During the Easter weekend, I headed up to the beautiful area of England known as the Lake District to have my first experience of fell running (link can be found here). Fell running isn’t your normal running as you’re out in the elements, usually at relatively higher altitudes and the ability to survive should anything go wrong is essential. As you’ve probably gathered, that means you’ll require equipment and kit that you don’t take out for your regular run along the streets of your local town, city or usual countryside.
However, one of the issues with getting into a new sport and purchasing the equipment required is firstly working out what it is you need, what’s going to keep you safe as well as you being comfortable. With this though, you don’t want to jump in at the deep and expensive end to only find out that it’s not your thing and you’ll never use it again, leaving you to sell it on for a fraction of the price. That’s where this blog is going to help you out! I had this exact issue in the lead up to my trip so I’ll firstly talk about how I came about coming to a decision and give my opinion on what my experience with what I bought to help guide you in your decision making.
The first thing I needed to know is what I actually needed before looking through the various reviews for the items that I still didn’t have. How did I do this? From watching a few YouTube videos of ultramarathons out on various trails around the world, I picked up the general gist of what was required. This left me with the following list on top of your usual running gear:
- Lightweight pack – A small and compact that will hold my kit, water and nutrition whilst being comfortable at the same time
- Trail running shoes – Required to give me sufficient grip across all terrains and in any weather conditions
- Lightweight jacket – If the rain comes in, you want something to run in that will keep you warm and dry but isn’t too bulky, making you uncomfortable when moving at speed
- Nutrition – With you being out for longer and burning a higher level of calories, you need to be able to refuel yourself quick and easy
- Sports sunglasses – An effective pair of sunglasses that won’t come off of your face when moving around at speed
The next stage was to work out what was going to work best for me whilst providing good value for money without being bamboozled by the array of choices If you walk into any shop, search the web or look into what different athletes use, you’re bombarded with a wide array of companies, terminology and a variety of prices and it can all be a bit confusing. With it being my first time into the sport, I decided to go for the lower end of the spectrum whilst still getting good functionality and comfort.
My method for getting to what I purchased varied from item to item:
- Lightweight pack – A quick Google gave me an idea of what prices to expect and what shops I could go into as ultimately I wanted to try it on before purchasing. I headed to a shop near me, looked at their range, tried a couple on and decided on the Montane Trailblazer 18 Rucksack
- Trail running shoes – I was fortunate enough to still have my running shoes from my former days in cross country, which had always given me the grip that I required so I settled on using them as they were still at the higher end of the range on offer. These are the Inov8 Mudclaw 300.
- Lightweight jacket – I admit, not much effort went into this! All of my other clothing choices were Karrimor so decided to head into Sports Direct and grab their jacket on offer, the Karrimor XLite jacket.
- Nutrition – Previously I’d used SIS for runs and found their consistency a bit too thin for my liking. So I went on the hunt for a plant based energy and after (though mistakenly) recalling Rich Roll mention the merits of High5 gels and bars, that was my brand of choice.
- Sports sunglasses – In the past I’d used Oakley sunglasses and always saw them being used by sports stars globally, meaning they must be good! So I popped into one of the Oakley shoes, found out about their new Prizm lens range for different environment and was sold on the Oakley M2 Frame with Trail Prizm lens.
Disclaimer: Before I get into this part of the blog, I am not sponsored by any of the companies highlighted or paid to say this.
Montane Trailblazer 18 Rucksack
Price: £60.00
From: Cotswold Outdoor, https://www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/p/montane-trailblazer-18-rucksack-E1314469.html?colour=105
I felt one of the most vital pieces of kit that I needed to go exploring the fells of the Lake District was a comfy and lightweight rucksack that would hold everything I needed but sit snuggly on me as I moved around quickly. The last thing I wanted was for me to go one way and my rucksack moving all over the place on my back.
