Drop Bag Must-Haves

Okay, I'm putting together my drop bags for my first 100-miler this weekend, and am having trouble focusing due to nerves.

Besides extra shoes, socks, headlamp/flashlight/extra batteries, and tunafish sandwiches.. what else should I make sure I have? All the replies to previous posts regarding this far-from-new topic have completely vacated my brain.

Suggestions:
Dry shirt (long sleeve and/or short-sleeve)
Jacket (in case forecast calls for rain or very chilly temps.)
Gloves / hat
Re-stock of any supplies (gels, electrolytes, drink powder, advil, etc.)
Foot care items (needle, blister patch, bag balm, etc.)
Caffeine source (if needed for nighttime running)

A note to yourself (or your crew) with a checklist for what you're supposed to do at that aid station.

Hope you're keeping those tuna sandwiches cold! You might try packing them with a freezer icepack in a small insulated bag.

Have a great run!!

Hey, thanks TRM. YES, I'll be keeping my sandwiches in a mini-ice chest. I'll have enough issues to deal with without adding food poisoning to the mix!

A note is also a good idea, as more the once I've spent careful time planning my drop bags, then have completely forgotten about them once I get to the aid station.

I'll keep this page up while I'm packing :-)

Slices of dry salami in little Ziploc bags. They have kept me going on one than one occasion. Salami is salty, fatty, and tasty. It doesn't spoil easily and travels well!

You mentioned earlier that you have cell phone reception during that race, so a cell phone might be an idea too.

Good luck!

If I hadn't cut red meat out of my diet, I'd use your suggestion. Of course, my daughter likes it so much that I wouldn't have been guaranteed she'd hijack it out of my drop bag before I got to the aid station ;-)

I don't have first-hand knowledge of cell reception.. although I do recall passing lightinaugust in the middle of the night last year while he had his phone glued to his ear, yammering away about gawd knows what. (For clarification purposes, we were passing him on our way out, he was on his way back in, and he was talking to his virtual pacer, since he was running his first 100 without one. )

Thanks for the well-wishes, Marcel, and right back at ya. Finally, we'll all get to meet in person, eh?

At Firetrails, not at RDL, right?

Aren't you doing the Sierra Nevada?

Be sure to have your S caps if you use them at all the drops. I like ensure or boost just in case what ever your eating doesn't sit just right. The other suggestions seem to cover just about everything. Some runners like to change shoes/socks midway. So don't forget them for a change. The suggestion of a jacket/gloves is a big one has the temps can drop and you need to keep warm.

Naa-ah! I'm signed up for Firetrails, not SNER.

The jacket is an excellent reminder, especially since it doesn't seem like it's going to be as warm during the day as I expected.

I've paced someone through the night, but this will be a first for me to run & sweat during the day, then have to keep going through a cooler night. I'll definitely want a change of clothes at Cavitt.

I really appreciate the input, everyone. I've had some other things going on at home that are completely separate from running, and your posts have helped me to gather my scattered thoughts and FOCUS.

Okay Marcel, I'm confused. Aren't you the one who posted the SNER/RDL thread over on the RW forum?

Oooh! I've got one! This isn't a drop bag thing, but one thing I remember from last year was the amount of dusty air I was shuffling through. I didn't notice it much until it got dark and my headlamp lit up the perpetual dust cloud. I was hacking up nasty stuff for a week after.

So what I was thinking is this: bandana. This has two purposes. First, it filters out a bit of the dust. Second, you look like a bandito (bandita?) and that's always cool.

Okay, now I'm not confused anymore. And just FYI, lightinaugust, Marrrrrrrcel doesn't everstop.

I will make sure I wrap a bandana around my sombrero, and that I bring an extra serape in my drop-ay bag..

I see that Marcel may actually stop now and then and I'm confused. Perhaps Marcel can provide another clue, because I'm all stumped.

I'm having a stumpy day, as it happens.

His little guy ran his first 5k weekend before last.

And if I were a guy, I'd be careful about placing those kinds of adjectives anywhere near my person.

Yes, Marrrrcel stops frequently! Marrrrcel also suggests to add toilet paper and sun block to the drop bag. No need to suffer from a rash and a sunburn in addition to all your other aches and pains next week.

Now that reminds me of a yet-to-be-manufactured space-saving product. Body Glide came out with one that has an SPF of 25 in it.

