Challenge Adventures

Thames Path 100 – Crewing Brian

My mate Brian decided a while back he would like another crack at the Thames Path 100. When they postponed the race earlier this year to this September space became available and he signed up, never mind he had done sod all training or any long runs for ages. But he is a stubborn little bugger and has form for just going out and winging ultras!

He has also completed the race before in 23:25:54 in 2016 so he knew what he was getting himself into. I had supported him during that attempt too so obviously was happy to crew him on this one with Maxine. He has helped me out at my events for many years so I owe him.

Centurion Running do great events and had put a lot of work in to get events going this year as have all us race directors. This meant a few changes from the normal event.

No mass start, you start anytime in a 2 hour window to maintain social distancing
Reduced crewing and spectating locations
Track and trace policies
No registration or kit checks at the start with everything pre race and during race as needed.
Extra sanitation and hygiene procedures.
A few changes to CP locations due to last minute permission issues.

But mostly the same great route and race, after all as someone once said “100 miles is not that far”.

For those who don’t know the TP100 is a point to point 100 mile running race along the Thames from Richmond to Oxford with an overall cut off time of 28 hours. There are around 14 aid stations provided by the race along the way but you can bring a crew to tend your needs, feed and clothe you. You have certain minimum equipment you must carry for the race and this means running with a small race pack or vest.

I also had a few other friends and previous coaching clients running in the race so it would be good to catch up with people and spend a day/night/day at a race with friends which is rare these days.

We picked up Brian nice and early and headed off to Richmond and with little fanfare we dropped him at the start and off he went. Just like a small child off to school for his first day. Short trousers and all.

We could not crew him for the 1st 2 checkpoints and could not meet up with him till 20 miles in, so we popped off and fortified ourselves with coffee and bacon butties at a cafe Nero. Crewing is hard work.

We met him at just over 20 miles by the river in Staines, He was looking good and had plenty of time on cut offs. He grabbed some fresh supplies and cracked on quickly. We mostly chatted to others and said hi to runners who we knew or just said “well done” to others we did not.

We may also have made him sit in my daughters chair from when she was 5!

Windsor at 28 miles was next at Romney Lock in the park and it was the same deal, we made him eat fruit this time and he ordered a self heating Lancashire hot pot for the next CP. Brian works best on proper food and a couple of good hot meals with lots of calories during the event works well for him. He was in good shape.

Not just any fruit drink M&S fruit drinks!

Maidenhead next at 35.5 miles and Brian was still in good shape, Hot meal provided and some more fruit and he was good to go.

Marlow next and he was starting to feel it but otherwise in good nick, a bit of a grease up of the family jewels and more food and drink and off he went. Still around 2 hours 10 minutes inside cut off times. Times are based on his start time so we had a table created on a sheet of paper as reference. I cant find a picture from Marlow so here is one from earlier in the course from the official photographer.

Henley was next and this signified just over half way at 51 miles, he had a change of gear here and we had ordered some pizza from dominoes so he took some of that with him as well. Fuelled up and with a handful of Mighty Meaty pizza he was off into the darkness.

Reading at 58 miles by the Waterside centre was next, He was slowing as expected at night but otherwise in good shape.

Next is Pangbourne CP at 66.6 miles and he was still in good spirits although getting tired and slowing the pace now. It was decided Maxine would run with him from the Next location to escort him through the night. More hot food was planned for the next CP too. No photo from Pangbourne as it was dark and we struggled to get good pics at night with so many lights around and busy CP’s

Wallingford was the next official point at 77.8 where we fired some hot Chilli into him, which he regretted later! As did Maxine who had to run with him trumping and taking poo breaks! Apparently there was a near toilet paper shortage on this leg, a Buff may have had to be sacrificed if it got worse!

At Clifton Hampden he was good, tired and achy but good. Maxine had seen him though the night and kept him going well. He was down to less than an hour and a half inside cut offs but the mission was to finish not be fast. He was in good shape for the last 15 miles. More food, a hot brew and a kick up the arse later and he was off.

Abingdon at 91 miles was the last place we could meet him at Hales Meadow which is where we also use for the last CP on the Thames Ring 250 race.

Here we managed to get actual footage of Brian running through the long grass along the Thames. You have to remember though big in heart Brian is short in stature! That long grass is tough to run through when you are so small!

We fed Brian got him to change socks and found a blister or two! We set him off in good spirits for the final push to the finish. He had just under an hour of a buffer now so as long as he kept moving he was going to get there within cut off.

He did not even know about this till he took his shoe off

We then popped off to the finish to wait for him, I then ran out on the course to meet him and walk/run the last bit with him. There was not much running going on but much childishness about a boat called the Tom Tug we saw on the way back.

Maxine managed to catch the finish on video as we arrived.

So 27:10:17, comfortably inside the cut off and not badly broken. Seems like you can wing a 100 miler on little training!

He slept like a baby on the way home though it will be interesting when the kids ask him why he is walking funny at school tomorrow!

It was great to help out and see him finish, It was also great to see other friends and previous coaching clients finish their races. Crewing and volunteering at races can be as rewarding as running them. Races always need staff and runners always need crews so if you cant run don’t be afraid to volunteer for races. You will love it.

Well done Brian, a great little adventure.

On The Road Again…

So we moved the house for the first time in nearly 6 months…

…For those that don’t know we live in a caravan full time and no longer own a house. In fact we have not owned a house for some 3 years now and live on campsites. We move around to a new locations in line with camping rules every month as you can’t live on a site for more than 28 days at a time otherwise it’s considered residential.

But in March Lockdown happened and we were lucky to be on a small local farm site near Sudbury and were allowed to stay there for the duration. Obviously Lockdown has been lifted and we need to comply with the rules again. So yesterday we moved to another small site, this time in Essex near Tollshunt D’Arcy.

Current site and set up on a nice quiet hosee stables site

Nice and quiet with shower and toilet facilities if we need them although we are very much self contained with a large caravan that has all mod cons! Dont think Father Ted Caravan…we are not suffering too much.

This is how it looked when we bought it, think of it more as a small flat/apartment on wheels.

This life suits us and though it has some pro’s and Con’s and some folk think it’s odd it works for us, It lets us be in areas we are working or want to explore without extra expense and allows us to have a lower cost of living. This means more money to spend on things we really want like bikes, outdoor gear and trips away.

Unlike some people think we are not alternative living anti-vaxxers or travellers, we like to see it more as mobile living with flexibility to work and live where we want. With modern wifi tech and internet ability nearly everywhere this is now more possible than ever.

Plus driving it down small lanes is fun with total length being over 40ft!

Shortly I will do a new blog on some of the reasons why we live in a van and what works well and also what the issues are and how we manage them.

