For Geographical
At the time of writing this article, I was managing an all-female adventure racing team based in the UK (Buff Endure) as well as an international mixed team (Nike ACG Endure) and preparing for the inclusive traverse of the Greenland ice cap. Geographical asked me to give, effectively, a 'top 10 tips' re gear and to preface it with information about my sport and background. The below was what I wrote at the time.
A couple of quotes about AR:
"Nothing can compare to cows skateboarding past your head in sleep-deprived hallucinations, the exhilaration of running a remote Himalayan ridge line in the dawn light, and the shared pride that comes from pushing through pain and fear to complete one of the hardest challenges on Earth."
In 5-12 day expedition length races, the explosive cocktail of physical exhaustion, high adrenaline sports, intense mental pressure, and food and sleep deprivation make television programmes such as 'Survivor and SAS: Are you Tough Enough?' look like afternoon tea with Granny. (I took part in the latter so I can confirm that AR races are truly, in reality, far harder).
Biog:
With a professional background in development work, and a sporting background in high altitude climbing, expedition leading, raft guiding and extreme mountain biking, it is no surprise that Anna fell in love with adventure racing when she found herself biking across the Tibetan plateau in her first race (the 2001 Raid Gauloises).
She quickly went on to win the Adrenalin Rush, Red Bull Northern Exposure, Himalayan Mountain Bike Race and KIMM Elite, and has steadily accumulated long race experience around the world with many of the worlds top teams.
She has recently worked with the BBC in the highly successful, SAS Are you tough Enough and The Challenge series and is now pushing back the frontiers of exploration through a new project aiming to complete, with a small group of friends, the first paraplegic traverse of Greenland.
She continues to write, climb, lead scientific and youth expeditions and run arctic training courses in her spare time. Her UK base is in Edale but she also has a home 200km North of the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland.
The Gear I reach for first when packing my bags
A lightweight eVENT® Jacket.
I never leave the house, let alone go on expedition without one. Smaller, lighter, and more durable than any other waterproof fabric, the real difference lies in its breathability. I even use eVENT® jackets for training runs around Edale!
Nike ACG Orizaba Trail-Running Shoes
These shoes can be worn as comfortably in jungles as in the mountains. When used in combination with super ventilating socks, your feet will be able to breathe (and thereby stay blister free) in nearly any environment.
A buff (or three).
No-one who has actually used these tiny yet incredibly versatile garments ever questions their value. All they are, are seamless fast drying microfibre cloths, but I have used them as everything from bandanas, sun-guards, dust screens and hats, to sweat absorbers, neck-warmers, alice bands and even emergency bandages. They are indispensable.
A Rab Photon hoody or kimmlite Pumasillo P jacket.
Another must have on the clothing front. With a primaloft / pertex combination jacket, you can survive in pretty much any weather. We were so impressed when we used this type of jacket for the first time in a four day long winter adventure race in Scotland, that we hardly took it off. It has been a wardrobe staple ever since.
Outdoor Designs powerstretch or Winterflex Inferno Gloves
Basic powerstretch gloves cover most conditions but when I am in our home in the arctic, Outdoor Designs Winterflex Inferno Gloves are pretty unbeatable. They are breathable and dexterous enough to use cross country skiing but also warm and windproof enough to use downhill skiing or biking in temperatures down to -30C
Petzl Myo XP with Lithium Energizer batteries.
This nifty little headtorch is definitely next generation. It not only lasts an incredible 170 hours (even with normal batteries) but you can see up to 65 m with it. Hence, when you have fallen asleep on your feet, there is a chance that when you stumble awake, you will still be able to see your team mates in the far distance!
Nalgene CXC Super D, 100mm tankers.
On the surface these are just another brand of water bladders. In reality, though, they have some pretty unique features, not least of which are their quick connect tubes. Now, I need only thread my drinking tube through complicated rucksack or buoyancy aid strap systems once in a journey. When I need to refill, I simply unclip the bladder from the tube. Their bite valves are great and we have yet to see one of these bladders become mould infested, no matter how careless we have been.
Leki Ultralite Ti Air Ergo walking poles.
Poles make sense. In a 1000km race, the 10% reduction in stress they afford to tired feet and lower limbs can be a total godsend not least because this also reduces the incidence of blisters.
Suunto X6HR
Suunto T6 watches are the ultimate training tool but when heading out to the wilderness we swap them for our X6HR computers. With these, we can measure our basic performance over long periods of time and also access to useful decision making tools like altimeters (with alarms) and digital compasses.
Garmin GPSMAP® 60CS
If you are only going to buy one GPS, then this should be it. All singing and all dancing, with a 256-color, highly reflective display, automatic route calculation, integrated outdoor calendar, a dedicated geocaching mode, and even a game board, you never have an excuse for getting lost again.
The Girlie Stuff:
I nearly always take a selection of what the boys term girlie creams with me. The tingly essential oils in biobas foot cream work as effectively on bums as on feet and keep everywhere soft, supple and infection free. Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream is a good (if expensive) alternative to iodine tincture for minor scrapes and burns. Last but by no means least, no one can complain if you take with you a tiny bottle of Japonica hair remoisturiser (Boots natural collection). Three to four drops leave your hair feeling and smelling great and you can easily forget that you havent showered in weeks!