Whilst I am by no means an expert I did read a lot of reviews and tried out lots of different options before deciding on what equipment I was going to use for my 28 Marathons in 28 days.
I then covered a lot of distance using it (734 miles(1181km) and so I got to know it pretty well.
Here is what I used and what I thought about it:
Trail Running Shoes:
I have a high arch and fat feet and immediately know if a shoe is going to work for me or not by the way it feels when I put it on. Initially, I tried lots of different trail running shoes based on reviews and regardless of the brand.
This included the Hoka Speedgoat 4 which has lots of great reviews online but they just didn’t accommodate my feet: there was not enough space in the top of the trainer. (On a side note this was the chosen shoe for a large percentage of runners I saw on the Jurassic Challenge in my first few days).
Becoming exhausted with receiving and sending trainers via post, we were still in the middle of a pandemic, I looked to see if Asics made trail runners. This is my go-to trainer for road runners and I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before.
After reading reviews and considering the price I ordered a pair of ASICS Men’s Gel-Fujitrabuco 8. which didn’t disappoint, they were like my favourite Gel Kayanos on top, with an off-road upgrade on the bottom. They gave me confidence on the trails, and also felt good when running on roads just making a bit of a funny sound due to the lugs.
They also performed well on the South West Coast Path enabling me to charge up inclines without fear of slipping whether it be on grass, mud or rock. There was minimal slippage, even in the rain and any ankle rolls were quickly corrected with no lingering damage or pain.
What I didn’t realise though was running shoes have a life expectancy and I had to get a new pair sent to me on day 20, my original pair covered 1,163.82 km throughout training and the initial part of the challenge but had to be retired.
I should have retired them sooner but with Cornwall not being the shopping capital of the world and deliveries being delayed due to the G7 summit the logistics proved tricky. The inner tops of the shoes ripped and the soles diminished to the point I could feel the terrain under my feet which caused me pain. This was offset slightly with the use of some inner soles but I think it caused some damage to my feet which was carried over even when using the new pair. However, this is my own fault for not replacing them sooner, the ASICS site recommends changing your running shoes between every 450 to 550 miles (724 – 885km) and I ran over 723 miles (1,163.82 km) in them.
Recovery Shoes:
Whilst some people thought it funny I would lug around of flip flops with me whilst running 28 Marathons these Crocs Unisex’s Athens Flip Flops are amazing to wear after a long day on your feet.
I am not sure how I came across these, I think it was when I was looking at specialised recovery shoes on Amazon, but whilst not specifically designed with this purpose in mind the massage bed and sheer comfort of these flip flops make them perfect to slip into after a long day.
Socks:
Calf Sleeves:
Knee Sleeves:
Compression Trousers:
Poncho:
Poles:
- TREKOLOGY TREK-Z Collapsible Tri-fold Trekking Pole/Hiking Poles
- HEWOLF Nordic Walking Trekking Poles
Bag:
Tent:
As was carrying everything on my back for the 28 marathons in 28 days I wanted my tent to be light, however, I’m not hardcore enough for a bivvy bag so I wanted a lightweight 1 person tent.
The criteria I used whilst looking for a tent was weight, price and review and the Geertop 1 person bivvy tent won out: Weighing just 1.5kg, costing under £100 and with 118 mainly positive reviews on Amazon.
Overall I was very happy with this purchase, even though it was light it felt very sturdy when erected and proved to be so in galeforce winds. There was also heavy rain on several nights and I did not get wet once either from above or below which is always I bonus.
I stored the tent, poles and pegs separately in my bag with the tent part fitting a 1.5 Litre dry sack and the poles and pegs sliding down the side. This was a top tip I got from a youtube channel and helped with balancing out my pack.
The tent itself was large enough for me and my kit, storing my bag above my head, my poles down the side and keeping my shoes outside but under the top sheet at the end of the tent. One of the downsides with a tent of this size is you can only really sleep in it, which is fine on dry days however when it was raining and there was no other shelter it did prove tricky trying to change in it.
Sleeping Bag:
- Eurohike Down Hybrid 500 Sleeping Bag
- BESTEAM Agemore Ultra-light Warm Weather Rectangular Sleeping Bag