My Austin Rattler 100k mtb and 66k run are less than two weeks away so here we go. As I've never done a mtb race or an ultra it should be interesting (especially since I'm stupid enough to do both) @tim cronk mentioned his experience with a mtb race but @Gabe Peterson gives me some hope
@Tim Sullivan I love the ballsy move doing your first MTB race and ultra back to back! You're going to crush it! I learned a lot about MTBing last year, and have a lot more to learn. The one piece of advice I have is stay within your skill level. If something looks sketchy, do a quick dismount, use your runner's legs to rush through it, and then do a quick remount. Most of the time, you'll go through technical sections as fast as most of the riders.
I'll post some of my other favorite ultra podcasts when I get a chance...
@Tim Sullivan good to see you here... cant wait to watch that MTB/50k combo go down. My take away on MTB is a much higher percentage of success is based on skill/risk and NOT the engine... You just cant fake a MTB race with engine alone... Road biking requires some skill and lots of engine.. Triathlon is pretty much all engine.
@Peter Noyes Yep that looks painful alright. I think they oughta do away with these qualifiers. Which reminds me I gotta submit my Qualifier and Volunteer time for Vermont.
@Gabe Peterson Agree with your take away on Koops book. I actually like his articles through CTS which I did not think I would. Of course just like with EN we need to be thinkers and flexible to adapt what works for each individual based on age, size, fitness , etc.
I'm reading . "Fixing your Feet" Highly recommend .
Last weekend we raced a 30k(19miles) pretty stout trail race .... Correction, Heather raced the 30k and took 2nd in her AG... Tim stepped down to the HM and walked/hiked/shuffled to a 6th out of 6 AG and 89th out of a 100.... Good time on the feet, and followed up with a 3hr hike the next day... This week the shuffling has been increased and the hip maybe finally starting to co-operate. Trying not to get too excited but its feeling pretty good. R2R2R is in 2.5 weeks so gonna stay with hiking/shuffling for now and afterwards will resume 100 training.
I am signed up for the 50 miler. Should be painful.
Ballsy move doing a 50-miler three weeks after IMSR! I love it!
Are you planning to do some trail running in the lead up to IMSR to get some specificity in? If the weather cooperates, I plan to get some trail runs in leading up to IMSR. It's been raining or snowing for the last few weekends. Twisted Fork 64k isn't until the end of June, so I have a few weeks to make the transition from IM training to trail running (and some MTBing for the Tushar Crusher).
@Gabe Peterson I am 111% focused on Santa Rosa and also coming back from a sprained ankle so I will not be doing any trail running until after IMSR. My plan is to do a lot of hiking in the 3 weeks to prepare. I just got to finish, nothing fancy. I will probably do a ~20 mile trail run the week before.
its 7 weeks after IMLP, its probably not ideal but as I was planning to do IMWI, I am confident.
The plan is as follow :
1) See IMLP as a long run - will not destroy myself on that run. 2) Elevation, elevation ! I am lucky that I live close to a mountain and doing each 8K climb and down gives 300M evelation gain plan will be to do my longest run there by doing 6-7 climbs 3) Other elevation run will be with the bridge down my street which provides 200M climb on the back & forth 6km 4) Target will be to get about 2000M elevation per week and volume around 40MPW (actually around 30-32mpw) 5) I dont know what I am doing but will learn along the way !
@Francis Picard hell yeah! Ironman training will definitely give you the raw diesel engine for an ultra. Seven weeks should be enough time to transition. Here are some suggestions for your consideration:
Specificity is king for trail running. I think you live in an urban area. If you can find trails similar to the race, do your long runs on them. Ideally, pre-run the course over in sections, but that isn't always practical. If I can't pre-run, I look for blog entries and descriptions of the course so I know if it's runnable or technical.
I love back-to-back long runs. I'd do ~20 miles on Saturday and then ~15 on Sunday. You get the training stress of doing ~50k with lower risk of injury. The Sunday run will really suck, but it will get you used to the feeling on the back half of a 50 miler.