Lindley

Old dog new tricks.

As you may notice my blog has a new home and I have combined all the kit and race stuff into one blog with my personal stuff. Please feel free to let me know how you think this new blog format looks. The title Challenge Adventures hopefully links it all to the events and outdoors stuff I now do.

So old dog new tricks!

I have always liked a little bit of biking and have owned a mountain bike of some sorts on and off forever. Ever since my very first MTB when I was about 15 years old. A classic Raleigh Mustang All Terrain bike in funky pink camoflage colours!

In 2007 when they started up the bike to work scheme I took the opportunity to buy a really good spec bike and ride a bit more often. It was a 2007 Specialized FSR XC. It’s cost a grand and that was a lot of money for a bike then…I rode it quite a bit including some trail centres in the UK and whilst never good over really rough terrain was an average rider at trail centres.

I then bought a road bike, a Giant Defy to do some training on and another 29er Hardtail all on the Cycle to work schemes over the next few years. I did a bit of riding as extra fitness and fun but never big miles and I never really tried to build up my skills off road to any standard. I was running too much to devote the time and energy. I eventually sold the FSR and road bike and I still have the 29er hardtail. Though I recently refurbed it after it was looking tired.

This year I decided to buy another full suspension bike for trail use and to try to get back into biking as an additional fitness activity. I bought a decathlon AM100s which although was still £1200 in the Jan sales it is very much an entry level full suspension bike. But the spec is good for the price and the bike is much more capable than I am on it.

I used it only a little bit before we had lockdown but since we have had more time I have been out on it a fair bit and enjoying getting out again on the bike. Maxine also now has a decathlon full suspension bike although a slightly less expensive version (ST530s).

We have been visiting lots of bike parks and trails trying to get our skills improved and I am really enjoying that challenge. My running is not where it once was and whilst I am improving my running again I am really enjoying getting out on the bike more. Although as you get older you seem to be much more scared of crashing and hurting yourself!

Practising a small drop off at Hadleigh Bike park

It will be interesting to see how many tricks this old dog can learn and how much I can improve over the next few months or years. Whilst I don’t expect to be Hans “No Way” Ray in that time, I would like to be happy doing any black run in the UK and doing drops and small gap jumps and tables.

James (Maxine’s son) doing a small table at Dalby Forest.

A recent trip to Twisted Oaks Bike park and trails in Suffolk.

Anyhow I will try to be more regular on the blog stuff and I am sure you will see more MTB running and Walking stuff posted.

Please fee free to comment and share and visit the Challenge Adventures YouTube channel.

Paramo’s Adventures on the Pennine Way days 4 and 5

After a lovely rest day and drying my gear out in the Hartlepool Travelodge, I mooched around the outdoor shops while Maxine went to a meeting and lunch for one of the companies she works for.

Day 4. Nice Beard!

My gear dried out and good comfort food in the way of a good pub meal inside me we chilled out in the evening and made plans do a shorter hike along the Pennine way in the Malham area. We parked Maxine’s car near the Field Studies centre and walked south towards Comb Hill and down to the naturally eroded Limestone Paving where its always fun trying to not break an ankle on the slippy wet stones. The weather was fairly kind and only windy and a little wet with light drizzle.
Temperatures were around 3-5 degrees so not too bad.

Looking into Goredale Scar

Once down into the village we hung a left and headed off towards Goredale Scar, a naturally eroded canyon of limestone. Dating back to the last ice age some 10,000 years ago where water and melting ice carved out the formations and built the walls with Tufa deposits. A truly spectacular bit of local scenery. Normally in dryer weather there is a path where you can scramble over the rocks at the end where the water comes down through at up the north west side and back up onto the open land to the side. With it being so wet recently and so much rain around this patch was not accessible, you could climb the side on the grass but again with it being slippy there is a higher risk of a fall. We decided to come back out and use the path up to the road from Goredale Bridge and along the Dales Way.

Looking out from the scar

Along the path we me a couple and the man had a beard and made the compliment “Nice Beard!” which is the only truly manly acceptable male greeting for blokes.

We took the path back up to the road then followed the road back to the car park. Wew then went back to the Travelodge, got changed and had a lovely Carvery for tea.

Day 5. Winter is coming…..

The next day we decided to walk a different section of the Pennine way Ponden reservoir down to Top Withens hut and back again. The weather was a bit chilly today with temperatures around freezing and snow and hail all the way to the hut. As usual the hut door was stuck and had to be kicked to open.

Maxine famously got stuck in here on the spine race last year and called me 50 miles away to get her out! Luckily there were runners and walkers nearby that were able to release her from captivity.

After a short rest out of the wind and hail we walked back down to the car and headed off to the Travelodge again, no Carvery this time as all the roast parsnips were not helping the atmosphere in the room remain breathable overnight.

The next morning we headed back to Essex and Paramo’s few days of adventure were over……till next time.

Paramo’s adventures on the Pennine way Days 1-3

Well I had planned to post up each day but signal and conditions meant it was simply not possible, I am taking a rest day and sitting in a nice pub today so can type up a few bits which I will put live in a few days.

Day one. A hut too far

Maxine dropped me off at the Borders hotel at around 10am and off I went up the hill into the cursed earth that is the Cheviot Hills. A range of relatively remote and barren hills/mountains just into Scotland across the border. They don’t really get the respect they deserve, they are neither very high or very technical being mostly grassy fell and bog. But their location and remoteness mean they should be respected, help is a long way away if its needed and any rescue must be either a long walk in or need air resources. Road access to any part of the outskirts requires a lengthy drive around the area with no roads passing through the centre.

Off I went up the hill on the lane towards Burnhead Farm where the lane turns in a track and eventually just a muddy trail. This is the lower route option and steadily climbs up to 480m where the high and low route join back up again. Weather was windy with temps around 2-3c but not too bad and only the odd hint of light rain in the wind.
I was finding the climb fairly hard work but was not using my poles as I wanted to see how my niggles were without them. I was making steady slow progress and my pack and lack of fitness were slowing me down but not too bad and my niggly hip shut up after a while so all good.

The views were great once I was up onto the side of the Schill at 601m, now up on the ridge line the full force of the wind was present and mostly into my face and sometimes just for fun into the side of it! To help matter the rain had started. My trusty Tilly hat and Paramo Jacket and Trousers were so far holding out the weather, I did have to give in at some point in the afternoon and put on some gloves. My Sealskins which are about as weatherproof as teabag but they are old and I want to wear them old so I can chuck them without feeling too guilty.

It was not long before I was up to Henhole and the Auchope Hut came into view. A very welcome sight and a chance for a quick chat with a local and the only person I spoke to in 3 days. He was a local police officer from Hethpool and was just coming out from his own break in the hut. He was curious as to why I had a ginger cat in a plastic bag on my pack though!

