Category Archives: Opinion

North Face 100 Tips 2013

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Probably the thing I get asked most in person is ‘what tips do you have for me?’. Now truthfully I’m not a better runner than you. Anything I’ve got to share I’ve stolen from others or gained through studying the electrons on the internet. Terror will do that to you. Some of these things might work for you, some probably won’t. Be very careful about changing your race plan because of anything I write here- you need to be comfortable with your choices, and remember ‘nothing new on race day’!

I wear my sunglasses at night
This tip from Nick Weinholt was a big winner. I have 2 pairs of sunglasses, and at checkpoint 4 swapped my daytime pair for a pair from my checkpoint bag that had clear lenses. This worked really well for two reasons- in the cold it kept my eyes a bit warmer and stopped them streaming like a sad panda, and during leg 6 it meant I could run through the bush without worrying about getting hit in the face by branches. So in a way, it made me run faster! You’ll look like a bit of a wanker, but it’s night, hardly anyone will see you……

Papa’s got a brand new bag 
You should buy a bunch of blue cool bags from a supermarket. You’ll need 3- one each for checkpoint 3, 4, and 5. Each will need to be labelled clearly with your race number so the race crews can put them in order (so you can find your bag when you hit the CP). You should also try to make it look a bit different from all the other blue bags- tie something on to the handle, like a piece of ribbon or even another plastic bag- but MAKE THEM ALL THE SAME so you can recognise them. Inside the lid of each CP bag have a list of stuff you need to do. If you have crew, MAKE SURE they go through the list before you leave the checkpoint- last year I forgot to fill my bladder before leaving CP4, meaning I ran out of water on the longest leg of the race. This was because my wife was there to help me and I hadn’t planned on her being there, so I forgot to ask her to check the list. Completely my fault and it could have been a disaster. My bag notes look something like this

Checkpoint 3
Garbage
Dump extra food
Pick up Gels
Pick up headlight
Macaroni Cheese
Eggs
Banana
Check bladder
Drink/ take Endura

The text is large so I can read in low light. I also have treats in each bag, so I’ll have a quick look inside to see if anything takes my fancy. Some of these items are just guides rather than instructions- for instance there is no way I could have eaten a banana going out of CP3, but at least I got to consider it because it was on the list. Also dumping your rubbish in your drop bag will save you having to find a bin. Not a big deal, but could save you some time when you’ve completely lost your mind later in the race.

Keep Warm
I thought I’d be really smart and use cycling style arm warmers for the early part of the race when it is often very cold. It’s a great theory, but didn’t work in practice because the arm warmers have some rubber at the top to keep them from slipping off, and this rubbed my arms raw. Might be worth considering if you are a bit chunkier than me (I have quite skinny arms) but I probably won’t use them again. Also the 2 bits of clothing you want to have in large sizes are your reflective vest, and your rain jacket. You don’t really want to have to take your pack off to put either of these on, and indeed the reflective vest MUST be visible over your pack, so make sure you haven’t got a midget version. I’m most comfortable running in a singlet, and can do this at temps down to about 10 degrees, but in 2011 the temp never got above 6 degrees even though the sun was shining. Have a plan, decide what you are going to do if it is cold and wet. My big problem is I hate having sweaty underarms, which means T- shirts are not ideal. Maybe I can wear a second singlet under my NRG top- I could use the 2010 Six Foot one, it’s about the size of a postage stamp! Test your clothing, you only need a tiny problem to make your clothes dig a hole into your flesh over 100km. Trust me, that’s not fun.

The Race
Buy a race number belt, or even better a SpiBelt with race number holders. you may need multiple clothing changes during the race and it is a requirement that your race number be visible at all times. Having to move all those pins with freezing or tired hands is not going to be fun

Energy 52
Eat early and often. Don’t let your energy levels drop. On a normal run I’ll probably have my first gel at 8-12km. Race day I will be eating at 5km and about every half hour after that. But don’t eat too much- in 2012 I ate quite a bit of macaroni and cheese at CP3, then couldn’t run some of the easiest bits up towards Nellie’s Glen- that mistake cost me up to 30 minutes.

Silence
Later in the race you’ll probably spend a bit of time on your own. There’s always plenty of people around, but perhaps all the people going up Kedumba are too slow for you. I will have my headphones around my neck and connected at the start of the race so I don’t have to fiddle around in the dark if I want some tunes. I’ll be listening to a few trance podcasts by John ‘OO’ Fleming. These can be downloaded for free from iTunes or choose something else that you might like more. One of the reasons to choose this style of music is because it has the right cadence to keep your legs moving a bit faster than normal. Warning- this year the RD has instituted new rules around the use of iPods, make sure you read them and comply. See point 4 in the event rules.

Fade to Grey
If you’re feeling like crap (and you will!) you need to have the presence of mind to recognise it and take action. This is the difference between a finish and a DNF. In my limited experience you need 4 things. Look at your fingers and repeat after me ‘sugar, water, salt, caffeine’. Attach those words to your fingers in your mind. Do not forget them. When you feel bad, look at your fingers and repeat ‘sugar, water, salt, caffeine’. You need at least one of these things. Have it and you WILL feel better. Usually for me it is sugar…….Last weekend at the Coastal run I had a coke at the halfway mark and immediately felt better and went on to finish a run that I didn’t think I could. Think about it- Coca Cola has 3 out of the 4 essential ingredients!

Relax
Spend as much time as you need in checkpoints, but no more. In 2011 I got into CP4 and told my wife I was quitting. She told me not to quit straight away. After spending nearly an hour in that CP, I felt better, got up and went out and finished. The key thing here is that I would not have finished if I’d gone straight over to the desk and quit. I wasn’t really injured, and taking that time allowed me to get back some energy. But the biggest tip I can give is GET OUT OF CP4. That’s right- if you can get out of the aquatic centre you’ve just committed to the longest leg of the race, once you get down the Giant Staircase there is no turning back until you get to CP5, Queen Victoria Hospital. And of course once you get to CP5 you’ve only got 11km to go… go on, do it!

Welcome to the Pleasure Dome
When you get back to the Fairmont, get some warm clothes on and EAT SOMETHING. I forgot in 2012 and my wife woke up to me looking for food in my drop bags in the dark. Congratulations, you’ve just completed the North Face 100, you awesome person you!