I target a weekly total vertical that is at least the vertical of the race.
@Francis Picard I did my first 50K about 5 weeks after IMTX in 2014. The EN full plans transition very well for ultra running. The hardest transition is learning to run on trails. I'd suggest trying to work some trail runs into your IMLP training if you can and if not, make nearly all of your post IMLP runs trail runs.
Gabe: yes I live in downtown Montreal, but the mountain is downtown, so I can run easily, its 2,27KM from my house.
Clark: yes I will go train with a friend who is doing Moab 240 and is training on our mountain, he did alot of trails.. so will try to suck up everything I can learn from him.
2018-03-26 9:33 GMT-04:00 Clark Mitchell < teamenforums+d24487-s6029573@gmail.com>:
> [image: Endurance Nation Community] > > ------------------------------ > Clark Mitchell mentioned you in Anything Ultra Running 2018 > > @Francis Picard I did my first 50K about 5 weeks after IMTX in 2014. The > EN full plans transition very well for ultra running. The hardest > transition is learning to run on trails. I'd suggest trying to work some > trail runs into your IMLP training if you can and if not, make nearly all > of your post IMLP runs trail runs. > > -- > Reply to this email directly or follow the link below to check it out: > https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/comment/262845# > Comment_262845 > Check it out > >
My GC R2R2R dry run was this past weekend and it went well enough. I had planned for 32 miles and ~8,600 feet of elevation gain. I got a late start on almost no sleep, and then ran into large sections of knee deep snow, so I pulled the plug and didn't finish the full second leg. I ended up with 27 miles and 7,600 feet of gain. https://www.strava.com/activities/1470086406
I carried my full GC kit including first aid, water filtration and ~15 hours worth of nutrition. It was heavy, but there was no chafing or slosh/bounce.
I learned that it's impossible to carry a hand bottle and use trekking poles at the same time - duh. I also remembered that poles make it harder to eat and drink. Good lessons to learn before the real thing.
@Francis Picard All good advice . EN has a Ultra training layout somewhere that is very good and incorporates those back to back long runs.
@Clark Mitchell Brutal training run. I'd say you are more than ready. That reminded me about a story (pre-endurance Tim). I met a buddy of mine in Gunnison Colorado to basejump into the Black Canyon, I had never done this jump, he was the guide. Was supposed to be a 1hr hike to exit , 2000' jump lasting 2minutes including the canopy time, and then a 2-3hr hike out... I went first with my wingsuit, there were zero winds at the exit point, under canopy down in the bottom of the canyon the winds were very strong and dangerous, I lived, but radioed up to my buddy, he made the right call to stand down since he was recovering from a landing accident. He then instructed me the way out as best he could, and I was on my own, I pretty much found my way ok, passed a fresh deer carcass probably being eaten by a big cat which freaked me out, then near the top I got into crotch deep soft snow and post hole hike for hours, my legs froze and scraped from the granular spring snow, long story short was a 10+hr car to car trip, I did not have water/food, clothes, etc. Talk about exhausted...Mighta been my first long day! Ahh the stupid things we do when we are young huh? Good thing the R2R2R isnt stupid right? right?
@Francis Picard I cant wait to see your plan.... Its obvious you have been infected by the Ultra bug...
