How to Train for Your First 200-Mile Race
Written by Adam Holz
Key Takeaways
A 200-mile race requires multiple months, if not years, of preparation. You must be able to manage sleep deprivation, continuously fuel, and be mentally prepared to make forward progress on two feet over multiple days.
Training should focus on time on feet rather than sheer mileage. Incorporate back-to-back long runs to build durability and practice running on fatigued legs.
Use progressive overload in your aerobic and strength training to create your desired adaptations.
Train your gut. Practice your race nutrition during long runs and don’t try anything new on race weekend.
Recovery is where progress happens. Nail the basics (sleep and nutrition).
Customize your training to develop the skills required for ultramarathon running.
Mental preparation is critical. Run when you’re tired. Run when it’s raining. Visualize success and failure.
It’s no secret that 200-mile races are difficult – physically, of course, but also mentally and emotionally. But you may be more ready than you think.
I've coached athletes with varying levels of experience – those going from couch to 5k, wanting to qualify for the Boston Marathon, win a 100-miler, and finish the coveted Grand Slam. The jump to 200 miles isn't about a magic workout or secret training hack. None exist. It's about methodically building the durability to keep moving forward.
If you're considering a race like the Tahoe 200, Bigfoot 200, or Moab 240, know that you won't have all the pieces figured out when you sign up. Nobody does. Pull the trigger, sign up for the race, and figure it out along the way. That's where an ultramarathon training plan becomes your roadmap. No guesswork, just execution.
This guide will help you determine if you're up to the challenge and includes training principles and specific workouts designed for runners seeking success in a 200-mile effort.
Training Principles for Any 200-Mile Race Effort
Time on Feet is King
Building durability is key. Slow down and make training easy enough so you can do it day after day, week after week, month after month. Get the volume first. Focus on frequency first, then duration, and intensity last.
A good rule of thumb is to increase your weekly mileage and/or time on feet by no more than 10% compared to the previous week; however, that approach doesn’t work for everyone. We all have a biomechanical limit. This limit often takes years to move up, and if rushed, often leads to injury, which leads to intermittency – the death of an athlete, whose success lies in consistency.
Depending upon your experience, build for up to 12-16 weeks, then take time to deload and recover. Staying healthy is priority number one. Then gradually increase your long-term average. The ability to handle chronic load is the essential fitness for running.
Back-to-back long runs (even hikes) are also important. These sessions will help you get used to running on fatigued legs. For example, you might run for four hours one day, then three hours the next.
2. Train, Don’t Just Exercise
There's a difference between exercising and training. Exercising for general health is great, but structured training has a specific purpose and strategic progression. Create a plan, or work with a coach, and focus on getting your reps in rather than doing random workouts that may not lead you to your goal. Even one or two key workouts per week can have a big impact when done consistently. Quantity is important, but so is quality.
It may be worth consulting with a professional on your form to ensure you're moving with proper biomechanics to increase efficiency. Small improvements in how you move can pay massive dividends over 200 miles. Make tweaks, not overhauls.
And don’t be afraid to walk. You will run, hike, and walk during a 200-mile race, so it’s more than okay to do that in training. You can use the Galloway method (aka Jeffing) in which you run for 7 minutes then walk for 3, or run for 9 minutes then walk for 1. Choose the ratio that works for you. This approach can reduce fatigue, prevent injuries by managing effort, and increase enjoyment by making running more manageable for everyone.
3. Incorporate Cross-Training
Cross-training is one of the best tools in your arsenal. Every ultrarunner would benefit from cycling once or twice a week.
Cycling allows you to use your legs differently, get cardiovascular work without the pounding, and promotes recovery. A 45-minute conversational effort on a gravel bike or Peloton will continue to build your engine while your body repairs from the running load. The bike can be a great way to incorporate intensity as well.
In addition to resistance training, include the incline treadmill and stairmaster, both of which are great for mental training.
4. Focus on Progressive Overload
Use progressive overload to continuously challenge your body and drive adaptation. Progressive overload is the principle of gradually increasing training stress over time so the body is forced to adapt and become stronger, more resilient, or more efficient. Gradually increase your training load over time by adjusting volume (time on feet, mileage, or elevation gain), intensity (pace, heart rate, or rate of perceived exertion), pack weight, number of sets, or repetitions.
The key is to make small, incremental changes as opposed to large jumps that increase injury risk.
5. Don’t Forget About Nutrition
GI distress and lack of fuel (bonking) are two of the most common reasons runners DNF in ultramarathons. Train your gut as you’d train your quads, hamstrings, and calves. Try different sources of fuel during your long runs and see what and how much your stomach can handle without GI issues.
Years ago, pro cyclists were consuming 30-60 grams of carbohydrates per hour. Fast forward to today, endurance athletes are pushing the envelope, with some taking in around 180 grams per hour.
