One of the most liberating things about ultramarathons is that no one cares how long a race took you. Aim for 1g carbs/per kg of body weight/per hour. Well-fuelled long runs will also help you to recover more quickly. Use longer training runs to practise fuelling and train your gut to digest food on the go. Gels may be OK for a few hours, but the longer the race, the more you’ll want variety, ‘real food’ and savoury options, such as salty nuts and soup. Aid stations have piles of flapjacks and cakes – a few even have beer.

And eating to fuel long runs effectively is a skill that needs to be honed. Ultramarathons are eating competitions as much as running events. These runs should be mostly easy and as well as the cardio benefits, they are great for sussing out which trail shoes (think blister-prevention) and other kit works best, and to train your gut. The long run is the key workout and if you can get in a handful that are 20 miles/four hours or more, you’ll be in a good place. That doesn’t mean doing the same thing every day or week, but, rather, getting out regularly – four to six shorter runs a week is better than the same volume over two or three runs – for several consecutive months builds a great endurance base.

You may even start looking forward to hills and the sneaky walking break they allow.

Also, hiking the uphills (and most trail ultras are lumpy) is not only legitimate but a smart strategy, to preserve muscles. It’s significantly less intense and less taxing on joints – repetitive pounding on asphalt is brutal compared with softer, changing terrain that better spreads stress around the body. Although you’ll be on your feet for longer in an ultra, you’ll be moving slower than marathon pace. Many people complete ultras on around the same mileage as a marathon training plan. If a race is twice the distance of a marathon, it doesn’t mean your training needs to be twice as hard.

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