There is a local group called the "Tucson Trail Runners" that does really cool stuff around here. Last weekend they had an unofficial Tumamoc Hill Marathon, show up , run /walk as many repeats as you like etc. 66 people showed up, 8 people actually did the FULL 10x and 28.5 miles.... Heather and I did 4 laps hiking... Here is my file. There is 700' elevation per lap. https://www.strava.com/activities/1482151871
Coming up they have a 50 mile In and Out Day, running from Sabino to Catalina , lunch at In and Out , then back (about 10k climbing) . I WILL NOT be participating in this monster. I have done half the distance (minus the mileage to In and Out) 21 miles took me 5 hrs. Here is my file of less than half the distance. Cant imagine doubling that distance, not to mention eating at In and Out half way through . https://www.strava.com/activities/1324725889
They also have a really cool 15 mile loop coming up in the Mountains south of Tucson that I would definitely do if I were not headed to the Grand Canyon next weekend :-)
Quick Update.... The clock is ticking and Vt.100 is looming large in 10 weeks. Feel like I still have a lot of work to do . Got the Grand Canyon R3 done in 19hrs , 34 days ago, the last 4 weeks have been a very nice build , running 30 days in a row, 3x per week bike/swim/gym , total miles run in those 30 days 203.7.... Tomorrow we start the journey back to NH. Plan to run a few miles a day while on the road. And get to work right away upon arrival with a 50k the following weekend 5/27.. While the hip feels good I will not race the 50k , instead I will just treat it as a training run where I don't have to carry everything. After that its all about hills, hills, and more hills. Unfortunately due to the calf issue earlier and then the hip issue , I have pretty much forgone the planned intensity. At least I been working the bike hard the last month. @Steve Boer is going to be my pacer for the last 30 miles, Heather is Crew... Thats it for now!
@tim cronk I'm super excited for you to destroy Vermont! That weekend is my daughter's birthday. Otherwise, I'd love to come out and pace/crew. I already spent more SAUs than planned by doing IMSR on Mother's Day weekend. I'm happy to share my thoughts, if you want to schedule a call as the race gets closer. You can learn from all my mistakes.
@Gabe Peterson thanks for reaching out, I remembered your potential offer to pace. Steve Boer lives somewhat nearby and I will feel a lot less bad if I do not finish or even make it to 70 miles than I would if someone flew across the country to pace me. While I have absolutely no intention of failing it is a long run :-) Of course Steve is worried about letting me down pacing me. Funny thing happens between athlete/pacer on these things, the bonds begin ahead of time, as eachother being afraid to let the other down. Its a pretty amazing thing that I experienced being paced at UMFL and being a pacer at UMWC for Simon... One of these days I need to do it for a 100 mile runner... Will definitely take you up on the phonecall offer, much closer to event, will post more here as I go... 50k coming up in 7 days!
Really excited to be a part of this. Funny how the pacer/crew bonds are built. Seeing you write about UMFL and UMWC pacing, plus seeing @Brian Hagan and @Francis Picard UMFL pacing, i'm sure it'll be something special. Cant believe this is only 9 weeks away....
Byron Powell's Relentless Forward Progressis on Audible now. I read it a few years ago when I was contemplating my first ultra. I listened to the book during a flight to Orlando this week. I came a away with a much greater appreciation for the book. Do yourself a favor and read or listen to the book.
A few things that I missed the first time:
He has a detailed discussion on back-to-back long runs. I had to discover for myself that these are gold for ultrarunning. He talks about when to do them (3-5 weeks before your race) and how to structure them.
Incorporating cycling for cross-training. He had a brilliant idea that I haven't heard anywhere else: go run for a few hours and then immediately jump on the bike or bike trainer to keep the motor going. This builds volume and endurance without the risk of injury. I would think you'd use the EN bike/run approach in reverse and match your average HR from the run.
Pro/con discussion of incorporating speedwork into ultra training. He has dueling essayist who both make compelling cases.
Hello Ultra crew! I am in need of some help and advice. I have been coming back from ankle surgery last October, and am finally getting back in the swing. I have been talked into the North Face Endurance Challenge in November and am pretty excited for it. I am working with P on the training to get ready, but had a few questions for some of the folks here: 1. My biggest concern is fueling. My basic platform at this point would be similar to how I executed the run on an IM (1 shot block every mile and drink a bottle of sports drink each hour), but I realize adjustments need to be made. To help shorten that learning curve, I am looking for help. As some more details, I have no special dietary concerns (I'm not vegan or any kind of intolerant that I know) and my stomach has typically been pretty solid. I also am a disturbingly profuse sweater. I am curious what you have used or suggest down to the serving size and timing. My plan is to test things out as my longer runs dial up, but wanted to have a game plan to test out.
