TMF - Jungle Marathon

Jungle Marathon
Here are the daily videos from the race.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6


Day 7

Nutrition

We're back from the Amazon - just. Whilst we gather our thoughts to offer information that is useful to people like kit list and routes, I'd like to say thank you to the sponsors who have supported us in the last year. I do not overstate things when I say that the following products had a massive effect on our performance in the events on this blog.

High 5 A big thank you to High5. You have supported us in all events. I have been using 4:1 for years to help with endurance and we were very pleased when you agreed to support us. For this who have never used or heard of 4:1, I have added an overview here with information from High5 about the make-up of the product.















Click here to view a Triathlon guide (with product push of course but useful info in it)

Next stop - The Jungle Marathon

Been a hectic preparation. All that is left to say as we wait for TAM airways to take us to Brazil to run 166 miles through the Amazon, is thanks to all those who have supported this trip:

Berghaus, Mens Fitness, High5, Mule Bars, Eletewater, Garmin, Cotswolds, Dr J A De V and the ladies at Milestone Surgery, family and friends, Delaney Lund Knox Warren and those who have supported the fundraising at www.justgiving.com/teammensfitness-jungle .

Last but in no way least, my long suffering wife - I will be back.

Rumble in the Jungle

By Darren Roberts

Whilst our new team mate Alex nailed a 160-mile rowing race around Lake Geneva -Tour du Léman à l'Aviron, Nick and I spent the weekend with Colin Towell, the survival expert. His job: to get us up to speed on the jungle and surviving in it - more specifically camp admin, hammock preparation, fire lighting and medical drills.

To say Colin is qualified is an understatement. He's trained the SAS, Navy Seals, Delta Force, Marine Commandos and pilots to name a few - and on top of that, put Richard Branson through his paces and worked alongside Ray Mears. Despite all that, Colin is very easy to get on with and comes across as a normal, switched-on bloke - although he did have that 'been through some shit' look in his eye.

We met him down in the New Forest, ensuring we were bang on time for our instructor. The training ground was in the woods as you would expect, and consisted of a HQ made from sheds and logs. He welcomed us with a cup of tea - or 'brew' in forces speak - and we spent the 1st hour sat around a well-established fire, introducing ourselves and talking about the Jungle Marathon safety and course.

After this we learnt 4 great knots - which were so damned good, I swore a little bit of wee came out in the excitement. Once they were mastered, we went through camp clearing and administration - then onto hammock setup using our new found knot skills.

The hammocks in question are made by a guy called Hennessy and as well as being amazingly designed with integrated fly sheet and mosy net, they are the choice of the Forces. Colin showed us how to fashion tent pegs from the wood around us, and before long we had successfully put a hammock up and dismantled it - a key skill at the end of a race in the midst of 100 other runners.










Colin's method for dealing with a 'No.2' in the field. "This is the way to wipe your backside with 1 sheet of tissue paper". (Photos: Tom Miles, www.photosmudger.co.uk)

Following that we ran through encountering dangerous creatures, and then covered foot and body administration. Rounding the day off with another brew, we bade farewell to Colin and his assistant 'Baldy Bob' (not an assistant in a skirt but a hard-as-nails ex-SAS soldier!). What a fantastic day. Colin was brilliant, and I look forward to the day when I can learn more from him. I just hope we can carry out our new found skills as well as he taught them to us. Bring on the jungle.

Colin has written a book. Click here to view:
The Survival Handbook
(in association with The Royal Marine Commandos)

Click to view a page from the book
All proceeds go to Help For Heroes.

Click here to see Colin Towell's website

Alex Bamford joins Team Men's Fitness

Team Men's Fitness report on mensfitnessmagazine.com

To Salomon or not to Salomon

By Darren Roberts

I've avoided Salomons up to now but can't find the reasons to any more. Maybe it was because too many people were wearing them, maybe its because I just hadn't worn Salomons before. Whatever the reasons, I've changed my mind. I raced the UTMB and the Lakeland 50 in Montrail Hardrocks and they were great - my only issue with them is the weight and also the high heel/sole which gave my calves alot of gip.

Anyway, they did me proud but they just weren't 100%. To seal my decision, I bumped into a chap called Mark Brooks half way through the UTMB - who raced the UTMB last year in Montrail Hardrocks and swapped them for the XT Wings - saying they were as comfortable if not more so, and worked for him in the Lakeland 100. Now, that for me is first-hand experience I can't ignore - especially from a Montrail fan such as myself.

So, for the next few weeks I'm trying them out:-

Salomon XT Wings

(backed-up by my ol Montrails of course. Thanks to Mark for the advice too - well done on the UTMB if you ever see this)

Useful review on the S-Lab version

UTMB timings are in

Darren's    Nick's

Vollebak reports in

Nick & Steve aka Vollebak post their UTMB race report.

The next one ... The Jungle Marathon

By Darren Roberts

Whilst we recuperate from the UTMB, our minds switch to the next race...

