Chepstow, Wales
Wednesday, April 15
200+ mile attempt #15
Weather - Rain, hail, sleet, freezing cold, WIND, some sunPreface
I think I signed up for this a full year in advance. The price tag was pretty low - I think including pre-purchasing the hoodie it was under $600. I didn't start booking any of the travel until after I got back from Thailand. I found out the night before the race, at the race briefing, that the course was not marked. Say what? Well, I had the map on Gaia on my phone and set up for my watch, so hopefully this wouldn't be a problem!
Race morning
I had not slept well. Difficulties falling asleep, couldn't get comfortable. Woke up a few times throughout the night and then up for good about 10 minutes before my alarm. I had everything pretty much ready to go and was glad I had braided my hair the night before. I heated up the kettle and made my oatmeal for breakfast and had some coffee. I left the BNB at about 4:50 and had to walk with full pack and my drop bag to the start line.
Start line was just as chaotic as one would expect - with nearly 150 runners and their crews/pacers/families. They had some coffee out, so of course I had a cup of that. Then it was time to find a bathroom! It was a short walk to find one, but it was close to the start. Cycled through a few times and ran into Rachel. Didn't know then that I would not see her again after that!
Start to CP 1 (Llangattock Lingoed) - Miles 0 to 32
The first section was the one I was most worried about as there was a decent amount of climbing and (for a 200) a pretty tight cutoff of 11 hours.
I lined up in the back and figured I would just run when the terrain dictated, but to just take it easy and not stress out about it.
The course started in town near the water and I was happy to be in a group of people that seemed to know where they were going since the course was not flagged - we would just be following existing trails and be using our navigation. Well, I figured out almost immediately that my watch navigation was not working properly. I know that I had set up the turn notifications, which I have used at other races - only I was NOT getting alerts. UGH!!!!!
The course started on a nice, wide paved path. It was slightly foggy and we ran by another castle. Met up with a road and had to run/walk on the sidewalk until we dipped onto the trails. We had sections of running that seemed to just be barely trampled single track and very slight ups/downs. I did not use my poles for at least the first hour or two as it seemed unnecessary. Shout out to the quiver - which I haven't been able to use in a 200 before - it's really nice to be able to put poles away during a race!
We get closer to a town and have to go under a street and the walls were painted with animals and scenery.
Up ahead I saw Eric, which was helpful for me navigating through the town - he seemed to know where he was going.
Unfortunately, it seemed to be outside. I had really hoped to have somewhere dry to put my things down and regroup. There also a LOT of people there and I felt a little crowded finding somewhere to sit. My drop bag was brought to me, but I didn't really have anywhere that I could get into it without bumping into people. I noticed a canopy off to the side and moved my stuff down there because I thought I could spread out a bit more. I changed my shoes/socks. Was REALLY happy to be rid of the Topo Vistas and hoped that my Ultraventure 4s would do ok for the steepest section. Had a delicious cheese toasty - I think they are onto something with using actual real cheese instead of what we use. Also a volunteer gave me a "Freddo" - which is a small Cadbury bar.
CP 1 (Llangattock Lingoed) to CP 2 (Crickhowell) - Miles 32 to 68
The thunder and lightning had started back up when I was leaving the aid station, but thankfully it didn't last for too long. The sun even came out for a bit! This was the longest section with aid - 36 (!) miles! At least the sun was out, so I was in a great mood at this point. I think I talked to Ben during this section and was sending him pictures of the course. Based on the landscape - I figured we would be going up the hill in the below picture.
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| One of the many different ways we had to move between different properties - these steps got more difficult over time, thats for sure! |
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| Completely oblivious to what is coming |
So I'm walking along and eating from my gigantic package of chips and I'm starting to wonder where I am going to throw away the packaging and trying to be mindful of community trash cans. I also see a running group and they probably thought we all looked like maniacs with all our layers, poles & giant packs. Especially since they were leisurely wearing tee shirts and shorts.
