You are training to keep moving, not to rehearse all 100 miles
This plan does not include a 100-mile training run. The race is the first time you cover that distance. The training is repeated long weekends, walking when that is the sensible way up a hill, eating on a schedule, and a few nights when you use your lights.
Use it if you have already finished a 50-mile or 100K race, or an equivalent long day, and a 3 hour 30 long run is currently normal. If you are preparing for a first 50K, this is the wrong page. Many 100-mile races also set their own qualifier. On the 2027 pages checked for this site, Thames Path 100 asks for a 50-mile finish within 15 hours since 1 January 2022, and South Downs Way 100 asks for the same kind of finish since 1 January 2020. This schedule does not satisfy either rule by itself.
Awaiting publisher review. This is a general schedule from Running for Good Ultra, not a personal programme and not an independent coaching or medical review. Speak to a GP if you have a medical condition. The NHS is clear about that. Easy running here means you can hold a conversation.
The weekend is the session that decides the week
On a normal week, run three easy days of about 50, 60 and 70 minutes, and one longer day at the weekend. One easy day can include 6 short hills of about 30 seconds when the table says hills. On a back-to-back week, Saturday is long and Sunday is easier and shorter, and you run only twice more during the week, about 50 and 60 minutes.
Walk with intent from week 9. Pick the climbs, or a minute of walking every 25 minutes of running, and keep the choice for the whole long run so you learn what it does to your time. Eat a practised snack about every 30 to 40 minutes. That interval is a rehearsal prompt, not a measured intake target.
Week 18 starts late enough that you need lights for the second half. Use the route, the kit and the food you mean to race with. If your 100-mile race allows a drop bag or a pacer, practise the handover once on a long run: one stop, one job list, then moving again. If it allows neither, practise getting what you need from your own pack.
The 24 weeks
Put the race on week 24. The longest single run is 6 hours, in week 17. The next two weekends are a little shorter and split over Saturday and Sunday. Protect the easier weeks. They are how the long ones remain possible.
| Week | Weekend | During the week |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 hours 30 | Three easy runs |
| 2 | 3 hours 45 | Three easy runs |
| 3 | 4 hours | Three runs, one with hills |
| 4 | 2 hours 45 | Three shorter easy runs. Easier week. |
| 5 | 4 hours 15 | Three easy runs |
| 6 | 4 hours 30 | Three runs, one with hills |
| 7 | Saturday 4 hours, Sunday 2 hours easy | Two easy runs |
| 8 | 3 hours | Three shorter easy runs. Easier week. |
| 9 | 4 hours 45, with planned walks | Three easy runs |
| 10 | 5 hours | Three runs, one with hills |
| 11 | Saturday 5 hours, Sunday 2 hours easy | Two easy runs |
| 12 | 3 hours 15 | Three shorter easy runs. Easier week. |
| 13 | 5 hours 15 | Three easy runs |
| 14 | 5 hours 30 | Three runs, one with hills |
| 15 | Saturday 5 hours 30, Sunday 2 hours 30 easy | Two easy runs |
| 16 | 3 hours 30 | Three shorter easy runs. Easier week. |
| 17 | 6 hours. Longest single run. Stay easy. | Three easy runs |
| 18 | Saturday 5 hours, starting late afternoon, Sunday 2 hours 30 easy | Two easy runs. Use your race lights. |
| 19 | Saturday 4 hours 30, Sunday 2 hours easy | Two easy runs. Last back-to-back. |
| 20 | 3 hours 30 | Three easy runs, a little shorter than usual |
| 21 | 3 hours | Three easy runs, about 40, 50 and 50 minutes |
| 22 | 2 hours | Three easy runs, about 30, 40 and 45 minutes |
| 23 | 90 minutes | Two easy runs of 30 to 40 minutes |
| 24 | Race | Two easy runs of 20 to 30 minutes early in the week. No long run. |
The qualifier and the taper are not optional extras
Enter the race only if you can meet its qualifier in time. Finding the entry rule eight weeks out, after months of training, leaves you with a calendar problem that fitness cannot fix. Read the current page, including what counts as a qualifying race.
If you miss a long weekend, repeat that week once. Do not relocate week 17 into the final month. If you miss two long weekends, choose another edition. Stop and get medical care for chest pain, dizziness, fainting, or pain that changes how you move.
Sources & further reading
Awaiting publisher review. This is a general schedule from Running for Good Ultra, not a personal programme and not an independent coaching or medical review. Qualifying races cited here were checked on 3 October 2026 and can change. Completing this schedule is not itself a qualifier.
- NHS: physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64
- Thames Path 100 2027: qualification, pacers and drop bags
- South Downs Way 100 2027: qualification, crew and lights
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