Mallorca 5000 by UTMB - Pre Race

Pre Race/Equipment

I feel quite good to be fair, haven’t had an aggressive taper, dropped volume to 10 hours last week, few easy rides this week, HRV is steady.

Equipment

Start kit

I’ll be starting in TNF flight series kit in a dashing baby blue, it’s looking like a hot race so its important to wear light colored clothing, it really does make a massive difference. I’ll also start with a Salomon S Lab bob hat, it looks a bit silly but protects your whole head from the sun.

Regarding footwear, its a really important thing to get right, I’ll be going with the Salomon S Lab Ultras, they have a small 3mm lug, which for a hot, dry rocky climate should be fine, they are also quite a fast shoe with (what I assume) is a nylon rocker. If it was wet I’d use a Hoka Metafe Speed 4, they have a Vibram rubber sole and deeper lug which would help in the wet. Socks wise, I’ll be using Summitz training crew socks, I also like a long cuff on all my socks, as it offers a small amount of protection if you strike a rock (especially an ankle knuckle!).

UTMB mandatory kit

See Picture attached of mandatory kit I’ll be using, I always like to see what others are using so sharing mine.

Additional kit

See picture attached, I don’t take much outside of mandatory kit, I like using poles, only on uphill sections, and I only get them out for major climbs, I’ll be housing them in a Salomon quiver.

For these kind of events I always bring additional 1st aid stuff, stretchy bandage, tubular bandage and a small tube of Voltarol, its minimal weight, and a godsend if you get a niggle and potentially race saving. Suncream is also important, probably not something you’ll freely get at aid stations either.

Drop Bag

I always see it as the drop bag is an intermediate finish line, a possible to chance to stop and reset and somewhere you can deal with any issues you can deal with outside of normal aid stations. So I like to think of all the ways the shit can hit the fan, and what I can have in my drop bag to overcome that issue. The main 3 are…

 1. Stomach issues, you want a selection of food, something sweet and savory, etc.

2. An injury, I like to have basic supports etc. probably never need them but its no harm in having them there in a drop bag incase you need them.

3. Clothing issues, in long mountainous races, there’s a good chance the valleys are hot and the tops are cold, I have found that in the valleys you sweat, the salt gets in your clothes, you get to the top, stop sweating, your tee dries and you are left with dry abrasive clothing. This obviously isn’t ideal, especially around nipples and crotch, so I pack a spare shorts and tee as a minimum.

All of the above I’d probably never need or use, but if it really goes wrong, then I might need all of it, its better to have it and not use it then not have it and need it.

Weather

Its super important to take precautions when racing in hot weather, especially considering we live in a cold climate, a few takeaways,

·       Cover your whole head from the sun.

·       Wear light colored or white clothing.

·       If its really hot wear arm sleeves and wet them at every opportunity, your arms have a large surface area and blood flows close to the skin, so one of the best ways to draw heat out.

·       Make sure you leave every aid station with full bottles.

·       Make sure you replace sodium, this will help against heat stress.

·       Wear sun cream, can also help against heat stress.