Backyard Ultra Beginners 12 Week Training Plan

This plan is for runners who can already run around 25 to 30 miles (40 to 48 km) a week comfortably and have done a marathon or a long trail run.

Over 12 weeks, it builds time on your feet with back-to-back runs, power walking, twice-weekly strength work, a night run and three home simulations, then finishes with a two-week taper.

I’m a UESCA certified ultrarunning coach and backyard ultra runner (PB 50 yards, England team), and this is the kind of structure I’d sketch out for a first-timer before we start tweaking it to fit their life.

It’s a template, not a personalised plan. Please read the safety notes on page 30 before you start, and adjust it around your life rather than the other way round