We started to head up a relatively steep road to get on another trail. I was feeling a hot spot on the bottom of my left foot and I was looking around for somewhere that I could sit down and take care of it before I got too much further. Miraculously, I found a bench and pulled out my medical kit. Cleaned my foot and put some KT tape on the bottom and a band aid over another hot spot on my heel. Ugh!! I was finishing up when Walter came up behind me! A real live person AND someone I actually know!! We actually hiked together for a few miles and it was nice having the company.
Walter is an incredibly strong hiker and I got dropped on the climb up the second bigger boop (pictured below in my selfie when I got down the other side).
I cannot remember a lot of this section, but it was WILD. So now, I'm in the dark and I'm navigating down this hill. I can see headlamps and I have zero idea where we are going. We seem to mostly be going down at this point, but I know we have to have more climbing in here somewhere. There is a decent amount of mud on the trails and I've been seeing a lot of slugs and snails.
At some point, we start climbing again. The wind picks up and it seems that we are on a ridgeline. It is foggy and I cannot see more than a few feet in any direction - of course it being nighttime doesn't help any of that either. Remember very little in this section other than the wind starting to pick up. Seeing lights in the darkness but seemingly going in circles and never being able to catch up to anyone.
Suddenly appear to be on a ridgeline. The rain started (continued?) and the winds were ABSOLUTEY NUTS. I don't know that I have ever been in winds that high unless I have been on top of a 14er. I was afraid to use my poles because I didn't want them to get ripped out of my hands. Where are we going and WHY is this weather so horrific??! We are getting pelted with sleet and hail and I am genuinely getting concerned - where is the trail?? I am seeing headlamps down the hill and pull out my map and thank goodness we are getting off the ridge, but now I have absolutely no idea where I am going - I am just trying to follow the light in front of me. Finally seeing a trail again but we are going down a crazy, steep slope. FINALLY get to the bottom of it and have a brief amount of protection from the wind for a small section. I am running when I can because I just need to get out of here and to the aid station.
I would find out later that we were running in an old quarry? The weather might have been terrible, but at least I was somewhat able to figure out where I needed to go without trying to navigate. Everything I had on was completely soaked.
The scary descent seems to be done and then there is another climb up a hill - where on earth is this aid station?? I don't remember where exactly it was, but finally arrive there.
I was dazed and a little traumatized. That section was so long and the weather was treacherous. This was a sleep station, but all the cots were occupied. I took this time to get something to eat - hot dogs, mashed potatoes and baked beans (?) but it was really good and warm food.
CP 2 (Crickhowell) to CP 3 (Llangynidr) - Miles 68 to 80
I did get off course a few times in this area, but I was near other people. We were going up a decent sized hill and then we took single track down by a road and went to the other side where we spotted more wild horses!
And even more wild horses!!
We were on some roads and a path next to a canal for a bit. Happy to get in a little bit of running here and there!
Short-lived as we then started climbing again!
I could see some people ahead of me and wondered what the chances were that I would actually be able to catch up with someone. Other than the handful of miles I had done with Walter I had been alone the whole race so far!
This climb was really pretty, and I remembered what the volunteer had said when I was leaving the aid station about there being a lot of false summits before we would finally get to the top. I didn't find the climbing horrible, but I did appreciate being warned about it.
Since there was a very obvious trail I didn't have to have my phone out in this section since I knew where I was going. Got to what I figured was the top and thought that I actually found a race course marking - nope, it's just a marking for the regular trail.
Another relatively runnable section going down the hill.
Up next was one of the coolest parts of my whole race. I could see two people in front of me at a road/trail junction. I was watching where they were going up the road when a truck pulled up and opened a gate and drove through. For a minute it seemed like the sheep were going to follow, but then they followed ME!
I would turn around and they would all just stop. As soon as I would start walking again they would start following again! I bet this continued for close to a quarter mile!
At some point it started to lightly rain again, so that meant... adding back the rain jacket and pants.
At some point we dropped down to a road that thankfully didn't seem to have any traffic at all. This section seemed to go on for a relatively long period of time but it was nice to do a little running and not have big climbs or technical trails - plus, I knew where I was and didn't have to have my map out!