2004

Prerace
Stage 1 / Stage 2 / Stage 3 / Stage 4 / Stage 5 / Stage 6
Postrace

2007 (most non-english)
Stage 1 / Stage 2 /
Stage 3 / Stage 3a
Stage 4 / Stage 4.2
Stage 5.1 / Stage 5.2 / Stage 5.3 / Stage 5.4 / Stage 5.5 / Stage 5.6
Stage 5.7 / Stage 5.9 / Stage 5(end)
Stage 6

UTMB pics on Telegraph.co.uk

Click here to view some photos on Telegraph.co.uk

Au revoir Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc

By Darren Roberts

We're back. Whilst I collect my thoughts to post a story about our UTMB adventure - check the route out. It blew us away. 166km, 3 countries (France, Italy and Switzerland), 2300 competitors, of which 1238 finished (I'm luckily included in that). An elevation gain higher than that of Everest. It was more than we thought it would be. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I'll never go back - well - maybe once more ;-).



And while you watch it, open this in another tab as background music - it's the theme tune for the race. It plays as you start and its incredibly moving. The race organisers ask you to close your eyes and think about the courage you'll need. When you cross the finish line it's playing for you again. Quite emotional.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWUD7M-Vf_Y

There's also a great fly-through here:
http://therunscout.com/2009/06/ultra-trail-du-mont-blanc/

Bonjour Chamonix

By Darren Roberts

3 days until we go to Chamonix and 5 days until we start the race. I've got to be honest and say that I'm a little nervous. This is a big event. 46 hours to run 100 miles may sound a lot but mix it in with Alpine mountains and it becomes a monster of an adventure. In addition to that, the whole PR and administration machine that revolves around this adds that sprinkle of anticipation.

I'll be happy to finish this one. I'm happy to have achieved the points to qualify but if I crawl over the line in Chamonix, I'll be unashamedly in bits.

There is a little more to Chamonix than just the race though. My wife Sarah, lost her father to a climbing accident there when she was 2 years old. It has become a yearly pilgrimage to return and see him in the Chamonix cemetery. I'll think of him and his quests when I'm there, and how there is a large slice of selfishness in those of us who seek mad past times. More than anything though, I'll think of Sarah, and how the void of losing John as a dad has affected her, and promise that I'll return to thank her for being so damned patient with me. I wish she could be there to share the sunrise that will stretch across the mountain peaks and passes after 40 miles run. It's going to be incredible.

The Lakeland 50

By Darren Roberts

I ran the Lakeland 50 last weekend. Its a 24 hour race through some of the Lake Districts favourite spots, and as the name suggests, its a 50-miler. I desperately needed this race to compete in the Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc later this month, so there was a lot of pressure to complete it.

We started at 12pm on Saturday and fortunately the weather had cleared following a very wet night. This was the type of race that fields experienced ultra runners and I could feel it was going to be a tough one. Looking across the start line, I was slightly nervous and that in my book, is a good thing as it keeps you on your toes.

The first leg was fast. I kept up with the front group and felt great. The winner last year finished in 12:06 and at Checkpoint 1, I was 20 minutes ahead of this time. 3 miles into the next leg however It all started going wrong. Easing up the first big climb, I suddenly felt very strange. I realised I had hit a wall, and stopped to shove some sugar and electrolyte down my throat. Satisfied I had fixed the issue, I cracked on. That's when it happened. For the first time in my running career, I got the most severe cramps in my legs.

15 minutes later I was on my way again and for the next 10 miles suffered more crippling moments. The next checkpoint offered an easy way out but I couldn't give up. I had to finish this race. At this stage I didn't care if it took me the full 24 hours as long as I finished.

Scoffing salty food to try and calm my leg spasms, I shuffled and ran through the rest of the race, careful not to over-extend too much and risk pulling already tight muscles. I clawed back the time bit by bit, and as it started raining and turned dark, I was glad to see on the map that I only had 6 miles to go.

Wet and bruised, I stumbled down the last mile to Coniston with a big smile on my face and crossed the finish line in 12:38 and 32nd place. Who knows what it would have been without the cramps. Oh well, I was just glad to finish.

It was a hell of a race but an excellent course. The organisation and support were very good and I highly recommend the challenge. Once again, I met some really great people during the race, who are nothing short of inspiring. [Thank you to those who kept me going up the hills, it was a pleasure meeting you - Richard, Bob and Sandra.]

Since then, I've successfully managed to do absolutely nothing. I needed it but with 3 weeks to go to the Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc, the trails are beckoning. No rest for a wannabe ultra runner I guess.

Scanned map of the route to follow shortly...

