Tool Tip
« Previous Entries
Tool Tip #19: The Front Pouch
Monday, February 11th, 2008Lucky you if you opted for a backpack with a front pouch - you will not regret your choice at the Thames Meander or the Marathon des Sables. The front pouch allows you to counterbalance the weight of your backpack so that you can run in an upright posture, rather than having to crouch forward. Naturally, you will want to put heavy things in the front pouch to maximise this effect. A bottle of water is ideal for that, since you will want to have your drink in close reach anyway.Organizing that front pouch is vital and can give you peace of mind for your race. Here is what you might want to keep in that front pouch:
- Maps and road book
- Head lamp and spare batteries
- Digital camera
- Mobile music player
- Mobile phone
- Snacks
- Isotonic drink powder or maltose sugar
- Salt tablets
- Band Aids
- Tissue paper
- Sun glasses, sand storm goggles
- Lip balm
- Extra buff
Tool Tip #18: “… been at the beach?”
Thursday, February 7th, 2008Running through the sand is one of those specialties of the Marathon des Sables that people living away from deserts or beaches rarely experience. How do you prepare for that, and how do you keep the sand out of your shoes?
The answer is you either cope with the sand, or you try one of the many styles of gaiters.
Lots of the great runners at the MdS don’t wear gaiters, their feet are used to the sand. Good thing about not wearing gaiters: The sand can drizzle out of your shoes as it got in, and taking the shoes off to empty them goes pretty quick.
If you like to try gaiters, like most runners do, just google something like “gaiters marathon des sables” and you will find tons of different solutions that you can tailor yourself or buy online. Shop around, try a few of these models if you can, see what fits best. There is no best solution to the problem of sand getting inside the shoes, and keep in mind that you can always take those gaiters off, if they help less than they obstruct.
No Comments »Tool Tip #17: When they blow the whistle
Saturday, January 26th, 2008The whistle is another one of those mandatory items you have to carry on the Marathon des Sables. Most likely you will not use it, like the compass or the venom pump. Unless …
This is what happened on the MdS 2006: There are about 30 young Berber men at the camp; their job is to tear down the tents in the early morning, load them onto army trucks and build them up at the next camp site. In 2006, there was this senior Berber bloke on a rusty motor bike that kept blowing a whistle in the early morning hours to put pressure on those poor chaps that tore down the tents. “Pheeeeep Pheeeeep” he went for like 2 hours, sitting on his motor bike puffing black clouds of exhaust fumes into the clean Saharan air, blowing his whistle “Pheeeeep Pheeeeep” and shouting “yallah yallah” at the 30 Berbers.
The next morning - same procedure - blowing his whistle “Pheeeep Pheeeeep”and shouting “yallah yallah”. Next morning - you guessed it - “Pheeep Pheeeeeep” and “yallah yallah”. By the the third day, every runner was utterly annoyed by that “Pheeeep Pheeep” of his whistle and the shouting “yallah yallah” of this Berber chief on his motor bike.On day 4 or 5 at dawn, about a dozen or so runners took out their whistles the moment that the Berber chief started his round on his motor bike - and all the sudden there were a dozen whistles blowing, then 50, 100, eventually all 600 runners where blowing their whistles. The 30 Berber blokes where laughing like crazy and the poor old chief had lost his authority.
The next morning it was his son riding the motor bike to survey the Berbers tearing down the tents. And he was not blowing his whistle. I wonder why…
No Comments »Tool Tip #16: The pocket knife
Friday, January 18th, 2008I am a big fan of pocket knifes and have about a dozen of them, from very simple and small ones to multi-purpose knifes. For every occasion - a walk with the dog, a picnic, camping - I have the right tool.For the Marathon des Sables, the pocket knife is a compulsory item. I found it useful to have a very small knife that sports a short blade, a set of tweezers for those nasty thorns and scissors to cut band aids. The smallest Swiss army pocket knife will do just fine and won’t add much weight to the backpack. Anything bigger and fancier is mere luxury at the MdS.
No Comments »Tool Tip #15: The Backpack
Thursday, January 10th, 2008For every runner, the running shoe model is a holy grail - the trainers have to adapt just perfectly to the feet and the personal running motion. For every ultra marathoner, the backpack model is the golden fleece - it has to fit just as well as the shoes, or the run will become a sisyphean torture. I have tried a variety of backpack models until I found the right one for me. I found that a backpack needs to be broken in, just like a new pair of shoes, that is, my body needs a while to adjust to the rucksack straps and weight distribution, and it takes some experimenting to find the right settings for the draw-stings, buckles, frame and zippers. These are the things that were important to me when selecting my backpack:
- Weight: The less, the better - “every little helps”
- Size: 20 litres are plenty of space
- A frameless model, so that it can better adjust to my body
- A front bag is most important to counterbalance the load and to have those important things readily available, such as water, food, map, etc.
- Plenty of small zipper-compartments to organise all those loose items, such as compass, band-aids, whistle, knife, suntan-lotion, etc.
- A draw-string mechanism to adjust the volume of the backpack; when the backpack gets lighter after a few days of running, things are still being kept tight and close to your body
- Plenty of straps on the outside to attach a thermarest, signal flare or sleeping back with velcro straps
Tool Tip #14: I’m singing on the run!
