Who This Is For
A six-day race is a repeated cycle of movement, food, foot care, sleep and restarting. This plan is for runners starting from a stable 50–60 km week who have finished a 48-hour race, or at least 150 km in a 24-hour race; build more base first if that is not you. The 6-day race guide collects the format, sleep, nutrition and calendar resources around this plan, and the six-day race explainer covers the format itself.
How Much Training You Need
The cited studies do not validate a six-day training plan. Our tiers scale the 48-hour tiers and add walking volume, because our race plan is mostly walking after day one. Pick the tier that matches your goal, not the most ambitious one, and lower the goal if you cannot recover from it.
| Tier | Race goal | Weekly volume | Longest run | Key sessions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | 350–450 km | 70–90 km at peak, plus 3–4 hours of walking | 50 km, or 6–7 hours | Three-day blocks (4 hours, 3 hours, 2 hours) every third weekend and a gear/food rehearsal within a familiar long outing |
| Target | 450–600 km | 90–120 km at peak, plus 4–5 hours of walking | 60 km, or 7–8 hours | Optional multi-day practice already tolerated; any preparatory race needs its own recovery assessment |
| Competitive | 700 km and beyond | 130–180 km at peak, plus daily walking | a 24-hour or 48-hour race 10–14 weeks out | Weekly back-to-backs and three-day blocks at race rhythm |
The 24-Week Plan
These numbers are for the Finish tier (400 km goal). For the Target tier, add about a third to each weekly figure. Take an easier week, about 70% of the one before, every fourth week.
| Phase | Weeks | Weekly volume | Main work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | 1–6 | 50–60 km plus 2 hours walking | Long run up to 3 hours; two strength sessions a week; walk at 5–6 km/h |
| Durability | 7–14 | 60–80 km plus 3 hours walking | Long run to 5–6 hours; back-to-back weekends every second week; foot care in every long run |
| Specific rhythm | 15–19 | 75–90 km plus 3–4 hours walking | Optional three-day blocks in weeks 15 and 18, scaled to recovery; equipment rehearsal within an existing long session in week 17 |
| Consolidation | 20–22 | 70–80 km plus 3 hours walking | Repeat what worked; finalize kit, crew sheet and travel; no new rehearsals |
| Taper | 23–24 | About 60%, then 40% of peak | Two short runs at race pace each week; sleep and eat normally |
Consolidation is not a taper: keep the volume and stop adding new things. The taper itself is two weeks, as in the tapering guide.
A Worked Peak Week
This is week 18 for the Finish tier, with a three-day block from Friday to Sunday: 12 hours 15 minutes of combined running and walking, approximately 85–90 km at the example speeds, plus 40 minutes of strength. The walking in this table is already included, not an extra 3–4 hours.
| Day | Session | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Rest | Return supplies to their labeled places. |
| Tuesday | 60 minutes easy + 20 minutes strength | Maintain endurance and strength. |
| Wednesday | 75 minutes brisk walking at 5.5–6 km/h | Build walking durability; note any shin or foot pressure. |
| Thursday | 60 minutes easy + 20 minutes strength | Pack the block kit as for the race. |
| Friday | 4 hours (about 28 km) at 25 minutes running to 5 walking | Day one of the block: race food, a foot check and sock change at 2 hours. |
| Saturday | 3 hours (about 21 km), half walking | Move on tired legs; practice a 10-minute restart. |
| Sunday | 2 hours (about 13 km), mostly walking | Check how the third day feels; cut it short if your gait changes. |
If Friday is a workday, run the block Saturday to Monday instead. Sleep normally between the days; the block tests repeated movement and logistics, not sleep loss.
When to Progress or Repeat
Review your log at the end of each week. Completing the calendar is not a reason to progress if recovery is still behind.
| Transition | Move on when | If not |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation to durability | Three straight weeks at 55–60 km with normal easy-run pace and no lingering soreness. | Repeat the last foundation week. |
| Durability to specific rhythm | A 5-hour long run and a 2-hour run the next day without gait changes, and foot care done inside 10 minutes. | Hold the long run at 5 hours and fix the task that failed. |
| Specific rhythm to consolidation | Both three-day blocks completed, with sock changes and crew handovers working and normal sleep between days. | Reduce or postpone the block when recovery is poor; reassess persistent symptoms before repeating it. |
| Consolidation to taper | Written kit list, crew sheet and travel plan; easy-run pace back to normal. | Drop optional tasks; see a doctor or physio about any symptom that is not settling. |
Walking and Feet
Practice comfortable walking on the race surface and measure the pace you can sustain without pain. The 400-km worked scenario uses substantial walking and an initial 25:5 run/walk example; neither that ratio nor switching mostly to walking on day two is a universal instruction. Adapt movement and rest to conditions and symptoms.
Test a second pair of shoes on long runs if you plan to rotate. Feet often swell over six days, but do not buy a larger size by default; test fit late in your three-day blocks. Rehearse sock changes and hot-spot taping with the foot care kit guide, and get focal pain assessed instead of masking it with a shoe change.
Three-Day Blocks
One optional block is 4 hours, 3 hours and 2 hours on successive days with normal sleep between. Scale it to a load you already tolerate; it replaces other training rather than being added on top. Practice equipment within a suitable existing long session rather than treating a separate twelve-hour rehearsal as compulsory. Use them to answer:
- Can you find shoes, socks, batteries, warm layers and first-aid supplies within a minute?