I popped into the hut out of the wind for 10mins and had a drink and a snack.

It was around 14:30 and I was planning to go to the next hut just the other side of Lamb Hill, it was later than I expected to be here but decided I could make the hut before it was too late and rest and sleep there.

So off I went back into the wind and cracked on, the temperature really started to drop as it headed towards darkness. It was at or just below freezing and if you included the wind chill it would have been a few degrees below. Here is where the path really started to get shitty as the bogs were in fine boggy form and attempting to remove my boots at every opportunity. Some of the most boggy sections were flagged but this did not help as the flags were frozen and you can’t walk on them and stay upright so back through the bogs it was! This meant it was a tough old slog over the hills and down to the next hut. It was cold and wet and miserable, my Paramo Velez had long since given up keeping the rain out but was still warm enough and keeping the most of the wind out. The trousers were wet but again keeping me warm enough. My Goretex Salewa boots had also given up being dry and had had enough of the bogs but were still comfy and warm. The Tilly hat however was the star of the show, easily the best bit of kit I own. Warm and dry and windproof and with little flaps I can pop down from inside to keep my ears warm, it was a godsend.

I made it to the Lamb hill hut at around 21:30 and got myself inside and started to set up a sleeping area on the benches with a cooking area to the side. I realised I had not got enough water to cook and make up fresh squash. So out into the cold I went and smashed the ice off a frozen muddy puddle and came back and filtered some clean water from the mud using my Sawyer mini filter.

I then boiled some water and had Mash and Shepherds pie from Active Eat, I don’t really like dehydrated meals but with 3 days before I get near a shop at least they are the lightest thing to carry. These are pretty decent one to eat and contain less oils and fats than most of them but that does mean slightly less calories than others such as Extreme Foods per gram of weight. Around 150 grams for 500 calories, compared to the same weight for 800 calories for the same meal with extreme foods, But as said better ingredients and less oils and fats. Active Eat meals are made by hand at home by a lovely woman called Jemma in Chelmsford so it’s good to support local companies. Look them up.

Once I had stuffed my face I got into my sleeping bag in just my Rab base layer top, underwear and socks with my Paramo insulated beanie to keep my head warm. My Snugpack Venture AR was warm enough on my precarious perch on the bench. I did have to be careful adjusting position during the night so as not to fall off the bench when adjusting as you do during the night. I awoke every couple of hours to adjust position and at about 3am had a snack of a YPB bar.

Day two. Boggy McBogfest!

I awoke just before first light around 8am and listened to the sound of the wind and rain hitting the hut, the forecast for today was supposed to be a bit better but clearly God did not get the weather forecasters messages!

I gave it a little time hoping it would clear and improve but it was clearly not going to happen, I then reluctantly got organised and set to leave.
my Velez Jacket and Trousers were still wet from the night before, it’s always fun getting back into wet kit ready to head out again but as I don’t have any other trousers with me or many spare garments it’s worth putting the wet stuff back on again to go out in the rain. Even if it was dry it’s worth it to try to dry the wet kit out with your body heat even although it takes a while to warm it up again.

So off I set into the lovely wind and rain, the wind varied between 20-40 mph and either in your face or into the side of your face! though mostly into your face. This meant head down and slog forward and not many photos or views of any kind. Bracing would be a good description.

It was above freezing when the sun poked through which was good for unfreezing the flags but also softening the bogs up and making them deeper and more boggy if that’s possible. I was however descending slowly with only a few minor hills in the way between me and the edge of the Cheviot Hills and hopefully some lower protected areas with forest to get me out of the wind and rain.

On the edge of the Cheviot’s there are military ranges used for live firing and training areas for the Army. Plenty of big warning signs telling you not to touch explody things and stay out of the range areas if red flags are flying. I skirted these areas and passed the old Roman camps as I descended out of the main hills onto the lower moorland and into the forested areas of Northumberland National Park.

This meant some better better tracks and trails and better progress through the weather. I was quite bored of being soaked and wet through and being pelted with rain by now and glad of the relative shelter afforded by the forest to my right.

I descended into Byrness and crossed my first actual road in the late afternoon and even though I saw no people still it felt like I was getting back to civilisation. If I picked up an injury or had an accident on the route after here it would be relatively easy to be collected and rescued. This was a good for safety but a bad thing for making me suck up the suffering and keep moving in the wet.

It was going to be dark inside the next 30-40 minutes so I chose to look for a place to discreetly camp south of Byrness, there were farms here and the odd sound of dogs and quads in the distance. Probably Farmers checking on animals such as sheep, so I needed somewhere deep enough into the trees to not be seen by casual passers by and this would also give me decent cover from the heaviest of the rain and wind. A running watercourse near by would be good if possible as well so I don’t have to go far for water to cook.
I found a fairly dense forest section just south of a farm and a ford across the River Rede.

I set up my small 1 person tent and organised my mat and shook out my sleeping bag to loft it a little while I collected some water run of from the river in a channel in the forest. 1ltr collected and ready to filter, 500ml for cooking and 500ml for drinking. Once the tent and camp was set up I stripped off and got into my sleeping bag with just my underwear and base layer on with a Paramo insulated hat. Then I heated water on my small gas stove in the porch for a dehydrated meal and used the meal to warm my sleeping bag as I waited for it to re-hydrate.
I tucked myself in for the evening and luckily I had 4G so could answer some emails and check my messages here while I shook like a shitting dog till I finally gave in and got out my Montane Prism jacket and put that on to stay warm. All my wet clothes were still soaked and hanging off a tree outside the tent as they could not get any wetter and would at least drip off some of the water if the rain stopped. It did not look like stopping! My boots were tucked into the small porch with my pack so they at least would not fill up with water though they were also soaking and no way were they going to get drier overnight

It was going to be a chilly wet evening and night and my legs were grumbling about the miles of bogs and hills done over the last couple of days. Not a big amount by most standards or even my standard of a few years ago but in my current state of fitness I was asking a fair bit of them.

Day Three. Lulled into a false sense of security!

I woke up just before first light at around 8am and decided I should think of getting up soon as the plan was to try to make it to Bellingham today and get a warm night in a camping pod at the Camping and Caravan club site in the village. However it was still pissing down so I waited a short while in the hope it would pack it in but it just got worse. About 8:30 I got out into the cold and wet and started packing up. Clean Injinji socks on and underwear and wet boots and trousers. My Paramo Velez was still soaked and I decide to put this in my pack and switch to a Montane Prism as a midlayer and my Mammut Kento as a hardshell as a better wet weather option than Paramo based on the current continued wetness.

