Race prep with Avery Collins

A conversation about training, race management, and strategy

Training for the Vermont 50 was the hardest, and most rewarding, thing I’ve ever done with running. There were grueling tempo workouts on the Appalachian Trail and high-speed intervals where I blew away my goal pace by a full minute. There was also a heavy mileage buildup that included a 46-mile back-to-back effort capped with a negative split on the final long run.

Just typing that makes me feel tired all over again. It also gives me a lot of confidence heading into my first 50-mile race. The obvious counter to that optimism is that I’ve never run 50 miles in one shot before, let alone raced the distance. I’m heading directly into the unknown this Sunday, but at least I have an excellent guide with my coach, Avery Collins.   

Coming off a monster effort in August at CCC, a 100K race held in the Alps as part of the UTMB series, Avery knows a thing or two about pushing boundaries and testing limits. With 50 ultras under his belt, he also knows how to race long distances intelligently. 

We recently caught up to talk training, race management, and strategy. It’s a long conversation, but 50 miles is a long distance so we had a lot of ground to cover. (Also, be sure to follow Avery’s adventures on Instagram.)   

Avery cruising in the Alps.

Paul Flannery: Gosh, where should we start? 

Avery Collins: I want to start with how you’re feeling because you just had a huge training block. The last one was totally fine, but this one was damn near perfect. It almost worries me. 

PF: Right? I was prepared for something to go wrong because everything had gone so well. And then I got to the point where I was like, eff it, just keep going and see what happens. That’s what I did for the last stretch, which was hard. Really hard. But I did it. 

AC: Those back-to-back long runs were pretty serious. I think you’re officially at the point where if you were training for a 100-miler, we’d be ready to log some big volume. For me, training other athletes, that’s always the scariest part. Not that you can’t do it, but it’s on me if I send an athlete out for a big week in the final week of training and they get injured.

The truth is, the more volume you do, it becomes more of a mental thing. Physically, it delays the onset of fatigue. 

PF: I knew I was wiped out. I knew my sleep was suffering. I knew I had reached a point of exhaustion, but I also realized that was the point. To push through that, and get to the other side. I gained confidence that my body could do it, and the question was, could I get there mentally? That was a huge piece that just clicked into place.  

AC: It’s been fun to watch because you’re training with a few other athletes simultaneously doing 50s in other parts of the country. The negative split long run was something that I had you all doing. 

This is something I’ve come up with on my own. When you go out for a long negative split run, it builds muscle memory and it helps you make smarter decisions during a race. If you can go out for a 28-miler and you do the first 14 easy and the back 14 hard, it develops a habit that you end up doing on race day. 

PF: Knowing I was trying to keep it easy on the front part, that gave me license to power hike up even small rolling hills and not burn myself out. Ok, this is working. I’m still doing a 12-minute mile and not losing time. 

AC: That’s exactly it. Perspective. If you go out incredibly slow, it will put it into perspective that you did a 12:30 mile when you swore it would be 20 minutes. 

PF: I got to the point in that run where it could have gone either way. The only other times I’ve been there is during a race, where you’re asking yourself, What are you gonna do now? The answer is, you’re gonna go hard and there’s not a lot of mental discussion to be had. 

AC: That’s it. You’re ready. 

Race management: Food, hydration, and drop bags

AC: I’d like to know what kinds of calories and hydration you’re using. 

PF: For hydration, I’ve been using Infinit and mixing two scoops in a 20 ounce bottle. I stashed a backup bottle for those really long training runs at about 12 miles. That’s where I’ll see my crew for the first time. So my thought is to have a fresh bottle with Infinit ready to grab and go whenever I see my crew. Plus salt caps every hour, which has made a huge difference. 

In terms of nutrition, I’ve been eating Muir gels every hour starting at hour one. My big question is, what happens after the mix goes away and I’m drinking water? Do I need more gels? And then in terms of real food, I haven’t trained that part. That’s my big unknown. 

AC: It sounds like there’s a couple of options that we may as well figure out now. You’re going with a single handheld, which means your opportunity for hydration mix is going to be limited to crew meetups at Miles 12 and 31. That means you’re going to have to carry more gels. 

The solid food part, that’s fine. You don’t need to eat solid food. You can totally survive on gels. I’m not worried about that at all. If you get later in the race and you find that your energy isn’t there, you probably need solid carbohydrates, which means bread or potato chips. That would be the go-to. You’ve been training enough and eating enough that your stomach is probably going to be pretty tolerant. Don’t be afraid of very basic carbohydrates. For now, I think it would be fine if you just ate gels. 

We’ll call that mix 200 calories. The bottle should last you an hour and half. Realistically, you should be coming to the 12-mile aid station around two hours and 15 minutes. At the hour mark, start eating gels every hour. Are you using the slow burning 150-calorie gels or fast burning 100-calorie gels? 

PF: I mix them up for flavor variety. The slow burning ones work better with my stomach. I got a strawberry one and was like, ugh. I couldn’t take it. 

AC: That’s the only one I eat! (Laughs)

Ok, so I would say, pick up four gels at Mile 12 and from Mile 31 to 47, same thing. Four gels. You should have eaten them all, and if you haven’t, that’s when you should consider solid food. Keep it really basic. 

In terms of the salt pills, do yourself a favor, carry the total amount of salt you need from the beginning of the race so it’s one less thing for you and your crew to remember. At the start, one per hour should be fine. From Mile 31 to the finish, I’d jump up to two per hour.  

