Hal Koerner's Field Guide to Ultrarunning: Training for an Ultramarathon, from 50K to 100 Miles and Beyond

Good, strong posture—which comes from a strong core—will help take some of the strain and fatigue out of being on your feet for hours or even days.

In training, I plan on one 20-ounce bottle of water for 2 hours.

Consider your food your medicine, which in a way it is, and find a way to get it down, because every calorie counts when you’re running an ultra.

completely committed to the task at hand, but completely committed, too, to enjoying the journey.

When moving correctly down the hill, you are over the center of your body, landing on your midfoot and maintaining balance.

stay relaxed. Tensing up your muscles and holding your breath won’t get you up the hill faster and more likely will make the climb harder. Periodically check in with your breathing and notice any tension in your muscles. As the trail gets more technical, continue to work to find a balance between being focused and staying relaxed.

I, like Hal, sincerely believe that anyone can run an ultramarathon, and if you follow his advice you won’t just complete an ultra, you’ll have a lot of fun along the way.

These BTBs, as we call them, are as much about time on the feet and time being out there as they are about mileage. You will learn what it takes to muster mental as well as physical energy when you think you have none left. You will also experience the caloric demands of hours of exercise and figure out how to eat and drink on the run when that mig

Staying on the trail and being able to find the confidence ribbons and other demarcations indicating the correct way to go is obviously key throughout the nighttime hours.

I personally support the literature that says I can run as much as I want to and don’t need to stretch. I don’t think I’m alone in that.