Multi-race and Multi-day Race Phenomina

Are you Dopey? Can you stake claim to a Hat Trick? In addition to multi-sport events, such as triathlons, becoming increasingly popular, another sport is becoming popular as well; multi-race events. I have yet to find a buzz-word for this yet, but basically it means that a race event, usually running races, has multiple runs on the same day or throughout the course of multiple consecutive days.

The pioneer of this is Disney. They started with the Goofy run, which is running the half marathon, then the full marathon the following day. Due to its popularity, Runner's World introduced the Hat-Trick for its half marathon events, which involves a 5k and 10k on the same day, and then the half marathon the following day. More events like this are popping up everywhere. But why are these so popular?

The concept of running multiple events on the same day or consecutive days is nothing new. Many people have done this for a long time. With running such a popular sport for amateurs and pros alike, there are many instances where there are Saturday races and Sunday races. They can be part of the same event or be completely different events in different places. Some people want to do both races, so they do. There is no additional medals for this however; just the personal achievement and bragging rights for having that level of endurance. Other races have a weekend of events, such as the Pittsburgh Marathon, with a variety of races on Saturday, and the half and full marathon on Sunday.

So, with the popularity of these new events, the big question is "How do I train for this?" For the shorter distances, it's not too bad, even for beginners. For long distances, this really becomes challenging, as you are putting your body through a lot in a short period of time.

Shorter Distances

For events where you can do something like a 5k and 10k or a 5 & 5 (5k then a 5 miler), you can basically follow a mix of a 5k and a 10k plan. I won't outline plans, as there are so many available on Runner's World and many other fitness sites. I still may post some training plans at another time, but not in the article. Since the races are short enough, you don't really need to worry about much other than hydration for the races. Which is great, because you can pack light and really just focus on enjoying the races.

Longer Distances

Longer distances are a whole other story. Depending on how long each race is and the time between races, you have a lot to worry about. First, you need to follow a training a plan that is tailored for your max distance you will be running; so if your max distance is a half marathon, then make sure you have a half marathon plan in your training. After this, you have a couple of options. First, you can always just make your later long runs equal to the total distance of all of your runs you will do on race day or race weekend. This is good if you are mixing a half marathon with a 5k or 10k. However, when you start getting into marathons as your max distance, then adding a half marathon and maybe even others to your long run is not really feasible. You might as well just train for an ultra at that point. So, the next option is to have back to back longer run days. So, if Sunday is your long run, say 20 miles, you might want to be doing anywhere from an 8-12 mile run on Saturday, at a little faster pace than your long run pace. The short period between the two training runs will help build up your endurance greatly, and your body will be able to adapt better for recovery. Now, of course, you don't want to overdo anything and you will still need the proper nutrition and hydration.

The good news is that for races like Goofy, if you are already training for a marathon, then the 5k and 10k should not be an issue at all. You will just need to incorporate the second option from above to handle the half marathon after the 5k and 10k, and then doing the marathon the following day.

The Competitors

There are those of your who want to compete no matter what. Therefore, if you are going for time and want to place in these types of events, then you will need to follow a training plan that incorporates everything mentioned above, but also include multiple interval sessions each week. In addition, you will want to make sure your interval sessions vary to cater to each distance you are running. So some weeks you may be doing intervals for your 10k race speed, and another week you may be doing intervals geared towards your marathon speed. You will also want to include training runs where you are doing a race pace run for the short distance, following up with a long run the next day.

Health Notes

As some parting wisdom, don't ever blinding sign up and think you will be able to do the multi-race event with little to no training. You will be putting extra stress on your body than it's used to and it's always good to get a physician approval before embarking on such a tough physical challenge. Also make sure you are getting enough "fuel" and hydration; don't want you bonking on race 2 or 3 because you got over-confident and didn't take those extra water stops. And most importantly have a great time and enjoy your bragging rights when you complete it all!