High-performance amateur Padel + Ultradistance Running. Anyone else managing both?

I know a guy who did this, and his achilles tendon snapped in padel.. so be careful

I sort of did this. Decent at padel, not a great runner but still do mountainous 50k races and lots of long runs, just slowly. For me the load does become too much and I’ve gotten some hip/ back injuries. Running is so natural for humans that pushing yourself is actually pretty manageable but with padel you can overcompensate when you’re tired, so if your hips are stiff or your glutes or Hamstrings are worn out your back picks up the slack and that can be a big injury challenge. Your conditioning is probably much better than mine, but I’ve had to pull back a bit from the top level I was performing at

I'm a wannabe at both of these. Starting to do longer runs - especially trail - and I'm about 20 games into Padel. I think a lot of stretching/mobility work has got to be important between runs and games. Nutrition wise I think so long as you have a decent sized appropriate meal say 90 mins before padel then you can't really go wrong. Maybe make sure to get some electrolytes in if I did a long run the day before. Pre run nutrition is probably something more individual and won't be affected by the Padel the day before really. The interaction between the two is probably a hotbed for injury really. I would think you're much more likely to worsen a small running niggle from the sudden explosive movements of Padel than another steady run. My philosophy for running niggles recently has been that you actually can run through most (don't @ me), but maybe not good to Padel through one. Interesting topic for sure.

Hey - so crazy you posted this. I searched google for “ultra running while also playing padel” - wasn’t sure I’d find anything. But here we are. I’ve only run one ultra - but keep base weekly mileage around 30-50km. Peak training for marathons ~ 60-80km weeks. I also play intermediate level padel ~ 4x per week, sometimes 6x, and obv these fall on running days too. I find it much easier to play padel after a long run (20-30km), than to run after Padel (mind you I’m not consciously aware of any added recovery/fueling I have taken in prior to these experiences). The running doesn’t affect how I feel on the court or how I perform (anecdotally), slightly higher average HR in general on these days, but I don’t feel physically more exerted.But the runs do feel harder after padel and this reflects in easy runs being much slower than usual. I could be talking garbage but I count all of this as time on feet and mentally I feel this is good preparation for the fatigue of marathons/ultras. I’ve been running for 3 years and playing padel for a year - and yet to encounter any (major) injuries. I stretch after both and do resistance band stuff at home 2-3x per week when I have a gap. The most noticeable strain I take is on my posterior tibialis muscles on both legs (posterior shin splints) I’m mid-30s, work as an ER physician, so nasty shifts - but my best running mentally is usually immediately after a night shift. I have a 45k trail in 2 weeks and a BYU two weeks after. I do sometimes feel like I need more balance, and I struggle to fit everything in, but isn’t that just a good problem to have in life? Let’s chat more on specifics sometime, but I’ve kept a similar routine for the past 12 months (mileage, padel time + recovery) and both my running and padel have improved markedly in terms of mental game and endurance.

Seems like there are more of us then we thought! The venn diagram of crossover between padel and ultra’s makes sense. It depends what my priority is and at what stage of my training block I am in. Currently 1 week out from a 50k so my final long-run will take priority over another padel game. During taper week, Padel will be a great distraction, and heart rate booster whilst I’m reducing running mileage. I find having a carb mix drink inbetween sets/games massively helps me stay topped up on fuel so that Im not depleted. When playing, I try to make the hard efforts at every opportunity, replicating mini strides to keep fast turnover. Outside of a training block I’ll ramp up padel again.

Ultra runner with multiple 56 milers under my belt, stopped running since becoming obsessed with padel. 😒

Not an ultra runner but this is no different than any other sort of hybrid training, which I have done in the past. It's very unlikely you'll perform highly at both simultaneously. There's a huge interference effect. It's especially bad given they're two sports that are hard on your joints for different reasons. If you're very young your chances are better but still. In my perspective you have two options: You can keep training loads/intensity well under your max and inch your way forward or you can block periodize, which is what I would personally do. Rotating focus every 3-6 months keeps everything fresh and over the year you might be just as good at both as if you were training it exclusively.