Question:
Having just completed my first marathon
I am now hooked! After a few days
of recuperation my body feels so
much stronger. I plan to continue
doing 3-4 marathons per year but
don't need much more info on this.
I am not trying for fast times,
and most of my training and equipment
seems OK so far. Now I want to start
working on a few other longer term
goals! My question is what is the
best source of information to keep
up on ideas, new equipment, read
experiences, MOTIVATION, etc. for
the following: * Within the next
year try a 50K and eventually a
50 miler, and then try to do one
50 miler every year.
* Try to
do more trail runs, especially in
the 20K-50K range.
* Eventually try to do about 70%
trails and 30% roads, or 60/40 throughout
the year.
* Someday I want to get that Western
States 100 Miles - One Day belt
buckle
My biggest
concerns are how to get started,
what kind of shoes, clothes and
gear to use, efficient methods of
hydration, etc.. I understand the
trail runs typically have only a
couple of aid stations if at all.
And what do trail runners do in
the rain and snow of winter? Hit
the roads for a while, or ?
I see there
are magazines for Marathon and Beyond,
Trail Runner, Ultra Running, etc.
And there are books for the same
corresponding activities. What are
the best two books, magazines and
web sites for long distance trail
running?
Answer:
My distances are still really short,
but I've been running trails for
about a year and have long-term
goals (4-5 years away) of running
50 miles through the woods or across
tundra and have read a lot over
the past year. Caveat: I come from
a hiking and vegetation ecology
background and live in Alaska. Most
of my running is between October
and May (can't call it winter anymore
after this year). I really hate
to have to come back in because
I'm cold, wet, hungry, or thirsty.
So I may have a really different
perspective than what you are looking
for. YMMV, depending upon exactly
what your goals are.
Depending
upon the types of trails you run,
you may not need anything special.
Shoes with some forefoot protection
may be helpful on trails with pointy-side
up rocks. Shoes that drain well
may be best for mud, rain, and stream
crossings. Do a google group search
of r.r for trail shoes. There's
been threads this spring and last
March and I'm sure many others in
between. For longer runs, I usually
put my rain gear or extra layer,
food/fluid, and first aid or other
emergency gear in a camelbak.
There's many threads in r.r on carrying
bottles, and the RW ultra/trail
forum has a thread about every other
week either on bottles or hydration
bladders.
Regarding
the rain or snow, most people ignore
rain - just keep running but may
put rain gear on. There's a big
difference in running for an hour
in the rain on a road vs
running for multiple hours on a
windswept ridge 20 miles from somewhere.
In the course of running 50 miles
(6-14 hrs or more, depending on
trail difficulty) in most states,
you have a high likelihood of being
rained on. Train in it!
If you aren't
familiar with being off road in
general and are really interested
in long trail runs, learn some basic
outdoor skills. In particular, learn
about hypothermia - how to avoid
it, how to recognize it, what to
do when you notice first symptoms.
If not already familiar, you might
want to learn to read topo or trail
maps and use a compass.