North Face 100 Nutrition Plan & Drop Bags 2013

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This post had 40 likes last year so I think it’s worthwhile updating with what worked and what didn’t. As you can see, it’s an eating competition with a bit of running thrown in. This year I’ve been making my own gels, so where I write ‘flask of gel’ I actually mean apx 4x commercial gels, because each flask holds about 4. I’ll probably carry a few commercial gels as well, this will help fight flavour fatigue. Let’s go……

If anyone knows of an easy way to carry and eat chia seeds, please let me know, I’ll add them back in for Start to CP1 and CP3. Maybe I’ll need more flasks to carry them. Also, this is a work in progress and could change, so check back if interested…..

Provided at Checkpoints

Endura sports drink (pre mixed)
Water to fill bladders
Fruit
Bread/buns
Gels are available at some checkpoints, but you can’t depend on them, and if you do, you might have to take grape flavour, which is quite vile tasting. Other items I will have to carry.

Running Start to Checkpoint 1
Drink 600ml sports drink at the start, discard bottle
1x Banana
2x Gel
At CP1- Drink 500ml Endura at checkpoint, take another 500ml with me when leaving.
Chia seeds
Do not fill bladder at CP1

Running Checkpoint 1 to Checkpoint 2
2x Gel
1x packet Gu chomps
1x Salt tablet

At CP2
Drink 500ml Endura at checkpoint, take 500ml with me plus 1x Growling Dog bar. Take a piece of fruit to eat while waiting at Tarro’s ladder
Fill up bladder

Running Checkpoint 2 to Checkpoint 3
3x Gel
1x packet Gu chomps

At CP3
Eat Macaroni and cheese 2-300g. Chia seeds, drink 500ml Endura, take 500ml with me when leaving plus 2 boiled eggs and possibly a banana
Check bladder, don’t fill up too much- only 11km to CP4!

Running Checkpoint 3 to Checkpoint 4
2x Gels
1x Banana
1x Gu chomps
1x Salt tablet
Important- must eat at bottom and part way up Nellie’s Glen!

At CP4
drink 500ml Endura, fill bottle to take with me
check bladder, fill up to 1.5l!  <<25km to next checkpoint
Take a cup noodle with me, drink Coca cola from drop bag

Running Checkpoint 4 to Checkpoint 5
Important- eat 1-3 gels going up Kedumba!
4x Gels
1x Gu chomps
1x Growling Dog bar
1x Salt tablet

At CP5
check to make sure you aren’t carrying too much water. Drink 500ml Endura, take a 500ml bottle with me. Eat a piece of fruit if you can. Piss off and finish the race.

At the Finish
Need to make sure you eat something or you’ll be ridiculously hungry when you get back to your hotel room!

 Contents of Checkpoint Bags

This means I’ll need to carry from the start of the race to checkpoint 3-
8x Gel (2 flasks)
3x Gu Chomps (1 spare)
small flask with chia seeds
1x banana

And I’ll need to pack the following

Checkpoint 3 bag
3x Gels (1 flask)
Macaroni Cheese
Chia seeds
2x boiled eggs (peeled, in a sandwich bag)
Banana
Gu Chomps

Checkpoint 4 bag
4x Gels (1 flask)
Gu Chomps
Growling Dog bar
Chips
Proper headlights (will be carrying low weight versions during the day)
Clothing for night time
Leave sunglasses in bag here
Pick up sunglasses with clear lenses for night running

extra mandatory gear if required

Checkpoint 5 bag
Lemonade/ Coke
Gels (1 flask)
Gu Chomps
Chips

Discussion
Where it says ‘Drink 500ml Endura’ that is about 3x 150ml cups. I can usually drink that much at once without bad effects, you may find otherwise. The instructions to eat more up Nellie’s and Kedumba are because these have been where I’ve had low points, and more food usually helps. The Growling Dog bars are hard to eat, and need to be cut into squares and put into a sandwich bag in prep. I probably can’t eat that many bananas, but not a bad idea to have them available.

North Face 100 Mandatory Gear 2013

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Sorry for the delay with this- work had to come first, but here it is. The updated gear list, shortly to be followed by a list of non mandatory but recommended stuff…….

 

-I also want to acknowledge the huge help I’ve gained from others. In 2011 I was crapping myself at the huge task I’d jumped into, and probably the best source of info was Nick Weinholt’s Enduroexplorer.com website. I’ve since found out that he’s a helpful and approachable bloke too. You should read the website and particularly the training and gear list he did for the 2010 race. And although the Ultra168 guys are a whole new level of crazy (er, I mean commitment) you should read their adventures too- lots of good info there. You should also check out the gear thread on Coolrunning for 2012. Pasty has put another good summary there, and you can ask questions too! Check out the Facebook groups- official, unofficial, and training.

UPDATE- Ultra168 have just added a post that takes in some of the gear here

 

I’ve seen a lot of discussion on various sites about the mandatory gear for TNF100, so I thought I’d share a few insights I gained last year in the hope that it will help some other competitors. Following is a list of the gear taken directly from the event website with my own explanations and links etc. It will be updated if the gear list changes, or if someone provides an interesting view that we should share here. Description of the mandatory item in italics, explanation below-

1 x long sleeve thermal top (polypropylene, wool or similar). Cotton, coolmax, lycra and any compression garment will not be sufficient even if the compression garment is called a “thermal compression garment”. You may still use compression garments however they do not replace this mandatory item. Refer to this link for an explanation.

My wife has just been to Patagonia in Sydney and purchased for me a Capilene long sleeved top. In her words- the silk weight version probably does not comply, and the lightweight version is ok for summer but probably not a Blue Mountains winter. The Midweight probably best matches the polypropylene specified in the mandatory item description. Weight 221g

1 x long leg thermal pants (polypropylene, wool or similar). Cotton, coolmax, lycra and any compression garment will not be sufficient even if the compression garment is called a “thermal compression garment”. You may still use compression garments however they do not replace this mandatory item. Refer to this link for an explanation.

