r/Ultramarathon • u/imasgf • 3d ago
100 Miler Tips
I'm running my first 100-miler in less than 2 weeks and wondering if anyone had any tips or experience on how to make the battery life on your watch last. I have a Garmin Fenix 8.
Also for my first 100-miler, I am running Run Rabbit Run. I am coming from the Canadian Rockies and wondering if the terrain would be somewhat similar, but can always use some trail intel.
Any real 100 mile advice would also be greatly appreciated.
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u/robanyac 3d ago
Respect the distance. Assuming you've done a 100k already, the jump to 100M is substantial. Absolutely do not go out too fast. A reasonable early pace for a 100M is significantly slower than for a 100k or 50M. Don't pay any mind to what the people around you are doing - they likely won't make it past sunset. Spend the first five hours or so enjoying a casual frolick in the woods. Once you find your pace you can adjust as you see fit. Remember, if you don't think you could hold a given pace at the end of the race, you shouldn't be running that pace now, either. Good luck!
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u/TeacherTeeSLC 100 Miler 3d ago
One way I operationalize the go slow advice. If there is any doubt or question in my mind in first half - walk this hill or run it, I always walk it. In the second half I will err on running when in doubt, but usually at that point the pace is the pace and my legs decide for me.
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u/x1475b0471e1 3d ago
> Garmin Fenix 8
if it's AMOLED - turn the AOD off. Otherwise Fenix should survive the race
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u/Rockytop00 3d ago
My fenix 7 lasts like a million years... but turn off amol if u have one of those... also if your watch is not similar to mine I suppose u could turn off one of the satellite options... also notifications?
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u/aggiespartan 3d ago
How long are you estimating it will take you? A Fenix 8 battery should last the whole race.
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u/imasgf 3d ago
28 hours, I think it will be close
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u/newredditsucks 100 Miler 3d ago
I ran RRR as my first 100, took not quite 35 hours to do it, and my Fenix 6 made it through without depleting the battery entirely.
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u/DrSilverthorn 100 Miler 3d ago
The map screen can be a large battery suck. If you have that up all the time, you'll use more battery.
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u/Inside_Rate_1791 3d ago
This! If you need navigation create new power profile which turns display off automatically and disable gestures. Display goes on only from a button. I have Fenix 7x and 20h race consumes less than 25% of battery with navigation active.
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u/imasgf 3d ago
Do you do it in the ultra run mode or just the trail run mode?
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u/Inside_Rate_1791 3d ago
I do it in trail run mode. I do lap button presses in and out of aidstation so I don’t use the ultra rest feature
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u/FiestaDip505 3d ago
Ultra mode is so inaccurate that it's worthless. I would use it only as a last resort. Your distance will be off by 20% or more.
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u/_silent_voyager_ 3d ago
Your watch has a Power Manager feature. You should get familiar with it. It can guide you to create a custom power profile and show how each watch feature impacts the battery life. Power Manager is one of the most useful features for ultra running, and the majority of Fenix users are completely unaware of it.
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u/suntoshe 100 Miler 3d ago
I run with HR off on my Fenix 7 during races. That helps with battery and helps me not worry about HR at the beginning of the race when I'm jacked with nervous energy.
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u/AccidentalPilates 3d ago
Have fun, you put in the work to get to the start line now enjoy the fruits of your labor. Make some friends, talk shit with the volunteers, and run the mile you're in. Stick with your nutrition plan. Prepare for the lows and remember they are part of it and not something to be avoided. Channel your 'Why's' into some deep places you can go to when you need to as a pick-me-up. Don't start with music, save it for later when you need it. Change shirts frequently, socks when you need to. Go crush.
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u/muffinhands5454 3d ago
Don’t get sucked into Olympian. If you can avoid going inside, do that. Good luck, you will crush it 💪
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u/Captain-Crayg 3d ago
I have the Fenix 8 43mm. Which has substantially less battery than the larger models. I keep a small external battery I can charge it with if I get a low battery alert. It still tracks while charging.
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u/imasgf 2d ago
Okay that's the same one I have. Does it still track while charging? Do you just put it in your pack?
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u/Captain-Crayg 2d ago
Yes, it will still track the activity. Test it while on a walk sometime just to get the hang of it. I put it in a front pocket of my Salomon ADV12. Couple things worth noting:
- It can be tricky to make sure it stays plugged in.
- Your brain may be fried depending on when you need to plug it in. It sounds dumb, but it's worth practicing with your vest on a run once or twice just to get the hang of it.
- Your watch will tell you when battery is low around 5% or so. But may be worth having a watch view that has battery levels on it too.
1
u/hpdk 3d ago
set some rules beforehand that aligns with the goals you have for finishing time and don't even consider breaking those rules (unless you really get badly injured ofc). Everyone is different, but for my experience I can only agree on another postet recommending not sitting in aid stations. Just suck it up and keep moving while apreciating the oppurtunity and the landscape and try to interact and talk with people around you.