2. Drop bags - I have never used even the special needs bags in an IM, so this concept is a bit foreign to me. I have read a couple of books already around Ultra running, but what do you all suggest? The race starts pre-dawn and has a 14 hour cut off as a bit of color. Again, I sweat a lot (even when the temps are not that high), so I don't know what to think about things like changing clothes, shoes, etc. I have never done that before, and the concept seems strange, but I would consider any suggestions.
I am sure I will have more questions as this process continues, but I appreciate any feedback you all can provide. Thanks!
@Scott Giljum congrats on embarking on your ultra adventure! Which Northface Challenge are you doing?
On nutrition, Tailwind has worked really well for me. It's probably the most common nutrition among ultrarunners because it works. I use this as my primary fuel for 50-miles and under. I don't need an additional sodium supplement with it. I'm not a heavy sweater so your mileage my vary.
On drop bags, the free backpacks you get from Ironman events make great ones. They're distinctive so you can tell a volunteer "it's the Ironman backpack" and they almost always know which one. For a 50, here's what I put in there:
I'll have soft flasks with Tailwind in there to reload. The on course sports drink at most ultras is usually whatever they got for free and is pretty diluted.
I'll have some real food in there that I've practiced eating on training runs. I usually steal an Uncrustable PB&J from my daughters. It's easy to eat while running. If it's going to be hot, I put the nutrition in a soft cooler to stay cold. They'll have tons of food at the aid stations, but it's almost all junk food. I don't eat much of that normally, so a race is not a good time to start.
They'll usually have Coke on the course, but I like to put a pre-flattened bottle in there. That way I can just stick the bottle in my running vest and drink it along the way. It's a good motivator towards the end to get to the drop bag with the bottle of Coke.
I put an old pair of shoes as a backup and change of socks. You don't always get your drop bag back, so that way I'm not out a new pair of shoes.
Extra clothes especially if weather is going to be a factor.
First aid, especially a blister kit. I also carry a basic first aid kit with blister packs.
@Gabe Peterson I am doing the California one on 11/17. Looks like lots of elevation but not too much technical trail. I have tried tailwind in the past. I was ok with it, but will likely need to supplement with something else if I used just it. I was also looking at Skratch and figured I might try it. What do you have in a "blister pack"?
Welcome . Get the book "Fixing your Feet" read it front to back, determine if you have issues, try things in book to avoid issues.... Don't be a @Peter Noyes :-)... Easier said than done I'm afraid. Anyway then you can determine what you want in a blister kit or Dropbag for your feet.
That NFEC in California looks like lots of elevation but non-technical, so knowing your pace on similar terrain can help you with a nutrition plan. But the difference from a fast 50 and slow 50 will still probably only be 2hrs so the nutrition should be similar. The AS are every 3-6 miles which is about as catered as can be expected for an Ultra. IOW plenty . I like trying to keep it simple, carry fluid and gels or blocks to consume inbetween AS, at AS eat what ever you want, this should be spaced pretty evenly through the day looking at the AS spacing. I like skratch blocks on me, eating 2-3 every 30 min. Then every AS I will consume 100-200 calories in the form of pretzels, banana, potato, or peanut butter jelly sandwhich. Then I drink the coke off the AS when ever I get to the second half. I also start with Skratch then drink whatever sports drink is on course. With that many AS there is plenty of time to get coke in. The Dropbag set up looks simple as well. The first one you pass at 13 and 41 miles to me that is too early and too late to utilize "most of the time"... The second one is 23 and 30 miles which I think is perfect, halfway thru you can use your bag, and then you have 9 miles to think about if you forgot or missed something and pass again at 30. This has worked well for me on my 50's and R3... 50k's can be gels and fluid since they are much quicker... The 100 coming up is unchartered territory for me and I will be posting my plan next week sometime.