 I used a pair of polypropylene thermals I had purchased for a trip to NZ. Fairly lightweight, these were purchased from Khatmandu- they are from the Ultracore range- linkWeight: 173g

1 x waterproof and breathable jacket with fully taped (not critically taped) waterproof seams and hood (plastic rain poncho, wind jacket, water resistant jacket etc. not acceptable)

This is probably the item that causes the most discussion. It must meet a reasonably strict international standard for ‘waterproofness’, have a hood and actually fit you. Yes, people have tried to get through check in with child sized items to save weight. Don’t do it. I can confirm that the lightest jacket that has been passed is the Montane Lightspeed H2O at 132g. Unfortunately this will not meet the spec in future years because it is a coated nylon fabric that won’t stay waterproof once the coating is gone- or in other words ‘the only way that jacket will stay waterproof is if you continue to not wear it’. I recommend going up to the Montane Minimus which weighs 215g. Why? Because the Minimus contains Pertex fabric which is much more breathable- and this will likely be the absolute minimum spec in 2013. I’m sure the Minimus will probably last longer too! In 2011 I used a Mont jacket (different brand) which weighs about 450g, so you can save a lot of weight here. I’ve ordered the Montane Litespeed H2O Weight: 132g

homer-hats-beanies-red

1 x beanie, balaclava or buff

at Trailwalker 2010 I was given a buff about the halfway point, and it was the most glorious feeling to be putting on something so warm- it has a drawstring so it can be made into a beanie, and I’m going to use that instead of the achingly expensive snow beanie. Remember you lose a lot of heat out of your head, and it’s going to be bloody cold. Weight: 46g

DHB_ROUBAIX_LINER_GLOVE_MED

1 x full-fingered lightweight thermal gloves (polypropylene, wool or similar)

I have some black mountain biking gloves for this purpose. These gloves stayed in their packet, as I have a personal preference for non sweaty hands, and covering them up makes me very sweaty. The best compromise I have found here is some old leather weightlifting gloves that have an open mesh back- they are not full fingered so I have to carry the others as well. Lots of protection for your hands if you fall, but not too sweaty. Remember fairly early in the race you will be going down some stairs with nasty rusted iron hand holds. Weight: 34g (nylon cycling gloves)

Safety vests

1 x High Visibility Safety Vest that complies with Australian Standard AS/NZS 4602:1999 -N Class for night time wear.

*I borrowed one of these from my wife’s work. You might have contacts who can loan you one of these, or you can buy them from Bunnings/ Masters Hardware etc. Not expensive, but make sure it meets the specs- and it use go OVER your pack so you can be seen from behind at night- get a large size. Remember it’s the reflective stripes that allow the night rating. No stripes= doesn’t comply. Weight: 155g

unboxed

1 x headlamp (test your headlamp on bush tracks at night prior to the event to make sure it provides enough light to both see the track and the course markings)

* My main light here is the Petzl Nao. It outputs up to 355 lumens and has lots of options, the big bonus being it has regulated output- this means that as your batteries wear out it will keep a constant light output- your light doesn’t get dimmer over time.  And it can sense how much light is available and dim itself, saving batteries. At my favourite setting, the battery will last about 6-8 hours which means I should get to the finish without needing to change batteries, but I will be carrying a spare. The Nao will be in my drop bag at CP4, if you are a 16.5+ hour runner you will want to have your headlamp in your CP3 bag. During the day I will carry 2 tiny ‘Keyring Mini Hand Torch‘, these are on the website for $7.98 each

*I have spoken to the Race Director about whether a hand held torch is ok rather than a headlamp, and he agreed it was ok. He couldn’t see why you would want to use a hand held torch if a headlamp as available (me too) however it will pass. Weight: 10g  (light until CP3). Weight: 187g (Petzl Nao with battery)

1 x small backup light in case of headlamp failure but still bright enough for you to walk by and see course markings

* I will use a Petzl Tikka XP2 for my backup light. it is perfectly ok for an event like the North Face 100 as your main light, but I’m lucky that my wife works for the local distributor so these things breed like rabbits in our house. Weight: 10g (light until CP3). Weight: 88g (Petzl Tikka XP2 including batteries)

1 x mobile phone (Telstra Next G is strongly recommended as coverage on the course is far better than any other network)

*Yes Telstra aren’t my favourite people either, but my phone is with them and the network is pretty good. iPhone 4S including Lifeproof waterproof case Weight: 171g

1 x compass for navigation in the very unlikely event that you get lost. While we recommend a good quality compass such as the Silva Field 7, you can bring any compass as long as the magnetic needle will settle quickly and will point to magnetic North. A waterproof watch compass is allowed as long as you can calibrate it and use it correctly. An iPhone compass is not acceptable as it is not waterproof and the batteries may be needed for making emergency calls.

 I’ve bought this from eBay,  Weight: 10g

UPDATE- just got an email from the Race Director which says the following- Can I use an iPhone as my compass?  Answer is no.

1 x whistle

*most Salomon packs seem to have a whistle built in, so I have 3. You should either borrow one from someone who owns a Salomon pack, or buy one from a toy or sports store- Rebel Sport will have these. Weight: included with pack

1 x emergency space blanket, light bivvy sack or equivalent

* Salomon Advanced Skin XT Wings Super Nuclear Speedcross Blah packs have these inside, or I bought one for about $5 from Khatmandu last year. Hint- Khatmandu seems to always be on sale……Weight: 55g (or included with pack)

bandage

This image lifted straight from the TNF100 website…..

1 x compression bandage for the treatment of sprains or snake bite (crepe compression bandages are fine but they need to say they are compression – for sprains and snake bites)

I asked, but never got to the bottom of what makes a suitable compression bandage- common sense says that it’s the elastic in the bandage that will provide the compression. Supplied by my wife from our medical box, but you can buy these from Chemists. Weight: 45g

1 x full box of waterproof & windproof safety matches (provided by organisers)

1 x firelighter block for emergency use only (Jiffy Firelighter provided by organisers).  You will need to provide your own zip lock bag or container.

*pretty self explanatory- there will be a table at check-in with these items on it. Grab a small amount and stash them in a zip lock sandwich bag that you have brought along. You’ll need a couple of extras for this and following items. Weight: no idea, say 30g

1 x lightweight Dry Sack to keep your compulsory clothing dry (plastic bags or zip lock bags are fine but Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil dry sack is recommended)

*You don’t need to buy a Dry Sack if you put everything in individual zip lock sandwich bags. I also wrote on the outside of each bag what the contents were, and found that I never had to look far for anything. This is important and could save time when you are cold and mentally shattered. Weight: 3g each, you’ll need about 10 of these

Capacity to carry 2 litres of water (water bladder or water bottles)

* the Salomon Super Advanced XT Wings Wooshka Skinbag comes with a bladder that holds 1.5 litres, so it doesn’t technically meet these requirements. I bought some Platypus bendy bottles and a 2l Platypus bladder and now I have more than enough capacity. Indeed, I could smuggle a cheeky red and some fine cognac on to the course. But won’t. Weight: 2l water = 2Kg, Weight: 157g (bladder)

2 x bars / food portions

* When you pull everything out of your pack after the event, you probably won’t remember why you have 2 squished muesli bars at the bottom. These were your emergency food items. Equally important- if you get into trouble, don’t forget they are there! Weight: 39g (muesli bar) Weight: 33g (packet of Gu chomps)

1 x Ziploc bag for your personal rubbish

*Oh no! You’ve just added 3g to your running weight! Don’t worry, you’ll sweat it out.

