Flip flops: keep these in your bag, you will want something that is not a race shoe to change into post race. And this lets your feet breathe, also depending on distance and your feet, swelling may make a normal fitting shoe uncomfortable.
Trash bags: or even the plastic bags you get at the grocery store. Just something big enough to hold your gross clothes, and shoes. You can go the fancy giant zip lock bag, but I use the grocery bags because they are free, and still do the trick. I usually have plenty in my bag in case I forget to add them between races.
Towel: pretty much every ocr I have been to has garden hoses to can rinse off with. Nothing fancy, and definitely cold, but it is better than nothing. You do not need to go the extra mile and bring soap and shampoo, you won;t get everything off, and lines are always long. Plus it is just one more thing to carry in a bag that I have more useful tools in. Also everybody expects that you will be gross, and nobody cares. And you will want a real shower when you get home/hotel or where ever.
Snacks/drinks for recovery: almost every venue will have food and whatnot they are selling, and some venues may not allow outside food or drink, but they do not search you. And they may not have what you would be used to, it is usually just sponsor giveaways, which is not bad. But things like gatoraide have so much sugar and what not, so I go for pedialyte, it does not have nearly as much of the junk you find in sports drink. But it has the electrolytes you need to replenish. Some people prefer coconut water, as it has good stuff in it, it is all preference, and what works for your body. Some sort of recovery snack would also be good, again, most races have sponsored bars and what not, and bananas, but if you are weary of ingredients bring your own, just something to tide you over until you are at a restaurant, or home again.
Sunscreen: so most races will have you under tree line for a bunch of the trail running, depending on venue, so you might forgo it. But it does not take long for a sunburn to take effect. 30 minuets can pass by quick when talking with friends, or checking out times, snacks, and whatever else is around. I always have a package if sunscreen in my bag.
Bug spray: depending on time of year, and venue, it may not be needed, but I would rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. And hell if you are in mutated bug country it may not even help. But bring it, because at least then you will have done all you can. Otherwise you could be eaten alive. Also if you wind up inplaces like carter and stevens farm (hosting both spartan races, and battle frog) they have ticks, so keep an eye out. They certainly are not the only place, but just a heads up, many races you will go through tall grass at some point, and most courses also have poison ivy, it just happens people, so long socks, or calf sleeves what ever you got, otherwise learn how to deal with or treat poison ivy and bug bites.
In the days leading up to the race, you should be hydrating as much as possible, starting at least on wednesday, you should drink all the water, and pee all the time! make sure though that you are also keeping up you electrolytes up the day or two before the race as well, as too much water can dilute them in your system and you may cramp earlier than expected.
As far as food goes, this is a 2 part question.
First, the night before, add some more carbs, but do not do anything new, you will want more fuel for the next day, but you need to know your system. For me I could eat pasta all day everyday, I love the stuff. But if you find that too much carbs can bog you down, that is just as bad as too little energy, so as with everything, test it out!
Second the morning of, every morning for several years I do a bowl of oatmeal with a banana and some cinnamon, a protein shake, tea, and water. This works for me, my body loves it, and it fuels me for almost anything. You will again want the carbs in the am, but make sure you have the time you need to digest your food before running. again, only way to know is to test it out. I can eat and run about15 min later, if it is the right food, but then I have other foods that can take longer to digest, it varies from person to person, based on body and training.
The second part is race day nutrients. So I can do guu, or the like, or the mashed food pouches, like baby food, but starting to gain popularity in the big companies, Cliff has them, and I love them (you can even get one pouch that is pizza flavored, and yes it tastes like a margarita pizza). You need to figure out what your body likes when running, I use different ones depending on how long I am running. for ultras I prefer the pouches, but shorter runs I can use the guu, it all depends on the day. They also make the block type energy gel things, that are basically just sugar, and when you need a quick fix it will help. Keep an eye out for the electrolyte ones, they come in handy as you will be sweating a bunch in a hot sun, or even if there is no sun, you louse more than water when you sweat!
So now a few neat hacks that will come in handy if you so choose:
Those orange home depot buckets, like the ones you carry on race day, are about 5 bucks. They are a good investment for post race clothes if you have a few friends and get real muddy. you put some laundry soap in, and fill the bucket half way, then post race you put your clothes in and the get to soak and with the turns you make driving your car you wash them a little. For me personally if it is one change of clothes it is not that big of a deal, and I have made my race clothes wait until monday. However, they could stain or retain the smell, I think I have a shirt on the way out due to smell starting to form, and discolored on the inside. I personally like the idea if it is at least 2 changes of clothes, weather it is friends or if it is a multi day event, or multi lap and you feel the need to change clothes, it has to be a long event for me to want to use that. This orange bucket trick came in handy with the 24 hours of shale hell such a fun event, and I changed my clothes almost every lap.
Another post race tip that will come in handy is for when you rip your hands. Those wonderfully built up calluses can rip off on oh so many things, but fret not my friend for vit e oil will do wonders for your hands. It is an old gymnastic trick I learned years back and needed reminding of last year. so at night before you go to sleep, put the purest vit e oil on your hands and then out on gloves, I use cotton, like 3 dollars at target or anywhere, or plastic gloves will work. Hell in a pinch you can use a sandwich bag, just cover your hands to keep the oil there and not everywhere else, It can easily shave days off of healing if you do it daily. You can do it during the day as well if the rip is bad or you have another race the next weekend, and I speak from experience saying it will make your hands usable by then, not fully healed, but to the point you can climb a rope, traverse a wall without fear of your hands opening mid race.
I hope this helps, and keep in mind that the barre, ma races are flat, fast, and filled with pot holes, ticks, pricker bushes, and cow poop, it is a working farm after all!
Another thing to keep in mind, recently there have been incidents popping up about people getting sick or hurt at races. Some of this can be avoided, for instance, when you go into a mud pit, or water pit, or dunk wall, close your eyes and mouth. Same goes for when you do a barb wire crawl, just use common sense, try to not let mud get in your eyes or mouth. I have been doing these for 2 years and not gotten sick (knocks on wood) but seriously it will minimize your risk of getting sick. Also if something pops up talk to somebody. Lets say you get a rope burn on your skin, use disinfectant, mud has bacteria and germs, as does the rope itself, if you do not clean it, bad things will happen when you let it go without taking care of it. Calf sleeves are great to help with rope burns, or high socks, or tights, Just cover your legs where you will be climbing a rope, problem solves.
Also, DO NOT FORGET TO STRETCH!! I often forget this, but it makes a world of difference bothe before and after the race.
As always I hope this helps!
until next time
Stay active
Stephen