A cot finally opened up. I had some tea and decided to try to rest. I didn't figure I would actually get any real sleep, but I enjoyed getting out of my wet clothes and lying down. REALLY liking the fact that I have all my stuff every time I stop! Changed into my second outfit before heading out.
I don't really remember this section.
I may not have recalled much in this section, but I was still really happy to get to the aid station. We were inside, but it was not a sleep station. There were chairs arranged in a room and some people had their feet propped up and at one point I did try to close my eyes for a few minutes with no sleep coming. I ate quite a bit here, I think. There was a runner that was definitely talking about dropping and I tried to convince him to continue on since we had plenty of time, but ulatimately I think he stopped. I did work on my feet again a bit here and got praised by the medic for "looking like I knew what I was doing."
CP 3 (Llangynidr) to CP 4 (Llanfrynach) - Miles 80 to 109
Yet another very long section between aid - almost 30 miles!! Don't really remember the first part of this section.
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| I'll post a video at the end where you can see them actually following! |
I came across some people with their crews - this race is pretty unique in that crews were allowed to meet up with their runners when the course was accessible. Onwards!
It turns out that Sara is local to the area and was giving me a heads up about what we had coming up... until she got on the phone with her husband and we found out that we were going to be on a course diversion (probably for weather and/or poor conditions). I pulled out my Gaia thinking this was one of the sections we had previously been told about - only, no, this wasn't anything we knew about beforehand.
We arrived at a junction where her friend/crew was and we were told to just "go on this road until it ends and there will be markings in town"
I guess we were not going up some of the bigger climbs and we were skirting around on a very flat, non-technical trail/road. We did some one minute running intervals and the time passed relatively quickly.
We somehow got off course when we thought we were following signs to the canal and then we couldn't figure out where we were. We ended up calling Rhys and he was able to see where we were on the live tracking and directed us to the paved canal path.
I'd estimate we did probably a mile extra in this section by not getting off at the right "exit," but at least we made it to the aid station.
This was another sleep station, but unfortunately it was packed when we got there so once again had to start doing other things while waiting for a cot to lie down. I am assuming I ate more mashed potatoes and beans here, as that was quite popular for a hot food item.
The good news is that I definitely did get a little sleep here!
CP 4 (Llanfrynach) to CP 5 (Penwyllt) - Miles 109 to 132
I was getting ready to leave and unfortunately Sara was debating about stopping altogether, or at the very least not being ready to head out for at least an hour. So off I went, alone again. For once, it was not raining and I hoped that we would have a day of possibly drying out.
Finally I got near the road and when I crossed I could see people ahead on the trail!! I was REALLY hoping I could catch them because I did NOT want to go through more bad weather alone.
A photographer was coming down and said I had a good chance of catching them, so I really worked to catch up to Rohit (Ro) and Rich. I explained to them both that I had been alone a good portion of the race and that my watch navigation wasn't working and that I would really appreciate it if they would let me tag along since they seemingly knew what they were doing.
There was a ton of fog and more mud. And my first REAL introduction to the BOGS. The rain was coming down harder, the wind had picked up and I was soaked as my gear was no longer waterproof/resistant.
While there were some really beautiful waterfalls in this area, this section was SO FREAKING MISERABLE. Navigating was a nightmare and once again I was seriously concerned with being hypothermic. We took turns leading the navigation, but I think I speak for all of us that we were not super happy in this section.
I almost got dropped on the last push to the summit, but thankfully they were great about waiting for me.
Nothing could undo the hours and hours of rain, and the course was incredibly muddy. It was in this section that I was really thinking about the training that Greg had me doing. "Rocky and gnarly" - and I remember thinking at the time, is Wales really gonna be rocky and gnarly? Well, some parts, including this one, were.
We were also back to more fields, pastures, and BOGS. The never-ending BOGS.
The fog also rolled back in and I remember thinking that the course was probably super pretty - but I kept missing it between the fog and the rain and, well, nighttime.
