Barkley Fall Classic Training

I finished my 100th ultra/marathon last weekend. I now have 18 marathons and 82 ultras to my name. My attention has now turned to #101...the Barkley Fall Classic 50K on September 19. Rather than 50km (31 miles), it's more like 35-36 miles. All on ridiculous trails in backwoods Tennessee. It'll easily be the hardest race I've ever tried. Lots of extreme hills. Over 20,000' elevation change. Technical trails. Many unmarked trails. Minimal aid stations. Briars. With thorns. Big thorns.

No way to really train for this race when you live in flat central Illinois. But, I'll try my best. With only 5 more weeks to race day, there isn't much time. I experimented this past week with some "hill work" that might help me. Here's a typical week of training from now until Barkley:

Mon: 2-3 miles on treadmill at maximum incline (15%)
Tues: 7 easy miles on trails
Wed: 2-3 miles on treadmill at 15% incline
Thur: 10 miles on trails, 3-4 at tempo pace
Fri: off
Sat: 15-20 mile long run on trails
Sun: 3-5 easy miles on trails

Primary training focus is on more overall miles, almost all on trails, with long hill walks on treadmill. Touch of lactate threshold to increase stamina. I realize this is still insufficient to be ready for Barkley, but no one is ever "ready" for Barkley!