Kit recommendations- What should I take to a run?

One of the things that I am most frequently asked is “What kit should I use or take with me to a mud and obstacle run?”. It’s a bit of a tough one to answer, as every promoter has different rules and regulations. 

The below list is based on my experience so far and that alone. It’s therefore highly biased, but that’s one of the best things about writing a personal blog- I can be as biased as I want to be :-)

Before I get to the list, a few things to consider:

• ALWAYS check the website or information pack for the race that you are doing to make sure that the equipment that you are taking is allowed.
• “Studded shoes”. Most race websites will often say that studded shoes are not allowed as they can cause serious damage to both other competitors as well as the obstacles. Whilst this is true, don’t take that to mean that all shoes with studded grips are not allowed. This simply means that metal studs like football boots are not allowed. Trail running shoes with rubber grips are perfectly acceptable, and in the case of most mud runs, highly recommended.
• Waterproof or not? Waterproof gear is obviously very good at stopping water going through it, but not necessarily around it. If you run with waterproof gear on, whether shoes, leggings, jacket, gloves or anywhere else and get to a (very frequent) swimming section of a race, the waterproof gear will simply keep the water in. This will result in you getting heavier and colder quicker. Unless you are sure that you will not be submerged, it is far better to run with a technical fabric which I will discuss later. 
• Check the weather report around the time of the race. This will have a massive impact on the clothes and accessories that you will wear. I personally get very hot very quickly, so rarely run with a top on. However, if you are doing events designed to make you as  cold as possible, you will want to consider wearing a top, gloves, and perhaps a hat. This is a personal thing, but I’ll try to cover guidelines.
• Hydration. Check the race information for number of water points, if any. Most races of 8Km or over will have at least one water stop, but not always. Again, you should know how well you cope with a lack of water. Again, if the weather says it’s going to be hot, consider a hydro pack or carrying a small water bottle. 
• If you're going on your own check that there will be bag/key drop facilities. Also make sure that your emergency contact person knows that you are putting them down as the emergency contact, and that they are near their phone, just in case ;-)

Pre-race

• Fuel! You should look at taking on plenty of carbs, at least the night before the race and in the morning before. I always start the day with a very large bowl of oats with full-fat milk, various seeds, nuts and fruit alongside a protein shake. The night before I normally make a pasta-bake (I eat for a family of 4 ) with some fresh veg. 
• Water- Take water with you and get a decent amount in you before you run. Not so much that you’ll want to pee the whole way around, but enough to get you hydrated. You’ll want extra for after the race as well for both hydration at to wash any cuts with.
• Towels and fresh clothes- Easily forgotten, but you will be very muddy when you get back! Many races don’t have hot showers but instead a lake or river for you to wash in. 
• Antiseptic gel, plasters and general first aid. All races will have first aid, most have local ambulance teams in attendance, but it never hurts to be prepared. As a lot of these races have you swimming in stagnant water, you’ll want to wash any cuts with fresh water and get some anti-septic gel on them pretty soon after the race. 
• Bag- A waterproof or water-resistant bag to keep your dry stuff dry and mud free is highly recommended. Keep your towel near the top of the bag for easy access after the race. You can pick these up from most good outdoor/hiking/trail shops. 
• Money for parking and food- If you need this explaining, you shouldn’t be walking let alone running ;-)
• Registration documents! Don’t forget them including any passes, disclaimers, death waivers, Last Will and Testaments, etc …

Footwear

For me, good footwear is key. Many blogs and forums will have people that tell you “What’s the point in using purpose-built shoes, they’re just going to get ruined” or “There’s no real advantage when mud gets thick”. IMO, this is utter balls! The amount of times that people have face planted in front of me, often with very painful consequences due to no grip from their road running shoes is unreal. I personally can’t afford to break my ankle/leg/hip/ribs falling over onto a tree stump, and therefore will do everything I can to avoid it!

Road running shoes, whilst giving a lot of underfoot protection are dangerously slippy and soak water up like a sponge due to the amount of padding and cushioning in them. 

Trail running shoes or hybrid on/off road shoes are the way to go. They are typically lightweight, allow your feet to move with enough flexibility to provide a good ground strike even at strange angles and have the grip to keep you on your feet. Typically a good trail shoe will eject water very quickly and have very sticky long grips to cut through mud and into the hard surfaces below.  They also tend t have rubber in the laces, helping to stop them come undone when you are running.