I think during this section I was with Ro part of the time and this may have also been when I joined up with Daf for the first time. There were more bogs, more fog, MORE MUD. There were also some waterfalls, which were nice.
It had seemingly taken FOREVER to get to the next checkpoint. Came in and was offered a seat at a long table and offered a... pizza?? LIKE A REAL BRICK OVEN PIZZA. And yes, I ate the ENTIRE THING.
We navigated successfully through the boulder field, only to find MORE FOG AND MORE BOGS AND MORE BOGS AND MOOOOOORE BOGS.
For the most part, the four of us stuck together. We took turns waiting for each other whenever possible. The only time that sometimes failed was if I had to stop and pee - especially with all my layers, it just took me longer and the guys would continue on and then I would have to try and catch up. When the fog finally lifted we got some BEAUTIFUL views - WALES, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN??!
At some point Hywel and Jamie got a little ahead and Daf and I just stuck together until we got closer to the road.
Daf stopped to visit with his crew and I saw Jamie and Hywel already crossing the road, and I thought I also spied Ro - I really wanted to be with people familiar with the area so I told Daf I was going to go on ahead and that he could catch up - at this point I recognized that I was the weakest link, so since I didn't need anything, on I went.
There were more... you guessed it - BOGS and mud. But the sun was out, which really made a big difference.
In the distance we could see this really cool castle, and the course actually went right up to the castle grounds, which was neat.
There was a small cafe that we stopped at. The guys got some food and Daf got me a hot coffee. It was so nice to just sit outside in the sun and relax for a few minutes. Had to take a picture of how muddy my lower half was. Oof.
Off we went to the next checkpoint!
CP 7 (Llandybie) to CP 8 (Penclawdd) - Miles 162 to 184
Once again - SUPER happy that they were in charge of navigating as when we headed down I could have sworn that was the same way we had just gone up?? But it wasn't. It was a slog to get down and I think at some point the rain did stop for a bit. Rich kept trying to keep our spirits up by telling us we were getting close to the next checkpoint. We came to a weird spot where we had to climb a wall to get around a gate and then FINALLY I could see where we had to go.
This aid station was like a refugee camp. We were all crammed into one room that had radiant heating and the volunteers had done a great job by figuring out how to hang up our gear to try and dry things out. I had some food and then was told that even though this wasn't REALLY a sleep station that there were bunks upstairs. All my clothes were so wet it was like I had fallen in a swimming pool fully clothed. I put on a dry pair of pants and a hoodie and then got in my emergency bivvy, put a blanket over myself and got in a pretty decent nap. By the time I got back up and went downstairs my rain clothes were a lot more dry. My R1 was unfortunately beyond saving at this point, so I added my R2 CrossStrata over my last remaining race outfit. Had some more tea and food before heading out. "Only" 100k left?
CP 5 (Penwyllt) to CP 6 (Llanddeusant) - Miles 132 to 143
Enter the longest 11 miles OF MY LIFE.
I hadn't had cell service at the last checkpoint, although there was WiFi. When I headed out I called Ben briefly before trying to figure out the navigation, as I was by myself again. We were being diverted again (? - I think it was this section) - and I had my phone out because I kept missing some of the subtle turns.
Once again, we were going to be seduced by some blue skies and the possibility of the weather cooperating.
I saw Walter here - he was getting ready to head out after having had a long sleep. He suggested putting shoes on the shelf above the radiator to help dry them out - what a great idea!
This was technically a sleep station, so I was told where I could find a bunk. It took a bit to get everything set up for charging and I had hoped to sleep for maybe an hour, but I think I was stressed out and not sure I got any substantial sleep.
I had my first huge meltdown of the race when I awoke from my "nap." I finally came downstairs and unfortunately everyone that I had hoped to go out with were already heading out and I was not ready. I started sobbing because my watch already had me 10 miles over the distance we were supposed to be at. I was SO tired of being cold and wet and I really REALLY did not want to go out on my own.
I will forever be grateful for the volunteers there that calmed me down, gave me some more food and convinced some of the other people there to wait for us all to go out together.
