Racing equipment, especially when you have to carry it 150 miles is a very personal thing. Equipment lists are usually broken down into mandatory and recommended gear.
For safety reasons, every racer has to carry the mandatory gear. Elite athletes usually don't take too much optional gear for comfort and back of the backers may take too much. Finding the balance is the key. Is a good nights sleep on an foam or lightweight air mattress worth carrying it 150 miles?
I compiled this list through recommendations from other racers and of course the hard way through trial and error. Last year I ran across the Atacama desert with a 23 pound pack (minus water). This year my goal is to be around 17-20 pounds and carry better food.
I compiled this list through recommendations from other racers and of course the hard way through trial and error. Last year I ran across the Atacama desert with a 23 pound pack (minus water). This year my goal is to be around 17-20 pounds and carry better food.
Below is my complete equipment list (minus food of course) that I will be taking to run across the Gobi desert.
| item weight | quantity | Grams | |||
| Osprey Backpack | 1001 | 1 | 1001 | ||
| Custom chest pack from old Moletracks backpack | 191 | 1 | 191 | ||
| Nunatak lightweight sleeping bag | 523 | 1 | 523 | ||
| Petzl Tikka 2 Headlamp 1 | 80 | 1 | 80 | ||
| Petzl E light Backup headlamp (has mandatory whistle) | 29 | 1 | 29 | ||
| Tiny REI Compass/ thermometer | 9 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 20 small Safety pins | 14 | 1 | 14 | ||
| Victorinox Swiss Card Classic Knife kit | 26 | 1 | 26 | ||
| whistle (inc in lamp) | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Justice systems Press lightweight survival mirror | 5 | 1 | 5 | ||
| Dynarex survival blanket | 46 | 1 | 46 | ||
| coppertone sport 30 spf sunscreen 1 fl oz. | 37 | 1 | 37 | ||
| 30 spf lip screen .15 oz. | 15 | 1 | 15 | ||
| RTP mandatory blister kit | 175 | 1 | 175 | ||
| Medications in pill case: Motrin, anti inflammatory, Tylenol, | 31 | 1 | 31 | ||
| Adventure medical kits alcohol gel sprey .5 fl oz. | 25 | 1 | 25 | ||
| 9 compressed wipes | 25 | 1 | 25 | ||
| small red flashing light | 22 | 1 | 22 | ||
| compression bandage | 20 | 1 | 20 | ||
| compression bag | 10 | 1 | 10 | ||
| lightweight jacket | 281 | 1 | 281 | ||
| CWX- Compression shorts | 195 | 1 | 195 | ||
| Shorts for sleeping | 115 | 1 | 115 | ||
| Short sleeve shirt with patches | 151 | 1 | 151 | ||
| Long sleve shirt with patches | 185 | 1 | 185 | ||
| Injini Outdoor series socks | 60 | 3 | 180 | ||
| Outdoor Research Desert hat | 80 | 1 | 80 | ||
| lightweight warm hat | 22 | 1 | 22 | ||
| lightweight gloves | 26 | 1 | 26 | ||
| Endure performance electrolytes 4 fl oz. | 171 | 1 | 171 | ||
| Raidlight 750 ML water bottles | 87 | 2 | 174 | ||
| Thermorest Neo-Air sleeping mat | 243 | 1 | 243 | ||
| Black Diamond trekking poles | 164 | 2 | 328 | ||
| IPod shuffle and headphones | 34 | 1 | 34 | ||
| Extra water bottle | 115 | 1 | 115 | ||
| Toob toothbrush and refillable paste | 30 | 1 | 30 | ||
| Spork | 10 | 1 | 10 | ||
| Camera | 95 | 1 | 95 | ||
| Sunglasses | 23 | 1 | 23 | ||
| Ear plugs and eye cover | 8 | 1 | 8 | ||
| Dolgit cream | 24 | 1 | 24 | ||
| Baby Powder | 65 | 1 | 65 | ||
| Body glide | 60 | 1 | 60 | ||
| Gobi March backpack patch | 30 | 1 | 30 | ||
| Seta strapless Gaiters | 52.5 | 1 | 52.5 | ||
| 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
| total | 4981.5 | grams | |||
| 10.98 | pounds |
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