Race name:
World Mountain and Trail Running Championships- Long Trail
Athlete:
Tom Joly
Race description:
85km with 6,500m of elevation gain and loss. Mixed terrain including snow, mostly a technical course with 5 climbs over 2,000m absl. 0630 start, with warm weather throughout (20-30c).
Extremely deep field of athletes (Average ITRA index of 907 for top ten men).
Distance:
85km
Result:
10:22. 11 th
(Hour 7 athlete Tom Joly crossing the finish line in 11th place on GB debut).
Elevation:
6,500m+
Training volume in build-up:
10 week block including taper:
Running: 1,265km with 60,000m of elevation gain. Peak week 192km with 8,500m+.
Cycling: 965km with 19,500m of elevation gain
Gym: 16 hrs
Training intensity distribution:
Approx 80% zone 1 and 2. 20% Zone 3 and 4. 0% zone 5/vo2 max.
Key sessions:
5 min hill reps on road (threshold/zone4) with 3 mins recovery. 8-12 reps.
600m up over 4km, 600m down over 4km, on trail. Zone 2- Zone 4. 1-3 reps
1km on (3:30/km) 1km off (4:30/km) on treadmill. 8-10 reps
Long run 32-42km with 1,400-2,000m.
55km and 60 km trail race (6 hrs) practicing race set up, nutrition etc.
Race strategy:
Don’t go too hard on the first climb, attack on the technical/high altitude sections around halfway, save something for the downhill/runnable section (KM 54-68), hang on for the last climb and descent.
Race nutrition:
10 x gels (250g of carbs 200mg of caffeine)
1 x chews (42g of carbs 75mg caffeine)
6 x drinks (480g carbs)
1.5L of coke (150g carbs 120mg caffeine)
14 x salt pills
Race hydration:
Filled up water between aid stations in rivers, fountains, also cooling by jumping in water troughs and rivers.
Race shoes:
Inov-8 Trailfly 280
Key items of kit:
Poles
Key lesson:
I underestimated how close the field would be after 10hrs of racing (8minutes between 11 th and 4 th
place) Save something for the last climb and descent!
(Hour 7 athlete Tom Joly after his race).