My hip was very tight and sore and my quads were having a proper whinge at me but once packed up and on the road again they soon quietened down to a low rumble of dissent. My pack however weighed about 1 million tons with a wet Velez in it and most of everything else soaked! Nobody carries Paramo for this very reason, it’s a wear or don’t take type of garment. Or in bad weather overlayed with a hardshell for true waterproofness.

Today should be mostly easier going as I pass through Kielder forest and towards the infamous Padon hill which for the most part have good logging paths.

As I got to Kielder I had window of sunshine and it almost looked like it would be a nice day. Tramping through the forest in the sunshine it was almost fun and the hardpack roads meant I was doing a decent for me pace. There was almost a danger that my clothing would dry out and my boots would not be so wet inside.

As I climbed up the hill into the centre of the forest this was suddenly dashed as the hail started and it gave way to a snowstorm. Very pretty it was too but not conducive to drying out. Still I was still making good progress and so I came to the end of the main forest and met the edge of Rumblingspike Bog.

In the Spine race the route comes up the forest road rather than sticking to the true Pennine way as in recent years it’s all been deforested and is a big boggy rutted mess. However I got here and found a new sign and newly laid raised footpath made of roadstone and dirt.

The new sign gave me hope that the path would be nice and like this most of the way. It lulled me into a false sense of security and I fecking fell for it!

With (according to the sign) 9 3/4 miles to Bellingham and it now only being 11:40 I though we should get to the campsite by 4pm and darkness.

Off I went with spring in my hobble and even the continued light rain did not dampen my spirits as much as my socks. The road was good for some distance but then it got tougher as the weather got worse and then down the hill at the north side of Padon Hill it stopped entirely and it was back to a boggy shitty descent on rough ground with damaged stones and dodgy flags. Going really slowed up here and I had to be very careful to stay upright and not do an ankle on the rough slippy stones. As I got to the bottom of the hill at the edge of the woods I took stock of my situation. It was clear at my current pace I was never going to get to the campsite at Bellingham anywhere near 4pm and most likely much much later than that. This meant either a long walk through the dark on rough boggy moors or I could camp early here at the edge of the woods and hit Bellingham tomorrow. This is what I decided to do as worsening wind and rain and the real prospect of having to camp on open land meant the forest was a much more attractive option.

So I found a nice deep dark section in the woods that was not too wet and set up camp again. Getting all my wet kit off and cooking some hot food and shivering lots.

I was all tucked into my sleeping bag and had just eaten when Maxine called to say she was about an hour away and was going to pass near me. This was too easy an opportunity to pass up and I said I could meet her along a road to the west of the forest in an hour or so and we could go to a nice dry hotel for the night! I was bored with being wet!

She agreed to pick me up and so I packed up my camp again and navigated across to the west of the forest following a fence line. This involved nearly being lost in a bog forever when both feet sunk down past the knee and I needed my poles to break suction and crawl out across the heather and grass. Eventually I made it across to the road and started south on the road finally meeting Maxine as it got dark. We went of to a Travelodge near Newcastle as Maxine had to meet her daughter in town and I could start to dry stuff out in the room and get a much needed shower.

The next day Maxine had a meeting in Hartlepool so we headed down that way and we booked 3 nights in Keighley traveldoge and decided I would take 1 rest day and then do a couple of day walks on the Pennine way lower down from Keighley as a base with Maxine as we had planned at this stage anyway.

In a strange way I still enjoyed my 3 days walking and wild camping along the route. Although I had intended to do a couple more days wild camping and walking on my own the weather really was pants, socks and vest and although I had the kit to cope and survive it was at times not fun and very cold in the tent.

I did a good amount of time on my feet and it will have done my fitness a lot of good. I have tested lots of new kit in rough conditions and looked at sections on the Pennine way that I am least familiar with.

All in all a good few days out.

The days walking from Keighley as a base I will blog about seperately.

Lindley

Into the cursed earth or Paramo the Cat’s adventure.

Pop quiz what movie am I referencing in the title? (Just a bit of daily fun).

I have a little gap between working on other people’s events and working on my own, so I have decided to go for a little walk. How long that walk will be and over how many days is anyone’s guess. My fitness if poor at the moment and I still have some niggles from previous injuries. I have a hamstrings and hip issue that is not really going away so I have decided to try and walk it off!

I have a window of a couple of weeks before I need to be prepping for another event as a first aid provider just after Christmas. Maxine has lots of work away up north and away from the caravan over the next week or so. So I have decided to go teach my legs a lesson and go for a long walk.

The last time I went for a really long walk was 2 years ago when I walked coast to coast with a client John Lill.

Most of you know I work on the Spine Event on the Pennine way each year in both summer and winter.

Because of that race and other stuff I do in the mountains such as DofE I have been on many sections of the Pennine Way over the years. However I have not really walked any distance on it in one go. So I thought I would start up top at KY (Kirk Yetholm) and head towards Edale and see what happens. Obviously I chose this direction because it’s downhill, or it could be because I get the most remote section out of the way first and Maxine was heading north anyway so could drop me off easier.

I will get dropped off on Monday morning and start bimbling south with no real plans on where I will stop and sleep or if that will be out on the hill or in a cosy B&B room along the way. However it will take a few days before I get close to civilisation where comfort is an option. So I have food and camping kit for 4 day’s self sufficiency before I need to buy any more food or supplies. That should see me a fair distance along.

I will be taking my trusty spine companion Paramo the Ginger Pussy on my adventure with me. Yes he has waterproofs (ziplock bag) and has taped seams!

Below is a photo and list of the kit I am starting with.

Yes all this goes into the bag or on me……

Wearing.

Salewa Rapace B2 boots. Had these a while and they are very comfy but this walk may kill them.

Injinji Crew Socks. Good comfy socks

Paramo Velez Trousers Oh the irony….

Paramo Velez Smock

Rab winter baselayer.

Tilly Hat. Great warm weatherproof hat

Suunto 9 Baro primary navigation source but with backups.

Blackview BV9500 durable waterproof phone with viewranger.

Carried in or on the bag

Roughly from top left to bottom right.

Salewa Grand Randonne 36l pack

Decathlon Forclaz Poles I broke one of my mountain kings and have not got a replacement yet.

Spot Gen3 great emergency GPS device so Maxine can track me and I can call for help if I have no mobile signal.

Garmin Oregon 450 handheld GPS Old device but works fine and a great back up to my watch and phone.

OEX 2.5 inflatable 3/4 mat cheap basic mat

OEX Phoxx 1 person small tent l, 1.4 kg. Cheap and cheerful lightweight tent.

Paramo insulated beanie

Small first aid kit tape, needles, dressings, scissors and so on.

Microfibre towel

Toiletries toothpaste, toothbrush, soap etc

Spare underwear and injinji socks X2 of each.