Classic Cliffs

By Nick Tidball

I knew this race would be hard as I’ve run quite a bit on the Cornish coast paths, and with this race billed as one of the UK’s toughest ultras with 57 miles of rugged coast paths and 15000 ft of climbing it was always going to be a tough one. When we got to the little village we were staying in called Clovelly and even the village was built on a 25% hill it was clear this area wasn’t going to disappoint. We rested on Friday as much as we could and tried to sleep before being met by the Endurance Life guys at Clovelly. We were then driven to Port Isacc before being set off at midnight.

Within 20 minutes of the race starting and once we were out onto the cliff paths I noticed I couldn’t see much. I was using the same head-torch that I had been using in the Namibian Ultra, but I couldn’t see a thing. Then an hour in and when the drops to our left started to get a it bigger; as in 400ft bigger, I started to think I might have to do something, so I changed my batteries. It was schoolboy error not to have put fresh batteries in, but its hard to think of everything in these races, I think it takes time to learn, although the idea of taking a swim or dying made the choice of stopping and changing them easier for the sake of losing a few minutes.

We went through amazingly craggy places like Tintagel and Boscastle it was like being in Lord of the Rings just in pitch darkness, and for some reason you’re running like a nutter with a number on your bag and the knowledge you are going to be running for a long time. I cursed that night section a lot, it would have been fine if it weren’t for the vertical cliffs. You would scan the way with your light and realise that 3 feet to your left the cliff just disappeared. At about 2 hours in and after the first checkpoint, Steve and I found ourselves lost on the edge of a cliff with a crazy drop down to the sea. It’s just so hard to follow the exact paths at night. We were standing there thinking ‘surely the organisers can’t have wanted us to run on this cliff?’ It was like full on climbing but without the ropes. But it’s hard to think clearly at 3 in the morning, but eventually realised we would end up in several pieces if we went much further so we turned back.

About 3 hours in and it was obvious that Steve was starting to be in some serious pain with his foot. I could see him trying to hold it together but he looked like he’d just gone 10 round with mike Tyson and he was falling over a lot, it was gutting to see when it’s your brother. At about 4.45 in the morning he was all over the shop, he could walk and that was about it, the sun was starting to rise. We were pretty much in last place, and we had chat about the fact I would have to go this one alone otherwise I would be in danger of not making the cut off times. So I gave him a hug, tried not to cry, and legged it.

We’d done 5 hours in the bloody twilight zone, but I felt as fresh as anything now that it was daylight and I could see where I was going. In ultra marathons you should really pace yourself, but I couldn’t really be bothered at this point when I left Steve and I felt great so I went for it. I ran flat out for the next 2 hours 30, overtook about half of the field and came into halfway, not too far outside the top 10. I had told my girlfriend that I would call her halfway round ‘when Steve and I would be going for a swim and taking the race nice and easy’… as it happened things don’t always work out to plan!

What hits you running the coast paths is the distance. A mile on the coast feels double what it normally does, so you have to get your head around that. After half way I was caught up by Vicky Skelton Britain’s top female ultra runner, so I ran with her for around 3 hours, she was treating this as a training run, and with her record of running 131 miles in 24 hours, this was just a little jog for her! She was great, although I had to drop off her pace after a while as I was getting very low on energy, coupled with her being a bit good! I find it hard knowing how much or what I should put in me. So I ate some food and drink, and soon was feeling better again.

The rest of the race for 6 hours I then ran on my own. I really enjoyed that, as I got to experiment with how hard I could push myself. I started drinking from the streams and cooling myself off in them. That was like heaven, as I find my body and feet really heat up doing these races. I didn’t ever look at the map as all you had to do was stick to the coast path really, a task that was much easier during the day. Keep the sea top your left and were on track. Some of the beaches I went past were just wild, it was a lot not to stray off the path and just go for swim instead.

During this race unlike our desert race, I didn’t stop at the checkpoints for any longer than a couple of minutes, I did however chat to all the walkers I saw on route. The majority knew there was a race going on and looked at you like you were crazy. One couple asked what the prize was, ‘to be able stop running at the end’ I replied.

Near the end at about 14 hours in I was nailing myself into the ground up yet another hill maybe at 50 % gradient and breathing like a psycho when I got a text from our team mate Darren saying ‘how did it go lads?’ It’s moments like this that make you laugh. I felt like replying it ‘it still f******g going!!! and its still f******g painful!!!’ but didn’t have the energy.

Within the last few miles I thought a couple of people were catching me as I entered some very steep wooded valleys. I thought I could see them at the top on the other side as I was just leaving them, so I tightened my bag up and pushed on as hard as I could. As it happens no one came in for quite a while after me, so I must have been imagining it! It was funny having this kind of adrenaline after 15 hours of running, but I used it to motivate myself. The last few miles seemed to go on forever, but as I reached the village of Clovelly some 16 hours after starting I just felt pumped. I ran down the village street which was pretty much the gentlest slope I encountered on the whole run. I then stood in the sea for a long time, something that I had been dreaming of the whole race. It was an brilliant and brutal race by the Endurance Life guys, but one of the most amazing runs I've done in my life.

