There is a lot to consider when gearing up for another season of races. To ensure you’re ready, OCR Directory outlines how to set goals, build out your calendar, configure your training blocks, and more.  

Let’s dive into how you can plan for the upcoming year.

Goal Setting

Setting clear, realistic, and well-defined goals is key for a successful year of training and racing. 

There are a few essential items we should focus on here to help set up your goals:

Start by looking at the big picture and begin thinking about your long-term running aspirations. 

What are your lifetime running goals? You could have measurable timing goals like a 5K, Half, or Marathon Personal Best (PB). Or maybe it’s event-based, completing a 50K or 100-miler, or racing in every state or every continent. Maybe you just love running and your big goal is consistency , and being capable of running into your 60s! Whatever these big lifetime goals are, go ahead and jot them down and keep them in mind going forward. 

When considering these lifetime goals, use them as a guide into the current year, directing you into your year, quarter, and monthly goals. Work backward here, structuring a path that challenges you and brings fulfillment in your running career.

Remember to challenge yourself, but also be realistic in your fitness, training, and timeframe. Consider a blend of short-term (1-3month) goals that help you reach your yearly goals, allowing you to evolve as you progress through the year. 

And lastly, remember that motivation and excitement play pivotal roles in sustaining another year-long commitment to racing. 

Think about what motivates and excites you.

Reflecting on the past can provide valuable insights.

• What moments brought you the most joy?
• The most satisfaction?
• Was it in the fierce competition?
• The camaraderie of running with friends?
• The diverse terrain and grueling challenge?

Whatever it was, incorporate this into your plan this year. Build upon these experiences. By recognizing what you loved most in the previous year, you can refine and tailor your goals to include more of what brings you fulfillment.

What is fueling your passion in this sport? It could be in the race itself; maybe it’s the thrill of tackling a trifecta weekend, running on the most technical and mountainous terrains, hitting new PB’s, competing against the pros, or going after your first ultra.

Your passion might lie in the community. The OCR community is an amazing and tight-knit group, a network that shares the highs and lows of the sport, meets up before and after big events, and stays friends through the years. Remember to tailor your goals to align with where your motivation and excitement are.

Now, you should feel good about your long-term and short-term goals going forward. 

Craft a goal plan that sets you up for success and aligns with your long-term running aspirations.

Remember, the goal setting is just the start. The most important thing you can do to succeed in your running journey is to be consistent. 

Don’t underestimate the power of staying connected throughout 2024 Share your goals with your friends in the OCR community, discuss their goals, seek advice, offer support, and build each other up this year. The OCR community can be a huge area of inspiration, and your relationships here can play an important role in your journey. 

Finding Your “A,” “B,” and “C” Races 

This next part can get pretty exciting and out of hand quickly.

Step 1:  Look at the race schedule and pull out everything you are interested in going after this year. We’re talking ALL of it. Road races, trail, OCR, hybrid, triathlons, FKT’s, and whatever else excites you to race this year. Jot everything down on a calendar. 

Okay, I’m guessing most people now have a packed and daunting calendar in front of them. Especially our OCR community, who love racing like there’s no tomorrow.

Step 2:  Alright, now let’s break this down. Start by identifying what are “A” races for you on that calendar. These races align with the goals and objectives you made earlier. 

These are the primary events where you strive for peak performance, the ones you’ll be training specifically for, and the ones you’ll be thrashing yourself at when the day comes.

How many “A” races can you handle this year? That answer heavily depends on the distance or time requirement the race will take you. It could be as low as 2-3 if your focus is 100-mile ultras or 24-hour events and up to 8-10 if we’re talking about Savage Races, Spartan Supers, or trail 10 Ks. At a minimum, try and space out your “A” races at least six weeks apart. A good rule of the thumb: The longer the race, the longer the break. Remember that racing too frequently invites the risk of over-training, diminished performances, or burnout. 

Step 3:  Let’s further sharpen up this schedule by identifying your “B” races next. These races are stepping stones that can be crucial for a successful “A” race later on. You can use them to:

• fine-tune your pacing strategy on a specific terrain
• identify your strengths and weaknesses
• Implementa nutrition plan
• Get accustomed to racing in a group setting
• Gaining overall experience racing

Your “B” races serve as checkpoints, allowing you to assess your progress and adjust your goals or training if necessary. These races are not about pushing your limits but refining your skills and building confidence. Your “A” races can be interspersed with these strategically chosen secondary races. 

Step 4:  Our final step. The “C” races. These are basically anything else that you definitely need on that race calendar. Maybe there’s that one Spartan race your friends go to, and you want to go for the community involvement and friendships. Perhaps it’s just your local race, and it wouldn’t make sense not to go! Maybe it’s not even a race, but a long weekend of hiking 14’ers or a biking trip with a group of friends. These are whatever races, events, or group trips that could impact your training and your “A” races during the year. 

Let’s hope by this point we have been able to filter through that packed calendar, and you now have a strategically crafted race plan for the year.

Putting Together Your Training Blocks 

Now that you have a race plan for the year, determine how you can structure training blocks within it. From what we mentioned above, the number of “A” races you put in your year heavily depends on the distance and time required. The same applies to your training blocks because they bring you from “A” race 1 to “A” race 2. These could be as short as 4-6 weeks for a mini-block but will often be more like 10-18 weeks, depending on your “A” race distances. 