With the bag, I felt that I found exactly what I wanted! It had plenty of room to store everything I wanted in it with its 18L and still have room to spare along with its separate pouch for a hydration bladder was very useful to allow ease of access to refill it without emptying your bag. Tied in with the two large waistband pockets and harness pockets gave ample room for the storage of bars and gels with ease of access, especially whilst on the move.
For comfort, its Montane COVALENT harness gives you the ability to customise the fit of the chest straps, the shoulder straps and waist band, to what you need and then you just use the Click and Go capabilities to secure it to you and get moving in no time, with it ensuring that it’s not moving about as you move. Once it was on, I barely noticed it was there and no restriction in the movement at all, whilst not suffering from any kind of rubbing at all.
This rucksack is definitely something that I would highly recommend as a piece of kit to use if you’re looking for a comfortable, lightweight bag that’s also reasonably priced when comparing it to competitive brands in the market. I honestly can’t think of any bad points to highlight.
Karrimor XLite Jacket
Price: £79.99 RRP, bought on sale at £30.00
From: Sports Direct, https://www.sportsdirect.com/karrimor-xlite-reflective-jacket-mens-450127?colcode=45012703
In the end, I was fortunate enough to not have to use this jacket whilst in the Lake District as it was glorious sunshine and above 20C! However, you’ll be glad to know that I did have to use a couple of other times in the wind, rain and cooler temperatures so can still give you a review of its performance, though limited at that.
The jacket itself is lightweight polyester, with two exterior pockets and one internal pocket. The zip goes all the way up to the chin and integrated hood that covers your head and has a small lip to keep water off your face, along with reflective strips on the back. Adjustable elastic allows you to get it to fit as snug as you wish around the waist and neck.
The first time I decided to pop it on was to really just try it out before my trip when there was a cold spell in the UK on a clear morning in spring where the temperature had dropped down to 2C and had a touch of wind. This run was also taking up on to a relatively exposed hill of only a 100m, so felt it was the closet I could get to testing the merits of the jacket before I headed off. Verdict? Though the jacket is very lightweight, I was nice and toasty in the conditions given. So toasty, I had to unzip it a little!
The second time I wore it was during a run in the rain to taste its waterproof capabilities. I started with the hood up but soon put it down due to being too warm again. Did it keep me dry? The best I can say is, I think so, and my reasoning for that I’m not sure if the feel of wetness internally was due to water soaking through or from my sweat (as lovely as that is as a thought…) But overall, I was much drier that in the past so it did the job!
Would I recommend this as an item to buy? At the discounted price that is/was offered by Sports Direct, I would recommend it as it did the job for me! But if it wasn’t discounted, I think there are a few more solid options for that price.
Inov8 Mudclaw 300
Price: £115.00
Running out of the mountains needs a completely different pair of running shoes compared to road running to make sure that you have the right amount of grip to tackle all kinds of terrain, whilst being robust, able to tackle
The grip provided by these shoes and their 8mm studs was a perfect compromise between the flatter, stony trails and the soggy, muddy marshes on offer as I moved through the mountains and hills of the Lake District, even helping me with the sole of the shoe is also flexible enough to allow you a lot of foot freedom when you’re having to tackle some technical parts of the trails that you’re on. The wearing of the shoe is certainly comfortable with plenty of cushioning in and around the shoe and allows your foot to securely sit in the shoe at all times. Even though they are comfortable and have a bit of cushioning, they are still lightweight enough that you don’t particularly notice them on your feet.
One thing to be wary about with these shoes are that they are best for those with narrower feet when fitting them. I have wider feet and so after running 21 miles over the couple of days in the mountains, my slightly dodgy gate on my right foot and my foot moving around in the shoe during the descents, I ended up with a blister on my right foot.
These are another piece of kit that I would recommend investing in as they are comfy, they are lightweight and they have a lot of grip. If you’re out in the mountains or running on muddy trails, these shoes are exactly what you need and a perfect if you’re going between surfaces, even when they are combined with harder and drier trails.