SOL bivvy for emergencies

Mammut Kento hardshell waterproof

Dare 2 B hardshell waterproof trousers

OEX inflatable pillow

Small stove and cooking set

100gm gas cylinder

Gaffer tape for repairs

Morakniv bushcraft knifebfor food prep and repairs.

Montane Prism insulated jacket as an additional warm layer.

Spare Shorts and T-Shirt to use of I am in a hostel or pub B&B and I am washing my minging clothes.

Electrical items such as battery charger block (20,000mah), plug with usb sockets. Usb micro and C leads for charging all my devices. Plus wireless headphones.

Head Torches 2x USB recharheable, fenix HL12R as a back up and a Fenix HL18R as a main light. Both capable of 300lm. As I can’t swap batteries I will carry 2.

Snugpack Venture AR sleeping bag. Synthetic down 0c comfort limit rated bag. Brought along as it will be better in damp conditions as well as lighter than my RAB ascent 500. Also warmer than my McKinley 600 ultralight.

Gloves X 2 pairs. Sealskins waterproof gloves and Montane Prisim Alpine Guide gloves if it’s really cold.

Toilet kit Consisting of small titanium trowel and hand sanitiser and several pack of tissues.

Food for 4 days. 5x dehydrated meals 2 X 600kcal, 2 X 100kcal and 1 X 500kcal Active eat meal.

Various snacks such as chocolate and cereal bars and sweets.

1ltr Nalgene style bottle for drinking water.

Water filter kit. Sawyer mini filter and 2x500ml softflasks to use with filter. This means I can use water from potentially dirty sources to cook with or drink without having to waste gas boiling water.

Robinson’s squash mini dispenser. To make plain water taste better!

Dry bags 7 various sized dry bags to keep everything as dry as possible.

Ziplock bags for rubbish collecting and also waterproofing small items like my wallet.

All this kit in my pack including the food and water weighs a hefty 14.3kg!

This will get lighter as the days roll on and once I get close to civilisation and further away from southern Jockistan I will purchase food in shops and pubs and only carry a day or so worth of spare food.

Maxine will pop out and see me around her work stuff up north and her own personal adventures, then I will need to carry less spare clothing and gear so that will also reduce my weight a little.

Maxine will also have spare kit and food in her car so I can replace gear when it becomes too stinky or damaged and she can also wash any items if needs be.

I could have got it all into my larger 58lt Osprey pack but then the pack weight would be heavier and I would be more likely to add even more stuff and would be heading towards a 20kg pack which would be much harder to carry.

I will try to do a short blog post and upload a few pictures each day on FB/Instagram etc and if you are really bored you can track me on my spot tracker page here https://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0GciqNFovXkhZQSLSb2TjKCTDYisJgqgP

If I die it’s also useful for finding the body………………

WEMSI EMT Course

Last week I was on a training course to develop my medical skills and improve my knowledge and experience from Outdoor 1st Aider up to Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician.

As many of you know www.challenge-firstaid.co.uk the Event Medic Paramilitary wing of www.challenge-running.co.uk have for the last few years been providing 1st Aid cover at events.
Anything from mostly races to functions, Sports days and other events.
I enjoy doing this work and it’s developed from covering my own events to a very useful portion of my business with us covering over 20 events each year.
I have always tried to keep my knowledge up to date and over the years have done many outdoor 1st Aid courses and read many articles on endurance runners and treated lots of runners at events.
I pride myself on Reading the latest papers and info on nutrition, hydration and foot care etc.

I decided I needed to step up my skills and ability and really test myself and my knowledge, A couple of years ago I heard about the WEMSI courses. A set of bespoke Wilderness Medical Courses which are internationally recognised as possibly the best courses you can do for Wilderness and remote medicine. WEMSI stands for Wilderness Emergency Medical Services Institute and it’s an organisation with it’s roots in the US that set up in the UK in 1997 after some Irish Mountain Rescue guys managed to get a course taught in Ireland.

We loves a sticker for the Pickup Truck

Since then it has been run in Ireland and Scotland once a year, those teaching it are at the very top of their respective medical fields. Doctors, Nurses, Physios, Expedition experts and all of them with medical and event, expedition or rescue experience. The knowledge and instruction passed on is second to none. Some of the info passed on was only just presented from fresh studies and will take years to filter down into regular medicine even for doctors and experts. It was a privilege to be taught by these guys.

The courses taught come in three flavours, Wilderness First Responder aimed at those without and medical experience or qualifications and it did not include things like diagnosing and use of drugs or medicines and more invasive techniques.

Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician, aimed at those with good experience or medical skills or qualifications. This had use of drugs and invasive techniques and you were expected to make differential diagnoses and plan treatment and evacuations for patients.

Wilderness Physician, only for doctors with prescribing rights and advanced medical knowledge. Helping them understand the Wilderness environment and give advice and authorise medications on the phone if an expedition EMT or similar need doctor support as well as if they are out on expedition themselves as a doctor.

The Home of Mountain Training in Scotland

I felt I had the knowledge contained in the First Responder Course already but may not be quite ready for the EMT course as its very medical in it’s content, I emailed Robin the Course Director listing my previous experience Military/Fire Service and 1st Aid at events etc. They allowed me to come in at the EMT course level which I was happy about but this meant it was a very challenging learning curve to even get through the recommended pre-course reading. I spent half my time reading and half looking up what certain medical words meant!
The Pre-Course reading included 2 books, The Field Guide to Wilderness Medicine (1000 plus pages) and the Wilderness Medical Society Practice Guidelines for Wilderness Emergency Care. Both great books but aimed at doctors and advanced Medics so fairly substantial reading.
The EMT course is the highest level you can do without already being a doctor. WEMSI courses are recognised the world over and in line with my IML training the Expedition Leading I will start to do next year this would give me the best skills possible for future work and knock my CV up a notch.

The course is 8 days long and held at the fantastic Glenmore Lodge National Mountain Training Centre in Scotland. Known for being stunning and cold and wet in winter in equal measure.

The Facilities at the Lodge are excellent

The course sounds expensive at £850 but once you consider that includes accommodation, food and the level of equipment and tuition provided on the course I think it’s actually great value.

Stores Area used for indoor training and a meeting point on the course

All the instructors are volunteers and are not paid to teach on the course and the fee simply covers costs. The instructors are all here to pass on knowledge and help future Medics provide the best care wherever they may be. Very much a pay it forward situation.

I drove up on Saturday afternoon after we put away the caravan as Maxine was going to walk the West Highland Way whilst I was on the course as a bit of “me” time and a challenge of her own.
I stayed over at a Travelodge near Perth Saturday evening and Sunday took a leisurely drive up to Glenmore Lodge arriving Early afternoon. I got my room sorted and relaxed until the group meeting and first course briefing at 6pm.