1 x set of maps and course descriptions (provided by organisers). At registration, you will be provided with one set of maps and course notes.  You will need to protect these from getting wet (using item below)

* provided on A3/ sometimes A4 paper, you will put these in a safe place and forget they are there. It’s unlikely you will refer to the maps- the course is very clearly marked. You won’t get lost- but don’t forget where your maps are- there was a gear check mid race in 2012 and we had to show them to scrutineers. Weight: 62g (I weighed another competitors handout from 2010)

Sea_to_Summit_TPU_Map_Case__jpg_508x300_q85

1 x waterproof map case or any other way to keep your maps protected such as map contact

*The best of these I’ve seen is by Sea to Summit, but it isn’t quite a full A4 size. I have a Sealine one that is big and bulky. The Sea To Summit should be available from most of the camping stores around Kent St in Sydney- Update, purchased this 4.4.12 for 15% off at Paddy Pallin, $25.50 apx), Weight: 128g (Sealine from 2011). Weight: 53g (Sea to Summit 2012)

Note- as suggested by Andy Hewat, you can put your maps into an A4 sized ziplock bag. This will pass, and weighs less than a map case. Honestly, you won’t need to use your maps during the race.

1 x A5 Participant Emergency Instructions card on waterproof paper (provided by organisers)

*self explanatory. Don’t need to memorise it, just know where it is if you get in trouble. Weight: 6g (pretty sure this info is on the back of your race number, so I weighed one from another race)

1 x race number with timing chip to be worn on your front and visible at all times (provided by organisers). A recommended method of securing your race number is to use an elastic waist strap like a triathlon band which allows you to easily have your number visible over the top of your outermost item of clothing. You will need to provide your own elastic waist strap if you choose to do this.

*remember if you aren’t near the front of the pack you will most likely experience a few weather changes during your event, and you’ll probably want to change clothes. If the extra fleece and waterproof pants are declared mandatory during he race you could be changing both your bottom and top clothing, meaning that the best way of having your race number visible at all times is to have it on a race belt or a SPI-Belt. For some unknown reason Running Wild NSW were giving these away at the Knapsack race, so I have one- but if you don’t you should find them at Rebel Sport/ Performance Sport or other sports stores. By the way- you should join Running Wild NSW- they have some great events! Weight: 6g as noted above + race belt weight. Weight: 60g (SpiBelt with 2 pockets)

1 x long leg waterproof pants

* I bought mine from Rebel Sport for about $40,  they are Team brand. You can get some for about $20, but they were non breathable plastic and looked easy to rip, and very heavy. You may not have to carry this for the whole race, see the explanation below. Weight: 191g

1 x 100-weight long sleeve synthetic fleece top

* 100 weight polar fleece is not very heavy. You may not have to carry this for the whole race, see the explanation below. An example of a 100 weight fleece top here, but I actually ordered this 200 weight one here because it was lighter and cheaper. Weight: 346g

Here is the explanation of the last two items- the waterproof pants and the fleece taken directly from the website here–

‘***You will only be required to carry the last two items listed above (waterproof pants and 100-weight fleece) if weather conditions are bad. The organisers will notify you at the Friday night registration if these two items must be carried on person from the start, or if they need to be left with your support crew or in a specified drop bag for use during the event. The most likely scenario (in fine weather conditions) is that you will leave these additional items with your support crew or in your Checkpoint 4 drop bag and you will be told at Checkpoint 4 if you need to carry these additional items. These items may become compulsory to carry at any time during the event irrespective of whether previous runners have already passed through Checkpoint 4 prior to the items becoming compulsory. In that case, only runners departing the checkpoint after the items become compulsory must carry the items.’

Other things to remember- If there is any discrepancy between my explanations and the official line, the officials win. No arguments.

There will be at least one random gear check. Don’t try to skimp on any of the mandatory gear, it could ruin your race if you have to wait for a crew member to drive one to you- which is the best case scenario.

In 2011 we were required to carry a first aid kit. I use an Aide Void kit which is very small and has lots of worthwhile stuff in it. Declaration- yes my wife works for the company that distributes these but I will carry one anyway in 2012…….and 2013

All of the outdoor shops seem to be on sale right now (Khatmandu permanently!) and I saw some of the mandatory gear at great prices where they all cluster around Kent St Sydney.

 

Recommended items via TNF website:

  • Vaseline, Body Glide or other body lubricant
  • Sunscreen
  • Cap or sun hat
  • Spare socks
  • Spare headlight batteries
  • Additional warmer clothing at supported checkpoints
  • A spare headlamp in case your main light stops working.
  • More substantial first aid kit (sterile dressings, roll of strapping tape, blister care such as blister block patches, Compeed or Fixamol, antiseptic wipes, painkillers, and any relevant personal medications).

I’ll do another post soon about the non mandatory items you should consider……….

Making Your Own Energy Gels- Simpler Recipe

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I make my own gels and use them for any event/ training run where I’m likely to use 4 gels or more. This is because each flask holds about 3 gels. For any shorter event I use commercial gels and I particularly like the Accel Gels from Advantage 1 which have a bit of protein in them.

 

accel-gel-lime41

I got to wondering recently if I could simplify my gel recipe even further (here’s the previous post). Have you seen that cookbook ‘4 Ingredients‘? They take a bunch of stuff that is often already pre made, then combine it to produce something that you might potentially eat. My sister quite rightly calls it ‘food assembly for bogans’.

But I don’t care about that- I care about making the best possible gel mix in the fastest possible time, and I’ve discovered something worth sharing.

Cottee’s seem to be switching all of their cordials to a double strength version, and they were on special at my local shop so I bought a couple of flavours to sample, Coola and Raspberry. I need to tell you- Coola flavour is my favourite ever cordial flavour, it’s like a little bit of my childhood.

Cottees_Coola_1L_OpenLid_581x243pixels

This means I can delete 3 ingredients from my previous recipe- brown sugar, honey and water and substitute for cordial, but how much cordial?

