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GUCR 2016
I've managed to get myself a place through the ballot for next year 
For anyone who has done this race before, what did your weekly training plan look like, mileage, long run distance etc?
I'm doing it unsupported as I don't think I'll be able to get a crew together to support me, obviously I realise having a crew would be beneficial but have many people done it unsupported and how did you get on?
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Hi Jamie, congrats on getting in. It's a great race. I wouldn't be too worried about being unsupported, the organizers look after the runners very well and crews of supported runners also offer help to the unsupported ones.
I did it this year (supported) but unfortunately had to pull out with an injury after about 100k but here are some of my experiences from the training:
- I roughly followed the 100 mile plan from the book "Relentless Forward Progress" which is built around 5 runs/week with weekly mileage topping out at about 70
- I think for me the goal was to get as much time on my feet as possible so weekends would have quite a few back to back long runs (20+ miles each) but to mix it up I also did one faster session per week (intervals or fartleks) + try and do one or two shorter ultra races (30 - 50 miles) as long training session/test kit etc.
- If you have a chance, go out and actually ran along the GUC, it's impossible to get lost on the course but a few recce runs will help you get used to the conditions underfoot which I found quite hard to run on at time
The one thing that you shouldn't do is run your first 100 miler 3 weeks before the GUCR which for me was probably the biggest factor contributing to my DNF
FWo - Thanks for the reply. I've got that book and had a look at the 100 mile plan which is straight forward. I've also got another training plan which I'll loosely follow as well.
I'll be doing at least two marathons and two 50 mile ultras in the build up so will have plenty of time to test out kit etc.
I've only ever ran as far as 50 miles in a race so I'm looking forward to seeing if my body will be able to cope with the ridiculous distance.
Oops looking at the LL version (Liverpool Leeds) but my plan sounds suspiciously like FWo's
Unsupported is fine. As FWo says, you get all the support you need from the organisers. It's seems pretty self indulgent to me to expect friends/family to waste their bank holiday weekend for my race but I guess that's not everyone's view.
For training, run what you can but don't get too hung up on it. You'll probably find you'll never be able to do as much as you think you should but if you have the right mindset on the day (or days) then it's amazing what you can achieve.