High5 Energy Gels, Energy Gels with Caffeine & Energy Bars
Price: Mixed gel pack – £4.49, Energy bar (25) – £15.99 – £27.99
From: Wiggle, Mixed Gel Pack – https://www.wiggle.co.uk/high5-wiggle-mixed-gel-pack/, Energy Bar (25) – https://www.wiggle.co.uk/high5-energy-bar-25x55g-2/
Energy gels – The energy gels from High5 are a good consistency where they aren’t too watery that they disappoint you and lack flavour but at the same time, they are too thick where consuming them is troublesome and hinders your air flow. As for the flavour, it’s refreshing, not too sweet, not too bland and doesn’t leave a dry feeling in your mouth. Whilst using the gels on a regular basis with the bars, I never felt my energy levels really dip.
The caffeine gels were exactly the same as the normal gels when it comes to consistency and flavour, though you could taste the caffeine making it slightly bitter and leaving my mouth a little dry after. These gave me a good boost when it was needed with the 30mg of caffeine that is in each gel.
Nutritional information – 91 kcal, 23g of carbohydrates, 0g of fat, 0g of protein. Amount of sugar varies from 2.4-3g depending on the flavour.
Energy bars – The bars again where of a good consistency where they weren’t too hard to chew, allowing consumption to be quick on easy whilst on the move. As stated before, my energy levels never really dipped and allow me to keep a constant pace and calorie intake. The only downside to them was the grains getting stuck in the corners of my mouth and being a little irritating but overall, these are really good bars!
Nutritional information – These ranges depend on the flavour. 180-255 kcal, full break down can be found on the website given.
Before the question is asked, yes! Recommended for sure and a brand that I have continued using since!
Oakley M2 Frame Custom with XL Trail Prizm Lens
Price: £147.00
From: Oakley, https://www.oakley.com/en-gb/category/custom
After going out for runs with my older set of sunglasses that I used for sport, one of the issues I faced was the continuous and pretty irritating aspect of having to push my glasses back on to my face. That’s what prompted me to get a good set of sports sunglasses that have the rubberised nose and ear grips to stop them easily slipping off.
My frame of choice for this were the M2 Frame due to their sleek, minimal appearance and large lens that encompass your full field of vision without the frame to intercepting your field of vision. Though, some may frown upon my very vibrant colour of choice. As for my lens, with so many options offered by Oakley, my chosen set was the Trail Prizm lens, based on the sport that I was going to be using them for.
You must be wondering what the difference is between the Trail Prizm and normal Prizm lenses. Oakley has released a selection of Prizm lenses designed for various different sports and environments, such as Trail, Road and Snow, with several more. The lenses are fine tuned to allow only certain colours through, emphasising vital details for the environment you’re in. This was perfect for me on the fells as needing to see the details of the trails and hills is essential to make sure you can move across the rocks, tracks and hills, especially the more technical descents where footfall is key or else you’re going to end in a bad way. Don’t worry, these are not a gimmick and the basic function of being sunglasses is something these do brilliantly without glare, even if though they aren’t polarised.
As great as these glasses are, the one issue that I did find with them is when they were worn flush to your face and you’re someone you can sweat quite a bit like me, this sweat would go on the frame of the glasses and then run down the front of the lens, blurring my vision. A solution around this issue was to have the glasses slightly off my face which still allowed them to work great but didn’t feel as secure but still never had an issue with them slipping or falling off.
Would I recommend these? They are pricey and there are other brands that can give you a pair of sunglasses that are secure but I think the lenses offered by Oakley are up there, especially with the new specialised technology used for different kinds of environment.
That rounds off my reviews of the items that I used for my first time of fell running and as I’ve pretty much indicated, I loved using all of them, they did what they set out to do and contributed to me thoroughly enjoying the experience. I hope you found it useful and take the inspiration to use either the exact equipment that I did or at least the brands listed. If you have any questions about, be sure to leave a comment, send me an email or send a message to one of my social media pages and I’ll be sure to get back to you!