240ml of cordial contains 240x 0.67 = 160.8 g of sugar
so in 32ml we would have 9.12g of sugar
150kj

so

serving size 32ml
simple carbs 9.12g
Complex Carbs 16.8g
Total Carbs 26g
total Kj 280+150= 430kj

which is a little higher than the last recipe, you can compare with commercial gels here

Compare this with
Endura- 26g carbs, 444kj
Gu- 20-25g carbs, 420kj
Torq- 29g carbs, 468kj

here’s the recipe-

Using double strength Cottees Coola cordial

280g maltodextrin
1/4 teaspoon salt
50ml lime juice
240ml of cordial

Yes it really is as simple as mixing it all together in a big bowl, working the lumps out and then putting it in the flasks, which then go straight in the freezer in a sandwich bag. Easy.

4 Ingredients…. is this a cooincidence? I left in the lime juice because it may be acting as a preservative, you can probably leave it out if you fancy living dangerously.

Anyway it tastes great, and doesn’t look like baby poo so I’m happy.

You Might be a Runner if- Part 2

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Thanks to some fabulous suggestions from others, we’re having a second bite at this one

You might be a runner if

1. You know what model of Garmin a friend uses by the shape of the white patch on their arm
2. You have a white, Garmin shaped patch on your arm
3. You tell your pedicurist ” just paint that skin to make it LOOK like a toe-nail”
4. You only wear toenail polish to cover up the fact that you have permanent blood blisters under your nails or just no toenails
5. You organise your holidays around a run you want to do
6. You know what your physio did on the weekend. Any weekend.
7. You spend more money on running shoes & running accessories than fashion
8. Your wear socks to your physio so he wont see the blisters when you’re meant to be RICE-ing
9. When you’re out injured you can’t tell if you’re stressed about not running or running clears your normal stresses
10. You only go to the doctor when whatever is up interferes with your running
11. Your friends no longer invite you out on Friday nights
12. You go to a friends house for dinner, eat everything in their kitchen and fall asleep at the table
13. After repeated weekends of chatting with people for 3+ hours you know how much their genitals chafe but not their names

 

Thanks to (in no particular order) Kate McElligott, Naomi Eastment, Ben Rollins, Adam Darwin, Alison Thomas, Ngaire Anna, Sara Jaques, Rocco Smit and Leigh Reynolds

11 Signs you might be a Runner

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1. You see lovely calves on a woman in front, realise she’s wearing heels and wince
2. You see calves on a guy in front, realise they’re bigger than yours and wince
3. You see a guy with blood running out of both nipples and feel his pain
4. Someone describes your ‘joggers’ and you correct them
5. You wonder if business shoes come in ‘zero drop’
6. If wearing black is slimming, and running is slimming, then why is running wearing black just stupid?
7. You can justify just about anything you eat, do or don’t do by using various combinations of the words ‘carb loading’ ‘tapering’ ‘LSD’ ‘Fartlek’ ‘bonk’ ‘DOMS’ and ‘hydration’
8. You laugh at people who turn up for a 5km with a hydration pack
9. That’s not a pretty woman up ahead, that’s a mild supinator with overstriding issues, weak gluteus and too much hip movement*
10. You realise the cheaper the run, the more vomit inducing the T-Shirt will be
11. Getting ‘chicked’ isn’t as fun as it sounds

 

 

*anatomically impossible? I have no idea, I totally made this up

Stop, Hammer Time!

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I’ve finally come to the conclusion that something is wrong. I have been very lucky having the support of some amazing people, so I know it isn’t my training. I’m putting in the required distance, including some hard efforts and generally doing what is needed.

However my big problem is this- I have plenty of engine going downhills or on flats, but as soon as the terrain heads up, my gasket pops and I have nothing to give. It’s a long standing issue, and I’ve mostly been able to cover it by catching up with the group on flat or downs, but it really does need some attention.

I had a small victory on Saturday, when things were a little easier, so maybe Sam Walker was right- overtraining.

I seem to be able to sustain a heartrate of 160bpm going downhill and still have breath for talking. On the flat I can be pretty comfortable at 130bpm running 5:15 min/km.

BUT, put a hill in there and I can hit 140bpm and my breathing goes crazy. I have to stop and wait for it to pass. Short steps helps a bit, but not much.

Here’s a couple of possible reasons-

1. weight. I am a couple of kg heavier than I’d like to be, but I don’t care enough to fix this, and it seems to be an ongoing issue so this is unlikely to be the cause, but being lighter would help

2. VO2 max. I hope to have this tested as it is the most likely explanation. I was an asthmatic child so I’m guessing my lungs don’t hold much or are not very efficient

3. Not fit enough. Pah, not prepared to go there.

 

I’ll update when I know more!

Making Your Own Energy Gels

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Hi, my name is Adam and I’m a sugar addict. I use it before, during and after running. I don’t get the deep lows that stop others from using it during races, so I consider myself to be fairly lucky. One thing I have noticed though, is that the guy in the running store looks at me a bit funny when I come in all the time for my fix, er I mean another box of gels. He looks at me even more strangely when I go through the racks and add to my pile a whole bunch of anything new. Most people have sensitive stomachs but I’m lucky enough that I can eat almost anything during a run. And I like pretty much all of the commercial gels on the market, except SIS- Science in Sport. Oh, you have them? Take a look on the side where it says ‘no simple sugars’. Are you f/ing kidding me? Where were my simple sugars when I needed them going up the side of Mt Solitary a few months ago, buddy? That mistake cost me at least 15 minutes…… but I digress.

I use Endura (Citrus and Raspberry, the grape tastes like some horrible lolly at the bottom of a cheap Christmas bucket)  but have to be careful of the (8mg) caffeine content. And I especially like the Accel Gel Key Lime with protein (tastes like cheesecake, yum!). However in a long race I’ve been finding that it’s a bit of a pain keeping the rubbish from flying out of your pocket. And if I forget to empty my pockets at checkpoints, the sticky rubbish really builds up. So I decided to make my own.

After much internet research I found a good starting recipe here, they even sell an ebook with recipes. But I wanted to start very simple, and wanted something that does not need cooking. I’m pleased to say after a few false starts, I finally have an easy recipe that works. Here are the ingredients-

The 1970’s called, they want their kitchen back

Maltodextrin
Available from health food shops or over the internet. This is a multiple chained carbohydrate often added to foods for bulk. It is easily digested and provides a runner with longer lasting energy than a simple sugar, and doesn’t ‘bonk’ so badly. I paid $28 for 2kg from a health food shop, but I’ve found out that this money would have bought me 5kg or more if I’d shopped around.

