Mountain and 14er Training Plans
Beginner 14er Training Plan
This 12 week plan is made for short milage 14ers with moderate elevation gain such as Mt. Bierstadt, Mt. Evans, Grays and Torrey’s Peak, Handies Peak, The DeCaLiBron loops, or similar mountains.
This plan assumes an athlete that has intermediate experience with running but novice experience in trail running, or intermediate hiking experience. This plan will prepare an athlete’s fitness to climb a non-technical mountain with approximately 4,000-5,000ft of gain across 6-10 miles. Time/pace performance is not a focus of this plan. Existing fitness level should be recent experience in the 10k to half marathon distance or a hike of about 10 miles in a day. This plan will start with weekly milage of 14 miles per week across four days of training per week, with a 5 mile first long run. Each day will have a run and a hike option. You may exceed the targeted ft gain by 10-15% if your chosen daily training route necessitates it. The plan will top out with 30 miles per week and five days per week of training, with a 10 mile long run, and 2 days of core bodyweight exercises. This plan assumes access to trails that offer rolling or hilly terrain, or a treadmill with high incline.
Intermediate 14er Training Plan
This 12 week plan was made for 14ers that have above-average elevation gain and longer approaches, such as La Plata Peak, Mt. Antero, Missouri Mountain, and the like.
This plan assumes an athlete that has intermediate experience in trail running and/or hiking. This plan will prepare an athlete’s fitness to climb a non-technical mountain with approximately 4,000-5,000ft of gain across 10-13 miles. Time/pace performance is not a focus of this plan. Existing fitness level should be recent experience in the half marathon distance or a hike of about 10 miles in a day. This plan will start with weekly milage of 19 miles per week across five days of training, with a 5 mile first long run. Each day will have a run and a hike option. You may exceed the targeted ft gain by 10-15% if your chosen daily training route necessitates it. The plan will top out with 29 miles per week and five days per week of training, with a 10 mile day, and 2 days of core bodyweight exercises. This plan assumes access to trails that offer rolling or hilly terrain, or a treadmill with high incline.
Advanced 14er Training Plan
This 12 week plan is made for 14ers with long approaches and high elevation gain. Examples would be Pike’s Peak, Long’s Peak, Mt. Harvard, Mt. Antero, Mt. Whitney, and the like.
This plan assumes an athlete that has advanced experience in trail running. This plan will prepare an athlete’s fitness to climb a non-technical mountain with approximately 5,000-7,000ft of gain across 14-20 miles. Time/pace performance is not a focus of this plan. Existing fitness level should be recent experience in the half marathon, or, preferably, marathon distance. This plan will start with weekly milage of 19 miles per week across five days of training, with a 5 mile first long run. Each day will have a run and a hike option. You may exceed the targeted ft gain by 10-15% if your chosen daily training route necessitates it. The plan will top out with 29 miles per week and five days per week of training, with a 10 mile day, and 2 days of core bodyweight exercises. This plan assumes access to trails that offer rolling or hilly terrain, or a treadmill with high incline.