I dare them to go one step further and make it edible. You could kill three birds with one stick of roll-on stuff.

Aaahh. Marrrrrrcel. Got it. Me and that guy got the same first name, we do.

I do not dare them to make an edible SPF 25 Body Glide. That would be bad because Body Glide is the one thing folks oughtn't share on account of the places it gets put are not also the places we rub food on.

You will be known as "The Daring Race Bandit, La Cougarita." I'll bring my son's fencing foil. You can take the safety tip off and run the race with it, leaving a big "C" on the backsides of many opponents. No one will DQ you because...well...you've got a sword and I bet they didn't bring one of their own. Even Norm'll shrink from crossing you. I'm glad I'm not running this weekend, now I think of it.

La Cougarita,

Perhaps some TP? When I was pacing during WS, we needed some. Me, being the pacing rookie, wasn't carrying any. Another guy passed us, and had some he gave us. He had them separated in individual baggies, and pre-determined "portions". He also had some baby wipes in each one.

So, in summary,

Toilet Paper, baby wipes, and sword. You don't wear contacts do you?

The great thing about TP is that, if you bring it, you won't need it. The converse is true as well, of course.

Norm provides it in everybody's goodie-bags. I think it's official Zombie Runner brand TP. Norm's got a robust poop policy.

Pack a toothbrush and toothpaste in the bag you expect to reach just after sunrise...all day and all night grazing on aid station food (not that it isn't great), can leave a twang in your taster and a fresh brushing is quite refreshing!

As for the notes telling you what to do at each aid station, place it in a protective sleeve or large baggie to keep it from getting wet.

Don't know if you are much of an antacid user, but I find that a tums can really turn the corner on a sour stomach now and then. Whatever antacid you trust, put some in your drop bag if you're not carrying.

As for new products...Body GU???....think I'll be a late adapter on this one!

Us Cougars just leave it in the middle of the trail, with a half-hearted scratch-over to make it look like we care. But I might be interested in that official ZR stuff, if it's got inspirational quotes printed on it.

I like the idea of the toothbrush! I'll let my crew know to have it ready, along with the Sunday Times and a steaming cup of espresso and freshly squozen? squuzzed?squizzen? orange juice. Wow, I'm really gonna like this 100-mile stuff.

Burton, have you considered your defense strategy for Saturday? How's your parrying? Or are you planning to run away like a big chicken?

Is this post in reference to my swordplay, or my cotton candy BodyGlide ambush?

Ms. Snack, some more ideas:

Extra contact lenses or glasses (if you wear/need 'em)

A liquid calorie source (in case you become unable to gag down more A/S food or tuna sandwiches). May I suggest cold Frappucinos or Boost? The grocery stores in VT had a bottled Ben & Jerry's milkshake that looked great for getting yummy calories ... too bad I forgot all about the ones I'd bought during the race...

Extra batteries and lights!!

Blister repair kit(s). You can buy from the Zombies or put together your own. A simple one (which I carry in a ziploc baggie) consists of just a pin (for popping those suckers) and one of the super-sticky and strong band-aids. (Sorry - I can't remember exactly what they call 'em. Most stores stock them, though.)

Having just gone through the night with Leopold this weekend, I will now make sure to have in drop bags or on the person of me or my pacer anything I think I will need. Even though, while crewing, I had been loading him up with Gus throughout the day, I thought we could get gels from the aid stations during the night. Big mistake. For some reason, the aid stations at AC100 (at least after Chantry) don't believe in offering gels. Unfortunately, that was about the only thing poor Leopold could get down.

Either, really. I can't think of a greater justification for needing a defensive strategy than the possibility of cotton candy BodyGlide ambush.

Those cold frappucinos sound good right now! I think that's a good idea: Boost during the day, frappucinos during the night. I'd do a Ben & Jerry's if they offered Chunky Monkey flavor. I love that stuff.

I'm not sure what your'e referring to in regards to the super-sticky band-aids? Are they sold separate from the mondo box that has all different shapes?

And last but not least: are you going to give us a race report from the crew's perspective? I'd like to read about that race and how Leo did.

His wedding ring is the only defense necessary. That, and the fact that Mrs. S. would kick my butt. ;-)

But I still might cut a "C" in his shorts if the night gets too long and I have a hard time staying awake.

