One planning problem at a time
A long race creates several different timing questions. Where are the checkpoints? Is the published distance cumulative? How much time will a bottle refill actually take? Does the cutoff apply to arrival or departure? A useful plan answers those questions explicitly instead of hiding them inside one optimistic finish estimate.
These guides stay within the calculator's transparent model: one average moving pace, known cumulative distances, and planned stop time. They explain how to build and inspect that baseline. They do not predict terrain, weather, fatigue, or performance.
Planning workflow
Build an aid-station plan from the runner guide
Collect the right official inputs, check cumulative distances, classify stops, and turn the course table into a timing card you can audit.
Read the guideStop budgets
Decide how much time to budget at each stop
Separate quick refills from crew, drop-bag, clothing, and overnight stops, then test the budget before race day.
Read the guideSame-day examples
Follow complete 50K and 50-mile plans
See every input, moving-time calculation, arrival, stop, departure, and finish in two plans you can reproduce in the calculator.
Read the guideOvernight example
Carry a 100-mile plan across midnight
Use day labels, departure checks, major-stop budgets, and an overall cutoff buffer without pretending pace stays even on the course.
Read the guideStart here
Have the current runner guide open
Race websites, old spreadsheets, and last year's course details can disagree. Use the organizer's current published material for distance, station order, access rules, and cutoffs. Then enter those values in the aid-station calculator and compare the printed departures with the official rules.