12 Hour Training Advice

The race you've picked is a tricky one, because the course is a relatively short 2.5 miles. That has both benefits and challenges. The most important thing in a timed event is to keep on moving, always, and often. It is really easy to pause, stop, take a break, then maybe do one more. That sort of approach is very casual and you'll have lots of fun. In fact, you'll certainly cover the more than 26.2 miles which technically qualifies as an ultra marathon. At a minimum mileage wise, the marathon follow-on is 50K, at least. This is followed by a 50 mile event.

Since the loop for the course is so short you have to decide are you going to run toward a specific distance, or are you going to run for a particular amount of time. If the course were a 7 or longer loop, you would be faced with quite the same question. Because distance goals would be a bigger part of the equation.

Given the amount of multi-sport work that you are doing and the timeline that you are dealing with, I suspect your aerobic capacity will be greater than the capacity for your feet to absorb 12 solid hours of pounding. It sounds like you should make this event one that fits into your other endurance regimen.

Last year I was coming off of an injury and I had a 12 hour race on my calendar. I knew that I didn't have the miles to be able to run for a 12 solid hours. I knew that I wanted to be on my feet at least 8 hours. With that as a goal, I ended up covering a little more than 50K for the course. Could I have run for another hour? Sure. Two? Probably, but I would have had some blisters by then point on my under trained feet and I was still in recovery mode with a longer race still in the season. I didn't want to blow-up on a non-A race. I turned my chip in to the timer after 8 hours, and although he encouraged me to go run another 5.5 mile loop, the fact was, I and covered my minimum goal distance and I had completed a legitimate ultra distance.

Given that you have only 3 months to train and you want to do other things besides, I suspect you won't be on your feet running for the full 12 hours. But, that is the beauty of timed races. There is no pressure so you can be a bit more relaxed. That said, you can also find yourself taking excessive breaks. Only you can set your own distance or time limit. The course is open for 12 hours, but that doesn't mean you'll be on your feet, or even on the clock the entire time.

You haven't provided enough detail to estimate what you might be able to cover in 12 hours. Practice some power walking, but the role of power walking in your race plan really depends on your goal. That said, you will have an excellent time. The timed distances are a real blast. But you do have to keep yourself honest beyond a 50K distance. Perhaps with some additional goal details a more specific recommendation can be made.