My Room at the Lodge so much better than basic bunks

En Suite too

It was obvious from the first meeting I was very much one of the least qualified medically and my experience was lower than most too. There were 3 of us with a mix of doctors, nurses rescue professionals and expedition leaders. Many from as far away as Canada and various tropical climes, clearly the course attracted people from all over and was genuinely respected everywhere.

Sunday was just a brief introduction and the course proper started on Monday. The programme looked mental and the days were very much full on with lessons and activities starting at 8:15 after breakfast and continuing through till late night around 9:30pm. A short lunch of 30 mins most days and only a few 15 minute breaks and you can see they are trying to get as much knowledge into the course as possible along with practical sessions and skills stations.

The language used during lessons was very medical and occasionally I was flummoxed by a word or phrase and had to look it up or ask the lovely Nurse (Bernie) next to me but the pre-course reading had helped out a fair bit with understanding medical terms.

Generally each day would have several hours in the classroom in the morning covering things like Pharmacology, Anatomy and Systems with medical definitions and treatment of various trauma or illness aimed at the outdoor environment. Stuff such as Altitude and tropical diseases, the did this to get us all to the same basic understanding medically and give us the same platform to develop from.

Each day we would also do practical skills sessions in things like patient care and packaging to airway management including the use of airways and other invasive techniques. Some of theses skills sessions including strapping for bites and sprains and reducing (putting back in) dislocations such as shoulders.

Scenarios out in the forest most days for several hours

Then more classroom stuff and usually some scenario based practical training in the evening, then a quick pint in the bar before bed to ease the discombobulation of the brain from all that learning.

As the week went on there was more emphasis on practical skills and tests and less on theory with more detailed patients with more complex needs and diagnosis. Everything from ectopic pregnancies to Hypoglycemic seizures. This really to test your newly found skills and get you comfortable with the principles of getting the information and treating the serious needs and making diagnosis and planning treatment and evacuation plans based on how remote you were and the type of transport you had for extraction. You could have a helicopter in 10 mins or be 3 days from a road in the jungle. They tested us well and I don’t mind admitting that I made mistakes and learnt from them, the team did well prompting each other with no big glaring ego’s trying to take over and everyone contributing to the gathering if info and vital signs in testing conditions.

Each scenario had a member of staff in charge who would give you the scenario and info about what you had and where you were then send you off as a team to discover the scene somewhere up the road or in the woods. There would be a designated team leader, medic, scribe and the remaining members would assist with protecting the team and patient from the environmental conditions which in the case was genuine cold wet snowy conditions for most of the week. The casualties previous attendees to the course or faculty with some of the teams children joining in. Make up was applied to simulate fractures and bruising etc. You really did have to get to skin on many occasions to find what was going on. Every time you took a vital sign like a pulse or blood pressure you would look at your angel and they would either state “as is” or make up a number that suited the injury or illness you were presented with or as a reaction to your treatment. If you got stuff right they got better or stabilised and if you got it wrong they got sicker. Occasionally patients died! This made the scenarios very real and stressful and exactly what you needed. You would always get a debrief at the end and discuss the points of what you did and why, not in a “you got it wrong” way but a “how could we do that differently” or “what can we learn from that” way. As your skills improved you got better but the situations you were presented with got more complicated.

Pretty soon the busy days rolled on and we got to Friday which is the Main test day, you had some classroom sessions then more complicated after lunch that really tested you including multiple casualties in a serious car crash. Then it was into the Practical Exam, this consisted of you being presented with a casualty with an assistant who cant advise you but can physically help you and you have to assess them and treat them and plan for evacuation based on all the skills you have been taught during the week. In my case I had a woman who had tumbled down a hill and suffered an injured ankle. Given the serious tumble this included clearing her spine and a neurological check along with giving pain relief before addressing and strapping the injured leg so she could walk out with assistance. She had allergies also which affected the treatment and history taken. I did OK on this but could have been a little slicker on the assessments. I then Assisted another medic on their Assessment before being told I was done.
Then an hour or so later we had a written exam, essentially it was 30 medical questions with each have 5 statements that could be true or false based on the patient described or question posed. essentially 150 answers we had to decide were true or false. Some of these were really hard and very medical in nature and included very detail pharmacology questions about dosage amount for certain drugs for certain types of patients. I was one of the last to leave the room after going through my answers twice to make sure I was as happy as I could be with my answers. Some were very much guesses or educated guesses. We would find out in due course how we did!

That evening we had more practical skills sessions inside and outside and during this period some people were spoken to privately to retest some practical stuff or questions stuff. I don’t know which but I was just glad I kept my head down and was not spoken to, was that a good or bad sign I did not know at the time.
Saturday was all about the large scale final scenario, essentially we worked as a massive team on a large scale incident that included explosions, cold injuries, serious trauma and a multitude of injuries with casualties being stretchered to pretend helicopters out of the forest on sleds or carried by teams. Patients died and patients lived and things changed dynamically all day long, the scenarios was physically and mentally challenging and lasted some 6 hours outside in the cold and wet.

Final scenario where everything that could kick off did!

Only after the exercise were we taken back into the classroom and told whether we had passed or would only receive a attendance certificate. I was very relieved to have passed it seems!

That night there was a Ceilidh where much drinking and merriment was had at the bar with some great live music. It was a great way to let off steam after a very tough week.

Sunday morning was about packing up all the kit and saying goodbyes to team mates and staff alike. A massive thanks to Robin and his team of Doctors and Experts who ran the course and a big thanks to the team who were stuck with me for the week.
Bernie (Very Skilled Experienced Nurse), Jade (Expedition Leader and Jungle Instructor) , Steve (Sottish Fire Service and International SAR) and David (Experienced Doctor and Ski Patrol) who all worked as a team and Made the week more enjoyable.

The course including staff

We had our Certificates presented to us by the team as the final thing we did at the end of the course.

The amazing team responsible for it all

A truly great course I would recommend to anyone with the base level of knowledge to take part, you won’t believe how much you can learn and improve in just 8 days. Though it will take many months of more reading and practice to really hone my new found skills and keep them up to date.

Slightly better than a 50m swimming certificate

Most of all we got a shiny certificate and some stickers and a badge, whats not to like.

We love a pin badge we does!

God help any of you lot who come see me at an event now as I will be wanting to do all sorts to you to practice my new found skills!

Lindley

Stort30 2019

This was to be the 8th running of the Stort30! I honestly thought it was the 7th and even told a few people that at the race but after checking its clear it really is the 8th!

When I set this race up I just thought it would be a great little local race on one of my prettier training routes, but how its grown to 250-300 entries and the UK Championships status it has today is beyond me. Mostly hard work by the great team of volunteers I am lucky to have help out year on year.

