How to Train For a 200-mile Trail Race

When an athlete on Team Performance Project told me he had registered for the Divide 200-mile trail race in Alberta, Canada I was intrigued.  200 miles, 40,000 feet of elevation gain and 100 hours to complete the challenge.   More than four days of covering endless mountains. Wow!  After the enormity of the challenge set in, I started to think about how the training would differ compared to preparing for a 100-mile trail race.  There were a few themes that stood out on how to train for a 200-mile trail race which I will highlight below.

• Do more hiking with a heavier pack

There would be more time between aid stations in the 200-mile race compared to the 100-mile trail race.  Not only would the athlete be moving slower than over 100 miles, but the aid stations were also spaced about 20 – 30 km apart.  If moving 4 km per hour, it would take approximately 7.5 hours to get to an aid station spaced 30 km from the previous one.  All this meant that the running pack would need to have more supplies vs. a 100-mile race and thus be heavier.

As the race got closer, the athlete did more and more runs, hikes, and walks with the fully loaded pack.  He got used to wearing this extra load on his back and shoulders.  This is necessary to get your body prepared to carry this load for four days.

Since we knew there would be mostly hiking involved over the 200-miles, more of his training included walking and hiking vs. preparing for 100-miles.  This meant that the peak training simulated the speed he would be doing the event at and increased his time on legs.  The largest duration weeks during the whole training preparation were 25 hours and 29 hours.  These were ‘training camp’ style weeks as this load consistently was not safe or feasible.

• Do at least one race or outing where you run through the night

I have coached a number of athletes to 100-mile finishes who have never previously run through an entire night.  Although I think the athletes who have done it previously will have an advantage over the novice runners, I don’t think its mandatory for a 100-mile race with a 36 hour or faster cut off.

However, with a 4-day event I would highly recommend that you know how you deal with sleep deprivation before the event.  There are also many logistical issues that come up over night such as, how long your headlamp battery lasts; how you deal with getting cold; should you stop at an aid station when cold or keep moving; how long of a nap do you need; what food do you tolerate well in the middle of the night; do you hallucinate?

You can come up with the best laid out plan for multi-day events for dealing with nights and sleep deprivation, but until you are actually out there doing it – it’s impossible to know how it will go for you.

• Do your homework on foot care and wilderness first aid

I must admit some of the U.S. based trail races have a shockingly poor or non-existent mandatory gear list for ultramarathons.  Most of my own medical kit goes to other runners that chose not to carry one at all and end up falling or needing medication.  Ultimately you need to understand that you are running through remote areas and if you need help it will take a long time for help to reach you.

The Divide 200 mandatory gear list is below for your information.  For medical kits, I like Adventure Medical Kits.  For foot care, I recently acquired an amazing resource with the book, Fixing Your Feet by John Vonhof.

1. Headlamp (mandatory after 5:00pm)
2. Garmin inReach (mandatory – provided)
3. Battery backup (mandatory – provided)
4. Spotwalla Account (mandatory – provided)
5. Race Bib (mandatory – provided)
6. Timing Chip (mandatory – provided)
7. Emergency Bivvy (mandatory – provided)
8. Blaze orange clothing item (mandatory – we will provide a neck gaiter)
9. Full water bottles or hydration pack to carry 2L of fluid
10. Wind/water resistant jacket
11. Toque or warm hat
12. Sun hat
13. Full-finger gloves
14. Running/trekking poles
15. Whistle (for alerting others)
16. Bear spray or bear banger (IF you know how to use it)

• Be prepared to spend a lot of time planning logistics

If you don’t like spreadsheets a 200-mile race won’t be for you.  There is no rolling out of bed and winging it.  It takes weeks and months to organize all the necessary gear, what aid stations you need the gear at, expected or required paces, how much stop time or sleep time you expect at various aid stations, nutrition strategy, and more!

• Get used to eating real food on your long runs

Imagine you are on a 4-day hiking trip with friends.  They would not be impressed if you rolled into dinner every night with energy gels and Tailwind drink mix.  You need real food to sustain yourself for moving through the wilderness for four days.  This can be freeze dried meals which have gotten very tasty in recent years, mashed potatoes, pizza, chicken noodle soup, basically any real food that you can get in your belly will help.  Real food provides more calories and a longer, more sustainable energy source compared to energy food.  Between aid stations you can combine energy food and drink with real food packed in bags such as fruit, granola bars, slice of pizza, ham & cheese sandwich, etc.

Are you interested in a 200-mile distance or perhaps trying a distance that is new to you whatever that may be?   We would love to get to know you and your goals.   We are accepting new athletes again starting in January 2025.