I realize I left out food and gear from my race report, so here’s that info:
Gear
- Altra Superior 2.0 and injinji toe socks for 69 miles, Hoka Stinson Evo and Balega socks for 31 miles. I lost one of the Hoka’s at the race finish, but those have been around for 2.5 years so it was time anyway.
- Tobacco Road Marathon calf sleeves, started with them more for warmth than the supposed compression benefits, kept them for protection from the trail which was overgrown in some places. Also started with arm warmers due to the start temps, quickly took them off.
- Nike combat pro compression with a Prana Mojo short the entire race. I use these shorts for everything — running, hiking, biking, swimming — the later was quite appropriate for the weather!
- Ice breaker sleeveless top until mile 69, then icebreaker 200 weight half zip top the rest of the way. Ultimate direction rain shell for most of the race — amazing light weight and kept the water off.
- Florida coast to coast buff — something that’s been with me for every major race for 12-13 years. Under Armor fleece hat, plain black wool buff. A couple kinds of gloves.
- UD AK vest for the 1st 55 miles, UD PB for the last 45. Just used two handhelds the entire way.
- Petzl tikka rxp and a fenix PD32 UE (that I never used).
- Carried duct tape, vasoline, and the like.
Food
- Vfuels were again a constant, I can always get those down.
- I had one pack of UCANN to start, and had more in my drop bags, but never felt like that is quite what I wanted/needed. The non plain versions come across as VERY sweet.
- I also carried these amazing “chewy balls” which are peanut butter, oats, dark chocolate, honey, etc. But for some reason, after the 1st 5 or 6, I did not care for any more the rest of the way.
- Epic bars — both Bison and Bacon — these are always good. 🙂
- MAPS (BCAAs) — tried to shoot for 5 every hour.
- Endurolytes – with the humidity during the day I thought a few of these would be worthwhile.
- Vitamin I — really trying to get away from this completely but I’m not quite there yet. I think 400mg every 5 – 6 hours.
- I had a Bonk Breaker or two for the 1st time, and they were pretty good.
- From the aid stations: bacon, egg, cheese, quesadillas; tomato soup; broth with rice; ramen with noodles. The warm broths were very welcome all night in the cold weather!
2sparrows 
I have not tried UCAN. Looks like they make a starch drink, an electrolyte drink and a protein drink. Which one do you use?
On calf compression, I got some higher Swiftwicks (I LOVE their socks) and I ran in them for the first time this past weekend. Found it comfortable. First time I have worn over the calf socks since tube socks in about 1979. P-)
Have not tried Prana but I have seen the name and am now intrigued.
Have never used a vest, but I was watching a video review of a chest rig, which has pockets in the front and a bladder in the back, and the virtues of it in terms of balancing load and ability to access contents solo without removing it had me thinking. I really like my MS1 pack from Out There (Mike Kloser). Very very comfortable. Some substantial pockets in front. Pretty light. I did manage to tear up a hip belt pocket while bushwhacking so hoping a seamstress might be able to patch that up.
I tried VFuels for Sea to Sea on your recommendation and liked them. I wish they had jugs and flasks like Hammer both for great volume and better pricing. I also use Epics and Taneka meat bars, even for a high protein snack sometimes. I still have some pemmican sticks in my freezer. I liked them in the race, but (I can’t remember if I told you) I got violently ill during the Sea to Sea and while I don’t think the pemmican was the culprit, I think in the back of my mind it makes me less eager to eat more of it. Plus it is not something I would eat watching TV and I have not done much long enough to warrant that, and once they thaw they have to be eaten or pitched so all in all have not made any use of them since race.
Have never used Bonk Break, Vitamin I or MAPS
The chewy balls (all kidding aside) are something you make at home?
I have found that even though it is a very old product, I like Sustained Energy a lot. I can handle Perpetuem while paddling. So so while biking. And does not sit well with me for running. But SE or even a blend of the two seems to work better for me. Easier to digest.
Any interest in the MR340 again? If we can assemble a crew that might win overall, I would be interested in returning for a shot at that.
Will
Wow, that’s a lot of comments… Let me tackle one by one:
– UCAN – just the super starch. you need to be fairly fat adapted for this to work.
– Prana Mojo shorts are amazing! I actually have 5 or 6 pairs now.
– The Ultimate Direction packs are all great. You can use a hydration pack for longer treks, or just go with the bottles. Enough pockets up front for essentials, and space and more space in the back as you size up from AK to SJ to PB sizes.
– Vitamin I is Ibuprofen. I really need to stop using it.
– BCAA’s (MAPS) are just branch chain aminos. I use them every hour unless I’m having something like a Bison bar or a hard boiled egg. I.e. whenever I don’t have protein. Some gels include them but I only like Vfuels these days, which don’t. They really save the legs for later in the race.
– I need to make the chewy balls at home, they seem pretty easy. So far I’ve just bought them from a farm at the local farmers market.
– I don’t care for Perpetuem or Sustained Energy any longer, but if they work for you, great!
– I’d be more interested in the Yukon 460, but the MR340 holds some interest. So does Texas Water Safari. But for any of them, probably not a dragon boat again, but a voyager — 6 man or less??