A race or a mountain day · 3 to 5 hours a week
A written training week that changes when your real week does.
Pick the day you need to be ready. Every week is written backwards from it — and rewritten from what you log.
€19/month. 14 days free, no card.
First 50 km
Week 1
After a five-hour night
- Mon
Written: Strength · 40 min
After a five-hour night: Recovery walk · 30 min
DoneMissedSlept badly
- Tue
Rest
- Wed
Easy walk/jog · 50 min
- Thu
Easy walk/jog · 50 min
- Fri
Rest
- Sat
Long easy · 80 min
- Sun
Rest
One session changed. The rest of the week, and the day you are aiming at, stayed where they were.
Built by an alpinist with over ten years in the Alps and the Andes, including new routes on 6,000 m+ peaks.
Seiler, Foster, Mujika, Oliveira 2024, Rosenblat 2025. Named on the method page, including what those papers do not prove.
How it works
Your date stays. The week bends around your life.
Four steps, then the last two repeat every week until the day.
Set your objective
A trail race, an ultra or a mountain day, and the date you need to be ready. Then the days you can train and how long each one has.
Get your week
Your week appears. The next two are written ahead. Most days easy, one long day that grows, strength at home.
Log what happened
Done, missed or slept badly. One tap after the session.
Ridgework adapts what's next
The next days change and the plan says why. Missed work is not stacked on top, and the date moves only if you move it.
Free tool · Kilimanjaro
How fit do you need to be for Kilimanjaro?
Hike a steady climb at low altitude, at a pace you could keep all day. You could breathe through your nose. Note the metres you gained and the time it took. 600 m in 2 h is 300 m/h.
Fitness doesn't prevent altitude sickness. It gives you margin.
Your vertical
Example520 m/h
- 400You can probably get by on an easy summit.
- 500A good sign.
- 600Really fit.
- 700+Very fit.
Plans
Start here.
No race? Easy base. First trail? 20 km. First ultra? 50 km. The longer mountain days are on the plans page.
Easy base
About 16 weeks of easy runningThe block most people skip. A sweaty hour every time does not make you fitter. This does: more minutes at a pace you can talk.
Most days easy enough to talk. The long grows toward 90 minutes from whatever you already do. One strength session you can do at home. There is no running interval — this is the work.
Start easy base
20 km trail
About ten weeksA first trail you finish well, not a time.
Most days: 40–60 minutes, slow enough to talk. One longer day that starts from the hour you already do. Race week you run less, not more.
Start the 20 km plan
50 km ultra
About six monthsA first ultra for a lot of people
A first 50 km. Finish well, not a time.
Most days easy enough to talk. The long starts from what you can do now, not four hours in week one. The last two weeks are shorter, not harder.
Start the 50 km plan
Pricing
€19/month. 14 days free, no card.
Ridgework membership
- Day 1: Pick your race date. Your week appears.
- Day 3: Log how your first session went.
- Day 6: Your first long, at talking pace.
- Day 7: Log the week. The next one is written from it.
- Easy base, 20 km and 50 km, plus longer mountain days
- No card for 14 days — you are asked for one only once they are used
- Nothing is charged during the 14 days
- Training weeks, not medical claims
FAQ
What is Ridgework?
A written training week for trail, ultra, and alpine days. You say when you need to be ready. The week lands on the calendar.
I have four hours a week. Is that enough?
That is the week this site is written for. Three or four sessions, one of them long, the rest conversational. The hours you enter are a ceiling, not a starting point — the plan does not grow past them, and it says so when your week, rather than your legs, is the limit.
I have never run 50 km. Is this too much?
The long run starts from the longest outing you say you have already done, not from the distance you are aiming at, and climbs from there. A first 50 km begins around 80 minutes and is still climbing four months later. Finish well, not a time.
What happens if I miss a week?
Nothing is stacked onto the next week to catch up. The plan picks up from where you actually are, names the change in writing, and leaves the date you are aiming at alone. Miss the long run three weeks running and it stops writing a number you are not hitting and climbs from the one you are.
Does the plan update itself?
Your week appears. The next two are written ahead. A tired week trains less. It does not move the race.
Why pay when free plans exist?
A free plan is written once, for someone who never misses a session, never sleeps badly and has the hours its author assumed. When your week goes wrong, you become the coach. Ridgework keeps your date and your log together and rewrites the next days from Done, Missed or Slept badly. You are not paying for a secret session. You are paying not to renegotiate the week every Sunday.
Why does more time help?
Easy running takes months to add up. Six weeks still gets a written week. It just has less easy running under it.
What does this cost?
14 days free, no card. After that, €19 a month, cancel anytime. Payments go through Polar, so we never see your card number.
Is 14 days enough to know?
Enough to see your first week, log a few sessions and watch one rewrite. Not enough to see a four-month build. No card for 14 days. On day 15 your plan pauses unless you add a card. If you add a card during the 14 days, the first €19 is charged on day 15, not on the day you add it.
What if I forget to cancel?
Don't add a card until the week has earned it. No card, no charge. With a card, cancel anytime. Cancel before day 15 and nothing is charged. After a charge, no further month is charged, and the plan runs to the end of the month already paid for.
Is this medical advice?
No. You get a week on paper. Health questions go to a clinician. In the mountains you decide.
What about my data?
Stored in the EU, run from France. Never sold for ads. The privacy page names every provider and region.
Which languages?
English and French.
Who is this, and how do I get help?
Ridgework, France. support@ridgework.org, answered within 3 working days.
Disclaimer
Ridgework writes training weeks for trail and mountain. It is not a medical device, not healthcare, and not a substitute for a clinician, a guide, or rescue. Research citations inform the week structure; they are not prescriptions. You remain responsible for safety in the mountains and in training.