u/Valuable_Citron_3141

I’m running the Chicago Marathon in October, and have signed up for my first 50k in early April. It’s a 5k loop course, if that matters. Currently running 5 days a week, with 1 long run, 1 interval, 1 threshold, and two easy runs. Basically, my question is, for someone like me coming off of a marathon training block, what should my post-Chicago training look like as I prepare for the 50k? Should I just keep doing the long runs as the max of my marathon block (somewhere around 20-23, not sure yet) or should I taper down and then build back up around the new year? Anything I should think about when transitioning from my marathon block to the 50k block in terms of types of runs, back to back runs, etc? Hoping that this race will be the beginning of many ultras that I do in the future!

Hey everyone! I’m a marathon runner looking to venture into the ultra world starting later this year or early next year. I’m running the Chicago marathon in October then plan to pivot into longer distance training immediately following. I currently live in Atlanta, so am looking for suggestions or ideas for good 50k and 50 mile races in late 2026 or 2027. I don’t really know what to look for in a good race, so any knowledge would be greatly appreciated!!

Leaving JFK at 3:40 today, we made our way slightly ahead of schedule to the runway, and the pilot told us we’d have to wait 20-30 minutes because they changed the takeoff pattern or something. So we waited. 30+ minutes pass, and the pilot comes on to say that there’s a mechanical issue, so we have to find somewhere to park and wait for maintenance. At this point, it’s hot, we’ve been on the plane for two hours, and we haven’t even left JFK yet.

We eventually get the all clear and takeoff. We make our way down to North Carolina, where we start a holding pattern. We do a handful of loops, and the pilot says we’re waiting for some weather to clear the Atlanta airport. No problem, makes sense. He says maybe 20 minutes. A while later, we start making our way towards Greensboro NC, and everyone gets a Delta alert (Flighty actually told me first) that our plane was diverted. A few minutes later, the captain says we didn’t have enough fuel, so we had to stop at GSO.

We land at GSO, and are told 45 minutes to refuel, then we will go. They let everyone off the plane to stretch and get something to eat. 45 minutes pass and they say they have to re-scan boarding passes of the people that didn’t get off the plane, but of course there are technical difficulties so they start manually checking in each and every person. Eventually, they let the people who didn’t exit the plane back on, and that’s where we are right now. Fingers crossed to be leaving soon, but it’s a bad situation for people with connections, especially since we’re now approaching 4 hours past our original arrival time to Atlanta. Love Delta but wow. Rough day to be on a JFK - ATL flight.

On the bright side, I do feel like everyone on the flight (that I saw, at least) was very respectful and understanding towards the Delta employees and flight crew, even though most of us were quite upset with the situation.