CP 6 (Llanddeusant) to CP 7 (Llandybie) - Miles 143 to 162
After being a little embarrassed at my hysterics, we headed out. The team of four was going to be me, Daf, Hywel and Jamie. I had really not wanted to go out alone because we were coming up on another notorious section of the course - the boulder field, that was yet another very difficult section to navigate, and without my stupid watch working I hadn't wanted to try and figure that out myself.
I tagged along while the guys led the way - it would have been incredibly challenging to do this myself, so once again - SO APPRECIATIVE for the help. While running sometimes/often feels like a solo sport, I am always so humbled when we can come together for the "greater good."
Daf and I got separated again from the guys, but as we got into town we stopped briefly at Daf's fire station for tea and to use the bathroom. We then got to the aid station. I had a foot soak that was INCREDIBLE and a really good plate of food. I remember napping for a bit in the chair before we headed out towards the last checkpoint??
Left checkpoint 7 in great spirits. We didn't have that much further to go, and even though this was another big chunk of miles, all the really big climbs were behind us.
I could see exactly where we were going, and there were some minor climbs, but in general, it was quite a pleasant and uneventful day.
We were going to be going up/near this last boop.
Finally saw some cows after seeing soooo many sheep. They were moving towards us, which was a little unsettling.
Crossed the road and then we climbed up to this "peak" - my phone was taking terrible pictures from all the rain, plus it didn't help that I kept dropping my phone.
The sun was starting to go down and initially we had talked about possibly skipping the last aid station other than eating and filling up bottles. As we got closer, I told Daf that I was going to HAVE to try to sleep for at least a half hour. Just knowing how I am, if I am tired that is all I can think about. Not to mention, it was the middle of the night and it was definitely getting colder, even though for the first time, it was NOT raining overnight.
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| I was starting to feel like this |
At some point we were walking, IN DAYLIGHT, and I was following Daf navigating MORE BOGS. I missed the firm footing on the other side of the bog, my pole caught and I face planted. At this point it was more funny than anything else. Because at this point what else can you do but laugh at how ridiculous this all was.
We arrived at the aid station, and I was going through my bag and when I saw that I actually had more clean socks (I thought I had used them all), I decided to go ahead and clean my feet off. One of the volunteers noticed that my left ankle looked really swollen, so he called over the medic who told me that it looked like I had an ankle sprain and he wasn't going to let me continue on??
CP 8 (Penclawdd) to Finish (Worms Head)- Miles 184-200
He decided that he would let me ice it for a bit to see if the swelling would go down, so I laid down on a pad on the floor with my foot elevated on a chair and dozed on/off for a bit. When I got back up and started to get ready to head out the medic said he was not going to let me continue and that he was going to pull me from the race. I literally could NOT comprehend what he was saying. I mean, my ankle did some to have some mobility issues, but I had not had any pain when I came in and I did not ask to have my ankle looked at. Medic told me that he would not let me continue unless I went to an ED and if they cleared me to run, he would let me go on. Mind you, it is about 2 in the morning and according to Daf, the closest place would be like 25 minutes away and I have no way to get there.
I just got up and huffed to the bathroom where I sobbed for another few minutes. When I came back out the medic seemed to have a change of heart and he said he would wrap my ankle but I really needed to have it looked at.
Once I was finally cleared to leave the aid station I just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, before the medic changed his mind! I got all my stuff together pretty quickly, had some porridge and dressed for extra cold weather. This was the first section that I would actually wear my puffy coat and my thick Craft mittens. I headed outside just behind Rohit.
I wanted to wait for Daf since he sat there the whole time I was napping and fighting with the medic. He was talking to his parents and when he finally got to where I was down the street (I figured I would use this time while in town to update Ben), he was moving pretty slow although he wanted to catch up to Rohit who was also on injury watch/warning from the medic. After a short time he told me to go ahead as he wasn't moving very quickly. I did feel like an asshole about that since he had waited for me, but he said it was fine.