Salt
Yep, table salt. I’m sure some people will insist on using Himalayan rock salt, but this isn’t rocket science folks

Water
That stuff that comes out of a tap

Lime Juice
Originally from a lime, this time it came out of a squeezy bottle in my fridge

Honey
There’s a rumour that the worlds bee population is collapsing, you should read up on why this will possibly mean the death of all human life on the planet. Or perhaps you can just go to your cupboard and get out the sweet tasting fruits of the stinging insects labour

Brown Sugar
This is where I link to a Rolling Stones song isn’t it? This is my one concession against simplicity- I could have used any other kind of sugar, however this was available and it does have a decent flavour.

Here we go-

280g maltodextrin
1/4 teaspoon salt
100ml water
50ml lime juice
80ml honey
50g brown sugar

Put all the ‘other’ ingredients into a bowl and slowly add the water, while mixing. The mixture will need to be mixed quite a lot and it doesn’t hurt to leave it for a while and come back to attack those lumps. In general, the less water you add the less thin the result will be, but you’ll have to chase more lumps. This makes the equivalent of 16 gels, and I pour the mixture into Endura flasks (bottom of this page).

Calculations
The Endura flasks each store about 125ml of mixture. If you have a look at this page you’ll see that the average serving size is about 30-45ml, so I’m going to estimate a serving size of 32ml or 4 servings to a flask.

This gives the following specs for each serve-
Maltodextrin (96% carb, 16.05 kj per 1g)
280/16= 17.5 (x 0.96)= 16.8g of carbohydrate
17.5x 16.05=  280 Kj

Honey (27% carb, 12.72 kj per 1g)
80/16= 5 (x 0.27)= 1.35g of carbohydrate
5x 12.72 = 63.6 Kj

Brown Sugar (98% carb, 16.70 kj per 1g)
50/16 = 3.125 (x 0.98) = 3.0625g of carbohydrate
3.125 x 16.70 = 52.2 kj

Salt
1/4 teaspoon = 1g
1/16 = 0.0625 g per serving, and sodium accounts for 39.3% of the weight of NaCl
therefor each serving contains 24.6mg Sodium

assuming brown sugar and honey only contribute simple sugars, we then have-
Serving size = 32ml
simple carbs= 4.41g
complex carbs= 16.8g
Total carbs= 21.21g
Total energy= 396 kj

Comparing to the table again here, we find that both the carbohydrate and the energy available from our mix is roughly the same, gram for gram. Our serving size is a little smaller and our energy properties are correspondingly smaller, but definitely within the range we would expect. Sodium figures vary wildly between brands, we can easily change this but I’d have to say from experience the sodium is ‘adequate’.

Home made gel flasks

One of these flasks is not like the other ones

 

Storage
I store these in the freezer. They don’t actually freeze, but I figure they will last a bit longer in there.

Longevity
I had an unused flask left out of the fridge accidentally for over 2 weeks and it looked fine, so I’ve stopped worrying about whether it will give me some nasty bug. I’m not sure why- I guess it would have something to do with the natural preservative action of the honey, the PH of the mixture or the fact that I use lime juice with preservatives? Who knows a food technologist?

Flavour Options
You could swap the water for coffee- that would give you a small caffeine boost in each sip. One shot or 100mg of caffeine over 16 gels is 6.25 mg per gel, a little less than you’d get in an Endura. Or potentially make this a bit simpler by ditching the honey, brown sugar, water  and lime juice and substituting for a fruit based cordial. I didn’t do this because I didn’t want to re do all the calculations!

Anything else?
Each one of these flasks will help you to run 30-40km, but I usually supplement with something else to break the boredom. I always carry 2 flasks on me, but have one wrapped in a sandwich bag so it can go back in the freezer if not used. I always throw out whatever is left in the used flask at the end of a run. Also, as seen on another site, it’s not recommended to use any protein supplements in these home made gels as they will go off rapidly……

Please let me know if you have success with these ideas, or if you have any new recipes, thanks!

TNF100 2013 Training Program Notes

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OK the beginner program hasn’t changed in the last couple of years, so we’ll concentrate on explaining the others.

Intermediate
This program has had the most people go through over the last 2 years, and this is the most important thing about it-
1. If you turn up to the training, you’ll make your goal. We’ve had one or 2 people train with us who DNF’d, but mostly these were people who didn’t come consistently. Overwhelmingly if people turned up and did the training, made their target.

Mondays
You’ll most likely cover about 8km, but distance is not the key here, effort is. You’ll be doing some sort of repeated effort to build speed. A typical workout might go like this-
1km warm up to start line, then 5x repeats around a apx 800m block, with the emphasis on speed around 3 sides with an active recovery on the 4th side. 1km warm down
Tuesday
Find a route that has plenty of hills, and run up and down like a mad person. Here’s an example . You need this session to prepare you for the TNF course.
Wednesday
Lucky you- a rest day!
Thursday
Pace run- this is a middle distance run that you should do at a decent pace. You should feel uncomfortable, striving to cover the distance, training yourself to operate longer at higher speed.
Friday
Rest day/ Cross Training. Consider going to the gym to get in some core strength exercises. You don’t need big guns (arms) for running, but a strong core will make you feel like the running is a bit easier.
Saturday
LSD- Long Slow Distance. This is where you build up your endurance. You’ll notice that most of these runs are labelled ‘NRG’ this is because I’ve stolen the runs from the Northside Running Groups‘ Six Foot Track training program. I’ve found that it matches what we want to do very neatly. If you have a running group in your area, consider joining them, or make up your own runs to match the distance/ difficulty. The Sydney Striders also have a Six Foot Track program. Note- if doing your own program you’ll generally want to make your Saturday runs progressively harder over the first 3 weeks then schedule an easy week. Also note that after Six Foot Track, we’ve scheduled a whole bunch of runs to fill in the time before the North Face race. There is some training on the course, some races to keep you honest and even a run through the mountains with Brendan Davies. All of these are free to attend so please come along. You will find people who run at your pace so don’t worry about getting left behind.
Sunday
An easy 10km to get the lactic acid moving!