Friday, January 4th, 2008Some runners love them, some runners hate them. At some races like the Trionium’s Picnic they are banned: Music players, MP3-Players, iPods, you name them.
When I was involved heavily with music myself playing viola in string quartets and orchestras, I enjoyed the tranquility of a solitary run through the woods, with no sound but the chirping of the birds and the tap-tap-tap of my feet.
As I moved away from music into IT, as my races got longer and with today’s light-weight MP3-players evolving, I became an early adopter and loved the thought of being able to listen to an entire Wagner opera on my Saturday long run. Quite extreme, I wore my head phones from the minute I left home.
Nowadays I am somewhere in between. I usually carry an MP3-player along but listen to music only occasionally, when I feel like I need distraction or concentrate on a very specific thought.
Of course, there are many styles of music, my favourite is classical music, especially chamber music. I always felt that a good music collection is like a well-stocked pharmacy where there is some piece for every mood, occasion, time-of-day, thought. Carrying an MP3-player to the Thames Meander or the Marathon des Sables is like having a small travel pharmacy at hand, ready for when it may be needed.
My personal play lists for these races will include monumental pieces like Tchaikovsky and Dvorak Symphonies, philosophical works like Bach’s Goldberg Variations and Beethoven’s late string quartets, church music (some Gregorian chant), operas like the Magic Flute or Fidelio, music of mouring (Requiems by Mozart and Brahms) and little gems like Mozart’s masonic cantata or Dvorak’s Cypresses for string quartet.
The ideal MP3-player is a model with plenty of storage space, maybe 2 or more gigabytes, is programmable to allow for several play lists, but most important of all, is powered by regular batteries, as you can’t charge it on a computer or power outlet when you are in the Sahara.
No Comments »Tool Tip #13: The Compass
Wednesday, January 2nd, 2008The compass is a compulsory piece of equipment at the Marathon des Sables. However, in 2006 I haven’t used mine, not even once. You just can’t get lost at the MdS. There are over 600 participants at the MdS, so there is always someone within sight. Then there are the markers about every 500 yards or so, and the vehicles patrol the entire course, as the organizers don’t enjoy conducting searches for lost runners. And you have that road book that tells you where to go and what to look out for. So, unless you are the leading runner or wishing to race through a sand storm, you don’t need to be able to navigate with map and compass. If you want to learn how to use that compass, have a look at
http://www.learn-orienteering.org/old/lesson2.html
When choosing a compass, keep in mind that you probably won’t need it and a small and light-weight model will do just fine.
No Comments »Tool Tip #12: Thermarest
Saturday, December 29th, 2007The Marathon des Sables is a lesson in compromising comfort (food, clothing, etc.) and comfort (weight of your backpack). One of the most controversially discussed items among MdS first-timers and veterans is the (non?-)necessity of a mattress; of course, a minimized mattress like a half-sized Thermarest. Will you need one?
- The pros: a little extra comfort and warmth at night, better sleep thus better regeneration
- The cons: Weight and volume, as it will add about half a kilo to the backpack and a volume of 2 litres or more.
In 2006 I carried a half-sized Thermarest along - and had sleepless nights anyway; for 2008 I decided to leave it at home at first. But I changed my mind and will take it out to the Sahara. On the first night (before the gear check), I will sleep without it. If I feel OK, I will not carry it along on the MdS; if I have a freezing cold, dreadful night, I will put the Thermarest in my backpack.I guess nothing beats a real test. And to get a good nights rest, some ear plugs may be a much better investment than a Thermarest.
No Comments »Tool Tip #11: …… …..
Friday, December 21st, 2007It is possibly the one item you need on ultra marathons like the Thames Meander or the Marathon des Sables no-one tells you about: Toilet paper. It will not be provided at these races, so you must be self-sufficient and carry enough; make up your mind on these two questions:
- How much will I need? Well, that depends - if you get diarrhoea or catch a cold with a runny nose, you might need four times as much as normal, so carry plenty around
- What kind of paper? Wet tissues may be comfortable and efficient, but they add their fair share to your backpacks weight. A normal roll of toilet paper will be just fine, but has plenty of volume and may decompose in a damp backpack on the Thames Meander or with the wear and tear after a few days in the Sahara
Personally, I made good experience with kitchen roll paper, about six sheets per day. I keep them in a ziplock bag in my backpack, protected from rain and sweat, and for extra comfort I might soak half a sheet with a little water. Kitchen roll paper is also very versatile, you can use it to clean your cutlery, stove, kettle, or dry your blisters after punctuating and desinfecting.
No Comments »Tool Tip #10: That buff
Monday, December 17th, 2007What do commuters in smoke-infested Asian mega-cities and runners at the Marathon des Sables have in common? Both need to protect their breathing. But you don’t have to bring a gas mask to the MdS to protect against sand storms: A normal buff or light scarf will do.I love the buff for its versatility:
- It can’t be blown away like a scarf
- It can protect your throat from the chill of the night or your nostrils against the sand or smoke of your stove
- It can protect your neck, ears or head from sun burn
- You can wear it around arms or legs as a second bandage when injured
- You can use it as a sweat band when worn on your wrist
- Use it as a pot cloth when firing that stove
The versatility of the buff has no limits - bring two of them to the MdS and you will be prepared for all kinds of situations.
No Comments »« Previous Entries