Reader ... the race planner you never knew you needed.
The Race planner you never knew you needed...
Runners love planning. And for good reason; if we plan, we have direction and run with purpose. But how often do we plan on paper, put it down in writing, make that commitment, sign that contract with yourself. Good news I've made a contract for your to sign !!!
1) A-B-C Races ?
A 'C-Race' is a race that you include that will lead to no change in the training i.e. you don’t taper going in and it leads to no more recovery than a regular key workout coming out. This means racing “a gear down” from a full race effort. If you have a hard time, mentally, doing this, don't include many races. C Races could be the half marathons and marathons that are training runs in the lead up to Comrades/Two Oceans etc.
"So, what constitutes a 'B Race' and an 'A Race' then?"
A 'B Race' is a strong-effort race that you do taper for and recover from, it just doesn't occur at the peak of your fitness - i.e. it's a lead-up race. This could be your race qualifier or a qucik half marathon to tes our fitness during a marathon training block
An 'A Race' is a full-effort race that you fully taper for and recover fully from that occurs at the peak of your fitness for the season. Because you only have one true peak of fitness for the season, you only have one true "A Race". This is your MAIN goal for 2026.
2) Which planner is for you ?
Once you've identified what your A Race is, download the following planner/contract.
- The 2026 Comrades Ultra Marathon
- Preparation start (24 weeks)
- Training start (20 Weeks)
SLComradesPlanner2026
2. The 2026 Two Oceans Ultra Marathon
- Preparation start (22 weeks)
- Training start (20 Weeks)
SLTwoOceansPlanner2026
3. Any Marathon, Half Marathon or other race
- Preparation start (22 weeks)
- Training start (18 Weeks)
SLMarathonPlanner2026
3) How to complete your planner?
Once you've downloaded your planner, please complete as follows as per steps indicated below:
- Follow arrow 1. Enter your Race Date and Name (This is your A-Race)
- Follow arrows 2. Enter other Race Dates and Names (B&C Races). Enter the race details to correlate to training weeks/date.
- Follow arrows 3. Enter your specific daily mileage in km as we progress through your training.
The rest of your cells and plan are automatically updated.
4) Why do I need this?
You don't but my idea is that this is like your bible for your race. You open it daily (or leave it open) to see how many days left, how many weeks etc. With this at a glance you can see how your training has been, can see upcoming races booked too.
If you enter in your daily mileage, you can keep track of that too. By keeping a running log "manually", you'll want to record your day's work. After seeing how each run builds upon the previous one, you'll be more incentivised to get after your next workout. Your log will be waiting for you when you get back. Digitally on Strava, Garmin etc the run is just logged and most of the time we don’t really check it. When you personally record it, it’s feel different, it's old school and that works.
But for me mainly it’s a plan so you can see what’s ahead, your B-C Races, whats coming and where we are on this plan to your A-race.
Closing Advice
- I find manually planning, entering in my race dates, my daily mileage, I'm personally tracking my goal to achieve my goal.
- If this works for you, and you find value in it, feel free to complete your sheet and share it with me, happy to go over it with you.
- If you feel this is just more work, thats also cool, forget that this message was ever sent.
- As always appreciate your feedback.
Good luck with your training,
Jateen
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