THE MARATHON SERIES
Welcome to part two of our series of blogs providing the inside scoop on race travel. Members of the rabbit family are on hand to bring you today’s installment: “Don’t Leave Home without It!” From food and hydration, to clothing, to things that bring personal comfort, both physical and emotional, these runners have learned (sometimes the hard way) what to pack in that carry-on, and what can be checked or left at home.
Christopher St Jean, a member of the rabbit Elite Trail Team suggests a couple of items not necessary for a Marathon Major, perhaps, but that have gotten him out of major jams.
“As anyone else with a ridiculously high sweat rate will understand, I need to bring fluid with me on nearly every run. Since I generally need to bring much more water with me than others on the race course, practicing doing so in training is super crucial. And you're no less cool for doing so! Also, for long runs, I've gotten into the habit of bringing bear spray. After many, many bear and moose encounters (and one mountain lion that I didn't know was there until after I ran by) I figure it's worth the very slight extra weight.”
Trail races or solo FKTs have their own set of challenges, sometimes life-threatening ones, and being prepared – like Chris – can be crucial. RAD rabbit Aubree R, who loves trail races as much as the next gal, takes an efficient, low-stress approach to packing for more citified race environs.
“My rationale as I’m packing for races is that, “if I know I can buy it there, I will.” This goes for nutrition, anti-chafe stuff, sunglasses, etc. It does not include clothing, unless I realize I forgot something, then I obviously get it.”
But she does bring one or two essentials.
“I do need to always have a belt to carry gels. That is my preference over a vest, but now with the Smashems, I can forgo the belt in favor of the pockets! I personally rely on on-course hydration (for better or worse) but bring my own gels. These have ranged from Gu, to Huma, Spring (before the debacle), Untapped, whatever the flavor of the week happens to be.”
RAD Codi J is super blunt on this point; “Fuel. For me, practicing fueling is a big part of my training. When packing my bags, I make sure I have the gels and fuel I will need for the race that I know my stomach is used to. I also pack extra, just in case I drop one or can't get it open for some reason.”
“I have an ‘oh sh*t kit’ I always bring with me for every race, any distance,” says RAD Sam R. “It’s a baggie containing two large moleskin patches, a travel-sized box of facial tissue (emergency TP), a half dozen compressed towelettes (google them; you can buy them cheaply by the hundreds, they’re the size of dinner mints and expand to a large size with a little water) and most importantly a tube of Chapstick which doubles as emergency anti-chafe. This has saved my bacon on more than one occasion.”
While some “don’t leave home without it” items, like Sam’s are practical items that meet our particular physical needs, others are more metaphysical, things that soothe our hearts and souls.
RAD Sydney A has both dialed-in.
“There are two things that I don’t leave home without – my running shoes and a bra. I figure everything else; I can buy either at a running store or the expo and it won’t impact my race. But to be honest, I would be bummed if I forgot my entire planned outfit (especially my rabbit top and visor). As for ritual, that’s a bit more complicated. My dad got me into running and until he passed away a couple of years ago, I would call him after every race to debrief. Now that he’s gone, I always be sure to bring along a little token that reminds me of him. I like to think that by doing this, he’s still with me.”
By the time we are ready to travel to run a big race, we have a pretty good idea what we need to make the experience as enjoyable as possible. (Anti-chafe seems to come up a lot!) We’ve practiced using every last item, and have our race day kit dialed-in. Now we just have to remember to take it with us!