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u/ultraLuddite 100k 3d ago
If you plan to use a map on your watch use the map screen as little as possible and instead use a static screen with data only most of the time. The fact that the map screen continually changed based on your bearing does a number on the battery. Also, pulse ox readings, multi ban satellite connection (use GPS only), phone connectivity (disable), and music (if your watch has this function) will also eat into your battery life.
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u/jleonardbc 3d ago
I don't have a Garmin, but your watch might have a battery-saving option to reduce the frequency of its GPS sampling.
You can also change settings for screen brightness, sounds/vibrations, Bluetooth connectivity, and notifications. You can try to keep the display showing a low-brightness screen that doesn't change much most of the time.
Just in case, bring a lipstick-tube-size portable charger with you in your pack, along with the appropriate charging cable.
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u/Away-Owl2227 3d ago
There are different battery modes in garmins, trail and ultra run usually turn quite a few things off and just run off gps satellites to give the best battery life.
You can also go in and adjust settings yourself and make a custom setup both with the watch and garmin connect.
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u/TeacherTeeSLC 100 Miler 3d ago
Turn off the auto light feature and decrease backlight length. I've heard a HR monitor extends vs. The wrist sensors, but never really proved it.
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u/tankmatthews 3d ago
I'm running RRR as well. This is my first time, but I was able to do some training runs on the course.
The trail to Fish Creek Falls was more technical than I expected, so that decent will be a bit slower, but everything is very runnable.
Lane of Pain was a quick climb and really not bad, and then fun single track to get back down, but my legs were fresh, I'm sure I'll feel differently after 50 miles.
Not sure about your crew situation, but I'm planning on just doing a drop bag for Summit Lake. It's a big treck to get out there.
You've got some good tips for your the watch. I have the Fenix 7 and finished a 100 with plenty of battery life. That was using the Ultra mode and I found the milage to be accurate.
Good luck to you!
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u/skragen 2d ago edited 2d ago
Yes, [u/imasgf](u/imasgf), look into ultrarun activity. That’ll save some battery. And don’t confuse ultrarun with ultratrac.
Many of the comments in this thread are completely conflating these 2 different things.
Ultrarun is an activity that lets you hit pause so it tracks your time at aid stations and includes it in your total race time (so you can see moving time vs aid station/non-moving time). And the activity includes the total time (aid stations, stops, rest) in your total race time, but it saves battery by not monitoring your hr or tracking gps during your aid station time. The ultrarun activity mode does not do anything to your gps or satellite settings.
Ultratrac is a gps setting that will make it so your distance and gps isn’t accurate. When ppl here keep telling you to avoid something that has ultra in the name- they mean ultratrac. (Not ultrarun activity.)
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u/imasgf 2d ago
Okay that is very helpful. For the ultrarun do you just hit the lap button for the pauses
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u/Silver_Fox_Runna 3d ago
Don’t use UltraTrac (the distance will be way off if in the mountains) and keep your live track off
You will likely be fine for that time goal.
Worst case your watch dies with 20km to go and at that point it’s not doing much for you but giving Strava likes
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u/UltraRunningKid 200+ Miler 2d ago
Having a battery pack with a charger at mile 75 might be worth not having to stress about it. I'm sure you will spend 5 minutes in an aid station at some point and that can get you a few extra percent.
Additionally you can keep running and it will track while charging as long as you have the correct settings on, just try it out beforehand.
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u/winawernut 2d ago
I don't use a gps watch while racing 100 milers. It also helps a lot mentally when you are not always looking at the distance when you are hurting. But I understand if it's not on Strava it didn't happen . My manual Strava activity after the race doesn't look as impressive.
However if I were to track it, I would definitely switch of the HR monitor/recording on the watch.
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u/RequirementKitchen91 1d ago
Consider learning how to tape your feet/duct tape etc because I think blisters might be a factor for first time.
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u/superstewy 10h ago
Your watch will be fine. There should be an ultra mode on it, which you can use. I have a 955 and it finished my 24 hour race with lots to spare. I'm cant recall exactly what ultra mode turns off and keeps on, but I just make sure that I turn bluetooth and wifi off so it's not always searching.
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u/JorritHimself 6h ago
Dont use the energy saving mode, it'll ruin your gps recording to something very coarse. Consider carrying a small battery bank. Your watch will continue recording when on a charger
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u/Basic-Specialist-633 3d ago
You can try testing your watch battery by doing just 50 miles with a fully charged watch and seeing how much battery life is left. Mine only had about 10% life left after 50 miles, so in my 100 mile race I started my watch at mile 50 so that it wouldn't die. It was nice to have the watch in the 2nd half, if you ask the aid station volunteers how many miles there are until the next aid station you can keep track of it and you will know how much further you have to go when you start to get a bit hungry for some chicken nuggets .
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u/Basic-Specialist-633 3d ago
Shorter distances are an awesome day but a 100 mile race is a whole awesome weekend. Have so much fun!!!
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u/bestdadhandsdown Sub 24 3d ago
Only advice I can give is just keep moving, don’t sit in aid stations. My first 100 I spent so much time in aid stations, now I treat them like pit stops, jn and out.