While the data supports up to 120 grams of carbohydrates per hour, start lower and build gradually. When the effort level is light or moderate, less will suffice, but remember, carbs are athletes’ primary source of fuel. Not only will eating carbs help you perform better in a given workout or race, they’ll reduce post-exercise muscle soreness because your body has the nutrients it needs to replenish its glycogen stores and repair.
Experiment. Be scientific about it. Big training days are for trial and error, but don’t try anything new on race day. If you can handle Neversecond gels, bars and sports drinks the whole time, great. If you need a pizza or burrito at mile 150, and know your gut can tolerate it, that works, too.
Finally, don’t sleep on sodium. Everyone has different electrolyte needs, but most lose about 1,000 mg sodium per liter. If you can’t get an advanced sweat test, here are some tell-tale signs that you may be a saltier sweater:
You get salty marks on your clothes and skin
Your sweat tastes salty and/or stings your eyes, cuts or grazes
You feel faint, dizzy or suffer head rushes when standing up quickly post-exercise
You suffer from muscle cramps during/after long periods of sweating
You often feel terrible after exercising in the heat
You crave salty foods during and after exercise
6. Recovery is Crucial
Recovery is essential and where we make progress. Here’s my advice:
Take one forced rest day per week — some short, light movement is fine, but make the hard days hard and keep the easy ones easy.
Prioritize sleep, aiming for 7-9 hours per night and even more during heavy training blocks. Bank sleep and limit caffeine ahead of a race, especially when sleep-deprivation is involved.
Fuel your recovery with adequate nutrition, especially protein for muscle repair and carbohydrates to replenish glycogen stores. Many endurance athletes are unknowingly underfueled, which compromises adaptation and increases injury risk. Eat well and enough to support all your hard work in training.
Incorporate mobility work and foam rolling to address niggles and tightness before they become problems. If you don’t listen to the whispers, you’ll be forced to hear the screams.
Plan active recovery sessions, like cycling, to promote blood flow. A 30-60 minute easy spin, walk or swim the day after a hard effort can often speed recovery more effectively than complete rest.
Plan a deload period, when you reduce volume and intensity, and shed fatigue. Your muscles, joints, and nervous system will thank you.
Some runners fetishize 100-mile weeks and will brag about their high volume, but the training stimulus is only valuable if you recover from it and make the desired adaptations. Without proper recovery, you're just digging yourself deeper into a hole. More isn’t always better. If you do the work, make sure you get the benefit.
Key Workouts in an Ultramarathon Training Plan
Your training should be highly individual based on your current fitness, goals, time available to train, and other constraints. Regardless of those factors, these are the key workouts I program for athletes preparing for 200-mile ultramarathons. All are designed for runners who already have solid ultra experience (50–100 milers) and want to build endurance, strength, and durability for races like those in the Triple Crown.
Endurance and Volume Workouts
Back-to-back long runs with a pack: Gradually increase pack weight to simulate race conditions and practice race nutrition. Focus on time on feet, staying steady, and finishing strong rather than speed. Designed to practice running on fatigued legs.
Example: Saturday 3-6 hours, Sunday 2-4 hours. Effort on both days should be conversational and aerobic.
Heavy rucks: Longer hikes or walks with heavier-than-race packs to build strength and to condition your legs, hips, and core. Trail terrain, with lots of elevation gain and descent, is ideal.
Example: 60-120 minutes of brisk walking/power hiking with a pack 5-10 lbs heavier-than-race pack weight.
Power and Speed
Tempo or threshold uphill intervals: Sustained efforts on moderate to steep hills at a challenging pace and intensity to develop climbing strength and increase thresholds. Gradually increase interval duration, intensity, and reps.
Example progression: Week 1 = 3x5 minutes at tempo or RPE 5-6/10 (easy jog down in recovery), Week 2 = 3x10 minutes tempo, Week 3 = 2x15 minutes at threshold or RPE 7-8/10
Sustained downhill efforts: Running or fast hiking downhill to simulate quad pounding and eccentric load with a controlled technique to minimize injury risk. Go by feel/rate of perceived exertion (RPE), not heart rate, as your HR will likely be lower moving downhill.
Example: Insert 10-30 minutes of continuous downhill running into a workout
Power Hill Strides: Do these late in a workout to improve force generation and running economy. Focus on power per stride, not cadence.
Example: 5x20 seconds at ~85% effort on a moderate hill (4–8% grade) and walk/jog down 1-2 minutes between reps.
