Required gear, the rest of it, almost

Been a downer week until today. Was unable to either get on the treadmill or get outside to run Tues or Wed. Took Monday off as usual but should have ran. The little one has a cold and has been all over the place with her sleeping. I think I've got this sickness now too but it hasn't hit me yet. We shall see. Got on the hamster wheel today and felt alright. This "knee issue" I think I've pinpointed and I'm not overly concerned about it. Doesn't hurt when I run, just need to get some stretching on it, roll it, ice it and I think I'll be ok.  

On to some gear talk. I've already mentioned what I've got for jacket, pants, fleece, hat, and gloves for the Brecon Ultra's required gear. Let's continue on with some of the smaller items.

A simple one, the map. According to their website they will supply us with a map and that the course will me marked. However I might cut up two Ordnance Survey maps just in case, unfortunately the race course is right on the edge of two maps.

 So over here the equivalent to a USGS 7.5 minute quad map is the OS Map. I believe the US is the only country that uses a 1:24,000 scale where as the UK and everyone else uses a 1:25,000 scale. The OS maps seem to be a little more in depth as far showing trails, foot bridges, buildings, archeological sites, things like that, which is good considering a lot of the land is populated and all these things are great landmarks when you are lost. However it does make them a little harder to read the topography with all the markings. Most likely a matter of getting used to the map.

it's Welsh, we are in Wales.

The down side is that they are huge in size. 5.25in x 8.9in folded with a light cardboard cover, maybe a half inch thick. You can even get them waterproofed which is bigger and heavier. I guess when you add up a pile of US 7.5' quads they get pretty big too and they disappear when they get wet! It's interesting having worked in the outdoor retail industry here. This OS dimension will determine whether someone buys a jacket or not. If the maps won't fit in a pocket people will not buy the jacket! So you'll see UK brands with advertising showing that the pockets were made to fit OS maps! Pretty crazy.

I'm not even sure if I'll need to bring maps but as I said better safe than sorry! I think I'll hold off doing any cutting until I get my hands on the provided map.

Whistle. I think I've got a basic plastic emergency whistle that should meet that requirement.

Compass. I've got a bigger compass I used when I was a ranger with the National Park Service but it's a bit overkill. I'm not looking for lost people or directing helicopters! Did some Googling and found out that the Recta DO-100 compass ( I think it's the DT-100 now) weighs in at 28 grams (just under an ounce) but appears to still have a rotating bezel. I've got some piece of crap that is liquid filled without a rotating bezel that will weigh less but the bezel factor is important I feel.

Recta DT-100

I picked up a space blanket from my old job for a few pounds and it is small and supposedly weighs in at 62 grams (2.3 oz). I've heard of lighter options and people cutting these down so a little more research and some scissors I may shave some grams. Wait a minute?! I'm pretty sure I've said I wasn't too worried about weight! Ugh, what am I becoming? What's next, a digital scale?

Headlamp or torch as they are referred to here. Since it is unlikely I will be traveling in the dark and this is an emergency item I think I'll use a Petzl e+Lite. The new versions have a Kevlar "band" similar to the Petzl Zipka which lightens it a tad compared to the older style. The  e+Lite is supposedly poor for traveling but weighs nothing, 27 grams (just under an oz). I actually got an old version from my co-workers and have been taking it out on my morning runs. It's damn bright for what it is and works really well alone. The elastic band winds nicely around my wrist when the sun finally pops up. It take two watch batteries so the required spare batteries I need to carry weigh nothing!

new Petzl  e+Lite

"old"

Watch. I'll have something on my wrist. Most likely my HR monitor watch, leave the HR strap at home. I'm so used to using my HR monitor that my Suunto I used for backcountry skiing has pretty much become obsolete. All I need is a stop watch really, maybe a lap counter. I'd love to get a cool Suunto Ambit, Garmin 910XT, or the brand new Garmin Fenix. Maybe the wife and parents will go in together and get me one for Christmas.

The GPS watches are super cool for mapping but damn are they expensive! They also have a lot of training crap I do not need and recently have been looking into the Soleus models. They actually sold their GPS "watch" technology to Garmin when they (Garmin) started doing wrist GPS. The 3.0 model seems to have what I want, mapping, pace, basic HR functions, basic watch functions, and none of the training stuff. That could be a cheaper option, time to do some research.      

So what else do I have to have. A backpack, food for the entire race, and the ability to carry at least 500ml of water, about 16oz. I'll delve into those things later on.