Seeing a lot of newbie questions about setting realistic goals for first ultras, and it’s a great topic. Forget about time initially. Seriously.Your primary goal should be finishing. Think about it less like a race and more like a really, really long hike that you’re running some (or most) of.Focus on managing your effort, nutrition, and hydration.A good starting point is aiming to finish within teh cutoff time. Look at previous years’ results for your chosen race and see what the average finishing time is. This will give you a ballpark idea,but again,don’t obsess over it.Aim to be comfortable and finish strong-ish, rather than pushing for a specific, possibly arbitrary, time. If you’ve done a marathon, adding maybe 50-100% to that time is a very, very rough estimate, but ultras are a different beast.
What are some strategies or milestones that other first-timers have found helpful for realistic goal setting beyond just “finish?” Did you focus on mastering specific fueling strategies, nail down pacing, or train on similar terrain? I’m curious to hear your experiences!