River’s Edge Ultra 2019: Drop Kit and Running Gear Prep
My second ultra is two days away and my running gear is packed! Everything else... less so. But hey, what else is new?
Tackling an 80 km trail race will, expectedly, be a whole different monster than my 50 km in June--and even in June, I felt foolish for not having a drop kit... especially after wading in mud pits for nearly an hour. Would have LOVED a change of shoes and socks, but back then I didn’t even own a second pair of trail runners.
Still, we live and we learn. My goals for this race have gotten a little less ambitious, what with battling a cold for the last week, but I still hope that it will be more of a success, considering I’ve actually trained on the right terrain this time. My entire taper week has been more of a pump-my-body-full-of-cold-meds-and-sleep than a slow and gradual recovery, but hopefully all of my training before it will be there to help me out on Saturday!
Anyways, the drop kit. I’ll do a post with all of my camping gear and food, likely after the race and my race debrief; however, for now, enjoy this little tidbit of my overpacking tendencies. Hopefully, if you’re planning on running a big race this will help you! Or if you have run a big race, I would love to hear on what you recommend I pack in addition (or just take out all together).
Without further ado...
The Hydration Pack
It’s the old edition of the Nathan VaporAiress in an XS (top left). Not fully organized at the moment, but here’s what I’m hoping to carry (top right; at least when I first leave the start/finish--I will be dropping off some of these things as the day progresses).
Running cap (Brooks Sherpa Hat)
Sunglasses (Goodr Iced By Yetis)
Squeeze bottles for Coca Cola, fit in the front sleeves
Energy bars and solid snacks (Chocolate Coconut Hammer Bar, Fruit-Smoothie Filled Clif Bar, PC Banana Bread Penguin Cookies)
Caffeinated chocolate
Very mini first aid kit (Desitin rash cream, waterproof bandages, spray polysporin--basically for things that definitely hurt a lot and can’t wait)
Wet wipes
Bug repellant towelletes
Hot and cold muscle gel (Perskindol--helps with persistent joint discomfort without numbing anything via topical painkillers)
Mini anti-chafing stick (Body Glide)
Ponytail flashlight
Reusable hydration station cup
2 headlamps (need one when I start since it will still be dark at 5 am, will drop them both off once it gets light out)
2 packs of energy chews (Honey Stinger Cherry Blossom and Cherry Cola)
3 energy gels (Hammer Gel Peanut Butter and Chocolate Hazelnut, GU Hoppy Trails)
Smushed up salt and vinegar chips
Not pictured: salt tablets, still have them in their bottle for the time being
I’ll probably be leaving my poles behind with my drop kit and not picking them up unless I’m feeling like I really need the extra help. Even then, my pack has loops for trekking poles and I’ll just keep them on there until I feel like using them!
The Drop Kit
This is pretty much... everything else. Replacement, replenishments, more first aid, et cetera. It’s a big box and I wish my boyfriend the best of luck in finding anything in there as I angrily demand it in the heat of my runner’s high. Oops.
I have tried to organize it, really. I swear I’m not evil. It’s just A Lot.
Spare trail runners (I will, hopefully, avoid changing into my Peregrines. I’m going to start in my newer pair of the Hoka Torrents [not pictured], then my older Torrents [above] if those get wet. The Peregrines give me some toe numbness with more distance.)
Spare socks (in a ziploc bag because I still don’t trust the forecast for this weekend)
Spare ziploc bags for my phone, salt chews, and chips
Spare running cap (Brooks Sherpa Hat)
Add-ons for my poles
Spare sunglasses (Goodr Whiskey Shots with Satan and Mick and Keith’s Midnight Ramble, the latter of which has been destroyed because I keep forgetting to put them in their little pouch thing)
Sandwiches (two flufflernutter, one PB&J, both on cinnamon raisin bread)
Electrolyte drinks (PC Tropical Punch Coconut Water Electrolyte Beverage)
2 L of (flat) Coca Cola
Salt and vinegar chips
Spare energy bars and solid snacks (Hammer Bars, Fruit Smoothie and Nut Butter Filled Clif Bars, PC Banana Bread Penguin Cookies)
Caffeinated chocolate
Spare energy chews (Honey Stinger Cherry Blossom and Cherry Cola)
Spare energy gels (Hammer Gel Peanut Butter and Chocolate Hazelnut, GU Hoppy Trails)
Hella bug spray
Hella sunscreen
Anti-chafing sticks (Sport Shield and Body Glide)
Mint Oreos (listen, everyone has their weird running food traditions, okay? mine are mint oreos.)
Hot and cold muscle cream (A535 Sport Warm-Up Cream, mostly for before I start)
One more headlamp and reflective bracelets
Ginger ale in case I get real sick
Homemade First Aid Kit (Gauze, foam tape, Advil, Aleve, Neopore tape, waterproof bandages, polysporin, Desitin rash cream, Voltaren, KT Tape, tweezers)
Extra hydration pack just in case
So, yes, in case you didn’t know I had an overpacking problem before, you definitely do now. Still, I feel that as long as you’re not crossing the line of packing so much you’re slowing yourself down, it’s always good to be prepared ahead of time! Aid and hydration stations will be a great help, but I prefer the comfort of having the exact same things I trained with at hand.
With two days to go, my running gear packed, and my cold nearly gone, the excitement is ramping up!
