Initially I resisted poles. It didn’t help my spur-of-the-moment idea to try poles for the first time consisted of taking my classic rollerski poles with me after my rollerski-to-run transition as part of one of my longest runs leading into a 100 miler. The poles were too long and amazingly heavy, despite never noticing their weight rollerskiing. At one point I ditched them on the trail. Not a good start.
It took me a long time to overcome the negative stigma, but I kept at it. Nearly every racer uses poles at Barkley and knowing my quads are my weak point, so poles would save the wear and tear for the 70,000 feet of descent. Eventually, I reached the point where the poles weren’t bogging me down on hill repeats. It would take a lot longer before I didn’t feel like an octopus for hydration and nutrition.
After I overcame the learning curve, it required many weeks before I settled on a single pair. With thousands of hours rollerskiing and cross country skiing, I was initially turned off by the basic loop grips of the Black Diamond poles. However, over time, I realized they did the job. After reading so many race reports with people snapping poles and having to use sticks, I opted for a slightly heavier aluminum pole over carbon in hopes the aluminum might bend but not break on a fall or misplant. Although I witnessed three broken poles during the race, my poles held up well and I don’t know how I would have gotten up the steep ascents without them!
Footwear – inov-8 Mudclaw with All Terrain Gaiters and Showers Pass Waterproof Socks
My gaiters were intended to keep debris out of my shoes bushwhacking, but I came to love them to keep snow out of my shoes and my feet dry for hours during my winter training. I had intended to try out gaiters for years and I’m glad I finally have this gear in my arsenal to aid with future trail running and adventure racing pursuits. After my feet going numb after just two hours of running through slush and freezing rain in my Gore-Tex shoes and warmest wool socks, I invested in waterproof socks. With multiple stream crossings in the Barkley with potential sub-freezing temperatures, waterproof socks were a worthy investment and my feet never went numb from cold (although they were numb for several days due to the physical beating).
Although I didn’t use Gore-Tex shoes during the race and previously disliked them for most other conditions, inov-8 Roclite 345 GTX hiking boots proved invaluable in the snow training. Initially I purchased them to protect my weak ankles bushwashing, but they were not only my go-to for all my navigation practice but almost all my long runs since they would keep my feet dry for hours trekking through snow.
For the race, we had ideal footing with the ground frozen for most of the race. I even made it down Leonard’s Buttslide twice without a single fall! My inov-8 Mudclaw shoes were my first non-Nike Pegasus running shoe purchase since my track spikes in fifteen years, which proved superior on steep hillsides (and icy hill repeats).
