Hi all, I’m looking for a bit of advice. I have a 50km race this weekend and it’s suddenly looking like it’s going to be raining most of the day.

This will be my 6th ultra at 50km+ but my first wet one and looking for some advice on how others have prepared.

The temp will get up to about 20* C so it’s this awkward temp between wearing a jacket to stay dry and it being too warm for the jacket. I would also have to run out and buy the jacket today.

I typically take ~8hrs for 50km and have a drop bag close to the middle should I want it.

Rain is not a problem for me but I haven’t spent that long running in the rain so unsure if I should just proceed with my normal summer gear or prepare otherwise.

Any advice or experience would be useful.

After I first powerhiked the 50km distance back in the fall of 2023, I repeated it a handful of times but never increased the distance materially, parts because for me even 50km is hard lol (reading this sub sometimes gives the impression that everyone here casually runs the UTMB 170km:-)), parts because I have a rather busy life, parts because I am not a big sufferer, parts because I invest too little in building the aerobic base. Oh and I also likely have Proctalgia Fugax, which is manageable but still sucks for a day or two after a proper run of more than say 25k.

Still, a goal of mine was to complete the 50km distance over a hilly course in under 10 mins per km.

Last week, I ran and powerhiked from Olten (CH) over the wonderful Jura mountains to the Unterbaselbiet (CH). I reached the 50 km mark after 8:17 (I am an honest guy and recalculated the route using our official fantastic state issued topography app), and after 2‘600 meters of d+.

Entire route was 56k and ca 2‘680 meters of d+.

I ran almost all the downhills and the (rather sparse) flats. I exclusively powerhiked the uphills.

Trail was a mixture of forest service roads, few short tarmac sections and most of the time essy to moderately technical single trail.

Route ended at my house. I brushed the outskirts of only three villages on my way. My family arrived by car at the same time and my two daughters met me 100 meters before my house and „pulled“ me over the finish line, which to me was a priceless experience.

Hi all,

I have had this Solomon vest for a couple years now and it's served me very well, comfy and holds plenty of water and snacks.

I left it in my closet for a while after my last race and now the two zippers on the breast pockets are completely stuck shut. I don't want to force or damage them. My best guess is that they are gummed up with some combination of dried sweat, dirt and dust, and maybe sugary residue from empty gel packets? Gross.

I was going to start out by soaking it in a big bucket of warm water for a few hours and see if that helps. Has anyone had this problem before and can you recommend other methods? Maybe add a little dish soap and/or vinegar to the water?

Thanks in advance.

Hey everyone racing this weekend! This will be my first time running this race and I have found a logistical dilemma that I'm looking for support on.

We're RVing at the park all the way in the back, over 4 miles from the start. We wont have an extra car. I thought we'd only be a mile or so from the start but dang was I wrong!

Do y'all know if there's a shuttle or anything going around? Hoping to hitch a ride while walking up early AM, and same for my family and kids so they can make it to the finish line.

Hi! I'm torn between the Mount to Coast H1 and M1 and can't decide which one to get.

I'm looking for a versatile shoe for road running, gravel, trails and traveling. Ideally, I'd like one pair that can handle most terrains without having to pack multiple running shoes. My daily trainers are the Brooks Ghost AMP.

I'm also running the a 23K trail race next month (around 1,100 m elevation gain) so I'd like to have something that could handle that race too. I've previously been using the Nike Pegasus Trail 5 but wasn't particularly happy with the quality so I decided to give Mount to Coast a try.

The H1 seems like the better road to trail option but the M1 looks more capable on technical terrain. I'm just wondering how much road comfort I'd be sacrificing with the M1 and if the H1 can handle trails and my upcoming race.

A few years ago I switched from a Garmin Forerunner 45 to an Apple Watch but I think it’s time to move on and I’m just looking for people’s opinions between going back to a Forerunner 265 maybe or a Suunto Race S or maybe just the Race. I just need it for basic running metrics and to be able to have it show Strava routes. Battery life for 50-100k max at this point. No requirement for music capability. If you have an opinion on either of those or something different I’d love to hear it.

I was just minding my own business on my 11 mile trail run last week, when all of the sudden I happened upon the very woods where Benedict Arnold and British Major John Andre plotted the surrender of the American fortress at West Point.

Pretty cool stuff. I nerded out over this. The run was awesome, and I learned some history.

