I love running into the back country on an adventure run. It’s great for your training and it’s great for your soul.
Here is the view of my run from yesterday:
We are spoilt in New Zealand with a wealth of options on where we can run to get amazing scenery.
But unfortunately things don’t go perfectly and it is easy to trip and fall and potentially hurt yourself. If you carry these minimum safety items that I carry, you will be able to look after yourself. This is not a complete list and you can always add other items to it:
- Compass;
- Map (not shown in the video as it was being carried by my colleague who filmed the video);
- Emergency food (Cliff bar and Gu gels in the video);
- Survival Blanket;
- Water Bottle;
- Food for a snack or lunch during the run (high carb, easy to digest);
- Merino or Polypro warm clothing;
- Windproof jacket; and
- First Aid Kit.
The First Aid Kit is really important. On Saturday whilst out mountain biking in the Port Hills we came across a guy in a group of about a dozen riders who had crashed and had a nasty cut in his abdomen. None of his riding colleagues had a first aid kit and he was lucky that Rach and I turned up with a first aid kit and then the next person riding past was a paramedic who had even better supplies as the cyclist was in a bad way.
This is in no way an exhaustive list and you can easily add items to it such as a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB), long pants, beanie etc. Use some common sense and also take appropriate clothing for the season and forecasted weather.
If you are training for a specific event such as Coast to Coast or Spring Challenge have a look at their compulsory gear list and utilise that for your training. This way you can get used to carrying all the equipment that you need to.
Good luck with your training and stay safe out there.