Addo 100 first prerace blog

How DO you train for spending 100 miles on your feet? The cut off is 37 hours... there is 5700 meters of elevation (18,000ft) and temperatures varying between 5 and 50'C over the event history...

Obviously you run, walk, drink and eat. These are all things you have to practice over and over for an event like the Addo Elephant Trail Run, aka #AfricasWildestUltra. Practice doesn’t always make perfect… but it does help improve how your body reacts.

In 2018 I ran for myself... I ran (or walked most of) Washie 100 and then trained for a marathon PB of 3h29.54 on 1 December 2018 at the PE City Marathon. After 4 days of rest, I started training again... and began a #runstreak thanks to Bradley of Trailbusters in Nelson Mandela Bay. This may have been the best or a bad thing…

In the first build up of my Addo training I started to experience tightness in my fascial pathways. This could have been triggered by any number of things: stress, sleeplessness, overtraining, or just a little accident. When it didn't go away, I thought I might need some professional help... and thanks to #parkrun friends I found a biokineticist who got me through the Van Stadens Mountain Marathon (1750m/5700ft elevation over 42km) without being further hurt. In fact I felt stronger and more prepared for #Addo100!

And then I slept. Sleep is such an important part of recovery. And its fun when you get it right!

Ilona Hearne Biokinetics have now assessed my strengths and weaknesses and we've been working on a few areas to even out the imbalances in my body... This will help me run further, harder and faster. Maybe not before Addo, but I'll be damned if I don't finish with their help.

And of course a huge part of training for 100 miles is to know WHY you're doing it. And that is the reason for #RazeABar. I do it because I want to, because I want to test my limits (I believe I can, but there is a 30% drop out rate at Addo) and I want to be able to highlight great causes and enable others to give back to professionals that give effectively!

An important part of training is work... because you have to be able to afford it all! Nothing in life is free. But trail running, because of its remote nature, is not cheap. The kind of people you meet and sights you see are amazing and well worth the sacrifice. And I'm glad I enjoy my work at Cellucity. 

And so I encourage you to donate through my campaign... but more importantly to consider a long term relationship with a charity that touches your heart! I've been involved with Christmas Cheer for over 20 years, and with One Land Love it since 2015. Let's make a difference together...

I think it goes without saying that if you want to run 100 miles (160.934km) that you must run. And if you're like 99% of people, you should probably train walking as well, because running 100 miles is a long way. See Knights & Unicorns...