Border Route Report
In my prior post, I went through my impressions of the Border Route itself, hopefully giving an idea of what the trail is like, and what it was like to be out on a trail of that length and difficulty while trying at the same time to move quickly. For this post, I want to dial in what I learned from this run: what went well, and what can be improved.
Food/fuel:
For a long time in ultras, I had trouble nailing down my fueling scheme. I would usually end up eating too little, and bonk. Or my stomach would reject the food, usually starting after three hours or so.
At Zumbro, I learned a few things: I knew beforehand that I was not able to just eat gels or chews and be able to finish an ultra in good condition. At Zumbro, I learned three additional things: I could not eat just sweet food (gels, chews, and stroopwaffles), and I needed a variety of food (salty, sweet, formulated, real, etc . . ).
For the Border Route, then, I packed a wide variety of food in my bag. Payday bars were a particular favorite, being both salty and sweet, as well as fat- and carbohydrate-rich. I ate some gels, some waffles, and some home-made favorites (pinole bites with matcha are fantastic). I added to that some beef jerky and dried mango, two stalwarts I’ve previously used for long days in the mountains.
Salt and Pepper Kettle Chips were not as successful. They did not go down well.
I also learned from Zumbro how much food I need: somewhere north of 250 calories per hour. I opted to eat on the half hour, unless it was a Payday bar (240 calories). I had parceled all my snacks into 125-150 calorie bundles just for that reason, and it worked like a charm. I ate two or three payday bars, and whatever else I felt like eating at the half hour, keeping a good mix going.
I carried 4000 calories in my pack for the wilderness section of the trail. I wanted to have enough for the full 42 miles, in case something went wrong and I couldn’t meet my crew at the Clearwater Lake campsite. As it turns out, that’s where I left the trail. But I have no regrets about taking that much food.
Food: dialed in.
Hydration:
Hydration went really well, despite the fact that it was 85 degrees in Northern Minnesota in May. I certainly did not expect that when planning the run and choosing the date.
I generally drink to thirst, and I followed that method this time as well. Usually, that works out to a good sip every 10 minutes or so, and this day was no different
The BRT has an added issue: after the first section, I would only get aid at the 32 and 52 mile marks. I needed a good, light, water filter (details on that to come later). I decided that I would take a full 70oz reservoir of water, and a single, collapsable 500mL (about 17oz) bottle. It being the Boundary Waters, after all, there were regular water crossings. My plan was to filter a full water bottle at every water crossing, and drink first from the bottle, and secondly from the reservoir once the bottle was dry.
With the expected heat, I made one change: every other bottle, I added a Nuun tablet after filtering.
The plan worked almost incredibly well. I felt clear headed and hydrated the entire time, drinking when I needed to, and never being over or under hydrated that I can tell. I ran out of water in the reservoir within a mile of the Clearwater campsite, and my dad and my wife, who were out there waiting for me, confirmed that I was clearheaded and coherent, and had I not arrived 20 minutes later than my cutoffs they would have sent me on my way with no qualms.
Pacing and Navigation:
I had the goal of moving at about 15 minute mile pace, or about four miles per hour. I figured I would run nine minutes, then walk one minute throughout the day, letting me recover on the run.
After the first four miles, I realized I didn’t need to bother with that schedule. I had resolved to “take what the trail gives me,” and I did. That meant much of the time I was actually unable to run. In some places the trail was too steep, in other places too technical.
The phrase “too technical to run” has a different meaning on a wilderness trail than in a race situation. On the Border Route, I was on my own, not knowing when I might next see somebody, should I hurt myself and be forced to stop and seek/await help. I had my tracker, with an SOS feature, but that was an absolute last resort: if I had cause to use that, it would mean I had failed utterly. So I took a cautious approach, running when I could, and walking when there was any question.
This meant I ran much less than I was hoping to. I averaged a little under 17 minute miles for the 35 miles I ran. But I had to backtrack twice out on the trail. While moving, I was able to average a little better than the four miles per hour I was hoping for, but the water breaks and the backtracking took its toll, and I slipped below 18 minute miles “real” time, which was my cutoff speed.
Navigation generally went well. The trail was generally easy to follow, save for a couple sections at the beginning (when I had a second set of eyes to help me navigate) and one section in the middle, crossing a ridge on exposed bedrock. It helps that there are few other trails out there, and this one has the brush cleared to either side somewhat regularly.