An example of the type of volunteers I have to suffer each year!

Considering we have never had it rain properly during any of the previous 7 years and the horrible wet weather we had leading up to the race, I thought we would have some rain on this one but the weather gods decided to be kind to us once again.

I arrived at the clubhouse at around 5:20am to start setting up along with my partner and sidekick Maxine. We met the Markers/Sweepers at just before 6am and they went off to check and mark the course as we set up the hall and got all the checkpoint kit out ready for the CP teams to collect at 6:30-7am. Each CP had 100ltrs of water and tables/chairs and food along with the paperwork needed to monitor the runners and set up the checkpoints. Then I wandered around setting stuff up and chatting to runners.

We had the lovely Stuart March from http://www.stuartmarchphotography.co.uk/ doing the race photos including all the ones used on this page, if you want to see and buy the race photos they are HERE

Race Briefing

Pretty soon we had runners turning up and milling around in the emerging sunshine, It had all the signs it was going to be a beautiful crisp day with only a little mud left on the course from the several days hard rain previously.

For those that don’t know the course it’s a simple out and back 30 miler starting in Bishop’s Stortford, 15 miles out and 15 back along the River Stort Navigation with the last mile on the way out along the river Lea. The course is mostly graded gravelled towpath with 5 or 6 miles each way on grass/muddy riverside trail. The whole course is stunning and a pleasure to run on.

Over the years the race has become quite competitive with some very fast men and women running, for the last 3 years it has also been the TRA UK Trail Running Championships “Middle” Distance event. This includes separate trophies and age group prizes in addition to our own great trophies and medals. Barry Taylor the TRA Permits secretary was there to hand out the TRA trophies and medals.

Rob Barnes the overall winner on his 1st lap of the field

The course is two laps of the cricket field on the way out to thin out the crowd and help spread the runners out as they hit the towpath 800m down the road. Once the runners were off it was back to work setting up the finish funnel and line, medals and shirts all laid out and TRA medals ready and DNS runners updated and passed up the line to checkpoints so they can accurately check on runners at turnaround.

With the finish all set up and ready to go, we just had to wait for the 1st placed runner to turn up. We make them run a counterclockwise loop of the field on the way back to ensure the distance is exactly 30 miles and give the runners a victory lap where they can be supported and we can be ready for them finishing.

The calm before the storm

We did not have too long to wait, clear favourite from the start Rob Jones from Stopsley Striders came in and finished 1st overall in a cracking time of 3:27:56. He received a massive trophy from us as well as a trophy from the TRA and cracking prizes from our sponsors.

1st Male Rob Barnes

Next in was Alastair Bridgeman from Baisingstoke & Mid Hants AC not far behind in 3:29:26 and he again gets two trophies and sponsorship prizes.

2nd Male Alastair Bridgman

3rd overall was Martin Hill a TRA runner 3:39:32 and again he gets two trophies and some prizes.

3rd male Martin Hill

1st Woman was Kathryn Chapman a local runner for Bishop’s Stortford RC who has won the race before and a previous record holder at the race. A cracking time of 3:52:03 just outside her previous best on this course and 6th overall.

1st Female Kathryn Chapman

2nd Woman was Susanna Hill in 4:18:13 and 14th overall.

Susanna Hill 2nd Female

3rd woman was another local runner Karen Pickering from Grange Farm and Dunmow Runners who finished in 17th overall, not bad for a first Ultra that I have been trying for years to get her to do. Much better than she thinks and who has really worked hard this year.

3rd Female Karen Pickering

There were amazing stories and finish times all the way through the field and it would take forever to list the finishers and all the age group winners on her but to see all the results go to our results page here https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=201206 please note the age groups listed here are for the whole race including entry on the day runners and the official TRA filtered championships results are listed here and sorted properly to account for overall winners being in other categories also.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fjyf7fnjs4wxnev/Stort30%20TRA%20Champs%20Public%20Results.xlsx?dl=0

The TRA will in due course contact the 1st Male and Female TRA members in the race and offer them a grant for a future race.

A massive thanks to our sponsors for the following prizes

2 x Ultimate Direction Halo vests to the 1st male and female winners from our main Sponsor www.ultramarathonrunningstore.com

2 x Fenix Headtorches from Fenix Lighting for the 1st male and female winners.
www.myfenix.co.uk

6 x Vouchers for T8run’s Commando underwear given to the 1st 3 in each sex.
www.t8.run

A massive thanks to Alice Hector for the amazing trophies for the winners, look up AliceArt on social media. Some amazing stuff there.

Thanks to the TRA for supporting the Championships and sending Baz to present the medals and trophies. www.tra-uk.org

A final thanks to all my team of amazing volunteers who made the event and without whom I would be lost in my own beard.

HQ staff responsible for everything that happened at the venue.

Maxine
Phillip
Mark
Sally
Tim
Katie
Baz
Emily

CP 1
Flyers Ladies Jane and co (see pic 1 above)

CP2
Nathan
Neil
Jackie

CP3
Jon with help from the course markers/sweepers

Markers/Sweepers
Naomi
Davo

They all earn volunteer points to use to enter future races.

Thanks to Lea Valley Regional Park and the Canal and Rivers Trust for permission on the waterway.

A few photos below of the course showing why I think its one of the prettiest trail runs in the UK.

Entries are open already for next year with discounts for early entry and the option to purchase a hoodie and have a Neck Tube instead of a T-Shirt again.

www.challenge-running.co.uk/races/stort30

Till next year…….

Waterfly Bum Bag

This is a review of a piece of kit we were sent by a sponsor, Maxine wore it while teaching and on our first aid events and travelling to and from work. I have one but have not had much opportunity to wear it yet so this review has been written by Maxine and published on her own blog page as well as here.

https://peritiaadventures.wordpress.com/2019/10/12/waterfly-bum-bag/

Waterfly bum bag

Posted on October 12, 2019 by maxinelock

This bag was gifted by @waterflyoutdoor www.waterflyshop.com

For the full story behind the name Waterfly click here

Waterfly bum bag in dark grey

Since receiving this bag recently I have used it on a couple of work events and found it really useful.

With five pockets of varying sizes I have been able to safely store my phone, car keys and a couple of bank cards. There is a concealed pocket on the back which would hold a passport.

The bag is made of a sturdy canvas which appears to be tough and I like the dark grey colour which should look cleaner for longer compared to some of the lighter colours available.

Other types of bag are available if that is what you need, which hold more and can also take water bottles, this style is aimed more at those who just need to carry valuables safely.

The fabric itself is water resistant but there is no waterproofing to the zips, fine for a light shower. I haven’t tested it but probably not going to keep the contents dry in heavy rain.

