Who This Is For
A six-day race is a repeated cycle of movement, food, foot care, sleep and restarting. This plan assumes you already run 50–60 km a week without pain and have finished a 48-hour race, or at least 150 km in a 24-hour race. 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
No study has measured training for six-day races. Our tiers scale the 48-hour tiers and add walking volume, because walking makes up most of the race after day one. Pick the tier for your goal, not the most ambitious one.
| 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 one 12-hour rehearsal |
| Target | 450–600 km | 90–120 km at peak, plus 4–5 hours of walking | 60 km, or 7–8 hours | Three-day blocks every second weekend and a 48-hour race 10–14 weeks out |
| 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 | Three-day blocks in weeks 15 and 18; a 12-hour rehearsal on a loop 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: about 12 hours and 85–90 km, plus 40 minutes of strength.
| 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. | Repeat one block at the same size; do not make it longer. |
| 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
Train to walk at 5–6 km/h for an hour without discomfort, on the surface your race uses. After day one, a 400 km plan needs 55–65 km a day, and most of that is walking. Early in the race, run/walk at 25 minutes running to 5 walking; from day two, walk most of the time and run where it feels easy.
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
The three-day block is the key six-day session: 4 hours on day one, 3 hours on day two, 2 hours on day three, with normal sleep between. Run two in the specific phase, and one 12-hour rehearsal on a short loop. 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, expect full training again in about five to six weeks; 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. No trial has tested a 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?
Twenty-four 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. Repeat a phase rather than shortening the build.
How much mileage do 6-day runners need?
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.
Should you practice sleeping during training?
Practice the routine, not the deprivation. Set up the shelter, alarm (25 or 100 minutes), 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.
How fast should you walk in a six-day race?
Train to walk at 5–6 km/h for an hour without discomfort. A 400 km plan needs 55–65 km a day after day one, and our race plan is mostly walking from day two, so walking speed sets your result more than running speed.