Thanks for the thoughts @tim cronk , I have actually already bought the book based on the discussion in the chat. I am about to start it. Thanks for the thoughts on the aid stations and bag drops.
@Scott Giljum that looks like a good one -- I've wanted to do TNF Challenge Utah that last two years but schedule conflicts came up. I've heard that TNF California is a fast, runnable course.
I'm lucky that my super power is indestructible feet (thanks to a few years wearing terrible flight deck boots in the Navy). I've only gotten blisters on long backpacking trips. Haven't gotten a serious one in race. I usually have some Bandaid blister bandages like this. Those worked well on a backbacking trip where half my big toe blistered off. Better to have them and not need them than the opposite.
@Gabe Peterson that is a very underrated super power. A question on the tailwind, do you carry it with you for periods of time if the bag drop sites are too far away?
@Scott Giljum it has come in handy. If there is a big gap between aid stations and drop bags like there was last weekend at the Twisted Fork 64k, I'll fill 1-2 soft flasks with Tailwind powder but no water and carry them in my vest pocket. Then when I come to an aid station I fill them with water and give them a good shake. Boom, instant high-quality nutrition!
I’m glad I came across this page because I am looking for some guidance. I’m training for my first 50 mile race (Beast of Burden) in August but instead of running long on Saturday and Sunday I was thinking about incorporating a long bike ride with some decent climbs on one of the days. I would then do a long run the following day. What are the thoughts on this plan?
@George Penn what type of run volume do you have at this point? I am doing a long bike on Saturday currently, but that is to build the “long” while my running mileage builds up. I know everything I have read swears by the back to backs, so I think you will still want that so close to your race, unless you are in danger of hurting yourself.
Comments
My Austin Rattler 100k mtb and 66k run are less than two weeks away so here we go. As I've never done a mtb race or an ultra it should be interesting (especially since I'm stupid enough to do both) @tim cronk mentioned his experience with a mtb race but @Gabe Peterson gives me some hope
I'll post some of my other favorite ultra podcasts when I get a chance...
http://bishopultras.com/bhsu/
I am signed up for the 50 miler. Should be painful.
@Peter Noyes Yep that looks painful alright. I think they oughta do away with these qualifiers. Which reminds me I gotta submit my Qualifier and Volunteer time for Vermont.
@Gabe Peterson Agree with your take away on Koops book. I actually like his articles through CTS which I did not think I would. Of course just like with EN we need to be thinkers and flexible to adapt what works for each individual based on age, size, fitness , etc.
I'm reading . "Fixing your Feet" Highly recommend .
Last weekend we raced a 30k(19miles) pretty stout trail race .... Correction, Heather raced the 30k and took 2nd in her AG... Tim stepped down to the HM and walked/hiked/shuffled to a 6th out of 6 AG and 89th out of a 100.... Good time on the feet, and followed up with a 3hr hike the next day... This week the shuffling has been increased and the hip maybe finally starting to co-operate. Trying not to get too excited but its feeling pretty good. R2R2R is in 2.5 weeks so gonna stay with hiking/shuffling for now and afterwards will resume 100 training.
Are you planning to do some trail running in the lead up to IMSR to get some specificity in? If the weather cooperates, I plan to get some trail runs in leading up to IMSR. It's been raining or snowing for the last few weekends. Twisted Fork 64k isn't until the end of June, so I have a few weeks to make the transition from IM training to trail running (and some MTBing for the Tushar Crusher).
its 7 weeks after IMLP, its probably not ideal but as I was planning to do IMWI, I am confident.
The plan is as follow :
1) See IMLP as a long run - will not destroy myself on that run.