In looking at your race calendar, see how many weeks you have between “A” races. You should have sufficient time between these races to put in the elements of a solid training block. 

Your training block should involve:

• BASE PHASE – staying easy and consistent; you can sit here for a long time or a short time. 4-12 weeks is commonly seen.
• BUILDING PHASE – increasing your volume and starting to push the limits. Maybe 4-8 weeks. Your last week here could end up being your biggest volume week.
• PEAKING PHASE – here, we focus on sharpening up your skills for the race while decreasing volume. Can be 1-2 weeks.
• TAPERING – staying mobile and active but giving your body a break to be rested and ready to race!
• RACE DAY!
• RECOVERY – Take a break, you’ll need it. Maybe a few days or two weeks, depending on your race.  

Understanding the rhythm of training blocks is essential in preparing you for success and also necessary for overall progression. Dividing your year into these training blocks allows for targeted training, ensuring you peak at the right time. And remember the secondary races that can be integral components of your training cycle, subtly pushing you toward your “A” races.

Be sure to give yourself ample time for recovery, targeted training, and mental rejuvenation. Rest and recovery between blocks is vital. While the base phase might seem monotonous, it lays the groundwork for success, building your engine for future success. Use your base phase to incorporate other good habits, such as strength training, nutrition, and mobility work. 

It’s important to note that if you have “A” races of varying distance or time requirements, training for the bigger one is almost always a better plan of attack. Focus on building your engine for the most demanding event on your calendar, and then integrate speed and skill work along the way to be ready for those shorter races.

Overall, your aerobic engine takes precedence, and racing down will always be more manageable than attempting to race up.

Take, for example, Tyler Veerman in September of 2022. Tyler had been training and focused on the Spartan Ultra World Championships in Lake Tahoe, a 24-hour Spartan Race. Unfortunately, The race was canceled due to wildfires in the area, one week before the race. Tyler shifts his focus in this short time and heads out to OCRWC in Stratton, VT signing up for the 15K and ends up CRUSHING THE COURSE AND COMPETITION,coming in at 1^st place. The aerobic engine he was training, for a grueling 24-hour obstacle race with significant elevation and at altitude suddenly shifted to a 90-minute race. So just remember here your primary training focus should align with your most challenging event. 

Know that training blocks are great for bringing you to the next “A” race. But don’t plan to have training blocks back-to-back to back all year. It’s good for you physically and mentally to take full breaks at times. You can break your year into two distinct seasons if you have a larger “gap” in your schedule somewhere.

Many athletes take the winter easy with less racing occurring, which is a great time to take a break, but also, don’t be afraid to take another small break mid-year. Give yourself a reset, a natural pause, enabling you to evaluate your progress, make adjustments, and gear up for the second half of the year. 

Also, recognize that each person’s need for rest and recovery varies.

Tailor your approach to align with your body’s requirements, ensuring a healthy and injury-free journey. 

Anticipating & Overcoming the Unexpected

So, we have our finalized race calendar and a strategic plan for our training blocks to lead us into successful performances. Everything is now set in stone and perfect, right?

Not quite…

I’m sure we all have those past experiences where our plan doesn’t go accordingly. 

Recognize that the path to your goals is not always smooth and that off-the-course obstacles will arise unexpectedly.

Achieving success this year requires an awareness of potential barriers and a resilient mindset to overcome them.  

Start by acknowledging the barriers that have hindered your progress in prior training cycles, recognizing that they may resurface. Anticipate potential challenges such as a lack of consistency, lacking healthy nutrition habits, managing your volume, sleeping poorly, illness, injuries, life events, etc. Learn from these insights and incorporate ideas into your plan to help prevent them from happening again. Be prepared to adapt your plan while still aiming to achieve small wins in your training, even on challenging days or weeks. Also, make sure that your level of training and volume is sustainable for you in the long run. Prevent burnout by selecting a balanced approach that caters to both your physical and mental well-being. 

Understand that your 100% effort may vary daily. Be comfortable with the notion that each day presents a unique set of challenges and opportunities. Celebrate the days where you exceed expectations and be forgiving on the days when external factors limit your performance. 

Your journey is not defined by a single day, but by the collective effort and progress made over time.

Flexibility is a key attribute for any runner committed to long-term success. Your training plan and race calendar is a guide, not a rigid prescription. Write your plan in pencil, allowing for rewrites and adaptations. Be flexible with your schedule, adjusting your plan to accommodate the ebb and flow of life. Have a backup plan for your goal race, providing a safety net in case unexpected circumstances arise. The ability to bend and not break is a hallmark of resilient runners. Adapt your plan to life’s twists and turns, remaining focused on long term objectives. Remember that being flexible is not a sign of weakness but a strategic approach to ensure longevity in your running career. Rather than viewing these adjustments as setbacks, embrace them as opportunities to recalibrate and refocus. 

Also, make sure you are enjoying your training! A lack of enjoyment can lead to a loss of motivation and the eventual burnout. 

Conclusion 

I hope this guide has helped you in preparing for your season of racing. You have the tools now to navigate your race calendar, training program and challenges that a year-long journey in running presents. Remember that everyone’s journey is unique, shaped by individual aspirations, strengths, and challenges. Tailor these principles to align with your personal goals and preferences. And remember, consistency is key. 

Stay committed, stay motivated, and enjoy the adventure in the world of obstacle course racing.