There’s an old saying in the ultra running community: “Ultrarunning is 90% mental and the rest is in your head.” It’s easy to roll your eyes at this (I mean, obviously there’s some level of physical fitness needed too), but it does highlight the fact that physical fitness alone is not going to get you to the finish line of an ultra.

Ok, ok, I get, you’ve made up your mind! Now let’s make sure you’re as ready as you can be. You want to earn the title of ultrarunner with your unbounded badassery. You want to see the look of awe on people’s faces when you tell them you ran for 6+ hours on Saturday morning. While the peons out there are acting like their marathon training is the most extreme thing in the world, you want to casually drop, “oh yeah, 26.2 miles? I did 27 on my long run last weekend.” Being a little different is the first step to running a 50 miler. I can only assume that means you’re a little different from most people, but I’ve got some good news for you.

And yet, here you are, looking for advice on running 50 miles. A daily commute of 50 miles? No, thank you. Preparing to complete a 50 mile run is a big deal.

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