Overall I am really pleased with the bag, the fit is good and the pocket layout useful. It does all I need from a bag of this style. Now I just need to work out what to put in the front two pockets!

These bags are also great value currently retailing in the uk at £15.01. Waterfly have kindly provided a discount code for any items purchased from their site use waterflyoff15 for a 15% discount

Fenix HL12R – The only back up or spare head torch you need.

Fenix HL12R Headtorch

Last year I was approached by Fenix Lighting to see if I was interested in promoting their products and the possibility of them sponsoring some of my events, particularly the ultra events that can involve night running. We had a discussion and agreed they would sponsor all 5 of my ultra events and provide prizes for the 1st male and female finishers in each race. They would also provide head torches for testing by myself with me being free to be honest and open about their performance.

So as a disclaimer yes all the head torches are provided free and they are sponsoring my events but I will be honest and open about their performance including the good, bad and ugly.

Testing time-frame:

I always see reviews from users who have had the bit of kit for a matter of days and rave about it, they really don’t test it beyond a few short uses and photo opportunities. I have had these head torches for 4 months and used them exclusively for runs, general nighttime camping and walking use, as spares in the car and in my mountain bag and even in sub zero temperatures in the Scottish mountains. I like to think I have tested them substantially well enough to make a fair judgement.
Since Testing and reviewing the HL40R and HL32R several months ago I have been exclusively using this head torch for all running, walking and general camping use. It sits in my truck on the headrest and gets used all the time. I think you should do a thorough testing before giving a fair verdict.

Company Background:

Fenix Lighting are new kids on the block in the UK and Europe but have a big following in the USA, they have been listed as the main lighting sponsor for the Western States 100 this year. They have a huge following in the hunting and fishing communities for various equipment not just their lights.

Their main fb page is HERE and their UK fb page is HERE

Item details:

This is the HL12R – Head Lamp 12, R for rechargeable. Its a mid to low position in the range performance head torch for trail runners or walkers looking for a lightweight decent spec tough head torch. It’s a great option as a back up race or hiking torch and this is the best use for it in my opinion.

Packaging / in the box:

The head torch comes well packaged in a plastic box complete with USB charging lead an warranty and instructions. Incidentally there is a 2 year fix for free warranty and limited lifetime warranty on the head torch which is pretty good for this type of light.

Specifications:

Burn times are good especially when not using the brightest 400 lumens setting. The burst setting is great for a very technical bit of trail or picking out a gate or other object in the distance.

The head torch has a good set of specifications for the price and size, well suited for short and longer runs in darkness. Very small and compact too so excellent as a very good second or back up torch for those really long runs overnight where your main light may run out of power and you can either continue with this for the rest of the run or use this head torch to help you change batteries.

The main difference between this and the previously tested head torches from Fenix are that the max lumens are a little lower at 400 and burn times are a little shorter but still impressive for such a small head torch. This does make it lighter and smaller and they have added a red light function on this model. The spread of light is very usable on the trails.

Looks:

It’s very plain and not going to win any design awards but that is not a concern for me, it is very much function over form. Its a well put together package and has everything you need with nothing you don’t. The plastics are tough and the alloy body on the torch means it can take a bit of a kicking and there are few bits that can be broken or damaged in a drop or in your pack. It’s pretty bombproof. It’s rated for a 1m drop and I have abused it and it still works fine with no damage.
As with all the Fenix Headtorches it’s IP66 rated and you cant hurt it with water or dust, even a dunk in the river won’t upset it.

Performance:

Battery life has been true to advertising with obviously the usual reduction in performance if used in very cold weather. All head torches are the same batteries don’t like the cold. All the posted burn times are realistic. When the battery is unable to hold that power level it will reduce and step down to the next level and continue that till it reaches the lowest setting and maintain that till it runs out of power.
I have deliberately run it flat to test this out and the final setting lasts for many more hours and is just usable to get you back to civilisation. It wont just cut out on you.

Below are photos of the brightness settings on a trail in Scotland in December.

There is a lower ECO setting with 4 lumens and this will last 110 hours but that is only really suitable for tent or camp use for finding stuff in your bag or map reading use.

These settings below show how good it is for such a small and light unit.

low power setting 30 lumens – 33 hours

Med power setting 70 lumens – 13 hours

High power setting 130 lumens – 8 hours

Burst mode 400 lumens – 1 Hour continuous

There is also an SOS flashing mode (70 lumens) with a flashing pattern and a reading mode (4 lumens) good for inside a tent as well just reading a map or book in your tent. Also a red light setting which also has a flashing mode for emergency signalling at night.

Plenty of adjust-ability and quick charging via USB means its always ready to go. It can be charged from a battery pack, laptop or plug and will even turn on while charging on the brightest setting so can be used while topping it up.

It has a great charging indicator along the front with 4 small blue lights so you can see how much charge is in it and when its fully charged, something that is rarely on head torches at this price point and a great feature so you can see how charged it is without having to charge it just in case.

The two buttons separate functions and it cant be turned on easily by accident as it takes a long press on the buttons to activate. It also has the ability to lock the buttons entirely meaning very little risk of accidental activation. The buttons work well with gloved hands too.

There is a separate red light function, both static and flashing for night vision work and signalling plus the usual flashing white light settings for signalling.

Durability:

As said above I have used this for a few months including running and biking and even hiking in sub zero temperatures with no issue. It has been bouncing around in my pack or in the door pockets of my pick up truck all this time without complaint.

Comfort:

The band is very thick for such a small compact head torch and really holds it secure in all conditions.

Practicality:

This is a great head torch and very practical for not just trail running, its small and light but with good brightness and power settings for all needs and really comfortable. For the price there are few out there to match it with features and durability.

Value for money:

These currently sell for £44.95 in the UK shop and compare well for similar spec and design and performance.

Where to buy:

The UK shop is the best location online to get these and see what other product and torches Fenix are producing. The guys there are very helpful and know the product well.

www.myfenix.co.uk

Summary:

A great mid spec powerful head torch for trail running and outdoors use. Right up there with the best well known brands in the UK and has some features others don’t. Well worth a look and I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Pros:

Light
Small
Great fitting secure Strap
Powerful for its size
Decent burn time for the size and weight
Easy simple to use
Good buttons that work with gloves
Settings for all needs
Quick USB Charging
Very weather resistant (IP66)
Visible charging lights
Red light option

Cons:

Looks a bit basic (It’s not but it looks like it)
Battery is not removable so very long runs or multi-day means you need to be able to access charging facilities or carry a battery pack.
Tilt position mechanism feels a bit light and flimsy – BUT I have not broken it yet and it seems to work well.

Feedback

Please feel free to comment and let us know what you think if you have one.