What to carry on the run.
Its
very rare for me to head out for a run without carrying something. Even
in the best weather I take my grab bag with some basic emergency stuff.
I've been laughed at for this but wanted to put something together to
encourage people to think about what they ought to be carrying when out
running.
It
could be that, after thought, the conclusion is that you don't need to
carry anything but making an informed decision not to carry anything is
very different from setting out without anything due to thoughtlessness.
One must consider route, weather and potential emergency situations.
For
example take a broken leg. If I think I might break my leg and need to
be able to deal with it them I need to think about taking trekking
poles, pain killers, possibly bandages and more. Personally I don't
carry stuff I'd need to deal with a broken leg because I believe its
unlikely enough to not worry about. But I have thought about it.
The
situation I do want to be prepared for is my pace dropping. There are
lots of reasons this might happen and it's potentially dangerous because
if you're wearing enough for a given pace and you end up moving slower
then you'll get cold. So I want to carry things to make myself safe
should that happen.
One
way to make this situation safe is to get my pace back up so I'm
thinking about why I might slow down and what I can do about it. One
cause would be bonking, so I always take glucose tablets in the hope
that I could get some quick calories and get my pace back up. Another
cause might be cramp so I always take salt in the hope that some quick
salt would sort the cramp and get me running again. Another cause would
be shoe failure. This has happened to me and although it didn't slow me
down next time it might so now I take a small roll of duct tape.
Next
I want to think about what would happen if I couldn't get my speed back
up for example if I'd rolled an ankle. If that were to happen then I'd
be walking and it's cold that is the danger. Depending on conditions it
doesn't take long to get cold in lightweight, and potentially wet,
running gear. I think how far I'd need to walk and plan my carry
accordingly. So if I go for a run in the woods I could be up to two
miles from my house or the nearest pick up point so I need to have
enough stuff to keep me warm for the time it would take to walk that
distance. What to take depends on weather. In summer just a space
blanket might be the best option (I tend to carry one all the time
anyway) but if it was dawn or dusk maybe a long sleeve base layer might
be needed. As it gets colder a mid layer, extra windproof or waterproof
might be necessary.
I've
put together a grab bag with glucose tabs, salt tabs, duct tape, space
blanket, cash, and vaseline which I always take with me. I also always
carry my phone. Then I carry extra clothing to fit the conditions.
Here's
an example of when I got it wrong. Last year I ran to work one Friday
morning as I often do. It was -6c I was wearing two base layers and a
windproof and had with me a fleece vest as my emergency layer. I set off
and put on the fleece thinking I'd take it off when I got up to
temperature. I never got warm enough to take it off. I considered that
a fail and whilst running was genuinely worring about the fact that I
had no extra warmth with me.