Strength and Stability
Strength training makes you more durable and reduces injury risk. Especially during the off-season, prioritize getting strong. Here are some of the exercises I program by muscle group/focus:
Glutes and hips: Quadruped fire hydrants, lateral band walks, bridge marches, and side plank clams (2-3 sets to fatigue)
Core and stability: Planks on a Swiss ball, deadbugs (no arms), and bird dogs (2-3 sets to fatigue)
Leg strength and single-leg control: Single-leg RDLs (Romanian deadlift), single-leg heel raises (box supported), and Bulgarian split squats (2-3 sets x 8-12 reps)
Posterior chain: Hamstring curls on a Swiss ball (2-3 sets x 10-15 reps)
Optional ultra-specific add-ons: Step-ups with a pack (2-3 sets x 10-15 reps per leg), hill bounding and single-leg hops for proprioception, and loaded carries (farmer’s carry) for loaded stability (2-3 heavy sets x 30-60 seconds)
Mental Preparation for the Dark Moments
A proper ultramarathon training plan addresses both physical and mental preparation. You have to understand and accept that a 200-mile race will be hard. Identify the spark that drew you to this challenge in the first place and what motivates you to keep going.
Visualize pushing through the lows. Imagine yourself in the middle of the night — when you want to quit and can't keep food down. It's as important to visualize the dark moments as it is to imagine crossing the finish line; that way, you’ll be prepared for them when they actually happen.
Endurance is the ability to keep going against a mounting desire to stop. Instead of thinking about the 100+ miles you may have left to run, which would seem daunting to anyone, take it one aid station, one mile, one climb, one step at a time. Repeat. Break it down into digestible chunks.
I like fueling by time, every 20-30 minutes, during races. When I look down and see my watch hit the 20, 30, 40 or 60-minute mark, I reward myself with a gel, a bar, a piece of candy. It often becomes hard to eat in the later stages of a multiday event, but remember eating, too, is trainable and will determine your success or failure.
Also remember that you’re literally paying for this experience. You don’t have to do this. No one is forcing you. You can quit at any moment. Instead, remind yourself that you get to do this. It’s a gift to have a powerful body and mind that can carry you hundreds of miles. Don’t forget that.
Belief in yourself is overrated. Generate evidence. Build a stack of undeniable proof that you are who you say you are. Practice running at night with your headlamp. Engage in sleep deprivation training in small doses. Share your ambitious goals with friends and family so others hold you accountable.
On race day, remember that you're celebrating. You've already done the hard part in the months of training. Arriving at the start line, hopefully healthy, is an accomplishment in and of itself. Cherish it because it’ll be over before you know it.
My Background & Coaching Philosophy
I was a baseball player in college who poured himself into bodybuilding and eventually into long-course triathlons. After years crunching numbers at JP Morgan, and after a near-fatal cycling crash, I need to do something other than stare at spreadsheets.
I earned my USA Triathlon Coaching Certification three years ago and haven't looked back. Since then, I’ve left the finance world to build my coaching business, but continue to use my analytical skills to serve and guide athletes. I am a TrainingPeaks Level 2 Accredited Coach. I take a holistic approach to sustainable excellence–focusing on mind, body, and soul. My methods are grounded in science and proven in the real world.
As a coach, I’ve led over 50 athletes to success across finish lines and personal bests in some of the world’s hardest and most iconic endurance events. I’ve guided clients in harsh, remote mountain environments, leading climbs and alpine objectives. I facilitate workshops on sleep, stress, and other lifestyle factors to equip others with evidence-based knowledge and actionable protocols to improve healthspan, lifespan, and performance.
As an athlete, I’ve climbed 25 Colorado 14ers (peaks in the state over 14,000 feet), many multiple times, many in winter. I am the 2025 winner of the Hoodoo 300, the World Ultra Cycling Association’s North American Championship, which I completed in 14:44, shattering the previous course record by nearly three hours. I am a 4x Ironman triathlete, 2x Ironman World Championship Kona qualifier, and am ranked in the top 1% of global competitors. Most recently, I completed the 2025 Ironman Cozumel in 8:48 with a 3:01 marathon off the bike, finishing 7th overall amateur out of 1,400 athletes.
Final Thoughts
While training should be enjoyable, no one is excited to get out the door every day. In those instances, it’s important to get creative and make things fun. Take the pressure off and focus on executing one day at a time.
Training for an ultramarathon like the Tahoe 200, Bigfoot 200, Moab 240, or Arizona Monster 300 takes commitment, but it's achievable when you have a solid plan. You won’t and don’t need to have XYZ figured out all at once. Sometimes all it takes is pulling the trigger, signing up, and trusting the process.
Want to start preparing for a 200-mile race? Adam is currently accepting athletes for 1-on-1 coaching. Reach out to him at Adam@ForgePerformanceCoaching.com. Limited spots are available. You can also check out his Instagram or Substack for training logs, tips, and more.