My personal preferences are Inov-8 trail running shoes, in particular the Talon 212’s for full on mud running. Simply superb shoes that have carried me safely through a year of trail and mud runs now with minimal slipping. For the more urban races, the TrailRoc 245 is a class leader, though I haven’t tried these myself…. Yet!

inov-8.com

Underwear

I’m afraid other than saying “Supportive”, I’m not going to be much use to the female-specific items here  Avoid cotton wherever possible by to be honest, for most of these races you won’t notice either way. The one thing that I always use are Inov-8 Mudsocks on my feet as they provide good protection, comfort, they dry quickly and are very tough. In fact, I use them for all of my running both on and off road including general training.

inov-8.com

Clothing

Clothing is quite a personal preference. I’ve stood side-by-side at the same race with a guy in his pants, one in a triathlon wetsuit and another dressed as Where’s Wally (Waldo for my American readers ;-)). 

The one thing that should be considered whether for legs or torso is the type of fabric. There are 2 simple rules: Don’t wear cotton and don’t wear waterproof. Cotton will simply soak water up, keep it close to you and become heavy. This will make you cold and increase the weight you have to carry. With regards to waterproof clothing, this will be a hindrance if you have to submerge, which you normally do, as the fabric will hold the water in against you.

You should look at a technical fabric that is quick drying and breathable. If you’re worried about the cold, layer up but don’t forget that you will get warm when running. 

My personal preference is to run with no top and MMA shorts on. These shorts don’t hold water, aren’t cotton and are very, very tough- Perfect for these race conditions. Many people choose leggings, run shorts, MMA shorts- It really is a case of finding something that you feel comfortable in. 

I’ve only run once with a top on, and that was for Tough Guy. The top of choice was an Under Armour ColdGear long sleeve tee. I can highly recommend it, and the areas of my body that it covered stayed very warm indeed, even in the -10 degree water on the Tough Guy course. I will without a doubt be using this for the run next year  Under Armour also do a HeatGear range designed for summer running. I use these in summer as the Wife won’t let me terrorise the neighbours by running topless around the village. Again, highly recommended. 

underarmour.com

Hats and gloves

Again, these are by personal preference. I use a wind guard for my ears as wind (Not cold) gives me very bad earache. I only really use a full beanie hat in the very coldest parts of winter, and I usually find it too hot to wear for a whole run. Many people doing long water stints or in the very coldest races, again like Tough Guy, will wear triathlon swimming hats or similar.

With regards to gloves, you should look at the same guidelines as clothing when it comes t fabrics. Waterproof are a no-go, and you should look at something that has very good grip as you’ll be needing them to climb and lift as well as swim and crawl. 

Some people prefer full length, even in summer, some fingerless and some not to wear gloves. My preference is no gloves. I wore some on my first Tough Mudder as it was recommended on their website, but to be honest they were a hindrance more than a help. I’ve only used them since for Tough Guy for the warmth factor more than anything. 

I use a Mechanix Wear M-Pact Fingerless although I am planning o doing a group test very shortly  I’ve recently come across Darkfin Gloves which I think might prove to be quite handy in some of these runs. 

mechanix.com

Hydration and food

You will be given information on the available water stops on the race. In some case, like Tough Mudder, food was also provided on the way around in the form of bananas, but this is quite rare. It’s very important that you scope out what you need based on your current training before the race and plan appropriately.

You likely won’t want to eat on the way around to void getting a stitch, but here are many performance gels and hydration drinks available. Find one that you’re comfortable with and test it before racing. I made the mistake of trying a homemade isotonic drink during the Spartan Beast and was almost sick half way through due to the taste. 

The fancy stuff (Boy’s toys!)

• POV camera- I can highly recommend the GoPro series of cameras, as per my review here. Don’t forget to use a flotation device though, as losing them in deep water is a possibility as I found out!!!
• GPS tracking- If you feel the need to track your run as part of your training, make sure that it will be able to cope with being bashed about and the water. Not many people use these, but if you do, best to go for a wrist mounted one. 

gopro.com

Post race 

• Cleaning wounds- As I’ve already mentioned, hot showers are a luxury and most of the time you’re left to bathe with your fellow runners in a lake or river after the race. As fun as this is, if you have a concerned (Nagging ;-)) partner with you, they ‘ll want you to make sure that open wounds are cleaned properly. Use some bottled water to help clean the wound and apply some antiseptic gel to help keep open wounds clean. This will hurt like hell, but hey, you’ve just finished an obstacle run, what do you care? ;-) 
• Recovery food and drink- There are plenty of nutritional experts out there that will give you much better information than I ever could on this, but as a thumb rule I always try to rehydrate with water as quickly as possible. After a particularly long run, I’ll also use PHD Recover 2:1- It’s a fantastic recovery drink and really helps fight against DOMS for the few days after a tough run.
• Arnica tablets / cream- These can be seen as a bit “hippyish”, but I bruise like a peach and need bruises to heal as quickly as possible. I’ve found that Arnica tablets for a few days after a race will help greatly reduce the time it takes bruises to fade. Great if you have a public facing job!  

phd-supplements.com

So there it is. Everything that I have found useful so far. Feel free to comment if there's anything I've missed :-)