Just signed up for a 50k

This is NOT on my list of things I want to do. We have the Birmingham Ultra Trails Society ( BUTS) here. I follow them and run some of their trail races, but Ultra seems extreme to me and counter productive to overall health.

Screaming Monkey in Keithville, LA. I had intended on doing the 25k but several friends and family members are doing the 50k so i figured why not. i certainly dont view "ultra" as healthy, but it is a fun challenge to me.

its gonna be interesting how everything goes for me because im an avid weightlifter and the last time i was close to 200 lbs was HS 10+ years ago. so my current strategy is to spend lots of time on my feet walking, running, hills etc and shedding LOTS of weight.

Signed up for my first ultra on a whim a few years ago. Had never run further than a half marathon at the time, but it seemed like a good challenge. Like you, I have been a weightlifter my entire life and did not like running at all. I fell in love with ultras, trails, and the whole community and have since done at least 3 ultras a year. Furthest is a few 100k races, but I hope to go for my first 100 mile attempt in the future (probably Red Dirt in February 2021).
I am about 6' 195 lbs. and still lift 3-4 days a week. If done intelligently and with proper programming you can still maintain strength while running ultra distances. In fact, I have set deadlift and overhead press PRs since I started training for ultras and lifting concurrently.

Good luck! You'll love it!

rain, your story might as well be mine. i did rough creek (glen rose, TX) 13.1 last sept. my aunt who has done multiple 50 milers stated that 13.1 was the most difficult race she'd ever done. she encouraged me to try a further distance bc i handled the trails pretty well. personally i think the transition to the trails is good one for weightlifters. strong bones and power output become a major factor on hills and rocks.

BTW my dad won the 50 miler last year at red dirt.

Me and Pop are running the Screaming Monkey 25k

Have you ever ran the Monkey Trails?

Maybe we can get a training run put together?

I really wanted to run the trail series again this year, but with the wife’s schedule, I’ve got kid duty most Saturdays now...

Well if you like hills the Monkey Trails will be perfect