Hello folks! Iv just started running this past summer and my second race is coming up this weekend which is awesome! The forecast is calling for start time to be 45°, about 75° humidity, and a little gusty. The sun will eventually come out but my race should be over by 10:30 (hopefully) at the latest so it wont warm up too much during the actual running. Anyways; what would you wear? I was thinking wool socks, shorts, a thin running long sleeve, and maybe a little headband to cover my ears since my inner ears can hurt as temps get lower? I’ll have a vest on also

I’ve done Loowit CCW and thought it was interesting to see what it and the others in the area would look like in either direction

How do I find local trails? Is trail running safe? Do I need special shoes or gear? What do I do if I encounter some wildlife? What if I get lost? WHAT IF I HAVE TO POOP IN THE WOODS?

There are no dumb questions in this thread! If you are new to trail running or if you are a veteran who just wants to hear how other trail runners do things, ask away. If you have some ideas that can help your fellow trail runners and future trail runners, pitch in some answers.

No Dumb Question Day will be a regular, biweekly feature on the trailrunning sub.

**Thanks for participating!** Any questions, [please message your helpful mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Ftrailrunning).

Yesterday I had one of the most beautiful trail runs of my life in Sicily. I was completely alone, surrounded by stunning nature, wild horses roaming freely, and even spotted a wild boar. For a moment, I felt completely at one with nature. This is why I love trail running!!

I gave my trail shoes a scrub yesterday and as always took out the insoles to dry over night. I laced up for the run today without even noticing I didn’t have any insoles and ran my local climb 5mi 500’ and didn’t know until I got home and saw the insoles sitting there. Hmm, maybe I should just pull them permanently?

Trail running requires much more than just running ability.

Uneven surfaces, elevation changes, and long descents all create different physical demands compared with road running.

I've been curious about which strength exercises runners found most useful after adding them to their training.

Some people focus on legs, while others emphasize core stability, balance, or injury prevention.

For runners who include strength sessions at home, what exercise made the biggest difference?

Was it something obvious like squats and lunges, or a smaller movement that surprised you?

Got my roadrunner, flatlander buddy a pair of Speedgoats and went running in Sedona for a few days in early October. Neither of us are distance runners. Just wanted to get outside and run some desert single-track. Sedona delivered.

Arrived and did an evening 5 miles Chuck Wagon Loop. Elevation gain, 500 ft.

Next, 10 miles Hangover Loop. 1300 ft elev.

5 miles Scorpion Loop. 600 ft.

13 miles Upper Snake, Anaconda, Dawa, Aire, and Mescal Loop. 1200 ft.

And finally hit the airport loop on the way out of town. Good times, will return.

I will never fall out of love for this area. What a wonderfully accessible place to push limits and become a better trail runner!

How many of you do heart exams? Who often? What type of exams?

I moved my family to Colorado last fall and am excited to get into trail running. We live in Centennial, right next to Cherry Creek State Park, and I would like to start moving my runs onto some easier mountain trails in order to gradually build up vertical stamina. I am also recovering from a ruptured achilles tendon and I am trying to avoid super technical runs until I build up proper ankle strength. Do any of you locals have recommendations for trails within an hour of Denver that might fit this criteria? I've tried Alltrails, but I can't really suss out the technical nature of the trails in regard to running.

Pen y Fan horseshoe. Corn Du, Pen y Fan (no other people for the first time ever), Cribyn, Fan y Big and the Roman Road.

Lush run but pretty damp and low visibility....

16k circular 800m elevation. 2hrs 8 mins.

OMM Kamleika smock. Shorts. Inov8 trailtalon max. Leki poles (not sure which sorry).Tuna sandwich. Cheese and onion crisps. Flask of tea afterwards at the car.

Because of recent success and speed on other trails nearby with somewhat similar stats, I wanted to trail run Golden Ears summit in BC and wanted to shoot for 4:00 ish, having done Panorama Ridge (Garibaldi) in 4:00. Golden ears per my Garmin was 24km/1750m (including summit scramble) and Panorama (didn’t tag the lake) was 26km/1600m

Well, turns out when you cram more elevation into a shorter distance it’s quite a bit steeper. What slowed me down most though was panorama was a very nice and smooth trail for the most part, whereas Golden Ears was significantly more technical. Even a lot of the flatter bits I had some trouble running. Something to work on, I suppose.

In the end, finished in 6 hours moving time with a 20 minute sandwich and photo break at the top. Still a glorious day out - grateful to get another big mountain day in before the weather starts turning!

Smaller local race in Austria. Great run organized by great people.

The race was in August. I did the 26km race with 1100m elevation gain. There also is a 53km race and a short distance with 9k(I think)

Had an absolute blast at the race, people where great Aid stations workers were absolutely great. Would totally recommend the race if you want to do a smaller race

It also counts for your UTMB and ITRA index if you care about those.