Ultras: gear, nutrion & drop bags

Thanks for your time,

I am running my first 50km in May - 2015 and also currently training for the Canadian Death Race 125km in August.

I am very interested in what people have to say about gear: shoes, hydration packs (backpack/vest), compression shorts, socks.

Also curious to how experienced runners have stayed fueled throughout their races. When to eat/drink/consume what : carbs, sodium, protein, and fats. Thinking bananas, avocados, and salt water are a great idea for my support team to have ready for me at the end of the legs.

What have runners previously put in their drop off bags?

Thanks, all and any, in advance for your posts!!

Cheers,
happy running

Ultra: gear, NUTRITION & drop bags.

wow just notised this now.

Cheers, all

Please any suggestions would greatly appreciated.

Hey runningkm,

Nutrition and drop bags are very individual and personal -- in my opinion it is almost entirely dependent on your personal past experience ... that is, what foods have worked well for you in long training runs, and what gear or personal items you might need at certain points in a race.

For me, races 50k or shorter are easy to figure out logistically: one pair of shoes and socks, and I could eat nothing but gels the entire way or anything else really simple.

Beyond 50k is where it starts to get tricky -- especially for 100's and I start to consider things like changing socks, maybe shoes, preparing for possible stomach issues (bringing ginger or antacids), various first aid or reapplying chafing stuff, getting a variety of foods including "real" food (like you mentioned), and so forth. But again all that's based on -my- past experience. You could read books like Relentless Forward Progress to get ideas too.

Hope that helps!