Relentless Forward Progress_ A Guide to Running Ultramarathons - Bryon Powell [66]
Perhaps even more so than with crew members, beginning ultra-runners benefit from having veteran ultrarunner pace them. That veteran ultrarunner commiserates (and you’re more likely to believe him or her), assesses your needs, and suggests solutions.
Drop Bags
Many ultras allow another, more self-reliant form of racer sup-port—the drop bag. Drop bags have nothing to do with dropping out of the race; rather, they are bags you fill with supplies that the race drops off at designated aid stations for you to access. Drop bags are extremely handy if you race without a crew. Without drop bags, you need to carry all of the materials you want, but are not available at aid stations, for the entire race. Even if that’s only two dozen sports gels, a headlamp, and a change of shoes, it’s awfully nice not to have to carry that weight. Even if you have a crew, drop bags are handy at aid stations where crews are not permitted or if you decide prior to the race that your crew won’t go to an aid station where crews are permitted. Common items for drop bags are particular foods or drinks not provided by the race, a change of shoes and socks, as well as a headlamp and warm clothes for the night.
Drop bags hold your supplies that some races deliver to pre-designated aid stations.
(Photo by Stephan/Gripmaster)
Do the race a favor and don’t pile everything but the kitchen sink in your drop bags! Pack what you need, but no more.
If a race returns through the start area one or more times, you can often set up an unofficial drop bag there. I’ve never had a problem with a race official or theft when doing this.
In-Race Strategy
Nerves are completely natural before a race, particularly if you are moving up to a new distance. Use the advice in this section to take the right approach on race day. Go out slow, maintain an even effort, have the right mental approach, be proactive with your problem solving, have an aid station strategy, and, most important, have fun! How to do each of these is explained below.
Go Out Slow
The most useful piece of race day advice I can give a new ultra-marathoner and many veteran ultramarathoners is to go out slower than you think you should. We’ve all been at marathons or shorter races where we’re sucked into too fast a pace for the first portion. This is natural. We’re excited and let it get the better of us. Well, the same thing happens all the time in ultras. In fact, it may be even more common in ultras as, unlike shorter races, the “too fast” pace isn’t taxing in the early miles of an ultramarathon. It’s easily maintained and, depending on the pace of daily training runs, may feel more comfortable than the pace we should try to maintain throughout the entire ultra. If you’re ever breathing hard in ultra, it’s time to consider whether you’re running too fast!
To control my pace in the first half of an ultra, when I’m X miles from the start, I consider whether I’ll be able maintain that same effort X miles from the finish. I acknowledge that I will inevitably be somewhat slower at a given effort later in the race; however, if there’s a significant gap between the intensity I’m running and what I think I can run late in the race, I slow down. In most cases, trying to run 15 or 30 seconds faster per mile in the early going of an ultra is a fool’s errand. Gaining five minutes in the first 10 miles can too easily cost half an hour or more later in the race, if not prevent you from finishing at all.
Remember to control your pace early in an ultra. (Comic by EJ Murphy, creator of Ultra Running Guy comics)
To run to your absolute potential, it’s necessary to push the pace