Lessons learnt.

1. Always have a good light when you are running on cliffs that can kill you.

2. Never underestimate the British coastline.

3. Don’t drink from the streams, as they are not made from Evian water…*

*I spent the Sunday travelling home on the train vomiting my guts up into a tiny sink in the train toilet, it was as fun as it sounds!

UTMB qualifying races - update

By Darren Roberts

Just heard from Steve and Nick following their UTMB qualifying race - Classic Cliffs

It sounded like a shocker. 50% of the field didn't finish and unfortunately for Steve, he had to drop out 5 hours into the race with a definite foot fracture. Really bad news. That's his UTMB attempt over. Nick finished 11th, an excellent result considering the terrain and weather.

Mixed feelings. More from them later...

6 days until The Lakeland 50 for me. By all accounts it's not a walk in the park, which is not suprising as it's in the Lake District. I've spent alot of my free time in the Lakes - it's amazingly beautiful but it can be an unforgiving environment - so I'm not taking it lightly. Got to finish it. The fastest time last year was 12:03:00 and the last to cross the line finished in 24:00:35. I'll be extremely happy to finish somewhere around 18:00. There are 7 checkpoints, covering 71.2km and an accumalative ascent of 2944m, so it promises to be a cracker.

I have to say the organisation has been superb. I've received a race pack with details of the route, drawn on copied maps, predicted timings, kit lists, directions on the tricky bits and incredibly - photos of all the checkpoints - and even the food that is being served on them! I'm looking forward to pasta and rice pudding after 35km and cake and all sorts in between. Magic - really looking forward to it. www.lakeland100.com

Sibling rivalry

By Steve Tidball

Without doubt the highlight of my week was dropping Nick on a training ride. I took him out to the hills I train on where we planned to do multiple reps for a few hours. Naturally we soon starting racing each other, upping the tempo on every hill, until on the last one we were both going full pelt. Nick cracked first. I could almost hear the lactic acid surging into his legs. Since I’m such a kind brother, I kicked harder just so the effects of defeat could really sink in for him!

Because of my foot injury I'm still doing nearly all my training on the bike so it's good to see it's working – I hope it has the same effect on my running. Certainly I feel much stronger and fitter than I have for a long time. But the reality is I'm going to be going into the Classic Cliffs Ultra – a 94km race in Cornwall Nick and I are doing on 25th July – having not run for two months. I’ve even avoided walking as much as possible.

In light of that I've been doing a lot of really high intensity sessions which I'm hoping will minimize the amount of pain the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc will inevitably bring. I think the combination of high altitude and deep fatigue will push our heart rates to near maximum. So spending a lot of my training time feeling like I might throw up seems the sensible thing to do.

Harden the fuck up

By Nick Tidball

Motivation for training has never been easier for me as this week: Lance Armstrong is back in the Tour de France. You can’t beat the Tour for getting the inspiration to go out and try to destroy yourself on whatever session it is today. Those guys are insanely tough – one of the teams recently competed in wrist bands which had ‘HARDEN THE FUCK UP’ written on them. That’s a pretty good training mantra to adopt.

The best session this week was when I was running through woods as massive storms ripped through the sky overhead. At the time I couldn't remember whether or not it was a good thing to be surrounded by trees in a storm, as the ground turned into a lake under my feet. Perhaps it wasn't the brightest move but I was totally pumped during the run, so I just kept going – fast. I figured if you’re going to get hit by lightning, you may as well be running.

I also had a great session on Saturday: a three-hour run and bike flat out before breakfast, then I went out to Steve's and rode hills reps in the afternoon. I kept up with him for six hills – about 1hr 40min of cycling – before he turned to me and said he was going to start going at 100 per cent! Steve's turned into a beast on the bike, so this wasn’t much of a shock. In a perverse way I think it’s good for you to get smashed by someone else during training, although it hurts more when it’s your brother.

Kilian - Corsican Quest (part I & II)

Stint in Corfu

By Darren Roberts

I've been in northern Corfu and Paxos for the last 2 weeks on our honeymoon.

The perfect beach holiday always offers something in terms of trails, so whilst my wife extended her wake up times, I pulled on a pair of shorts and trainers and sneaked in a daily run before she woke up.

At 907 metres, Mount Pantokrator offered a testing stomping ground. Surrounded by cypress-clad hills, plunging steeply down to picturesque bays and the bluest of seas - it was hard not to smile.

I spent an hour and a half every morning on a rocky trail with no other human in sight, breathing in huge gulps of oregano and lavender infused air. Cicadas blazed a shrill tune in the background, as the heat soared to 35 degrees.

Webs spun by spiders as big as 50 pence pieces, kept me focused on the way ahead, as well as the odd snake. The largest of which measured about 4ft and scared me half to flippin' death when I nearly trod on it - jolting memories of the Namibian Desert Ultra Marathon. A bite in the middle of nowhere would not be fun.

