Brecon Beacons Ultra gear list, backpack quiver

Oh the above photo I forgot to add in on my previous post. Seemed odd so I took a photo! This was past half way on my run from Kidderminster to Worcester along the Severn Way. I think this was due to some huge pits the quarry I was running through had dug. The pits had filled with water and the soil was still settling, hence quicksand. Funny sign though! Just past this I ended up to my thigh along a flooded trail with no way to avoid it! I was worried about a flooded trail due to the river, not from poor drainage from a quarry! Well, at least it was raining and I was already wet!

OMM Adventure Light 20L

Above is essentially what I ran to work with. The OMM Adventure Light 20L is a super light backpack made for running. It's pretty basic but suited my needs perfectly. I had bought this in the past with dreams of Marathon des Sables. 

Anyway, I fit the following in it for a total weight of about 8 lbs. Carhartt pants, socks, boxers t-shirt, work shirt, Mizuno Ronin racing flats (I had to try to go light at least with the shoes!). I also had along a tiny bottle of shampoo, tiny bar of soap, and one of those super fast drying chamois towels for camping. Fleece and softshell vest. Then of course my wallet, keys, watch. For the run itself I brought along a few gels and a small bottle of water. I ended up using the water as a pre-wash before going into the gym where I used the showers as I was covered in mud. I would have hated to be turned away! Saddest thing of all was after paying my 1.75 pounds for the shower the guy sent me to the area that has a sauna, steam room and private showers! I think seeing that 1. I wasn't from around here 2. The weather was horrible and 3. since I had just ran about 18 miles he felt bad sending me to the communal showers. Or maybe it was that I was going to destroy the place with mud?! I mentioned sad. Well the only clothes I had were work clothes so the steam room and mainly the sauna that beckoned were a no go! Damn that would have been nice!    

UltrAspire Surge

And onto the next. So above you'll see my back pack, er, race vest for Brecon Beacons this weekend. The UltrAspire Surge is mainly for carrying water in it and has very little room for extras. However since I prefer to carry my water in a handheld I ditched the reservoir and am using the vest as storage for the required gear for the race. These race vests are pretty much a stripped down backpack merged with a vest. So everything is close into your body and doesn't flop around. Pretty cool idea that I am 100% sold on for carrying extra crap. 

I'm not sure of the exact volume of this thing without the water reservoir but it is enough to carry just what I need and no more. I almost went with the next size up in the UltrAspire line up, the Omega, but after contacting the guy at Ultramarathonrunningstore.com I changed my mind. I gave him a list of what I needed to carry and his experience in the sport showed as he recommended the smaller option. Although tight it all fit perfect. Remember, extra room will fill with the unnecessary! Looking to buy one yourself? 

required gear for Brecon Beacons Ultra and some food

So above you'll see pretty much all I'm bringing this weekend. Here is a list for you:

Required kit, cut and paste from the website hence the British terminology: 

-Rucksack: UltrAspire Surge
-Means of hydration - ability to carry minimum of 500ml of fluid: UltrAspire Isomeric Handheld (650ml)

-Enough food (no shops on route!): GU Roctane, Jelly Babies, Snickers
-Full waterproof cover (trousers and top): Montane Minimus Jacket and pants
-Hat: Swix Nordic ski hat (of course!)
-Gloves: Nike Convertible Mittens, super light glove/mitten
-Fleece (or similar warm upper body layer): Patagonia R1 Zip-neck
-Survival/Space Blanket: basic space blanket
-Basic first aid kit including antiseptic: pretty basic just to meet the requirement
-Head torch: Petzl eLite
-Spare batteries for above: 2 x 2032 watch batteries
-Compass: some tiny piece of crap (hey it points north!), would've preferred a Recta DT100
-Whistle: tiny emergency whistle
-Watch: Garmin 210
-Map: most likely use the provided map but I do have the OS maps for the area 

(pretty much all of this stuff is available form the race promoter, Likey's)

Then the extras I'm bringing:

Headsweats visor

iPod shuffle and headphones

a couple ibuprofen

And I think that is it other than what I'll be wearing which will most likely be a Patagonia Capilene 2 Zip neck, DryMax Lite socks, Salomon Speedcross 3 CS shoes, Patagonia Nine Trails jacket, then there are some options for bottoms. Depending on the temps either my normal RaceReady shorts or (most likely) my Pearl Izumi knickers with Craft lightweight boxers underneath. A little more protection for the legs will most likely be a good thing seeing that I got chilled during my run to work in the rain (currently 60% chance of rain race day!) 

For food I figured 200 calories per hour should be enough with some extra just in case. GU Roctane, the mother of all energy gels, will be my base and go to energy source. I'll take one (100 calories) every half hour. On the hour I plan to eat 5 Jelly Babies (about 100 calories for 5). The Jelly Baby is a staple of the fellrunning crowd over here in the UK. Essentially a big gummy bear that is softer and easier to chew. 

Jelly Babies, high tech nutrition

 I had originally wanted to buy some Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem chews but considering the price in comparison to Jelly Babies and my laziness to order them I opted for the low tech version. I'm also carrying with me two Snickers bars. 250 calories each just in case or for when the shit hits the fan. The mental boost of eating one of these will pull you out of the deepest valley! Would prefer a Milky Way Dark but the aren't available over here and they last seconds in our household! Or maybe a Reese's Fast Break.  

There are 5 water stations about 8 miles apart on the loop that we do twice. I just need to be sure to drink one bottle between every station and think I'll be ok. 

So should be good to go! Well I hope!