2) Elevation, elevation ! I am lucky that I live close to a mountain and doing each 8K climb and down gives 300M evelation gain plan will be to do my longest run there by doing 6-7 climbs
3) Other elevation run will be with the bridge down my street which provides 200M climb on the back & forth 6km
4) Target will be to get about 2000M elevation per week and volume around 40MPW (actually around 30-32mpw)
5) I dont know what I am doing but will learn along the way !
http://en.lachutedudiable.ca/
Thanks for the feedback !
Gabe: yes I live in downtown Montreal, but the mountain is downtown, so I
can run easily, its 2,27KM from my house.
Clark: yes I will go train with a friend who is doing Moab 240 and is
training on our mountain, he did alot of trails.. so will try to suck up
everything I can learn from him.
2018-03-26 9:33 GMT-04:00 Clark Mitchell <
teamenforums+d24487-s6029573@gmail.com>:
> [image: Endurance Nation Community]
>
> ------------------------------
> Clark Mitchell mentioned you in Anything Ultra Running 2018
>
> @Francis Picard I did my first 50K about 5 weeks after IMTX in 2014. The
> EN full plans transition very well for ultra running. The hardest
> transition is learning to run on trails. I'd suggest trying to work some
> trail runs into your IMLP training if you can and if not, make nearly all
> of your post IMLP runs trail runs.
>
> --
> Reply to this email directly or follow the link below to check it out:
> https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/comment/262845#
> Comment_262845
> Check it out
>
>
--
I carried my full GC kit including first aid, water filtration and ~15 hours worth of nutrition. It was heavy, but there was no chafing or slosh/bounce.
I learned that it's impossible to carry a hand bottle and use trekking poles at the same time - duh. I also remembered that poles make it harder to eat and drink. Good lessons to learn before the real thing.
Ready or not, here I come.
@Clark Mitchell Brutal training run. I'd say you are more than ready. That reminded me about a story (pre-endurance Tim). I met a buddy of mine in Gunnison Colorado to basejump into the Black Canyon, I had never done this jump, he was the guide. Was supposed to be a 1hr hike to exit , 2000' jump lasting 2minutes including the canopy time, and then a 2-3hr hike out... I went first with my wingsuit, there were zero winds at the exit point, under canopy down in the bottom of the canyon the winds were very strong and dangerous, I lived, but radioed up to my buddy, he made the right call to stand down since he was recovering from a landing accident. He then instructed me the way out as best he could, and I was on my own, I pretty much found my way ok, passed a fresh deer carcass probably being eaten by a big cat which freaked me out, then near the top I got into crotch deep soft snow and post hole hike for hours, my legs froze and scraped from the granular spring snow, long story short was a 10+hr car to car trip, I did not have water/food, clothes, etc. Talk about exhausted...Mighta been my first long day! Ahh the stupid things we do when we are young huh? Good thing the R2R2R isnt stupid right? right?
There is a local group called the "Tucson Trail Runners" that does really cool stuff around here. Last weekend they had an unofficial Tumamoc Hill Marathon, show up , run /walk as many repeats as you like etc. 66 people showed up, 8 people actually did the FULL 10x and 28.5 miles.... Heather and I did 4 laps hiking... Here is my file. There is 700' elevation per lap.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1482151871
Coming up they have a 50 mile In and Out Day, running from Sabino to Catalina , lunch at In and Out , then back (about 10k climbing) . I WILL NOT be participating in this monster. I have done half the distance (minus the mileage to In and Out) 21 miles took me 5 hrs. Here is my file of less than half the distance. Cant imagine doubling that distance, not to mention eating at In and Out half way through .
https://www.strava.com/activities/1324725889
They also have a really cool 15 mile loop coming up in the Mountains south of Tucson that I would definitely do if I were not headed to the Grand Canyon next weekend :-)
@Gabe Peterson thanks for reaching out, I remembered your potential offer to pace. Steve Boer lives somewhat nearby and I will feel a lot less bad if I do not finish or even make it to 70 miles than I would if someone flew across the country to pace me. While I have absolutely no intention of failing it is a long run :-) Of course Steve is worried about letting me down pacing me. Funny thing happens between athlete/pacer on these things, the bonds begin ahead of time, as eachother being afraid to let the other down. Its a pretty amazing thing that I experienced being paced at UMFL and being a pacer at UMWC for Simon... One of these days I need to do it for a 100 mile runner... Will definitely take you up on the phonecall offer, much closer to event, will post more here as I go... 50k coming up in 7 days!