Back home now, and continuing the effort in preparation for the Lakeland 50 in 2 weeks. It's just a shame I can't now finish my run with a dive in the Mediterranean. Alas, we can't have everything.

One Step Beyond

Keep on running

By Darren Roberts

Been a while since we blogged but training is back in full swing (or should I say 'swig' following a stag do last weekend *groan*) in preparation for the Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc. We've all got qualifying races to nail first though. Steve and Nick are running the Classic Cliffs 55-miler in Dorset and I'm attempting the Lakeland 50. Both races give us 2 ultra points, to total 5 for this year - 4 being the requirement for Mont Blanc.

Namibia seems like a long time ago and Nick and I are in pretty good shape. Steve has had a rough time though as the following articles will tell you.

Men's Fitness Magazine blog 17/6
Men's Fitness Magazine blog 8/6
Men's Fitness Magazine blog 29/5

He needs to keep it going and it has helped reading motivating books like this - Born To Run. We're all reading it at the moment. Chris McDougall's style of writing made me laugh as soon as I picked it up - great book. Amazon link here and video with the author below.

Team Berghaus

TEAM MEN’S FITNESS FLIES FLAG FOR BERGHAUS (29/04/2009)

It's all over

By Darren Roberts

126km. 24 runners. 24 hours. It's all over but what a race it was. On Sunday 12th April, Nick, Steve and I crossed the finish line of our 1st ultra and with temperatures up to 44 degrees, experienced one of the toughest races on earth. Nick and Steve finished in 23hrs 17mins and I staggered across the line in 20hrs 38mins - to win. I can't quite believe it still and it's only just sinking in.

Here's a link to the results (note how incredibly close the finish was!). 1 marathon finisher, 12 ultra finishers (8 within time) and 11 DNF's. Full list of times.

I'll write a more detailed entry in a few days, but I just want to say thank you to the people that have supported us. In no particular order: Men's Fitness, Berghaus, Across The Divide, Garmin, High5, Eletewater, Cotswolds Outdoors, everyone at my work - Delaney Lund Knox Warren, every single other competitor and support crew member, my friends, family and my staunchest supporter and beautiful wife Sarah. It's a surprise to me as much as it is to you ;-)























At the finish with Tom & Tom - true gents.
Left to right: Tom Maguire (3rd), Me and Tom Adams (2nd)

Men's Fitness magazine articles
Team Men's Fitness wins the Namibian Ultra Marathon
Team Men's Fitness - A winning formula





















Team Men's Fitness pre-race

Amour de chaussette

By Nick Tidball

I think my feet are in love with a pair of socks.

They are called Injinjis.

Here are my feet and my socks getting on like a house on fire.

Secret formula?

By Darren Roberts

At the weekend myself and a friend called Rups, ran a 21.5 miler around Richmond Park and along the Thames. It was a hot day and we weren't moving slowly.

Today, to my delight, I have absolutely no aches at all. Usually I have at least a twinge here or there. Nothing. Why? Could it be the food and water strategy? I tested a couple of new things: Eletewater & Hammer Bars.

Before the run, I drank 500ml of water with Eletewater, upping the concentration slightly as it was a hot day. (Kind thanks to David at Eletewater for supplying some testers to Team Men's Fitness) You can't taste it if you get the mix right. If you feel like upping the strength you can catch a faint salt taste to the water - nothing offensive.

On the run I ate 2 Hammer bars and 1 banana. And drank 500ml of water with Eletewater and 500ml of water with Nuun. Following the run, another 500ml with Nuun and a nice ham and cheese bagel.

There are no refined sugars or trans-fats in the Hammer Bars. They have 220g calories per 50g bar, which isn't bad for the weight. Easy to eat and light. The new cashew nut ones add another 10g of calories.



What made the difference? Was it a combination of the Hammer Bars and the electrolytes in Eletewater and Nuun? Or was it just the Eletewater? I've taken Nuun by itself before and did have aches after.

Conclusion: Run a marathon next Saturday on Hammer Bars and Eletewater only. I may have found my new best friends.

Links
www.Eletewater.co.uk
www.hammerpro.co.uk

Namibia Ultra : Medical Factsheets

Posted by Darren Roberts

Amy Hughes, Across The Divide's Doctor, has kindly prepared the following fact-sheets on reducing the risk of medical problems from endurance racing:

Part I - Over-hydration     Part II - Heat-related illness

Advice for 1st your ultra

Posted by Darren Roberts

Whilst trying in vain to find a pair of Montrail Hardrock to buy on the Net, I came across this article by David Horton.

http://www.extremeultrarunning.com/1stultra.htm

Team Men's Fitness Go Size Zero

By Steve Tidball

They say the wives of the Tour De France riders can always tell when their husbands are peaking because they start to see their internal organs through their skin.

While I haven’t asked my wife to look for my kidneys just yet I am starting to take race preparations very seriously.

