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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Packing for El Scorcho 25K

I've been preparing my packing list for Saturday's race since Sunday, one week out.  What's El Scorcho? It's a 25K and 50K running race held at midnight Saturday night/Sunday morning on a 5K loop in Trinity Park in Fort Worth in the dark.  Limited to 500 running, spectators also come camp out and help make it feel like a fun little party.  This is my first year participating, and the longest race I've done.

The race is about an hour from my house.  So I thought, as a 5 month pregnant woman, I should do this as smart as possible.  I have a hotel room very close to the race site.  I'm going over Saturday early afternoon, picking up my packet at Fort Worth Running Company, and getting a few hours sleep.  Then dinner, Italian, at 8:30 pm before I head over to the race site at 11 pm.  The race will start at midnight, and I'm guessing it will take me 4-5 hours if all goes well.  Then I'll head back to the hotel, get a shower and probably an ice bath, and sleep for a few hours before heading home.  No sense trying to drive home fatigued for an hour at 5 am!

So all the more reason I get my packing list right since I can't just head back home.

Here's my packing list... If you've done a race like this, or this race in particular, please COMMENT and help me refine this list. It's very hard to feel like you have everything you need!
  1. Garmin GPS
  2. Heart Rate Monitor (required by doc to wear for all workouts)
  3. Camera
  4. Headlamp
  5. Extra batteries for the headlamp
  6. Glowsticks
  7. Cooler stocked with: gatorade, bottled water, chocolate milk
  8. Gu (4)
  9. Bagels
  10. Extra pair of shoes and socks (after my last long run sweating in this heat and humidity, I came the closest to getting a blister that I've come in about 3-4 years, I never get blisters. So I'll try changing out shoes/socks after the 3rd or 4th loop)
  11. Extra shirt (to change into for late loops or when done)
  12. Amphipod pocket (carries my phone)
  13. Bodyglide (a must!)
  14. Beach towel (for laying out to do stretches on the ground)
  15. Lawn chair
  16. Handheld water bottle
[7/23/10 - List Amended Due to Feedback on my Facebook Post of This Blog Entry]
  1. Bug Spray
  2. Baby wipes
  3. Extra towel for car when leaving and sweaty
  4. Extra hair ties
  5. Frozen washcloths
And I'm not including what I'm wearing to the race itself.

So what am I forgetting? Suggestions are most welcome!

3 comments:

  1. So sorry I missed you out there! That was intense, right? Sheesh! I put my light on my spibelt but never actually turned it on. I lost my blinky light though! It fell off and shattered :( I'm still pretty exhausted! Way to go for finishing, that was a crazy experience!

    PS. I hate to sound snobbish, but, did you think the medals were kind of "blah"? I guess for such a crazy thing, I kind of expected some rockin' bling. But, again, I don't want to sound like a spoiled runner! It was craziness and a memory filled experience, that's for sure!

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  2. The race was really well organized, I thought, and the ambiance was incredible. Hope you were happy with your results. I plan on running it next year and hope you'll be on the 50K course in 2011!

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  3. Incidentally, I am undertaking a big project trying to organize an ultra starting in Dallas and ending in Ft. Worth- I have the course plotted and would appreciate any advice you could offer on organizing such an event. If you know of any adventurous runners interested in helping me do some test runs once the weather turns a little colder, that would be great, too. I want to promote a friendly rivalry between Ft. Worth and Dallas runners decided on the course.

    Thanks in advance,
    jon

    stickysaves@gmail.com

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