The Low Down on Deadwater

I offered to publish some tips for runners at the "gentlemens" end of the field (as opposed to the "players", if you're old enough to get the reference), in other words those for whom getting to the finish is the prime objective rather than trying to take away John Parkin's title.

I should start by saying that this is a really great event. I completed it in 2018 and would do it again but at my stage of the game (I'll be 72 in August) there are too many other things to do before Father Time closes in; I've signed up for this year's Race Across Scotland which is only a week or two earlier and attempting the two doesn't really seem sensible. I'm hoping to make Deadwater in some sort of support capacity all being well.

So how does a runner of more modest abilities make it to the end of this 235 mile monster?

Well, I think a bit of planning and a determination to make good decisions on the day(s) will pay off more than that extra ten or twenty miles a week you may (or may not) be contemplating. Let's start off with the obvious one, kit.

KIT

Deadwater is (I think) unique in UK ultras in that you have to carry absolutely everything you are going to need, except water, right from the start (there's actually a food concession but we'll come to that later). That means that unless you're going to have a torrid time going at Spine-like speeds (which won't get you through the long day anyway) you really need to work at keeping everything light.

Richard's recommendation was to aim for a pack weight of 5kg. I found that I couldn't manage this and still take everything I felt was necessary for a reasonably comfortable trip (and over 6 days and nights you really want this to be fun, or why bother going?) I went out a couple of times before the event, once for just over 30 miles, with 6kg, and found that I could manage that OK for my style of running (run the downs and occasional flats, walk everything else.) Anything lighter would be a bonus. 

I took an OMM 1.0 sleeping bag with a silk liner, together these were less than 500g and would have been quite warm enough if the weather had been normal for August. We had some nights when the temperatures were around freezing so I needed all my clothes as well to stay warm.

I used a 4ft x 18in piece of 5mm close cell mat, which weighed almost nothing and was absolutely fine for insulation. All the fancy inflatable mats weigh more than this. I also took an inflatable pillow, which Richard said was not worthwhile but I found helped me get much better sleep.

I carried or wore at various times

- OMM Kamleika smock

- Montane Minimus rain pants

- long sleeved Helly Hansen lifa vest

- Icebreaker Merino vest

- extra light Ron Hill Fleece

- Rab Neutrino puffy smock

- Ron Hill tights

- Underarmour pants (2x)

- lightweight fleece beanie

- foldable baseball cap

- thin merino gloves

- Salomon waterproof shell mitts

Of these the only thing I would change if going again would be to take a Bryne long sleeve vest instead of the Icebreaker  -  warmer, lighter and much easier to keep dry. The best bit of clothing kit I took was the puffy smock for its absolute versatility; can be used to keep warm around camp, to beef up the warmth of a thin sleeping bag and as a great backup layer for a bleak day on the hills. The key with all your clothing is that it needs to be good for everything, running, relaxing around camp and sleeping, because you can't afford to carry separate stuff for different activities.

I also had a bit of hardware, mug, spoon, etc. My headtorch was an old Black Diamond model about equivalent in weight and power to a Petzl Tikka. If you run fast enough to need a brighter torch than this then you will finish each stage in daylight and will not use one at all; so anything other than a lightweight torch is overkill. My back up which (just) had enough brightness to get me down to the next CP when my main torch failed (see later) was a Petzl eLite.

All packed in a OMM 20L Adventure sack. I used a 30L drybag inside it as a liner to keep everything dry.

I took 2 identical pairs of  shoes, Skechers GoRun Ultra2. These are not available these days; if I went again I would probably take Hokas - Challengers for the hilly days and Stinsons for the flatter ones (1, 5 and 6). There is very little technical rocky ground on the course so unless you're travelling fast the main concern will be to go for comfort to keep your feet in good shape. There is a certainty of some (and a potential for a lot more) wet ground on days 2, 3 and 4. I took 3 pairs of Drymax socks (one on, one in the pack and one in the shoe drop bag).

I used a very old pair of Gipron collapsible poles. 350g and very sturdy, invaluable when you have knees like mine. These days I have updated to Mountain King Trailblazer carbons, which do roughly the same job.

I used an old Suunto Ambit 2 watch set to "Trek" mode which meant it was only charged once during the week. I used it for gauging distances to the next CP and for an occasional location ping to check the GR of where I was, and of course for telling the time of day.

I took a non-smart phone with a Manx Telecom simcard which works on all available networks. It did not need charging during the week.

I took my eTrex 30 GPS  with a rough plot of the course installed. I find its real value is in the map background enabling you to navigate when it's too difficult to open (or see) a map. I used it a few times, but not much overall.

FOOD

This occupied all the competitors thoughts quite a bit both before and during the event. You have to carry everything except water, but you are allowed a resupply drop bag at the end of Day 3. This means that when your pack is at its heaviest you are carrying 2 Breakfasts, 2 Evening Meals and enough hill food for 3 days running.

The mandatory minimum food requirement in the rules is 2000 calories a day, but the word was that this would be pretty painful so most of us aimed for 3000, which is what I took. I ended Day 6 with nothing left at all.

For main meals I took the freeze dried stuff as did almost everyone else. My typical evening was Soup (100cals) Main course (800) and pudding (500) plus tea and coffee with sugar (100).

For breakfast I used 2 x cereal bars (400) plus tea/coffee (100). Others took another main course for breakfast but I don't eat much in the morning normally so it wouldn't have worked for me.