Well, I hadn't thought cotton candy SPF-25 Body Glide violated marital boundaries, but now I think of it, perhaps it could rile Mrs. S. Still, he needs a defense against the C getting itself carved in his situpon. Using a sword in an ultra doesn't violate any vows, it's just good strategy, and everyone--even Mrs. S--will smack their heads that they didn't think of it sooner.

I was going to try the CS bee defense. The one with the arms flailing away wildly in the air as you run aimlessly through the brush tripping over things.

Hopefully any sword swinger would find it funny enough to either drop their weapon, or take pity on me.

Cotton candy, chunky monkey, lets get this race started so we can eat.

Hey, you're supposed to be supporting me at this race. Not thinking up strategies for burton.

I'm not feeling the love right now, LIA

Burton gave me $2.17 and half a Coke to get fuzzy with the line between crew and terrible burden.

Now that really chaps my hide, especially since I have to take my Li'l Snack to the dentist right now. I guess it'll give me time to research just how little it takes to pay you off.

We need a quote feature on this forum. My feeble brain is addled by the dizzying array of mini-threads here...

The band-aids - shoot, I can't remember what they're called. "Tough" is in the title, and they're band-aid brand. They stick really well. Go to a drugstore and look - or that cute little grocery you have in FH probably has 'em.

I want to write a crew report - it would be eventful, and I learned a lot - but I don't want to steal Leopold's literary thunder. He says he's working on something now. Will wonders never cease?

Edible body-glide? The taper is a very dangerous time. Too much libidinal energy in the air that's not getting channeled into running!

Shows what kind of mind I've got. I JUST NOW figured out the naughtiness latent in edible Body Glide. I was picturing someone pulling the cap off and eating it. I'm such a dolt. I have to go throw out all my Body Glide now. I don't want my kids finding it.

Thanks for straightening me out there, Molly. Look forward to the report. I was following Leopold all Saturday while I worked.

Sorry - it's probably just my mind that's in the gutter!

Leo's report won't feature feces-flinging monkeys or Laban, Rachel & Moby Dick, I'm afraid ... but he DID mention Sleestacks in an email to a friend of ours.

Sorry - I was interrupted by a colleague w/ a work question - the nerve! I meant to add thanks for following Leo online. It was pretty cool when he was behind "Tarhumara Indian" all day - that guy had quite a crew of energetic folks making a fuss everytime he came to an aid station. Hopefully the Sleestacks will make it into whatever report he generates.

Had to google that. Were you aware at the time he was hallucinating that badly? If I saw those things while I was running, I'd implode.

Yeah - I've never known what he was talking about when he refers to Sleestacks. Not a big Land of the Lost fan, myself. I don't think he saw them, though maybe he did. He said he thought he was turning into one - see, it's even worse than you thought! What the Google images don't convey is those creatures' wheezing, gurgling voices. Leo got hit pretty bad with what we're now calling exercise-induced asthma, and he DID sound a bit sleestack-y on the big climbs we did.

And yet he still managed to pull out a very strong finish. It's almost a shame he's not running RDL this weekend (on fresh legs, of course). Be neat to see what he can do with a fast course.

I know. He was pretty bummed about his time at first - he was on sub-24 hour pace there all day - but now I think he's pretty happy with the finish. Honestly, I told him how lucky he is he's fast. If that problem had happened to me, or most of the folks in my section of the pack, I/we would likely have been pulled for missing cut-offs. We just don't have the luxury of lying around on a cot for a couple of hours during the race ... sigh. :)

I knew exactly what you were talking about. Sleestacks used to freak me out when I was little.

I'll look for those Band-Aids, Ms. Bloom. Thanks! (and I had to Google Sleestacks as well. I'd never heard of them before.)

Molly, Leopold simply made a rookie mistake: He forgot to bring a sword.

CougarSnack - I looked this morning and those band-aids are called "Tough Strips." They're a good short-term fix when you don't have time to do the whole tincture-of-benzoin-elastikon-tape thing. (Or when you don't want to carry all that stuff).

LIA - darn, we forgot about the sword in the drop bag!

I agree :-) Finished the quoting feature just now -- testing it out...

... and it appears to be working well. Quote away!

Hmm. May take some getting used to, this quoting thingy.

I just created a topic about the quoting feature, so if you have any comments or problems, post it here so as to not get off topic (sorry - I should have made the new topic first) ...

http://www.backcountryrunner.com/forums/announcements/forum_quoting_20/