Kris Jones

I keep learning about what I need to do to race well over 3-5 hours (rather than the 15-60 minutes I targeted a couple of years ago). Sometimes learning through mistakes and still figuring out how things fit together but making progress, which is the key.

Biggest aerobic volume year (including running & cycling) with 606 hours, and most ascent in a year with over 140k m of ascent (with a lot of that on the treadmill or stairs).

2024 Running Numbers:

476 h of Running, 5761 km (3580 mi), +141800 m ascent

47 h S&C, 130 h Cycling, 9 h Stairmaster (plus a little which I logged as running), 40 m Orienteering (included in running miles/hours) 

~74% easy (<135 bpm HR), ~16% steady (135-155 bpm HR), ~10% hard (>155 bpm HR)

Figure out what you need to do to improve. Put in the work. Get better. And repeat.

It's easy to feel like that is a weakness which will hold me back, but it's also a huge opportunity. Figuring out just that challenge could save me minutes at the end of races. So the goal is just to keep getting better.

It’s the first thing you'll be told when you start racing in the mountains: Condition your legs for the downhill. I've not cracked the code, but I've at least shown some progress! In 2022/3 my legs cramped in 3 hour races - this year they only cramped in 5 hour races.

I’m OK at downhill running. Not the fastest and not the slowest. But my legs have turned to lead in races with multiple big descents. I've had issues with cramp and I haven't been able to keep that speed throughout the race.

Reflections from 2024 #3:

Sport isn't about pursuing perfection. It's about progress. Identify the areas which are important for your race and make the goal to improve in those areas.

Don’t overcomplicate it - replicate sessions that you would do on the flat: short reps at high intensity, long reps at a lower intensity. Do the same sessions, uphill.

I like to think of it almost like cross-training. It isn’t the thing you are training for, but it is as close as you can get without doing that thing. Don't throw away the flat sessions and only run uphill, but it helps to get that uphill stride dialed in.

Indoor vert isn’t the same as outdoor vert. It is easier to run uphill on a treadmill than the equivalent outdoor grade. The trail doesn’t vary from step to step and your foot placement can be much more consistent. But indoor vert is better than no vert.

Reflections from 2024 #2:

About a third of my elevation this year has come on the uphill treadmill and stairmaster. It’s one of the ways I’ve been able to increase my yearly elevation in 2024. I’ve set uphill PR’s this year with much of my vert happening indoors.

Simply being a little more comfortable on the trails compounds over a long race. You can relax and waste less energy moving through the terrain. It adds up.

I know how to get fit. I know how to race. But I'm jack of all trades up against specialists. I need to master the details.

I don’t run much on the trails or in the mountains compared to the people I'm racing against. That’s fine for building fitness. It gets me most of the way there, but races are decided by small margins and details matter.

Specificity is what can take a good performance to a great one.

I’ve raced for GB in 6 minute sprint orienteering races, track 10,000 m, and 4+ hour mountain races (and a few things in between). Fitness is fitness racing a 10 minute race requires much the same qualities as racing a 4 hour race.

That principle has got me far in a range of disciplines.

Reflections from 2024 #1:

The big picture principles don’t change much between the disciplines: Run consistently (mostly easy, sometimes fast), progress slowly, target specificity near the race, and stay healthy.