This totalled 2000 cals per day. While running I ate at least another 1000 calories. I don't get on with technical stuff (gels, etc) over long periods, except Shotbloks. So as well as these I just took normal confectionery - Mars and Snickers bars, Dairy Milk chocolate, Haribos, nuts and raisins, ginger biscuits, etc. I drank just water because the stuff I use for shorter events (Mountain Fuel) is not really weight efficient enough for a long race, Water was carried in two 500ml bottles of the type found in the kids section at Sainsburys. I had a spare 1 litre capacity in a rolled up platypus at the bottom of my sack which I never used.

Because you have your resupply at the end of Day 3 everyone took a "treat meal" for that evening because you don't have to carry it. As it turned out I didn't finish that day until around midnight, so although the meal itself and the extra chocolate were worth it, I fell asleep before enjoying the two cans of G&T I had brought. The support crew enjoyed them the next day though.

It really is worth at least tasting every item you are going to take with you, because there are no other options for 6 days and 235 miles! (although a certain amount of trading does go on between competitors).

I can't stress enough how important it is to take food that (a) you can eat, and (b) has the best calorie to weight ratio you can find. This will be a big topic of discussion on the Facebook forum in the run-up to the event!

STRATEGY

It's a long way, but it has easy and hard days. To maximise your chance of a finish the key is to make sure the easy days are easy and you don't use energy unnecessarily. Once you have finished for the day on the shorter days (1, 2 and 5) all you are going to do is hang around until bed-time, so it makes sense to chill out, slow down and use a bit less energy. Day 1 is short and almost all on good tracks, with no steep climbs. Take it easy. Day 2 is a bit longer but the first two thirds are again gentle and on good tracks, with just one climb (over Cross Fell) right at the end. Day 3 again is pretty gentle until nearly half way, but from there to the end (once you start up Wild Boar Fell) it's pretty testing both physically and navigationally if the weather is not great  -  and it's 46 miles. This will probably leave you pretty knackered starting Day 4 "the Long One" at 60 miles, but if you tough this one out steadily you'll make the finish. As Richard said in the morning briefing at the start of Day 5 "Well you've got it cracked now, just a couple of 30 mile fun runs to finish!" There are no cut-offs, the only rule is you have to be present on the start line at 8am for each day's stage. This was modified to 7am at the start of Day 4 and 9am at the start of Day 5 to give runners a chance of some sleep after the long stage  -  or in my case allowed me to take just under 25 hours on Day 4 and still stay in the race. Day 5 "Canal Hell" is aptly named, many of us found it the hardest day of all, 30 miles on hard-packed or asphalt towpaths when you're already tired, but there is plenty of time so just take it steady and soak it up. Once it's done, so long as you've looked after yourself, Day 6 is the easiest of the lot and great fun because you know it's all going to stop at teatime!

You have to look after your feet. The race medics were wonderful but they can't work miracles. What works for me in "summer" races is a liberal coating of Sudocrem and Drymax socks (the sock makers say don't do this but it works for me), and that lasts me the day. I got wet feet every day (even on the "dry underfoot" days we seemed to hit fields with wet or dewy grass first thing in the morning) so if they hadn't dried out naturally by the end of the days play I dried my socks off in my sleeping bag overnight (sounds unpleasant but not too bad and it works). I finished the event with no significant blisters. You definitely need to work out what works for you, as this can make or break your fun (or even your race).

You need to manage the state of your clothes, because you don't have any spares. Drying is possible at some of the overnight camps but certainly not easy, and if you're drying stuff you're not wearing it. If you get a bit of bad weather you will get wet inside your waterproofs if only from sweat; it's then really important that if it stops raining to get the waterproofs off as soon as possible (even if it feels a bit chilly) to start the drying process. I found in general that the best way to dry your wet clothes (apart from waterproofs) is to keep wearing them.

I found it very helpful not to bother about times at all. I just concentrated on making sure I was feeling OK and let the forward progress take care of itself. It's a great varied course and easy to enjoy. Even on the long day, when I was delayed for a couple of hours by incompetence, I didn't fret about the overall timing taking the view that all you can do is all you can do, and it's either good enough or not.

MISTAKES

I made two serious mistakes, either of which could have stopped my participation in the event, but the organisation were generous enough to let me get away with them.

(1) Coming down off Wild Boar Fell I needed to take a bearing in the mist, only to find that my compass had gone. It was in an open pocket on my pack, tethered by a lanyard and a small carabiner, which had obviously worked open. Having both a watch and a GPS each with a compass I was OK on the ground, but a compass is part of the mandatory kit. I confessed to Richard who happened to be manning the next CP. His view was "well if you survived over there without one you'll probably be OK" and allowed me to carry on. Ever since I have made sure that the compass is secured by a knot at both ends.

(2) As day turned to night towards the end of the long day I put on my torch to find the batteries fading. I was a bit surprised as I had only used them until about midnight the night before and that particular torch usually lasted the whole of a summer night. But I had a spare set that would last the night so I changed them and carried on. Less than three hours later these too started to fade rapidly. I inched my way painfully slowly to the next CP using my back up which dimly illuminated about 3 feet ahead at most. I said to Andy who was running the CP that I would have to drop out as I had no batteries left. No worries, he said, I have batteries; so I was on my way. What happened was that I had in general moved from alkaline to lithium batteries sometime earlier, but had not checked that they were compatible with the torch I took on Deadwater, which was one of my smaller, older ones to save weight. They weren't.

These are just two examples that if you don't prepare everything thoroughly then there is no-where to hide on an event like this.

Stay (more or less) in control and you'll have a great, rewarding time. Richard's team will look after you and you'll finish, even if only a little, a bit different from when you started.