Offa's Dyke Run - things learnt Lesson 2 - Hydration

This was a major thing we had all considered but had not really realised quite how much liquid was needed during a 10 hour day. We had practiced on 3-4 hour runs but 10 hours in summer required anything up to 6 litres of water.  The other thing we learnt was the importance of taking electrolytes whilst running. So we dealt with the water issue in different ways.

• Some people preferred using a bladder which could hold up to 2 litres and made it easy to drink on the go but has the downside of being fiddly to refill.
• Some people used water bottles on the front of their packs or vests which again made on the go drinking and refilling easy with the downside that capacity was limited. 
• Others used water bottles in their packs which were harder to get to on the run.

As far as electrolyte was concerned there were two options powder and tablets. Tablets seemed to be the easiest to use but some hard core runners solved the electrolyte powder issue by putting the powder in their mouths and then drinking water.  This is a tough thing to do so if it appeals try it out before gong on a run.

My solution for hydration was to carry two 500ml soft bottles up front in my Ultimate Direction pack. This was generally enough for most legs but when it got hot on the last day I would have done with more. I used electrolyte tablets and had one bottle with electrolyte and the other without. This seemed to work for me.

Offa's Dyke Run - things learnt Lesson 1 - Feet

After running an average of 36 miles and climbing over 6000' a day for 5 days along Offa's Dyke with 15 others I have learnt some valuable lessons that some other might find useful if contemplating a similar journey.

Lesson 1 - feet

The thing that most people suffered with was their feet and were forced to pull out of contemplating the full challenge as a result. The sort of things that caused problems were blisters, toe nails and sore soles.  Blisters were the the biggest problem and the best solution is actually prevention. So how do you prevent blisters:

Conditioning is useful if you can. Getting used to being on your feet and to them to being hot and sweaty for up to 10 hours.

Getting your feet used to your shoes and making sure they are comfortable and well fitting for the terrain you are going across.  Some people used fell shoes when possibly road shoes may have been more comfortable. 

Treating potential pressure points on feet before they turn into blisters by using things like compeed.

Some people also suffered from sore feet as a result of the 10 hours of pounding they received each day. I used highly cushioned Hoka trail shoes (Mufate Speeds) and in fact I had two pairs of exactly the same shoes that I rotated. 

I think the fact that my feet stayed in tact was down to luck and due to my having used the Hokas for over a year and making sure that I had just been on a week long walking holiday which had hardened the feet.

A video showing the epic Offa's Dyke run

https://youtu.be/OeTp9R40F64