Gear:
Gear I feel like I really had dialed down.
Shoes: Altra Superiors. I wore the same pair all 35 miles. I love the feel of these shoes, and they have enough cushion to keep my feet happy, and enough ground feel that I don’t need to worry too much about rolling my ankle.
Socks: Injinji NuWools. These got sopping wet in the morning dew, and never dried out. Looking back, this is the one thing I might have changed. I didn’t have enough pairs of socks to feel I could swap them out at the 11 mile mark. In the future, I would bring a couple extra pairs, and maybe keep one pair in my pack. My feet were in rough shape at mile 35, and that was the one thing (other than the cutoff) that might have kept me from continuing.
Gaiters: worthwhile. I used the Altra Trail Gaiters. They kept extra junk out of my shoes that might otherwise have slowed me down.
Shorts: The North Face Long Haul (I believe). The pockets in the waistband held my compass and a little extra food. The longer brief underneath kept any chafing from starting. The downside is that this run apparently was the last straw for this pair, as one of the seams died. I may try to repair these.
Shirt: Long Sleeve New Balance. This technical shirt is supposed to keep you cool when you sweat. The long sleeves meant I didn’t have to put on extra sunscreen or bug spray, which meant shorter stops.
Hat: Ultimate Direction freebie.
Gloves: yep, I wore bike gloves. I didn’t use my trekking poles, which meant I didn’t need them to prevent blisters, but I liked having them in any case. As the Speedgoat says, it’s always good to protect your hands. I only fell once, but the leather/gel combo of the bike gloves meant my hand was protected.
Vest: Ultimate Direction Hardrocker 2017 vest. This was a key piece of gear for me. After Zumbro, I realized that neither vest I had (the Patagonia Forerunner 10L and the UD AK Race Vest V2) would work for the wilderness section of trail. The AK was not big enough, and the Forerunner did not have a front pocket large enough for the Garmin InReach (more on that later). This vest, however, was perfect. It fit all the gear I needed (see below), all the food I needed, and a full reservoir. All told, it was around 10 pounds fully loaded with food and water, and it had almost zero bounce at that weight. The plethora of pockets meant all my necessities (primarily food) were within easy reach without taking the pack off. And over the 7 or so hours that I wore the vest, I didn’t get any hot spots or pain from it. All in all, I wish it weren’t a limited-run vest (do you hear me Justin?).
GPS/Navigation: I wore my typical Suunto Ambit2 for this one, set at its most battery-friendly GPS settings (read: not very accurate, it was 3.3 miles off from my InReach). I had a Garmin InReach Explorer+ for my GPS tracker and Sat Messenger. I opted for this over the SPOT for tracking because it gave me the option of sending messages as needed. I utilized that twice, once to let my Pacer know I was 10 miles into the wilderness section, and once to let my crew know that I had pulled out.
For actual navigation, though, I used a map and a compass.
Filter: MSR TrailShot. I cannot say enough good things about this filter. It’s quick, easy, and convenient. No bending over (unlike the Lifestraw). No clunky bottle (unlike Sawyer). You just point the nozzle at your bottle, let the tail end fall into the water source, and squeeze. It took ~2 minutes from the time I stopped at a water source to the time I had my water bottle filled and was on my way again. The trailshot is heavier than either the Lifestraw or the Sawyer, but I think the 2 ounces is worth it.
Other Assorted Gear: I had some backup, emergency equipment: merino wool shirt from the now-defunct GoLite (though I hear they are coming back under new ownership, the old owners having started MyTrail), Patagonia Houdini jacket, SOL emergency bivy, blister/first aid “kit” (including duct tape, of course), Victorinox Classic knife, mini LED flashlight (I wore a Petzel AcTik for the few minutes I needed a headlamp first thing in the emorning). All that was for the very unlikely situation that I was forced to bivy for the night in the BWCA.
As I said, I don’t regret bringing any of the gear. I debated trekking poles, but honestly the hills were either shallow, or few and far enough between that I didn’t feel the need.
Again, despite not actually succeeding in the overarching goal, I consider this trip a success: I moved well for the conditions, nailed my fuel and hydration, and stayed generally positive.
And I made the right call, I believe, in stopping, regardless of how I felt physically.
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