With 5 weeks to go, if it isn’t a muscle or a vital organ I’m getting rid of it – and I’m already down to my race weight of 64kg.

I’m also making sure I get at least 8 hours of sleep a night – something I’ve never really experimented with – but the results are phenomenal. My energy levels are a lot higher throughout the day.

Finally there’s the training. Most of my runs are now marathons. Last weekend alone I covered 63 miles. And instead of swimming at my gym I now sit on the leg press machine for an

unsociable length of time before cooking myself in the steam room.

Bring on the freaking desert. I’m ready!

Kit for the Namibian Ultra Marathon

By Darren Roberts

I've been listening to the people who raced the 2008 Namibian Ultramarathon and reading what ultra-runners experience, and I think I've made my mind up about kit. Although we are doing this as a team, the component parts have to be functioning as efficiently as possible and this means ensuring our personal strategy and kit is sound. Here's some thoughts and links:-

Trainers
Last years competitors all bashed their toes on rocks and suffered bruising and deep blisters under their feet due to the terrain. It is generally accepted that normal road trainers just don't provide the extra layer of protection that your feet need. Yes, they are light and comfy but they don't have a hard enough upper toe box to ward off the inevitable toe punts on rocks. Also, road trainers don't provide you with a hard enough sole to stop the rocks from punishing the forward half of your foot.

Overall, the consensus is: run with off-road shoes. They should have enough sole to withstand nobbly rocks. Ideally, the sole should have an integrated plate and the toe needs harder material or has a tough rubber rand.

I've had a scoot around and have a reasonably good list to choose from. Here are a top selection with links to reviews and places to buy. *Big caveat - this is a list generated by me, not an uber experienced ultra-runner, but a mere beginner in the search for ultra-bliss. Having said that, I've been running long distances for years so have experienced every foot hot spot imaginable.*

Inov8 Roclite















Roclite 315 (top left)
Click here for a review

New Roclite 320 (top right)
Click here for a review
Click here for a RunJunkie review



New Balance - 1100 MdS Trail. Made specifically with the Marathon Des Sables in mind, these trainers suit most types of trail running and should be ideal for the Namibian Ultra.























Montrail Hardrock

Click here for a good Montrail Hardrock review from 4 different people

Click here for a Runner's World review on all off-road shoes


Backpack
Crikey - you wouldn't believe the conversations around this bit of kit. As soon as the distances are increased and there is a need to carry water and food, life gets complicated. It doesn't have to of course, people have been walking the globe for years with very simple devises for carrying supplies. Hell, you could probably carry everything in a Sainsburys Bag For Life if you really had to. Having said that, it would be mega annoying and there is no point ignoring the advances that have been made in ultra-light rucksacks.

In comparison to their trainers, Berghaus have provided us with an absolutely cracking trail running ruck sack (see picture below). I'm not one for stuff hanging off all over the place, so this bag is great. It holds 12 litres with a zipper that expands the body to create 4 more litres of space. Another great feature is an elasticated waistband that velcros together. No clips and no chunky waist pads that don't form to the body. The band really brings the sack close to the body so that no movement is experienced during the run.


Click here for a Trail Gear review

On the pre-Namibian training weekend, I watched a couple of lads use the Raidlight sacks with the optional clip on front sack. At first the idea interested me because bottles and food are easily accessible. Then I watched them in practice; they bounced around a lot whilst running and looked hot to deal with. A comment from one of the lads was 'I've just bought this, and it's annoying the f*ck out of me already'.

Andy McMenemy, runner-up last year, uses one but had to fix a carabiner system to it to stop the excessive movement. I've come to the conclusion that the front attachment is a sledgehammer to crack a nut and not worth the hassle.

Having said all that, its a personal thing of course. Two blokes who raced last year certainly would disagree with me - half way through the race, they moved their sack from the back to the front and ran the rest of the race like that. It clearly works for some people.

That said, take the front-attachment off, and the actual Raidlight sacks are good bits of kit and praised by those people I've met. See Likeys for some examples www.likeys.com

Sleeping bag (mandatory item)
The smaller the better. You have to carry one for emergencies. The likelihood is you wont use it, but the desert at night is not a warm place and if someone goes down, you'll need to wrap them up in one asap.

PHD (Pete Hutchinson Designs) are extremely small and lightweight.

Steve Clark, the Across The Divide Race Director, owned a Minim Ultra Down and at 345g, packed into a fist-sized bag, it was a nice bit of kit. At £170 it's not a light decision (excuse pun).


First Aid Kit (mandatory item)
Across The Divide carry nothing short of a miniature hospital and in my opinion take nothing for granted. Their safety record is well-established and they take their own doctor, so you'll be well looked after. You will need to take a small med kit with you though. Amy, the ATD doc, advises nothing more than pain killers and stuff like imodium. I'll get an exact list and post it in a separate entry.

Food
I'm just not sure about this yet. A lad who is running this year, Jerry, is thinking about Smash.' It's lightweight and loaded with calories' he says.

