It doesn’t look the same as it does on Instagram. Or if it does, I’m doing it wrong!

Ok. Let me catch you up to speed so we’re all on the same page.

So last year, 5 of us drove down to Oregon and ran the Timberline Trail. A 60+ kilometer trail that navigates the circumference of Mt Hood. A pretty epic endeavor. It was our “practice ultra marathon”. An opportunity to see if a) we could complete the damn thing and b) if ultra running was for us. The prospect of long trail runs has crept in but we weren’t about to sign up for something major like a 100 miler without getting something under our belt. (You can scroll back to last year’s post Timberline Trail Full Throttle to check out our experience).

Fast forward to January of this year. The Fatdog 120 Ultra is taking place in Manning Park BC, some 200km from my place out in Richmond. They have a smattering of options to choose from. Their 120 miler (the crown jewel), a 100k, and a 50 miler. Surviving last year’s “practice” run we felt intrigued. 3 out of last year’s crew (including myself) decided we would throw our hat into racing the 100km.

I came across an in depth training guide online and signed up to an ultra running Facebook group so I could become both inspired and demoralized at how I stack up with other athletes in this category. The training had us set on a regimented schedule for 26 weeks. Yes 6 months. 6 months of walking up to the calendar to see what was on the menu for the day. Strength training, rest day, or 20+km rambling through the woods. It was almost always the latter.

We are now in early June and approximately just past 1/2 of our training. Saturdays have become 4am, or 3am wake up calls followed by half the day running through the forest and endless hill climbs. Ugh.

What Lies Ahead. Well as you can imagine. More running. A lot more running. As our training ramps up our long runs are becoming increasingly…longer. 45km training runs. 50km training runs. Even a 60km training run. And shoes, God how fast you go through a pair of shoes. With a shelf life of 600-800km it’s amazing how fast you find yourself making another trip to the shoe shop.

Y’all are getting in on the ground floor of this insight. This is it. This is as good as it gets. It’s only going to be bullshit from here! Keep posted as we wind up and then taper down before the official Fatdog Ultra 2024 begins… I promise it’s going to sound ridiculous and unimaginable, but then you get to remember you don’t have to do it!

Cheers