- Can you eat about 50 g of carbohydrate an hour from the plan, and drink to thirst?
- Can you complete a foot check and restart inside 10 minutes?
- Can crew follow the written sheet while you make fewer decisions?
- Will you stop the block when a safety rule is met, even if the schedule says continue?
Use the crew and aid station guide to write the system down. Take three easy days after each block.
Rehearsal Worksheet
Copy these six prompts into your training log before a long session. Test one task at a time.
| Prompt | Worked example |
|---|---|
| 1. Task to test | Find dry socks and resume a familiar loop without unpacking every bag. |
| 2. Session boundary | Use the planned Saturday outing; do not add distance or cut sleep to make the test harder. |
| 3. Supplies and access | Place socks and a towel in the labeled foot-care bag. Ask crew to identify it from the written sheet. |
| 4. Observation | Record where time was lost, what could not be found, and whether the restart felt comfortable. |
| 5. Recovery check | Note symptoms that evening and at the next easy session; postpone progression if recovery differs from usual. |
| 6. One change | Move the bag to an accessible shelf and retest during the next suitable session instead of lengthening the outing. |
For a sleep-logistics rehearsal, set up the shelter, layers, alarm and crew handover before your normal bedtime, then check the restart routine in the morning. For supplies, use the printable crew planner and gear checklist, and the timed-race calculator for daily distance and lap arithmetic.
Taper, Readiness and Stop Rules
Taper for two weeks: about 60% of peak volume in week 23 and 40% in race week, keeping two short runs at race pace each week. The Wang meta-analysis of endurance athletes found the best results with tapers of up to 21 days that cut volume by 41–60% while keeping intensity and session frequency unchanged.
- Repeat the week: if soreness, sleep, mood or easy-run pace have not returned to normal.
- Get assessed: for pain that changes your gait, focal bone pain, recurring illness, changes to your period, or restrictive eating.
- Stop immediately: for chest pain, fainting, confusion, severe breathlessness or loss of coordination.
- Do not drive drowsy after a long block.
- Move the race: postponing is better than trying to recover missed preparation with a late load spike.
After the race, rebuild according to symptoms and the response to easy activity rather than a fixed date; the recovery guide has the schedule.
What the Evidence Covers
The tiers and the plan are our recommendation, scaled from the 24-hour studies behind our 24-hour and 48-hour tiers. These sources do not test or validate this six-day training plan.
Burgess and colleagues studied runners preparing for Comrades, where lower training loads went with higher injury risk. That is why the plan builds real volume rather than relying on rehearsals alone.
The one multiday-specific study in the list is Krabak and colleagues, who recorded injury and illness reported by runners in multiday staged ultramarathons, where skin problems — blisters above all — were by far the most common reason for medical encounters. That is why foot care, sock changes and skin management are in every long session of this plan.
Sources
- Krabak, B.J. et al. (2011). Study of injury and illness rates in multiday ultramarathon runners. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 43(12), 2314–2320.
- Knechtle, B. et al. (2011). Personal best marathon time and longest training run, not anthropometry, predict performance in recreational 24-hour ultrarunners. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 25(8), 2212–2218.
- Burgess, T.L. et al. (2025). Assessing the relationship between training load and injury in ultramarathon runners: a novel approach using Generalised Additive Models. South African Journal of Sports Medicine, 37(1), v37i1a20747.
- Kishi, A. et al. (2024). Sleep and Ultramarathon: Exploring Patterns, Strategies, and Repercussions of 1,154 Mountain Ultramarathons Finishers. Sports Medicine - Open, 10(1), 34.
- Wang, Z. et al. (2023). Tapering in endurance athletes: systematic review and meta-analysis. PLOS ONE.
- Schwellnus, M. et al. (2016). IOC consensus statement on load in sport and risk of illness. British Journal of Sports Medicine.
- Mountjoy, M. et al. (2023). IOC consensus statement on Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport. British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should you train for a 6-day race?
Our default is 24 weeks, starting from 50–60 km a week and a recent 48-hour or 24-hour race. We recommend finishing a 48-hour race first, or at least 150 km in a 24-hour race; neither guarantees a six-day result. If recovery deteriorates, repeat or ease a phase rather than shortening the build.
How much mileage do 6-day runners need?
Our default tiers: for a 400 km first-race goal, peak at 70–90 km a week plus 3–4 hours of brisk walking; for 450–600 km, 90–120 km plus 4–5 hours of walking. Competitive runners aiming for 700 km and beyond train 130–180 km a week. If you cannot recover from your tier, lower the distance goal rather than forcing the volume.
Should you practice sleeping during training?
Practice the routine, not the deprivation. Set up the shelter, alarm, layers and crew handover before a normal bedtime, then rehearse the restart in the morning. In the race, our default is 2–4 hours of sleep a night from the first night, more if that leaves you unsafe.
How fast should you walk in a six-day race?
Our default is to train a brisk walk of 5–6 km/h that you can hold for an hour without discomfort, then check it on the race surface. A 400 km plan needs 55–65 km a day after day one and is mostly walking from day two, so walking speed matters a great deal; slow it if your shins or feet complain.