How to run 100kms in a month

5 min readApr 10, 2021

Silhouette of Boy Running in Body of Water during Sunset by Samuel Silitonga at Pexels

By the first week of August’20, I had been running regularly for 3 months during the lockdown so I thought to up the ante and put myself up for a challenge. I decided that I will run a total of 100 kilometers at an average pace of ~6:30/km during the month of September’20. Remember, it is not about having a casual run or a normal jog. To understand the mean feat I have undertaken you can think of it as running 10kms every 3 days or 25kms a week at the desired pace. Running takes a toll and regular runs compound the fatigue that is accumulated in your body. If you are not disciplined enough to adhere to a routine comprising scheduled runs, proper sleep, warm-up, stretching, and cool-down exercises, you are bound to end up with painful cramps.

I have documented below all the steps I undertook to complete this challenge. There are a few musts that I have always kept in mind and followed diligently throughout the month of September.

Keeping myself hydrated. To ensure that I consume around 5 to 6 liters of water in a day
Proper Sleep. To ensure that I slept at least 7 hours a day
To have a proper pattern(day and time) for the runs so that the body can get used to the runs
Consuming whey protein shake regularly. I used to consume a protein shake right after my run and on my off days, would take it first thing in the morning
Abstaining from alcohol especially beer. Being a Zythophile, it is hard to go an entire month without having a drop of beer

Gear/App used for the runs:

Fossil Gen 5 Carlyle
Yonex Ankle support
Adidas PureBoost Shoes
Strava App for tracking the runs
Foam Roller

Warm-up exercises before the run

Jumping Jacks, 2 sets with 30 repetitions
Lunges, 2 sets with 10 repetitions
Squats, 2 sets with 10 repetitions
Standing alternate toe touch, 2 set with 20 repetitions
Butt Kicks, 2 sets with 30 repetitions

Cooldown exercises/stretches after the run: Try to hold all of them for at least 30 seconds, followed by a break of 10 seconds in between the exercises/stretches. Use a foam roller to ease out the knots, sore, and tight muscles at the end of the cooldown session.

Figure Four Stretch
Reclining Twist
Hip Circle in Lunges
Lunge and Twist
Cat/Cow Stretch
Bow Pose
World’s Greatest Stretch
Pigeon pose
Cobra Pose
Child’s pose
Downward Dog
Standing Calf Stretch

Documented Journey Week over Week

I had ensured that I would run 4 days a week, which will comprise

a) 5km run
b) 6.5km run
c) 10km run
d) 3.5km run

Moreover, I would have my run first thing in the morning after I wake up so that I am full of energy and do not feel lethargic throughout the day. This early run is also to ensure that you do not cheat yourself into not running by assuring yourself that you have urgent work that needs to be done later at some point in the day.

Finally, at the end of these 8 weeks, I had completed 26 runs effortlessly. There were no injuries, no cramps, and in September, I was running 4 days a week, which comprised a weekly 10km run. I had completed 158.5kms of which more than ~100kms were done in September.