So, bit of
an unusual outcome for NAV4 at Terrex Swift with a DNF due to injury. Overall a positive experience with a great
route set by Dave Johnson, it’s just a shame we didn’t do it justice.
A steady start and efficient pace on the
paddle and bike sections, we cleared the Malham trek and Kilnsey abseil with
the intention of a strong finish on Day Two. Unfortunately, the harsh cobbles
of Whernside didn’t agree with Pete’s ankle, and so a very reluctant phone call
was made to race HQ which resulted in us being whisked back to base and an
‘early bath’. They say, ‘Honour is the
better part of valour’ .... and the
early finish gives rise to some interesting review issues. Hmmn...
Expedition
racing is all about highs and lows and ‘the
journey’; reading various blogs will often have you thinking people were in
different races, which in some ways they can be, given the timescale and
distances involved. Once again,
one of the most prevalent issues at Swift was the many people that suffered
with cold and hyperthermia. Although
there was an unexpected wet and breezy night section it was not at all extreme,
and anyone who got into difficulty in these conditions really needs to take
stock and sort themselves their gear, and their team mates out! Granted we were expecting a relatively warm
and mild night but it worries me that so many aren’t learning the lesson or
applying a little thought into what they need to do in order to survive, enjoy
and complete an Exped race.
Terrex
Swift was just a Two Day race; Terrex Sting will be five days, and in some ways
more as the prologue will make it feel longer.
Our NAV4 / Distant Horizons team decided to travel light and fast at
Swift, forgoing our traditional tented sleep and to test the ability to race
for 48 hours without anything more than a couple of power snoozes, using our
bothy bag. However, this won’t be our
strategy for five days racing at Sting!
The other
topic of conversation seemed to be our relatively light sacs, and even lighter kit bags, but we were warm and cosy because we were all wearing good layers of
thermal clothing. I’m a firm believer in the ‘less is more’ approach and it
simply isn’t necessary to have a full change of clothes and foot wear for each
stage of a race. There are many reasons for this; primarily it leads to
unnecessary changing and inevitable faffing at transition, secondly there is
more gear for the hard working event support teams to move (time and money on
the entry fee) and less washing to do when you get home!
So, does
having less gear mean you get cold? No,
because I wear and carry plenty of good clothes and equipment.
Some (very) Common Mistakes
Inappropriate
Gear – 'Simply not having another layers
available'
The gear
you wear to run around your local
park in is not suitable for trekking in
the mountains. Get Real! You need many more layers; full length leg and arm wear, you
will not be going at your normal running speed but that of a tired and cold
person, and probably a tired, cold and sleepy team mate. The media are
very good at selling us base layers and skinny lightweight waterproof shells;
after all, that is what most of us need most of the time. However, the clue is in the title – ‘baselayer’
and ‘shell’. Don’t be guilty of a lack
of ‘IMP’ – Important Mid-layer
Performance.
Mandatoritis – ‘Just taking the bare minimum that the
rules specify, or ... even worse trying to under cut it!'
Race organisers
only specify the absolute minimum on a kit list so as to keep the teams safe
and alive. This list is also aimed at not burdening elite fast and competent teams
unnecessarily. But, most of us are not
elite teams and so carrying an extra base layer or mid layer fleece, over trousers, woolly hat and
gloves and a pasty won’t make a huge difference to our speed, but it will help
you finish (which I assume is your overall objective?)
As a race
organiser myself, I’ve often seen people packing just the minimum according to
the race rules, and trying to under cut this in some bizarre macho ritual. Why do they do this? Take what you need to be warm at toasty, and be realistic as to how long the stage will take and the pace you will be doing. Taking the bare minimum as specified in the race rules means a lack of forethought.
Carrying on
Coldy Regardless - 'Not Stopping to put additional warm layers on'
No-one
wants to stop and slow their team down, but ‘I’ll be OK’ ... really means ‘I’m
getting steadily colder’. If you’ve got
a team mate who appears under dressed and getting slower they need to put more
clothes on. This is the early stages of hyperthermia; the body will be burning
energy trying to keep you warm, and not have so much to propel them forward. So
in the long run it’s a waste of time and energy. One of the biggest factor is this:
Premature Jacketation – ‘ Putting a waterproof jacket on over a tee-shirt
and then getting progressively colder ‘cos you don’t want to stop and put a
mid-layer on’. We’ve all done it – you set
off in a tee-shirt, it starts to rain so you put your waterproof shell on.
Initially you are Ok, warm and going well, but later you slow down (or have a puncture)
and its still raining. You get colder, your base layer and shell aren't coping but the magazine reviews were great and they cost you a lot of money, ‘but you’re Ok if you keep going...’ er, no.
Wrong! – add a mid layer before you get cold.
Stop, get your sac off, get your mid-layer ready, then jacket off, mid-layer
on, jacket back on – wahey – all done in a few seconds and possibly on the move
if on foot and a team mate helps you.
Still cold? – put your over trousers on – assuming you’ve already got
your wooly hat at gloves on. And eat
some more food....and then keep moving
Poor
Transition Technique
Effective transitions
are an advanced skill but not rocket science, but could fill a blog of their own. Again common mistakes often seen:
coming in saturated wearing light weight shell and base layer, stripping off to put dry
base layer on, wet lightweight shell goes back on so that within minutes the dry base layer
is damp and meanwhile you’ve lost a lot of body heat doing it. Overall gain - ten minutes lost and you are no warmer. The better
option would be to add a good mid-layer over the damp base layer quickly, get the heavier weight waterproof on, a dry hat and then get back out there with hot food inside you. Don a Synthetic ‘Belay Jacket’
whilst you do so, and maybe insulated over trousers as well.
Do Not rely
on Down insulated garments in a multiday wet weather race, even if they are shelled with a water repellent treatment. Down is useless when it is wet.
Wet but Warm - Good Gear Works
Experienced racers will only change clothes when necessary, and not just because they can. Good outdoor clothing is designed to be warm when wet and will dry quickly once the rain stops, or you come out of the river and get moving, especially with the appropriate layers added and adjusted. Seven days in the same quality base layer is not unusual.
Wet but Warm - Good Gear Works
Experienced racers will only change clothes when necessary, and not just because they can. Good outdoor clothing is designed to be warm when wet and will dry quickly once the rain stops, or you come out of the river and get moving, especially with the appropriate layers added and adjusted. Seven days in the same quality base layer is not unusual.
So .... I could go on but I won't - much of this is common sense and some experience. It’s taken me a long while to write this, not
least because I’ve been busy since Swift with our NAV4 Adventure Dawn to Dusk 100km ultra, and
supporting a 170km cyclosportive, and organising an evening fell race, all of
which were done in poor weather, either very wet and windy, or claggy and wet. Thus,
these thoughts above are drawn from these experiences and observations (with thanks to AndyM and Fi at D2D) and a lifetime of experience.
The Dawn to
Dusk had people running for 15 hours in very wet conditions and yet no-one was
cold – why? Because they all wore the right combination of layers.
Please Remember Two Things :
1) There is no such thing as bad weather – just inappropriate clothing
2) Conditions at Terrex Swift were not
extreme ... be prepared for much worse at Sting!
Joe Faulkner
NAV4 Adventure
www.nav4.co.uk
NAV4 Adventure
www.nav4.co.uk
