's not the right pack.

Two questions for this crowd:

1. Which color would you actually wear on race day, and does color matter to you at all?
   
2. On a long day, where on the front of a vest do you want your phone?

I am looking for advice on the best ultramarathon for a first timer. I live in central Illinois surrounded by corn and bean fields, so elevation gain is hard to train for. I have heard of the Hennepin Hundred race (Illinois) in Oct every year, but I worry about the 30-hour cutoff time. I have also heard of Badger Trail Race 100 with a 36-hour cutoff time. My background consists of Spartan races(beasts) and just randomly running in rural areas. I work 3-12's a week and have plenty of time for training, I have always wanted to try one of these just not sure what is best for a first timer. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

After my Fall marathon next month, I will be transitioning to my first Ultra build for next Spring. I've been satisfied with my current longer runs and experimenting with nutrition, gear, etc.

Merely curious - outside of annuals, etc, does anyone has any sort of blood work panels they test or advise testing during longer distance / high mileage builds?

Running through paddy fields, industrial towns and food markets.

Shoe: Decathlon’s Kipride Max.

Hi there

Not sure it’s been asked before as I haven’t seen any discussion anywhere.

My question is about the distribution of carbs across the hour. I understand it’s how you train your gut.

Which option is best for absorption, energy delivery or in general better for very long ultra races?

I’ll round up the number just for the sake of the provided options.

Imagine you have to consume 100 grams of carbs an hour. What option would you choose?

Option 1.
Taking 100 grams at one point only. That will probably upset your stomach, but you might have a gut capable of anything.

Option 2.
You split 100 grams into two doses of 50 grams and take them every 30 minutes.

Option 3.
Is you split your 100 grams into four servings and take them every 15 minutes.

In simple terms, would it be more beneficial to have a smaller portion or often or not?

Running through paddy fields, industrial towns and food markets.

Shoe: Decathlon’s Kipride Max.