The 10-Day Training Week for 50-Plus Trail Runners

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Use it when

You're over 50, training for a trail ultra, and the standard plan keeps leaving you sore, flat or hurt by week 6. The issue isn't fitness. Recovery takes longer after 50, and a 7-day week doesn't leave room for it.

Step 1: Stretch the week to 10 days

After his divorce at 49, Ray lived alone and had time to train. He signed up for a 50-miler on his 50th birthday and downloaded a 7-day plan. In week 6 he strained a calf.

He rebuilt on a 10-day cycle. Day 1: long trail run. Day 4: hills. Day 7: strength plus an easy run. Every other day was an easy 45 to 60 minutes or full rest, with at least two rest days per cycle.

Step 2: Make the hill day count

Ray's hill session was 6 to 8 repeats of 2 minutes uphill at hard effort. On grades over about 15%, he power-hiked instead of running. "Most of a 50-miler is hiking hills. I'd never practiced it." He walked down between reps to protect his quads.

Step 3: Lift for the downhills

Downhills wreck older legs. Ray added step-downs off a 12-inch box, calf raises and Romanian deadlifts twice per cycle: 3 sets of 10 each, slow on the way down.

Step 4: Back-to-backs, but not every time

Every second cycle, the long run was followed by 90 minutes easy the next day. That taught him to run on tired legs without doing it every week. His longest weekend was 5 hours plus 2.

He finished the 50-miler in 11:48, healthy, with no missed weeks in the final 16.

Try it this week

Map out your next 10 days. Put the long run on day 1, hills on day 4, strength on days 4 and 7. Fill the rest with easy runs and two rest days. Then repeat it.