100K trail training plan
100K trail training plan: a block built on your vert
The big format, often run through a whole night. Twelve to twenty-four hours depending on the course.
- Distance
- 100 km
- Typical gain
- 3,500–6,500 m
- Density
- 35–65 m/km
- Taper
- ≤ 21 days
Typical elevation gain of races at this distance, rounded. Enter your own race's: the plan is built on it.
What a 100K trail asks of you
Over 100 km the legs still have to climb and descend cleanly after fifteen hours. The block rests on cumulative time on feet, back-to-back weekends and targeted eccentric work, with a long taper that lets you arrive fresh without losing what was built.
What the plan does at this distance
Climbing builds up to your race's
Your weekly vert rises from base to peak, capped at your race. A 100K trail with 3,500–6,500 m of climbing means 35–65 m per km: the density your trail runs aim for on the last loading week, within the climbing available where you train.
A long run measured in time
The engine counts 100 m of climbing as one flat kilometre: this 100K trail weighs like 135–165 km on the road. The long run aims at a share of the race time it derives for your level: all of it up to 2 h, 80% up to 4 h, 65% up to 6 h, half beyond. A ceiling per level keeps it in check.
Back-to-back weekends
From 80 km and 5 training days a week, the long run is followed by a supporting run on tired legs, from intermediate level up. Advanced athletes get a true second long run every other week during the peak.
Descending, if your course calls for it
Enter your course's elevation loss: eccentric work is only scheduled when the descent really matters (25 m of loss per km, or 1,500 m in total), away from the key session, and never during an injury.
A taper sized on the race
Up to 21 days, shorter when your estimated race time is short: 10 days under 2 h, 14 days under 4 h. Volume and climbing drop, intensity stays alive.
Recovery after the line
After the race the plan holds 21 days of recovery before training starts again. The window is computed from the real distance and climbing, not the kilometres alone.
Questions about training for a 100K trail
What runners ask before they commit.
It depends on where you start more than on the distance. Uptrail sizes the block from your race date and your current training. When time is short, it tells you what remains achievable instead of compressing a full preparation.
A missed easy run is simply not made up. A missed key session, on Pro, reshapes the week: the session moves to a realistic slot, volume and climbing rebalance, and hard days keep their spacing.
Not directly: the engine does not schedule night sessions or simulate sleep loss. It builds what training can build. You can move a long run to the evening to test your headlamp, and the plan adapts to the change of day.
Train for a specific race
Your 100K trail, prepared week by week.
Enter your race, its elevation and the days you can run. The block is built, then reworked when a key session falls through.