All a personal taste but you need something with a high calorie count to low weight ratio eg. Nuts salted. The winner last year did it on just 9 bananas!

It really is each to their own on this one. I've been on my feet all night a few times in past endeavours, and all I can tell you is; get something you like eating. It needs to be convenient enough to eat too.

If you want a good race time, you don't want to be boiling water all the time to add to dry food. Minimal hassle factor will keep you focused. All I know is, you have to constantly take a bite. Force yourself to eat and drink. It's too hot in the desert for these but peanut M&M's have kept me going before - burst of sugar with a slower burning complex carb. Magic. They rattle like buggery though :-)

*I'll write a separate entry on food, as its a discussion in it own right.*

Water
Across The Divide medical staff recommend taking on 2 litres at every checkpoint. The method for carrying it is personal but essentially its a decision between a platypus and bottles.

If the decision is bottles, then that introduces the question of bottle placement. On your belt? In your sack? On your shoulder straps? I'm torn at the moment and I think it will come down to 'what method allows me to drink the 2 litres needed between each checkpoint?'.

The normal mistake is that you just don't drink as much as you should, and having run with both bottles and platypus before; if it's constant fluid you need, then there nothing quite as easy as a tube placed next to your face.

One from Raidlight (left). Click here for Likeys product page


Hydration tablets
As Amy, the Across The Divide doctor. pointed out 'Energy powders are suprisingly low in salt. It's not until you really look at the ingredients that you realise its just a trace ingredient in most cases. To avoid Hyponeutremia (too much water in your system) you have to have an additional intake of salt. In the desert environment this equates to approx. 1.6grammes per hour.'


Nuun tablets are perfect and recommended by Across The Divide. From the 2 litres of water provided, I'll probably supplement the 1-litre with Nuun. Its non-sickly and extremely palettable. I've tried the combination of Nuun and 4:1 on numerous occassions and it works very well. I'd go so far as to say that the intake during exercise assists my post-race fatigue.




Energy supplement
What works for me might not work for someone else, so this is an opinion only.

High Five 4:1 powder: I've used this on endurance events before. It's 4 parts carbohydrate and 1 part protein, which they say is the perfect ratio. God knows if that's right but I've sipped it constantly on a 15-hour endurance event before and, it keeps you going for hours. Some people get stomach upset with these supplements but if you mix to the right levels it's normally ok. High Five's 4:1 product page

Across The Divide will give us 2 litres of water for approx every 13 miles. I'll use 1 litre for 4:1. It's energy with relatively low weight. NB. They do sachets too. High Five 4:1 sachet product page or click here for a site which sells up to £4 cheaper.


GPS (mandatory)
GPS is mandatory. Across The Divide supply and say that you don't need a mega expensive one. Having said that, here's a links to some nice ones:-


Garmin Colorado T
http://www8.garmin.com/uk/outdoors/colorado/Colorado/

Garmin Oregon 400 T
http://www8.garmin.com/uk/Oregon/

Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=145&pID=310#featureTab

Fleece
You need some type of lightweight warm top. Apparently it gets cold at night, as low as 5 degrees. Compare this to 45 degree heat in the day and that's one mighty shift in temperature.

T-shirts and shorts Haven't found the perfect shorts yet. Something that does't give me damn crotch and thigh grazes. I've just bought some Body Glide which helps but still searching for the perfect short. [Please leave a comment if you can recommend any].

Socks
These need to be seamless. I'm trying out a pair at the moment called 'More Mile'. They are very comfy and caused no problem on a 20-odd miler. That said I've just been reading the MdS forum and want some of these! Injinjis They look great.

Let's face it, for those who run all the time and muliple terrains, skin level blisters and black toe nails are par for the course.

Dean Karnazes wrote that he thought he had a shell or something in his trainers but when he stopped and took his sock off, he found to his suprise that it was a toe nail. Know how he feels. All part of the process. My missus doesn't find it attractive though. Oh well.

So, I think that Injinis may be the holy grail for each of my toes because it isolates them from one another. I'll update the site when I receive them. Apparently you can only get them from America but you don't get additonal charges other than postage and packing when you order.

Hat
Something to cover the head with. A legionnaire hat? I think I'll opt for a lightweight baseball cap with a flap sewn onto the back for the day and nothing for the night. More research needed on this.

Overall, I think you can easily go OTT on things. Its worth doing the testing up front. I'd like us to go as light as possible without sacrificing safety or health. The perfect balance remains to be tested.

Kobus Alberts on last years Namibian Ultra

By Darren Roberts








Click here to view his article

Some days

By Darren Roberts

Some days the running is just plain hard. Other days, everything just works. The feeling when this happens is amazing. First your legs aren't giving you small warning signs. Then you find that you are smiling, big wide smiles. This makes you turn up the internal speed dial and your body responds just the way you need it to. Jump the verge, up the hill, across the stream. Your on-board computer says 'Do it' and you go. Faster. Strong. In control.

