This week, we share Part 2 of Dawn Tuffery's expert tips of how to run a 24hr ultra.
Dawn is an ultramarathoner based in Hamilton, New Zealand. She holds six national titles for 100km and 24-hours, has represented New Zealand five times, including last month at the World 24-Hour Championships in France.
On the trails, Dawn has podiumed at the Tarawera 100k and 100 miler - and is also a coach with Squadrun, helping others achieve their endurance goals.
In Part 1 (HERE) Dawn covered the preparation for the race. In Part 2, she shares her tips for an excellent execution:
Let’s say you’ve done the buildup, entered your race, tapered smartly, and now it’s 24-hour race day!
Here are a few tips for making the most of the occasion.
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Relax and settle in. For at least a quarter of the event, you want to be running within yourself and enjoying the atmosphere.
In the second quarter you want to push a bit more - and stay positive.
The third quarter is surviving the small hours.
The last quarter - is whatever’s left. -
Your race, your pace. It doesn’t matter what other runners are doing. You are a relaxed tortoise on your own journey. Sometimes you get to watch awesome hares lapping you often. It’s all fine.
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Don’t watch your watch, except to achieve your 'process goals' during that hour or quarter of the race. They can be things like ‘eat this’ and ‘lube that’ (if in doubt, lube or tape it). Do set your watch to track mode, if possible/applicable, or it will go rogue and offer an enticing-but-false distance covered. Stay calm. Time in a 24-hour can feel overwhelming if you think too much about it.
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Deal with small problems early - and remember, you still have time for things to improve. Sometimes in a 24-hour, people hit a problem, pull the pin, and go home. In practice, you can take an hour (or four) to work on issues and things might well come right. It’s a long race!
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An upset stomach is not the end. Hopefully you’re in the fortunate cohort who don't succumb to GI issues, but if you do hit problems, know that it’s normal. You can walk a bit, take a break, sip cold water, nibble plain/savoury food, redose on CurraNZ (proven to protect against GI issues - load pre-race and redose during), Quikeze or other medication. If these strategies don't work, just take a break and then...
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Keep moving forward. Some people like to reach a milestone like 100k or 160k and stop. Fair enough if that’s the main goal, but consider just keeping walking. We only have a certain number of opportunities to earn a result in this type of event, so why not nudge it a little further. You might surprise yourself. In my first 24 hour event I went out a bit hard, injured my hip, and walked in the rain for the last six or seven hours, hobbling in for a national title and outright win. It’s not a recommended strategy (hip still clicks, to be honest) but on that day, the perseverance paid off.
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Embrace the weirdness. It’s a pretty funny thing to be doing.
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Enjoy the details. Talk to people (if they’re up for talking). Maybe get a front row seat to watch powerhouse Olympians do their sprint training. Watch the moon come all the way up and go all the way down. Get excited about changing direction at the four-hour mark. Ride the mood of your music, if it’s allowed by the event.
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Do organise a ride home. I merrily assumed I’d be okay to drive a car for two hours after completing my debut 24 Hour. Turns out I was not up to anything for two hours, including staying awake.
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Push yourself, but keep a sense of perspective. It’s great fun to have a good race, and it’s also okay to have a tricky one. Appreciate getting to a place you can contemplate doing this event. The percentage of people in the world who will ever run a 24-hour is super small, but today you’re getting to be one of them. It’s a weird, wonderful, indulgent, painful, intriguing niche activity that will fuel connections and stories for life.