Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts tagged as “ultra”

Packing for the Vol State 500k 

0

I ran Vol State crewed, but I slept outside, I didn't get in our car, I carried 15 miles worth of water at a time, and I meet my crew in 7 mile increments, since I really really wanted to get a closer sense of the "screwed" experience. What I was super spoiled on and is in my opinion the hugest plus, was not having to source my own food and water. With that experience in mind, this is what I would bring again -crewed or screwed- and are items I carried with me at all times even with a crew member.  

What to Pack for Vol State (and Why):

1 pack (with bladder + small bottle for electrolyte)- To carry all this stuff, of course!

Second skin- Life saver- whatever the key piece(s) of your foot care is- bring it! Especially if it is something you can't pick up at the gas station/general store hybrids that you will find on the course.

Nail clippers- Obvious for the footcare benefits, but also do double duty as scissors if you don't go the knife route. If you are wearing sneaker, odds are you will find yourself cutting them- sometimes over the course of several days.

That lube stuff- or what ever works for you. Don't assume you will pick something up on course or during the race or get it from your crew. WHENEVER the rubbing starts, you want to hit that hotspot up ASAP.

Sunscreen- Yes x's 1,000.

Bug spray- This was one of the more hotly debated items. I found it very buggy most nights and would definitely carry a small amount of  his. This is was a big "yes" for me.

Headlamp (w/ new batteries)- Another hotly debated item, surprisingly. There is a contingent of people who like to go "under the radar" and/or don't like using a headlamp. Some opt for a flashlight, others go with nothing. I opted to stay as visible as possible at night because the shoulder of the road was no joke along  huge portion of the course.

Phone+headphones- Music/ check-in/ communication / emergency contact/ gps optional- no contest.

Small charger- Phone charger only. Didn't actually use the phone that much at all.

Regular watch- I just used a $25 timex from target I had around so I didn't have to drag my phone out- just good and easy to have.

Maps+turnsheet+amenities list- the invaluable John Price documents. A Vol State classic! Some fancy runners went with only the gps data, I think. But in my mind it is a Vol State right of passage make my own waterproof set and shed pages as I go.

Small umbrella- Didn't start the race with an umbrella, but I LOVED the one my mister picked up for me- completely his idea. You don't have to start with one, but I would at least plan on buying & carrying one for the second half where you are slower, walking more, and probably finding yourself in the sun more than you would like.

Saftey pins- You will want to separate couple out and try to keep them as sterile as possible with your footcare kit. I hooked a bunch to my pack for incidental stuff and used them for everything from adjusting pieces of my pack, to holding my headphones chord in place, and to hanging wet socks on the back of my pack. I still lost most of them and wish I brought more.

Flag- Essential, obligatory, and patriotic.

Cash/Cc/Id 

Foil Blanket- Lightweight and can serve as ground cover and/or a layer to stay dry(ish) (and head off chaffing) during a sudden rainshower

Alcohol Wipes- for footcare

Extra pair of socks

 

(Plus Wearing)

Hat (ideally with neck protection)

Shirt - Some runners take a night shirt / day shirt approach. I personally choose a light, long sleeved button up for day to maximize coverage from sun, and a neon tech shirt for night (to maximize visibility).

Running Shorts

Socks 

Shoes (but be prepared to cut or use Sandals)

Bonus Notes: Optional "self-defense" item(s):  Well, it's complicated. While I gave it plenty of thought ahead of time, I ultimately didn't bring anything because any self defense mechanism I could think of, I imagined had a good chance of being used against me. I don't run with anything special in the city, or upstate, and really, we could all get hit by a bus tomorrow, so, fingers crossed it all works out. My husband disagreed and ultimately after hearing a couple creepy stories, found a little thing of mace for me the first day. I felt slightly safer with it, but realistically I am not sure I still could have "upholstered" it quick enough to be useful anyway. Also, the most accessible/viable place made me wonder for 7 days if I was about to mace myself in the face at any given moment.

I would say, I was in the minority, and most runners seemed to have a pocket knife and/or mace, if for nothing but at least the dog problem. So your options might include (based on what runners have used in the past):

  • Mace
  • Knife
  • Gun
  • Umbrella
  • GPS

Veteran Vol Stater Karen Jackson made a super detailed video  if you would like to deep dive on another runner's packing list. Sidenote: I also credit her 2016 race report for some of the better decisions I made during my own race- she makes this look easy!

Inspire some creating packing and leave your favorite unusual pack item in the comments! Still not sure what to bring? You can always go for group wisdom and post your question to the Vol State Google Group.

 

The Things That Came Back

0

I will never forget,

the look in my best friends' eyes, when they were thinking back to their experience aboard that boat and even though they appeared as if they were next to me, I knew they were lost back in the endless expanse of sea or smelling the spices of the last country or the country before it.

I tried to chase the traces of the memories, but they had evaporated around me and we never have shared memories of class before ports or dishes of food you just had to be there to even know existed.

And I wondered how such an exhilarating adventure had left them haunted.

Then I found my own adventure. And fear and anxiety and expectation was replaced by joy and adrenaline and certainty and peace. Pain and pleasure pulled me from sleep and sleep called me back just as frustration began to poke at the scale and tamper with the order of things- all things.

All things had order, the hour of sunset and the misty consistency of dawn, the chill that set in at the heart of each evening that deepened into tangible dew until it thickened the humidity percolating in the air and announced day was upon us (in case we had missed the sun itself).

Who could miss the sun? It governed us sternly, sent us scattering like animals more aware of their own instincts than ourselves. But even sometimes, we braved her still -the way a man pets a tiger or slices a pufferfish- carefully.

Sometimes your body is not your own; this was not one of those times.

I could not tell you whether we walked through our own dreams or swam through the air, so thick with humidity we wondered if it could suffocate; somehow it was the same thing.

I thought I would learn one type of lesson; instead I learned others- more dire and pertinent than could have ever been dreamed up by my own ego.

I can't bring my whole mind back... it aches and pulls to retrace the steps along that white line. Maybe, somehow, a part of me haunts it too.