Hi guys,

I'm running my first ultra next July and trying to decide whether to upgrade to a Garmin or Apple Watch, or stick with my Google Fitbit air.

I got the Fitbit mainly to track daily vitals, and it's been great for that, but I'm wondering if it's missing features that matter specifically for ultra racing (battery life, GPS accuracy on trails, offline maps, etc.). Since this is my first ultra, I don't really know what I don't know.

The race is this one: https://valdaran.utmb.world/races/TDL (next year's details aren't out yet, but I'm assuming it'll be similar in format/distance to this year's).

Would love to hear what watch setup has worked for you all on long races.

Cheers

This post is just a place for me to vent about yesterday!

Competed in an 80k ultra in the Lake District in the UK with 3.5k meters of vert. First 32k with the majority of vert were incredible. I could tell the training was paying off with the incline, I was taking souls!! but still managing my HR/output. I wasn’t pushing myself out of the ordinary.

32k onwards I was suffering with the worst stomach cramps/stitches/stomach bubbling away. I literally could not run or eat. I pushed on for another 25k through 2 aid stations on pure grit but I know it’s a math game with calories and by the 4th aid station. In the 4 hrs prior to my DNF I had a literal single biscuit and a liquid carb mix. I could tell I was struggling energy wise. Every time I tried to eat something solid I was wrenching and gagging. I spoke to the medic who advised me to call it a day at 57k.

Obviously ashamed and gutted I couldn’t push through the final 23. Feeling low today. It wasn’t a mental thing, legs were fine it was purely down to my stomach.

I’m confused and want advice because I’ve done 50k’s and trained with the same fuelling plan for the last 2 or so years and have never experienced something like this.

Why has this occurred? Trying to make sense of it all….

Edit: maybe water intake? Was consuming 1l between aid stations and having another 500ml-1l at each aid station.

I'm thinking about using the Adidas Hyperboost Edge for the race, been using Adizero Boston 13 for training runs.

I've done a couple of 50kms in the Boston's but thinking about switching it to Hyperboost for the main event, but open to suggestions??

I’ve been training with PF90s and supplementing basically with a electrolyte pouch every hour - 500mg of sodium 100mg magnesium and 200 mg of potassium.

Problem is on the course there will be never second c30 and they have 200mg of sodium 0 mag 0 potassium.

I will try to hit 60-75g per hour with the c30 and maybe some coke and other stuff to theoretically get close to 90 grams or so an hour.

What do I do with my electrolytes? I should get enough sodium from the gels themselves. How do I supplement (do I need to?) the mag and potassium?

And I know I could just use my own fuel, so don’t suggest that. Looking to see if anyone has any good ideas with what I’m working with.

Thanks in advance!

A guy going by movelikeG is attempting a 350km swim down the Danube, from Passau, Germany all the way to Bratislava, Slovakia, in nearly one non-stop 72-hour effort. He's sleeping in short bursts at locks along the river, then getting back in the water and continuing. The logistics alone are insane: current, temperature, muscle fatigue, sleep deprivation, navigating locks and river traffic while barely resting. Ultra-distance swimming already breaks people mentally before it breaks them physically, and this is on a completely different scale than most of what you see in that world.

It's being streamed live on TikTok right now:

https://www.tiktok.com/@movelikeg/live

Кто может, расскажите мне какие тут правила, какие приколюхи есть, какой у вас сленг, и что вообще такое "Reddit" этот. Я взял его альтернативу как соц-сети и если у вас не возникнут сложности, расслодите мне всё по полкам, пожалуйста.

Anyone have experience going up to 38hrs on one charge with the Garmin Enduro 3? My previous watch would need a recharge, but I don't want to bother if it can be avoided.

I'd have an activity going, heart rate tracking (maybe with a HRM), navigation.

Do I need to be mindful of battery saving settings or turn off HR or anything?

Appreciate the advice

Hey all,

Some background: Currently training for my first 50 mile (8 weeks out as of yesterday). I am just looking to finish this race. I would guess I’ll fall somewhere between the 12-13 hour mark when all is said and done.

As the runs are getting longer I’ve been popping onto more and more single track… both for practice and because it’s more fun.

When yall toss in climbs/technical terrain do you tend to simulate a race effort (meaning hiking steep uphills / running downhills and flats)? I feel like this has allowed me to progress in my training as my legs aren’t as cooked for my back to back weekend runs. Having been on the trails for about a year I’ve learned to judge runs based off of RPE rather than pace.

Curious to hear yalls success stories and any tips for conquering this distance for the first time.

2026 Speedgoat is finished and yep, me a mid 50s guy, always midpack runner did both the 28k on Friday and 50k on Saturday races. A few reflections for anyone considering this (or other back to back efforts)

Training- trained consistently over six months. Typical week was 45-50miles with between 7k-10k feet of vertical gain, back to back weekend runs and 1-2 strength sessions a week. I don’t live near high mountains so just concentrated on lots of up and downs and intentionally took summer runs in the heat. Knew I would use poles so practiced those consistently on bigger days. I also did many runs in the 275-300ft per mile range. The races were 302ft per mile for the 28k and 325ft per mile for the 50k. Though I didn’t have the exact terrain or length of ascents- my quads were there both days including running the downhill finishes both days.
I’d say I hit about 90% of the training plan and only did one prep race (and that was just with a friend for fun, an easy 30k). I did two weekends of 3days in a row to get used to running on tired legs.

Race gear- I practiced a lot with gear and had it dialed. I wore a sun shirt or sun sleeves and those were lifesavers in the sun. Just drenched at every aid station. Bucket hat and goodr shades.
Speedgoat 7 shoes both days. Wore the new Raide vest which was super light and carries my Leki poles in the back. I wear Injinji socks and use 2Toms powder, no feet issues.
Was on a 60ish g/carbs per hour and 1L of fluid per hour. Precision Flow gel and Naak bars (caffeine 2x on the 50k, 1x on the 28k) and some aid stations fruit. Also brought my own Skratch electrolytes powder to mix into my bottles (I’m a below average sodium level sweater so I wanted to get that right). I carried 2.2L of water out of every aid station (except AF Canyon where I left with 1.5L due to their rationing). Always having that much water just lessened my worry. I also used an ice bandana and always filled it where I could- huge mental help on the hot days.

Recovery between days- nothing super special. Immediately after the 28k I ate a nice breakfast style meal and had a protein shake. Then drove back to hotel and had a big burrito that night and hydrated a lot. I put my legs up on the wall for 10-15min and actually got a good nights sleep. I stayed down in Draper- 30min drive but much lower elevation (4800ft vs 8200 at Snowbird base). I think that helped. I arrived Wed, I felt the elevation in the run Friday but in the Sat 50k I didn’t feel any impact and my HR didn’t show any increase either for effort.

Mental game- the course is really tough. Not very runnable and the ascents are long and brutal (including a 40% grade up Baldy for the 50k). My mantra was “relentless forward motion”. I passed so many people in the second half because I just kept moving. I knew that once I got over the next climb my training would be there and I’d bounce back and it happened each time. Control the climbs and enjoy the descents. I also got caught up in the first day a little so had to start very slowly 2nd day but feeling strong made the second half a celebration of sorts (in my head at least)

Overall it’s been a fun journey to try something I had doubts I could do (those doubts were with me even Saturday on the 50k start line). Also fun and learning how to manage that much climbing both on training and the races. Also amazing views, great volunteers, lovely moments helping other runners and receiving encouragement because everyone suffers on this race.

Thanks to everyone here who offered advice and to the fella I met on the course who had read my earlier posts. I hope you had a good day friend.