I felt like this today during an 18-miler. For those that know this feeling, it can be incredibly emotional. I mean it literally makes me cry whilst running. I'm not sure if its the endorphins but short of flying along to the sound of Elgar's Nimrod, I'm there. This is what its about.

North Face Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc

By Darren Roberts

Next year...

Mark Hannaford's Namibia Photography

By Darren Roberts

At our pre-race training weekend, the walls of the accommodation were adorned with fantastic images of Namibia. They are Mark Hannaford's - click here to check his site out.

© All images copyright Mark Hannaford 2009

Lifting the lid

By Darren Roberts

The longer distances I run the more I want to know about ultra-running. The more I search on the Net for links, the more I uncover. It's like anything I suppose, you don't know its there until you look, but there are so many people doing it. Here's just a few resources:-

http://trailrunningsoul.com/
http://planetultramarathon.wordpress.com/
http://www.ultralegends.com/links/
http://www.iau.org.tw/
http://www.ultrarunning.com/
http://www.runfurther.com/

Namibian Ultramarathon Pre-training

By Darren Roberts

"The stars are amazing" recounted Steve Clark, Across The Divide's Race Director. He wasn't talking about a night at the Oscars, but recalling experiences witnessed during the 126km Namibian Ultramarathon.

In 2 months we would run one of the toughest foot races on earth. The journey would take us through some of the harshest and most beautiful scenery known to man, and all within a 24-hour time limit.

To prepare for this, Team Mens Fitness signed up to a pre-race training weekend with race organisers Across The Divide (ATD) and some of the other entrants. It was a chance to get to know fellow competitors and quiz the organisers about strategies and safety.

In return, ATD threw in four cheeky running sessions, presumably to see if we were on the case when it came to training. Although I suspect it was more of an opportunity to see where to divert their well-organised medical attention.

ATD are suitably based in a village in Dorset in-the middle-of-nowhere. The surrounding area boasts enough hills and bulging coastline to test even the healthiest of lungs, making it the perfect base for an event and race organiser.

We arrived in the dark to a welcoming fire throwing heat into a cavernous reception room complete with safari paintings and large wooden rhinos. Sat around this on large sofas were a group of people who had also signed up for the experience. Amongst those sat Andrew Mcnenemy, who came second in last year's race. We immediately introduced ourselves and started asking him questions. Once we had all swapped stories and tips, we slept on the floor a la desert style with roll mat and sleeping bag. The stars were of course missing but it was fun all the same.

ATD woke us all the next day with a cuppa and a steaming bowl of porridge, perfect for the day ahead. Steve handed around an itinerary with timings, his ex-Army experience obvious in his organisation.

Our first activity was a 15-mile run through wet and cold countryside. This was our first opportunity to gauge the fitness of the field. Arriving back at base it was reassuring to see that our months of training to become Team Mens Fitness had paid off, we were comfortable with the pace and ready for the next activity.

Following a presentation about the race and a kit talk, we all piled into land rovers and were ferried to the coast for the big run of the day, a 3-hour cross-country run along the Jurassic Coast. The bulging coastline levelled the field off. If you were good at running up hills and not-so-good at sprinting down, someone would be the opposite, so this served as a counter-balance and held us together well. The weather and views were stunning as we pulled and panted our way up 5 peaks. It was cold and muddy and our muscles moaned at the accumulative exercise of the day. That said, it was a perfect reminder that the race would be 8 times longer and we all stared into the distance trying to visualise 126km.

"It's going to hurt, I won't lie to you" confirmed Andrew. "Mentally, you visit some very dark places. I call it The Struggle, and I think all ultra-athletes experience it". With that in mind, Nick and I ran up the next hill with added energy, searching for our weak points in order to focus our training.


A excellent medical briefing followed the run and Andrew and Steve spent some time answering questions about the race. It was clear that it would be tough and Nick and I looked at each other every time the word 'caution' or 'harsh' came up. This was an adventure for us and the well-respected advice was adding to our excitement - we wanted to start the race now.

We all gathered together for dinner and then kitted up for a 10k night run. The cold woke us up as we carved our way through the dark country roads, lit only by our head torches. 60% of the race would be run in the dark and we all needed to get used to the tunnel-effect of torch running and the cold of the desert at night.

After a well-earned pint at the local pub, we all settled down, waking next morning at 7am in time for our 4th run, another 10k. The sleep had re-energised us and we flew round the course, our bodies glad to run on the road for a change.

We covered just over 50 miles of running all weekend and following the usual formalities, we said goodbye to our new found adventure racing friends and hit the road, back to our day jobs. The first-hand glimpse at the Namibian Desert has encouraged us. The opportunity to make some life-long friends and experience the hardships the desert would throw at us makes us feel we’ve got one foot in the sand already, just need to knuckle down to 2 more months of training.