The Dukes are gearing up for our Reach The Beach relay race in mid September. I’ve recently begun to slowly target my running towards the goal of being able to effectively run 3 legs of varying distance in a 24hr period. It’s kind of a wonky requirement and I’ve been at a bit of a loss on how best to tailor a program. Fortunately I came upon this bit in July’s Runner’s World (pg. 40):

Q: How should I train for a road relay in which I’ll run about five miles three times in 24 hours?

A: Train as you would for a half-marathon, but add these strategies: (1) Do two-a-day runs of five miles each at least once a week starting six weeks before the event. (2) Run a hilly route once a week to increase overall leg strength. (3) head out for a few runs in the dark (with friends, reflective gear and a headlamp); night runs are an inevitable part of the relay experience. (4) Find foods you can digest easily because you’ll be eating at all different times of the day and night.

The cumulative mileages vary for each runner on the RTB team and some will log a good deal more than 15 (more like 20-22). But this seems like sound advice and a good place to start. Seeing as the author is Sean Coster, I’m guessing he knows what he’s talking about. I can’t say as I’m looking forward to initiating 2 x days much, but think I’ll get cracking on that this week. My dogs be barkin’ just thinking about it.

Stay tuned for more Dukes RTB updates from our RTB Captain: The New Guy.