Ryan's Vert Builder

Workout - Ryan's Vert Builder

• 12min @ 6'30''/km
• 3 lots of:
  • 1min 15s @ 5'30''/km
  • 2min 30s rest
• 12min @ 6'30''/km

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Ryan Clayton’s video “PARK CLOSED - Forced Changes to Training Plan! // Cruel Jewel 100 - 4 Weeks to Go” is worth a watch. Here’s what we pulled out so you can train today.

Key points

• A park closure triggered by illegal mushroom hunting killed Ryan’s planned long-distance runs. His fix: switch to hill repeats and keep the vertical-gain stimulus.
• To hit 7,000 ft of vertical gain in one session, he runs repeats up and down a ~100-ft steep hill across about 4 hours.
• Gear: match shoes to your foot shape (Hoka Torrent 2 for narrow feet, Olympus 4 for ultra distance). Rinse mud-covered shoes in water between runs. Adjust trail poles so they sit comfortably in your grip.
• The plan enters an aggressive taper: more recovery days, lower weekly mileage, but the hill-specific demands stay.

Workout example

Warm-up: 1 mi easy on flat terrain
Hill repeats (100-ft hill, ~3% grade):
  - 10 min of work: 1 min up, 1 min down
  - 10-12 repeats per set, 3 sets (≈30 min)
  - HR 150-165 (hard but sustainable)
Cool-down: 1 mi easy
Total: ~4 h 27 min, ~7,000 ft vertical gain

Scale rep count or sets to your fitness and the climb you’re targeting.

Practical tips

• If your shoes get caked in mud, run through a puddle on purpose to clean the soles before the next repeat.
• For trail poles, try the smaller version if standard grips don’t fit your wrist.
• Take two full rest days a week during the taper. Your body needs it, and you’ll still hit your vertical-gain targets.

Closing note Run the hill repeats, set your rep count to your fitness, and log effort and climb in the Pacing app.

References

• PARK CLOSED - Forced changes to training plan! // Cruel Jewel 100 - 4 weeks to go - YouTube (YouTube Video)