Hobbit Training System
Guided by Fred from Mindful Runner
Training for Hobbit is not about chasing numbers. It is about learning to move well through the Amatholes, when the trail turns slick, steep, and unforgiving.
This season, we are guided by Fred & Debbie from Mindful Runner, the coaches helping our runners prepare for:
90km Nonstop
42km Mountain Marathon
21km Trailkin
Mindful Runner’s approach is simple and practical. Train the body, yes, but also train the senses. How you stand, how you breathe, where you look, how you stay balanced when tired. These small things become big things out there.
90km Wayfarer
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42km Trailkin
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21km Trailkin
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90km Wayfarer ✳︎ 42km Trailkin ✳︎ 21km Trailkin ✳︎
Start here
Mindful Runner Technical Glossary
Orientation Week
26 January to 1 February
Orientation Week is the on ramp. A week to get organised before the real training load begins, and to learn the core skills that will carry you through forest, rock, river crossings, and long hours of decision making.
This is not a fitness test week. It is a readiness week.
What Orientation Week is for
Getting your training plan and schedule set up
Syncing sessions to your sports watch or calendar
Removing tech stress before it matters
Learning three simple trail skills that apply to every distance
The three skills we practise
Posture
A steady, stacked stance that helps you stay balanced on uneven ground.Breath
A simple reset to keep your heart rate under control on steep climbs.Look up
Learning to scan the trail ahead, choose your line early, and stay relaxed through technical sections.
Your goal this week
Get the tools ready. Get the rhythm started. Keep it calm.
Choose your path
Choose the distance that fits your badge, then choose the tracking method that fits your style. You can download the plan under each distance and follow it manually, or you can step onto the Digital Path and run the same sessions through TrainingPeaks, synced straight to your watch. If you go manual, use the Training Diary to track the metrics that matter in the mountains, distance, average heart rate, and especially your elevation gain and loss, because your up and down tells the real story of your progress out here. Refer back to The Hobbit Training System Overview.
90km Nonstop, the Wayfarer focus
For runners who feel the pull to keep going when the hut lights come on.
The Wayfarer path is the full Amathole traverse in one go. Long single track, big climbs, treacherous downhills, and long stretches where you follow your own line by GPS. It is for steady minds, patient legs, and the kind of runner who can stay kind to themselves at hour twelve.
42km Mountain Marathon
For runners who want a full day in the forest, with a sharp edge to it.
Trailkin move with curiosity and grit. They learn the Hobbit language of footing, breath, and balance, without needing to carry the whole mountain on their shoulders. The 42km asks for strength, especially on the climbs, and control on the descents, but it still leaves space to look up and take the place in.
21km Trailkin
For runners finding their feet in the Hobbit world, or returning to it gently.
The 21km Trailkin are not here for bravado. They are here to settle into the rhythm, to learn how the forest runs, and to leave with muddy legs and a quiet grin. The 21km is for first timers, for runners building confidence on technical trail, and for those who want the day to feel like a doorway rather than a reckoning.
Whatever your badge, you belong on the trail. These plans share the same roots, steadiness, skills, strength, and respect for the mountain.
“Follow the yellow footprints - it will all make sense when you are out there.”
Graham "Tweet" Bird - Race Organiser