Advanced
the advanced program is very similar to the Intermediate, but with less days off, some more km covered and (for me) some time goals attached. I don’t know if the time goals are needed or desirable, but I’ve decided to give myself these goals to monitor my progress.
Monday
Same session as Intermediate, but my goal is to keep up with a faster group. I’ve already been working on this for several months, and I figure I’m about 60-70% there
Tuesday
Do the hills session that the Intermediate group does on Wed.
Wednesday
A new addition is the mid week long run. This should be about 20km and take about 2 hours. The time is more important than the distance so if you are going significantly over 2 hours, cut down the distance. This is an easy run so keep the pace under control. My chosen run is the ‘7 Bridges‘ as it’s about the flattest I can get with the correct distance. If you’d like to join us, we leave from the corner of Pacific Highway and Shirley Rd at Crows Nest approximately 4:30pm each Wednesday. But please let me know if you are coming via the Facebook page
Thursday
Same as Intermediate, for me it’s trying to keep up with the ‘Fast Middies’ group at NRG, they run about 5min/km average over 12km on a Thursday night.
Friday
Cross training- remember, it’s worth it……..
Saturday
Long Slow Distance. You’ll notice that most of these runs are labelled ‘NRG’, this is because I’ve stolen the runs from the Northside Running Groups‘ Six Foot Track training program. I’ve found that it matches what we want to do very neatly. If you have a running group in your area, consider joining them, or make up your own runs to match the distance/ difficulty. The Sydney Striders also have a Six Foot Track program. Note- if doing your own program you’ll generally want to make your Saturday runs progressively harder over the first 3 weeks then schedule an easy week. This year my goal is to run with the ‘Fast Middies’ as my endurance is ok, I just need some speed……Also note that after Six Foot Track, we’ve scheduled a whole bunch of runs to fill in the time before the North Face race. There is some training on the course, some races to keep you honest and even a run through the mountains with Brendan Davies. All of these are free to attend so please come along. You will find people who run at your pace so don’t worry about getting left behind.
Sunday
Another easy run, mine is a little bit less than 16km as I run across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and back, you should find a run that makes you feel good- because next week you’re doing it all again!

A word about goals. I’m just a normal, middle of the pack runner. I’m trying for a sub 14 hour finish this year, but I’ll admit it’s pretty unlikely. In 2011 I finished in 18:39, in 2012 I made 16:34 so it’s just this side of possible. I’m going to train like I need it and if something happens to stop me I won’t be too upset, but there’s no harm in dreaming! To get there, my (very loose) goals are this-

Six Foot Track 5:30
Canberra Marathon 3:35

Good luck to everybody who joins us, and let’s see what the race brings!

The North Face 100 2012- The Race

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I was a lot more confident going into this race this year- then I started to worry I was too confident. It turns out I was both right- I’d forgotten how insanely hard the race is, but I am also a much more experienced runner.

Crazy runers, or Facebook addicts? Both!

 

I attended a funeral on Friday morning, picked my wife up from work at about midday and drove to the mountains. We had a burger at Plucked and arrived at the Fairmont just before 2:30pm. A fantastic number of my Facebook friends were already there and it was great to finally meet some crazies that I’d been swapping stories with all year. That was the last bit of peace I had all weekend, from then on it was all go!

Helped Sarah show off the new Petzl Nao headlamp, then as soon as registration opened I was off! 3rd in line for my paperwork and managed to be first through the gear check. Very nervous about getting my teeny weeny torches through because Tom the Race Director was standing right behind my gear checker! Everything was fine- we found out later that people had been trying to get strapping tape through as a compression bandage, and one guy turned up with 2 iPhones and said they were his main and backup light!

I hung around for a few more hours talking to people and then it was time for dinner. The pasta buffet at the Fairmont was better than last year and as I was getting a large piece of pavlova one of the employees remarked ‘that’s 4 of those pavlovas we’ve gone through tonight’. They were massive, and delicious.

Adam Darwin's crew chief

Back to the room for a final gear check and laying out of clothes and in bed by 10pm. As you’d expect, I didn’t have a great sleep, but that’s pretty standard the night before a big race. Up at 5am, breakfast loaded with chia seeds, black coffee and grabbed a Powerade to sip before the start. We arrived at the Fairmont to organised chaos and quiet desperation. We all filed into the hall for the competitor briefing, which as usual went late, so by the time that finished and we raced outside to the start I only stood around for a few seconds before the gun went off!

Thanks to Wendy Chung for this image

The first few km are around the streets and are meant to allow the runners to spread out- unfortunately the event has become so popular that the only wave without major holdups this year was wave 1, the fasties. It was here that both my best and worst fears were realised. I figured that it wasn’t possible to hit a sub 14 hour time with the times we were getting in these first km, so I relaxed and went with the flow. In truth, I was never in a position to go sub 14, so this saved me from doing anything (more) stupid.

After passing the Scenic Railway I was opening a gel and fell flat on my arse- the gel squirted a long way! No major damage and I got into checkpoint 1 in 2:42 (sub 14 hour time for this section is 2:10). Grabbed 2 pieces of watermelon, filled my bottle, drank, filled again, picked up a mandarin and placed in my pocket and I was off. The run down Narrowneck was fantastic as usual and I had a great chat to several people- many of whom I would be constantly swapping places with during the day. Annalisa Meryment took off after a quick chat looking like she was doing it easy, then we hit a choke point at Tarro’s Ladder. A volunteer was sending people along a 400m diversion to bypass the ladders, but I decided it was more important for me to rest, eat and talk. The weather here was lovely, last year people were pulling out thermals, it was bloody freezing. I pulled out my mandarin and ate that, finished my bottle of Endura and did a quick gear check. Down the ladders, up a couple of evil spurs and then back on to some fire trail which we follow in to checkpoint 2. Lots more familiar faces at cp2, but a mandatory gear check slowed me down as hey asked to see our maps! How bloody rude, that’s the one item I KNOW I won’t use during this race as the course is so well marked. Of course they were at the bottom of my pack. I had written out my checklist on my iPhone so I consulted that, checked in with Facebook, grabbed a fruit bun and headed out to the dreaded Ironpot Ridge.

I could probably get a bit better at racecraft here-I couldn’t go faster than a walk as I was eating the bun, but the bun wouldn’t go down fast enough- too dry. So I had to bite, take a drink, wet the bread then get it down. It took me too long to work this out, lesson learned. I paused at the bottom of Ironpot Ridge to have a gel and another runner passed me saying ‘I thought you were having a spliff and I was about to ask for some’. Now I’ve seen and heard some pretty odd things while running, and that’s right up there. Ironpot is a pig of a section- you can’t get in any sort of rhythm, it has big ascents and worse descents, you constantly have to slow or step aside for other runners and as it’s an out-and-back, you don’t even get any real sense of accomplishment from doing it.

A creek crossing, lovely trails past farms, and oh yes, more huge f/ing hills! It was about this time that I started to notice other runners flagging. We’d covered some picturesque but brutal and unforgiving landscape, and hadn’t even reached halfway! As much as possible I tried to make sure everyone was ok but there was clearly a big pain monster stalking the crowds. One guy wearing bright green shorts I’d seen earlier on and asked ‘do you have a volume control for those shorts?’ I passed again and tried to get him to run with me into cp3. ‘Why?’ he said and I replied that I wanted to make sure he was too tired to hit me for the comment about his shorts. I made up 15 places on this leg, then lost 15 places by the time I left, symmetry at work…..