I don't know if it was the adrenaline or what, but I did a little running here and there and felt really good/happy that I had NOT been pulled after all and that I would be finally getting this race done. This section was supposed to have very little vertical gain, but I had been warned that there would still be some boggy areas, rocks AND I would need to watch my timing as the beach section would not be accessible if I arrived around high tide - we had been shown the detour before leaving the previous checkpoint.
The course meandered on a quiet street near the water - I saw these wild horses just chilling - a little eerie in the dark!
Finally I could see the signs of the sun coming up. The last night on the course was almost done!! We were going through more fields but the ground was not as wet as I expected it to be. I was wondering if I might actually be able to do this section without getting my feet wet!
I was getting really tired again now that the sun was coming up, plus it was getting warmer and I kind of wanted to drop some layers. Out of nowhere I found a bench! I was able to take my pack off and put it on a "dry" surface and get out of my heavy layers. I also took a 5 minute nap and then it was off to finish this thing.
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| I have no idea how one gets a sign like this, but I had to get a picture |
By now I was well over 200 miles on my watch, which definitely was hurting my brain. I had really wanted to finish the race under 100 hours and I was distressed that after my break my ETA had me about 15 minutes over that. Oh well, there wasn't anything I could do about that now!
I can't remember a lot of this section, but moved onto some more trails.
I was getting closer to the detour I would need to take since I was there right around high tide. I had taken off my gaiters before this section since they were caked in mud. And of COURSE this was the one section that had a ton of sand! I wasn't using my poles at all in this section and saw people out walking their dogs. Ended up near some houses and then I looked up and I swear I could see the car park! Unfortunately, I did not realize that there was a different one a few miles away from the one that we had parked at. I was on the last part of the detour where I had to go down to (and along) the shoreline for a brief period of time.
Was odd being out there in full running gear while people are playing and surfing. I had remembered someone telling me we would come out by the house that was visible from the finish line - BUT HOW!! There were some runnable sections here, and I spooked this poor lamb that was sleeping in the middle of the trail.
I managed to step in a huge bog about a mile from the finish line. So much for keeping my shoes clean(ish) and dry! Had to run up a hill and then up to the road to Rhosili. Daf's colleague/friend that I had met the day before met me at the top of the street and ran with me a bit and got a video of me going into the finish.
This is a compilation of most of the videos I took during the race:
This is a compilation of most of the videos I took during the race:
Overall Place - 56/73
Official Time - 99:42:10 (I made it under 100 hours!!)
Garmin Time - 99:42:50
Garmin Distance - 212.54
Elevation Gain - 33,958'
Thoughts:
- Would I run this race again? This exact race? No. Mainly because of how logistically tough it was to get there, and also, I don't repeat races if I finish them.
- Last year, this race was held in May and I was told that it was "hot." The weather this year was a fucking nightmare. I don't think I have EVER dealt with such awful weather - and for such a LONG period of time. It was absolutely miserable being rained on for so long, topped off with high winds? Horrible. I had the recurring thought in my head "I went to Wales and all I got was pneumonia." I have never been so genuinely concerned about getting hypothermia in the middle of nowhere (unless I think about Cowboy, but with that one I had phone service and could have easily evacuated out if absolutely necessary).
- I guess I really misunderstood that the course was not going to be marked at all. I went back and looked at the race guide and all it says is "navigation is simple on the major trails ... you will follow the permanent way markers and of course your GPX files." I am really glad I had Gaia on my phone, but that was tough to use in the rain and it killed my phone battery - especially in the harder to navigate sections. I really REALLY struggled without having the turn notifications on my watch.
- The course was absolutely stunning - at least what I could actually SEE! There were definitely rays of sunshine mixed in with the fog and rain/hail/high winds. The finish line is unbelievable and I was happy to finish during the daylight to clear skies.
- Aid stations were tough because they were SO FAR APART. Especially the first two. But even towards the end, 20+ mile sections on tired legs is hard. All but the first aid station were inside, which was truly a blessing with the garbage weather we had. Most of them also had places to sleep, which was a huge bonus. Food was abundant, varied, and different than what I'm used to so it was great.
