Newbie 100 miler

Howdy....
I'm just looking for some opinions here as I am a newbie to ultra running. I'm a strong runner and am a pretty strong cyclist but have recently turned to trail running (our new dog loves it.) I did well at the North Face half marathon trail run in NY state 11/200 or so. Doing a half marathon road race the begining of September , and then 50k at the end of Sept. Do I have a chance of doing 100 miler the beginning of Nov or do I wait till next year? Any traing tips?

Thanks.
Greg

Straight answer to the first question: Not Much. Depends on a lot of things including your goal, which I respectfully suggest should be to finish, without regard to time or placing. The experience gained in working up through several 50 Ks and then 50 miles is vitally important to most of us. Hint: The 50 K is a good step up but you have no idea what you're getting into until you've done a 50 mile.
Disclaimer: I'm still working up to my first one. More experienced people will give you more specific advice but taking the time to learn what you'll be dealing with is basic. Good luck to ye.

As much as I'm rooting for you to do a 100-miler, you might be biting off a little more than you can chew by attempting to do one so soon. It would be a different story if you had a longer background in trail running, 50ks, and a few 50-milers, but the jump from half marathons to 50ks is big, and the jump from 50ks to 50-milers is even bigger. What's more, the 100-miler is a completely different beast. Not only are you running 100 miles on what most of the time is technical trail, you're also running through the night. Whereas with a 50 miler you can usually hope to finish in half of a day--and with plenty of daylight--with a 100-miler you have to deal with sleep deprivation, fighting your body's cicadian rhythms, and running in the dark.

I would suggest taking some time to ramp up to a 100-miler. Not only will you get a feel for how your body responds to running for 8, 12, 16+ hours, you'll also learn to develop your own strategies for success (what you like to eat, how often you need to pee, how often you want to change your shoes, how much you need to walk, etc.). Additionally, you'll be less prone to overuse injuries. My suggestions--get your feet wet with a couple 50ks, ramp up to 50-milers, try a few timed races (12-hour or 24-hour), and then go for a 100-miler. Chances are, after getting enough races under your belt, you should have no problems finishing a 100-miler.

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll just start out slow. Any advice on what to expect for a 50k. I've ridden my bike for over 11 hours but not really sure what to expect for running events. I hope a 50k doesn't take me 11 hours:).

Start slow and build up through the race differences as all of the others have said. For me, I went half marathon to full ones and just did my first ultra this March (it was a 70km trail run). My first 50 miler is what I am in training for now in November, but your confidence definately improves (as well as your nutrition & hydration knowledge) with each longer race you can get under your belt... into your legs.
All the best though, sounds like you have a great base to start with! J