Yes I look sick- it's Instagram's fault.

Coming in to cp3 I got a cheer worthy of a real runner, it was awesome! I’m not sure what everyone else thought about a middle of pack runner getting such a rousing reception. I’d been looking forward to cp3 because this is where my first real stop would be. I came in, drank 2 cups of Endura, filled my bottle grabbed my checkpoint bag and went to sit down with Sarah. I ate a boiled egg, and got stuck into some macaroni and cheese. Unfortunately I ate too much and had too much fun talking- I spent 18 minutes in this checkpoint! Quickly shoving down a Newman’s Ginger Treat bar, I left and headed up the Six Foot Track for my date with Nellie. I think it’s worth mentioning here that I had published my nutrition plan for comment and most people said I didn’t have enough real food on the plan, so I’d added the fruit bun and probably ate more of the Mac N Cheese than I should have. It’s nobody’s fault but my own, however I will be careful in the future- the commenters were right that I didn’t have enough ‘real’ food but I was wrong thinking I could fit it in!  I’d eaten so much I couldn’t run properly, I was probably nervous because it was going up Nellie’s Glen last year that I had my low point, I had decided to pull out and it was only the care of my wife that got me through..

For those unfamiliar, Nellie’s Glen is a bunch of stairs going up towards civilisation- more than 500 of them. They’re uneven, often wet and slippery and it seems like they never end. This year I let a couple of people past so I could concentrate on keeping some sort of rhythm. It didn’t work very well, but I had one major advantage- last year the light fell just as I was at the bottom- this year I made it all the way to the Aquatic Centre (Checkpoint 4) before light fell. I really feel this section cost me about 30 minutes- if I’d had a 10 minute transition at cp3 instead of 18, and been able to run a bit more I could have done much better. Coming into CP4 I saw Martyn Dawson who had run despite an awful cold. He’d had to pull out at CP2, but don’t forget that’s 38km and harder than a road marathon! He came along to cp4 to support other runner- thanks Martyn! Into the sports centre I had a quick cup of noodles, some Endura, filled my bottle and had some Coca Cola. That was the best tasting Coke I’ve had in my life, and the noodles were obviously some form of ambrosia. Back out into the (now) night, and about 300m from the cp I remembered something- sh@t- I’d forgotten to fill my bladder. I hadn’t been drinking much water as I’d been supplementing with the collapsible bottle, but I’d just left for the longest section in the whole run without checking a basic requirement. This could spell real trouble. I’d been playing leapfrog with David Madden all day and found him again on Federal Pass getting a bar out of his bag. We had a great chat, and I was making him run little bits (probably should have made him eat his energy bar, that would have been more help) and we met another runner called Scott (I think).

Then behold! It was Adam Darwin finally catching us after 80km, his tardiness caused by a toilet stop at the start! The four of us crossed Leura creek, then Jamison creek together and began the long slog up Kedumba walls. Just after I’d told everybody not to stop at the campfire halfway up, we came to it and discovered a mandatory gear check. I got my stuff checked in double quick time and just as I was leaving Adam D yelled that they had water! I came back and filled my bottle then yelled for Adam, intending to continue with the others. Hearing no reply I looked ahead and thought I saw him climbing the next hill so I took off in pursuit. It wasn’t Adam D but by then I was too far ahead and made the decision to bust my boiler and finish strong. I should have made that decision 80km earlier at the start, but I’m a bit timid sometimes.

A quick note about the Petzl Nao headlamp- I was lucky enough to have one for this race, a few months before they are available to normal people! It behaved flawlessly after I read the manual properly and got my minor niggles worked out. You can read more on this review. I kept the headlamp on the lower regulated setting, putting out about 80 lumens which was nice and bright, and lasted the entire race with some battery left over! One of the guys I was running with up Kedumba muttered to himself ‘oh my lamp does work’ after I got ahead- he’d thought his wasn’t working because mine was so bright!

only 11km to go!

Covering my headlamp, happy I've just finished the biggest hill on the course

Another rousing cheer when I came into checkpoint 5, and I decided not to fill my bladder for the last 11km, I would take a bottle of Powerade and one of Endura. My quickest cp at only 5 minutes, ate a gel on the way out and hooked on to another runner for the ride home. Pretty uneventful until Conservation Hut cafe where I had my last gel, then the massive ups and downs past Lillian’s Glen and up beside the golf course for a strong finish. At the ‘1km to go’ sign I looked at my watch and figured out that if I could do a 9 minute km for the last km I would come under 16:30. I can’t even list how many things are wrong with this logic, but let’s just say I was wrong. My final time of 16:33:58 was more than 2 hours under last years time, and a big relief. Even more fantastic was that David Madden and Adam Darwin both finished in under 17 hours! This time is significant because it means you finish before midnight i.e. on the same day you started. A sub 20 hour finish also means you get a bronze belt buckle. This is a great achievement as the stats show- 990 solo entries sold, 634 total finishers = 356 DNF and DNS. 1x Gold buckle to Ryan Sandes for winning, 111x Silver buckle for under 14hours, 419 Bronze buckles for sub 20 hour finishers.

When we got back to the hotel room I had a shower and read for a while. My wife turned off the light and I suddenly remembered I’d forgotten to eat! She caught me rummaging around in my checkpoint bags looking for uneaten food. Next morning I got up early and went to the hotel dining room. Pretty sure they regret including breakfast in the room rate because I had 3 breakfasts and then went back with my wife later for more……

How bashed around am I? Well I came through with no blisters, and only mild muscle pain in most areas. I went for a short run on Monday night and it loosened up my legs nicely, they were very sore! I’ve had 2 nights sleep of 12 hours or more and I’m starting to feel human again.

 

So what worked? Having the collapsible bottle and taking it full of Endura worked really well. Also the removable arm warmers from my cycling kit were great- it meant I did not have to remove my pack and go looking for extra clothing several times during the event. Swapping sunglasses at CP4 with a pair with clear lenses means I didn’t have to worry about getting hit in the face by branches at night.

What didn’t work? I took a lot of food that wasn’t used, I ate too much at CP3, I forgot to fill up my bladder at CP4, forgot to have the final growling dog bar- must read the checkpoint instructions!

Congratulations to all runners, whether you made it to the end or didn’t make it to the start, we’ve all had a life altering experience. Or at least stomach altering.

Do we look fresh, or manic? Fantastic effort guys!