A few things that I missed the first time:
1. My biggest concern is fueling. My basic platform at this point would be similar to how I executed the run on an IM (1 shot block every mile and drink a bottle of sports drink each hour), but I realize adjustments need to be made. To help shorten that learning curve, I am looking for help. As some more details, I have no special dietary concerns (I'm not vegan or any kind of intolerant that I know) and my stomach has typically been pretty solid. I also am a disturbingly profuse sweater. I am curious what you have used or suggest down to the serving size and timing. My plan is to test things out as my longer runs dial up, but wanted to have a game plan to test out.
2. Drop bags - I have never used even the special needs bags in an IM, so this concept is a bit foreign to me. I have read a couple of books already around Ultra running, but what do you all suggest? The race starts pre-dawn and has a 14 hour cut off as a bit of color. Again, I sweat a lot (even when the temps are not that high), so I don't know what to think about things like changing clothes, shoes, etc. I have never done that before, and the concept seems strange, but I would consider any suggestions.
I am sure I will have more questions as this process continues, but I appreciate any feedback you all can provide. Thanks!
https://endurancenation.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/24896/gabes-twisted-fork-64k-42-miles-really-race-report
On nutrition, Tailwind has worked really well for me. It's probably the most common nutrition among ultrarunners because it works. I use this as my primary fuel for 50-miles and under. I don't need an additional sodium supplement with it. I'm not a heavy sweater so your mileage my vary.
On drop bags, the free backpacks you get from Ironman events make great ones. They're distinctive so you can tell a volunteer "it's the Ironman backpack" and they almost always know which one. For a 50, here's what I put in there:
Welcome . Get the book "Fixing your Feet" read it front to back, determine if you have issues, try things in book to avoid issues.... Don't be a @Peter Noyes :-)... Easier said than done I'm afraid. Anyway then you can determine what you want in a blister kit or Dropbag for your feet.
That NFEC in California looks like lots of elevation but non-technical, so knowing your pace on similar terrain can help you with a nutrition plan. But the difference from a fast 50 and slow 50 will still probably only be 2hrs so the nutrition should be similar. The AS are every 3-6 miles which is about as catered as can be expected for an Ultra. IOW plenty . I like trying to keep it simple, carry fluid and gels or blocks to consume inbetween AS, at AS eat what ever you want, this should be spaced pretty evenly through the day looking at the AS spacing. I like skratch blocks on me, eating 2-3 every 30 min. Then every AS I will consume 100-200 calories in the form of pretzels, banana, potato, or peanut butter jelly sandwhich. Then I drink the coke off the AS when ever I get to the second half. I also start with Skratch then drink whatever sports drink is on course. With that many AS there is plenty of time to get coke in. The Dropbag set up looks simple as well. The first one you pass at 13 and 41 miles to me that is too early and too late to utilize "most of the time"... The second one is 23 and 30 miles which I think is perfect, halfway thru you can use your bag, and then you have 9 miles to think about if you forgot or missed something and pass again at 30. This has worked well for me on my 50's and R3... 50k's can be gels and fluid since they are much quicker... The 100 coming up is unchartered territory for me and I will be posting my plan next week sometime.
I'm lucky that my super power is indestructible feet (thanks to a few years wearing terrible flight deck boots in the Navy). I've only gotten blisters on long backpacking trips. Haven't gotten a serious one in race. I usually have some Bandaid blister bandages like this. Those worked well on a backbacking trip where half my big toe blistered off. Better to have them and not need them than the opposite.
What are the thoughts on this plan?