The seven days before a 100-mile race is the most important week of the training cycle. The fitness is in. The taper is happening. What’s left is execution — sleep, food, gear prep, mental rehearsal. Below: a working day-by-day plan most ultrarunners can copy.

Day -7 (Friday before race week)

  • Last hard workout of the cycle: 5 × 3-min at threshold pace, on flat or rolling terrain
  • Begin shifting bedtime earlier by 15 min/night (compounds to a full hour by race day)
  • Inventory drop bags: physically pull every item, lay it out, photograph each bag’s contents
  • Email your crew the rough timing chart and aid-station meet-up plan

Day -6

  • Easy 6 mi
  • Low-intensity strength session (squats, single-leg deadlifts, calves) — light weight, focus on movement quality
  • Read the race course profile. Memorize the major climbs and the locations of crew-accessible aid

Day -5

  • 8 mi easy with strides at the end (4 × 20-second strides on flat ground)
  • Final long-format meal at home — no restaurants for the rest of the week (food poisoning risk)
  • Begin carb loading: target 5–7g carbs per kg body weight, daily, through race day

Day -4

  • Easy 5 mi or rest
  • Travel day if you’re racing far from home — try to arrive 4+ days out for any race involving altitude or 2+ days out for any other race
  • First post-arrival meal: simple carbs, low fiber. Pasta, rice, tortillas. Avoid salads and roughage

Day -3

  • Easy 4 mi shake-out
  • Race kit visual check: every item out on a hotel room bed. Take a photo. Cross-check against your packing list
  • Stop drinking alcohol entirely. (You should have stopped a week ago, but if you didn’t — stop now)
  • Sleep target: 8.5+ hours

Day -2

  • Rest day or 30-min walk
  • Last big-carb dinner (90+ g carbs, low fat, low fiber)
  • Pre-race-night dinner is not the night before — race-night dinner is too late to load. Tonight is the carb-load meal
  • Photo your bib, race materials, drop bags. Email a copy to yourself in case you lose anything

Day -1

  • 20-minute very easy shake-out at race effort, with 3–4 strides at the very end
  • Light dinner. Pasta or rice + simple protein + a small dessert. No new foods.
  • Race kit fully laid out at the foot of your bed
  • Set two alarms 5 minutes apart
  • In bed by 9 PM. Whether you sleep or not is less important than being horizontal

Race day morning

  • Wake 3.5–4 hours before start. Coffee. Bagel + nut butter + banana. Your usual fueling — nothing new.
  • 90 minutes before start: drink Skratch Hyper Hydration (or equivalent)
  • 30 minutes before start: 1 caffeine pill if usual, OR coffee top-up
  • Final bathroom stop 15 minutes before
  • Easy 5-min jog before the gun. Strides should feel mechanical and smooth.

What to ignore in race week

Strangers’ opinions. People who haven’t run your race will offer last-minute advice. Smile, nod, don’t change anything. Trust the work.

The forecast more than 4 days out. Mountain weather changes fast. The 8-day forecast is wrong 60% of the time. Make race-day clothing decisions on Friday for a Saturday race, not Monday.

Your weight. Most runners gain 1–3 lbs in carb-loading week (water + glycogen). This is normal and helpful. Step off the scale.

Aid station projections more than 4 stops ahead. Your race will not unfold the way the spreadsheet says. Adjust at each stop, not in advance.

The one thing you can’t outwork in race week

If you trained well, race week is execution. If you didn’t, race week can’t fix it. The runners who chase a missed long-run window in the final week consistently DNF — they show up tired. The week is for sleep and discipline. Not training.

You’ll know the work is done. Trust it. We’ll see you at the finish.