Photopgraphic proof of Avery’s Strawberry gel preference.

PF: We’ve talked about Advil before, which I rarely take. Where would you consider it? 

AC: I would take it at 50K (Mile 31). There are a lot of people who are anti-Ibuprofen. I’ve run 50 ultras and taken it at all of them without a problem. If you’re confident with Advil, that’s where I would take it. When you take that at 50K, within 15-20 minutes you’re going to be on Cloud Nine. It’s actually insane, especially if you never take it. 

PF: Let’s talk about drop bags that my crew will be carrying. Backup shoes, backup socks in case I get soaked. It could be muddy. Just to be safe, backup shirt, backup hat in case I want something fresh. Beyond that, what else should I have in the bag?

AC: Bodyglide. You definitely should take some Tums or ginger chews. The reality is you’re going to have some kind of a stomach issue at some point. Taking two or three Tums to combat that would be great. 

PF: Should I do that proactively?  

AC: Ginger chews are great. About at that 50K point, I’d start taking them every hour because you’re getting sugar and calories. That’s a great idea. Other than that you’ve got everything that’s necessary. 

Mindset, goals and strategy

PF: Let’s talk pre-race. We have a 5:30 a.m. meeting and then we don’t start until 6:30. How should I manage that?

AC: At 4:30, you should be eating 400-500 calories. GIven that it will be two hours before the race, I would have an extra 150-200 calories for snacking. Quit eating a half hour before the start. A Clif Bar is ideal. At 6 a.m. you need to start moving around. Spend 5-10 minutes very lightly stretching. Very lightly. 

At 6:10, I would do half a mile to three quarters of a mile. Trot. I mean, slow trotting. Leave long sleeves and pants on to get a little bit of a sweat. Give your crew everything at 6:20 and then in terms of starting position, literally dead center in the middle of the pack. You can start in 100th place and still finish really well. 

How do you feel?

PF: I feel confident, but not overconfident. 

AC: You should be confident. In terms of stuff that goes wrong in an ultra, be mentally prepared for the worst and hope for the best. Unfortunately, when you’re running 50 miles, things can go wrong. 

Your fitness is insane. If you’re feeling comfortable with it on some of these downhills, I think you can reach into the bag and pull out some eight minute miles. If you get on a low-angle descent and you’re feeling good, go for it. Get an 8 here or there because that’s where your fitness is.  

PF: Do you have a goal time in mind? 

AC: The way this training block has gone, I really want to give you a hard time. Off the top of my head, I’ll sit down and fine tune it, but I’ll say nine hours and 30 minutes. That’s 11:24 pace, that really matches up with your training. There’s a chance you could absolutely go faster. If you have a good day, you might do 9:10 overall, but I think we should be shooting for 9:30. 

PF: How do I race this? Am I trying to stay in a consistent groove the whole way, am I holding back?

AC: For the first 12 miles, you have one goal and that’s literally to smile from the start to Mile 12. You need to be very comfortable. I want you to be super relaxed. Don’t worry about proving anything or your pace, because the truth is the first 10 miles there are going to be plenty of people not running smart. 

It’s easier said than done, but I don’t want you to have any pressure. For those first 12 miles, try to run between 11 and 12-minute pace. That early in the race, it will feel so easy, and you’re going to be set up for success. There’s something to be said for smiling through that first part. You’re taking it easy, you’re enjoying yourself. 

After that, it’s go time. Realistically, the race doesn’t start until the 50K mark. That’s when the majority of the blowups are going to happen. 

PF: How about the hills? There’s almost 9,000 feet of climb and loss. 

AC: In terms of the elevation profile, the big climb is from Mile 13 to 18 and it’s 200 feet per mile. I think you can run that consistently at 12:30 pace. At Mile 18 when you start descending, that’s when you should officially start considering eight-minute miles for the downhill. If you’ve held off until then, I am very confident with you deciding right then to take those downhills. 

At Mile 12 when you see your crew, immediately pop a gel. It’s best to eat about 15 minutes before climbs because you use oxygen to process calories, which can lead to oxygen not being used to process lactic acid in the legs. 

In terms of your mental state, your race should start when you start descending. On all these low grade climbs, if you can lock in between 12:30 and 13-minute pace, you’ll be set up for success. I’m just so confident in you running anywhere between an 8 and 9:30 pace on downhill and flat. 

On the uphills, don’t be out there to prove anything. Really manage that heart rate. Especially at the start, there will be people more than willing to show off how fast they run uphill. It’s not worth your time. Chill and let it ride. 

PF: I need to write that on my arm because I always fall into that trap. 

AC: It’s easier said than done, for sure. Something I say in every race when I’m running uphill, I ask myself, ‘Are you going to do this in the last 10 miles of the race?’ You’d better be willing to say yes, and then be able to do it. If you can’t duplicate that speed 20 or 30 miles later, you’re wasting your time. If the answer is yes, then go for it. 

Don’t worry about where you place. Focus on the time goal and if that feels really easy, then the 50K mark is where the decision is made to really push. It’s your first 50 miler, so I think we need to get the experience on the legs first. 

PF: I feel good about that part. I think I was trying to prove something to people on the last one and this one I'm just trying to prove something to myself. 

AC: I’m glad to hear that because that’s the point of that mindset through the first 12 miles. If you’re not out to prove anything to anyone else, you should choose to enjoy yourself, and just be happy you’re out there. 

PF: It’s late September in Vermont. It’s gonna be awesome. 

AC: Exactly, dude.