Congratulations on signing up for the 2012 Run for the Toad 25k. You will be joining 1400 other hearty souls on a magnificent trail running experience!

If this is your first introduction to trail running this is a perfect course for you. The trail is very well groomed and offers some great scenic vistas of the surrounding forest and countryside. Where possible I would certainly recommend getting some of your training done on a trail if you are coming from a road running background. While not all training is necessary to do on trail it will certainly make things go smoother race day by doing some.

If you have a chance to get to the Run for the Toad training run July 28 it would be of benefit and you will notice on the training program provided the runs are oriented around 2 loops of the course each day which will help you familiarize yourself with the course and give you a good mental image of what you will be tackling race day. If geography or time prevents you from getting there, here’s a little bit of info to help prepare you.

The course offers very few flat sections, and at the same time very few extended climbs. The course is very rolling and the longest climb shouldn’t take you much longer than 90 seconds. About 60% of the course is shaded and there are some exposed sections in the grassy meadows. Weather has come in all forms at the Run for the Toad from snow and hail to gorgeous 70F sun. Aid stations are ample on the course as well. If you use a run/walk program based on time I recommend scrapping that and doing what the course allows.

I hope you enjoy not only the event itself, but the training to prep yourself for the event! It certainly will be a memorable experience. The program presented here is designed to prepare the runner "to complete" the event in a time of 2:20 to 3 hours.

Happy trails!
Ryne (Montrail Team Member, 2008 – 50k Winner)

Run For The Toad 25k Training Program
WEEK OFMONTUESWEDTHURSFRISATSUNTOTAL
Jul 2-84koff4k4koff5k7k24
Jul 9-15off5koff6koff5k10k26
Jul 16-22off6koff6koff12.5k5k29.5
* Saturday is the Run for the Toad Training day on the course at Pinehurst
Jul 23-295koff3 x 1 mileoff5k5k13k33
* one mile repeats are done with 90 seconds rest between each. A 10 minute warm up and cool down should be done as well
Jul 30-7off4k8 x 1/2 mileoff5k10k12k37
Aug 6-12off6k4 x 1 mileoff5k8k15k41
Aug 13-19off8k10 x 1/2 mileoffoff10k16k41
Aug 20-26off6k8koff5k6k18k43
Aug 27-Sep 2off5k3 x hill repeatoff8k5k20k45
* hill should be about 500-800 meters in length and a 15 minute pre and post workout jog should be done
Sep 3-9off5k4 x hill repeat5koff8k18k42
Sep 10-16off5k5 x hill repeatoffoff5k22k38
Sep 17-23offoff6k6koff12.5k12.5k37
Sep 24-Sep 30off8k5koff3k25k3k44
Notes:
  1. mile repeats are meant to be done on flat road or a track and at a pace that would simulate 10k race pace
  2. hill intervals are to be done on a grade that is aggressive but managable to run the entire way. Again the effort should be 10k race pace
  3. any run of length greater than 10k should be at a very relaxed pace and feel effortless cardio-wise
  4. any run of less than 10k can be a little brisker (i.e. In between 10k and half-marathon race pace)

Download Training Program in MS Excel format