- Volunteers were AWESOME. They were very creative in finding ways to help us dry out our gear. Hot water foot baths - which I did at CP 7 and my feet were SO happy afterwards.
- The runners, their crews, their friends, their families. Absolutely top notch. Everyone was over the top nice and I got SO much help from others.
Essential Gear
- UltrAspire Traverse. After much anticipation, this pack was FINALLY shipped out while I was in Thailand. At the time, I was mildly upset I wouldn't have it for that race, but it really would have been overkill. This pack has about 8 liters more capacity than my Zygos, so I was hoping I wouldn't have to cram everything in! I used 2 800ml soft flasks with straws in the front, and had a 1 liter bottle in one of the side pockets - I never used it.
- Garmin Enduro 2. I love this watch. I charged only once during the race and I think I had about 30% battery left when I finished. The only issue I had was that even though I had set up turn notifications, I didn't get any of them!!! After many discussions with many different people, we think it may be because I didn't have the right Europen/UK maps on my watch? I definitely have not had issues with this before, outside of Thailand - but under this thought process that would also make sense.
- Clothing -
- Zensah high neck sports bra
- Rabbit EZ tees as my base layer
- Rabbit UPF and Patagonia sun shirts for top layer
- CVG 5" shorts - three different pairs. I somehow got NO chafing, and other than what I applied pre-race, I didn't even re-apply lube. The only bad thing about the CVG is that once they got wet it was like trying to get out of a wetsuit every time I had to pee or when I changed clothes.
- Socks - since Wales has had a hellacious winter, the course was expected to be wet, so I had a pair of socks for every aid station. These were three pairs of stance, 2 pairs of Rabbit, 1 pair of balega, 1 pair Darn Tough and one pair of (I think) Brooks for the last section
- Shoes - first 32 was Topo Vista. I think I hate these shoes and didn't love them in Thailand either. At about 15 miles all I could think about was getting rid of them. From the first aid station to the last aid station I wore my Topo Ultraventure 4s. And the very last section because I wanted dry feet I wore my new Mount to Coast T1
- Kahtoola gaiters
- Runners Roost hat during the day and Bula fleece-lined hat at night
- Buff sun gloves or cheap stretchy gloves most of the time. I did use my Black Diamond waterproof overmitts the first night, but since I had to use my phone so much these were annoying. I wore my Craft mittens for maybe 3-4 hours the last section.
- Patagonia R1 was great until it just got completely drenched and then I couldn't get it dry enough to use again.
- Patagonia Storm Racer rain jacket and REI rain pants. Who knew I would wear this ensemble most of the race??!
- Patagonia R2 CrossStrata Pullover was essential when I couldn't use my R1 anymore
- Kogalla and Anker battery banks. Used my UltrAspire waist belt for attachment.
- Goodr sunglasses, although I barely wore them.
- Leki poles
- Nutrition I brought with me - caramel cashews, trail mix (without raisins), nerd clusters, Hi Chew, Raspberry LMNT. Of note, I normally put LMNT in both bottles, try to do half a packet in each. This time I just did 1 packet in 800ml and it worked great. I will do that going forward.
- AID STATION ESSENTIALS - Thanks to having just the one drop bag, I got to leave things in my bag and have them every aid station. I needed something waterproof and I picked up a newish product from RTIC, the Ultra Dry Duffle Pack - which worked GREAT. The volunteers loved this bag because it was smaller and easy to move around. It was easy for me to find what I was looking for at all times also. I also used this Roll Drop Organizer from Silo. I was able to keep my smaller items contained and organized. It made it really easy to find things! Any time I wanted to nap I put on my North Face Aphrodite pants. I would get down to my bra and wear my new hoodie for upper layer. My fancy SOL bivvy was great, as was my travel rumpl. MY CROCS. I cleaned my feet with a wet one at every aid station and then let my feet breathe. When I wanted to walk around I could use my Crocs. I used mostly TrailSkin (UK based company) on my feet but also some Salty Britches and I think SNB was also used.
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