Less than 5
weeks to go… Managed to get all my mandatory gears in place and had them checked
last week. No dramas, passed the check and I am now all set for the race!!!
All
participants of The North Face 100 race are required to carry the below items
at all times during the race. Some say carrying all these items during a race
is excessive. Fair point. Personally, I think the organisers have the participants’
safety in mind when they decided to make these items mandatory. I can certainly
use many of these items should I get injured / stranded in the Blue Mountains, waiting
for help to arrive.
Here is the
list of my mandatory gears that passed the check.
- 1 x long sleeve thermal top
(polypropylene, wool or similar).
Don’t think
I will be using this item too often. So I opted to go for cheaper options that meet
the requirement. Got this Cape thermal top when it was on sale.
- 1 x long leg thermal pants
(polypropylene, wool or similar).
Similar to
the top, I went for a cheaper option. Got this Wild Country thermal pants when
it was on sale.
- 1 x waterproof and breathable jacket
with fully taped (not critically taped) waterproof seams and hood (plastic rain
poncho, wind jacket, water resistant jacket etc. not acceptable)
This is the
most discussed items as the organisers are very strict on this item. After
reading up on past participants’ experiences and advice, I chose this one.
- 1 x beanie, balaclava or buff
Any beanie
or buff will do. Thanks to Shaz, I will be using the Original buff.
- 1 x full-fingered lightweight thermal
gloves (polypropylene, wool or similar)
I brought 2
pairs of gloves to the check. My normal Nike running gloves did not pass. Luckily
I have another pair that is made of Polartec material and this one passed.
- 1 x High Visibility Safety Vest that
complies with Australian Standard AS/NZS 4602:1999 –D/N Class for day and night
time wear.
Bought this at
Bunnings. $6.50 Can’t go wrong with that!
- 1 x headlamp (test your headlamp on
bush tracks at night prior to the event to make sure it provides enough light
to both see the track and the course markings)
Led Lenser
H7 will be my main headlamp.
- 1 x small backup light in case of
headlamp failure but still bright enough for you to walk by and see course
markings
Light weight
Petzl Tikka as my backup.
- 1 x mobile
phone (Telstra Next G is strongly recommended as coverage on the course is far better
than any other network)
Still
undecided. Should be using my iphone. Maybe will change to a lighter “dumb” phone.
- 1 x compass for navigation in the very
unlikely event that you get lost.
The compass function within FR910XT pass the test. No need to get additional compass. Just need to make sure the battery can last entire race.
- Capacity to carry 2 litres of water
(water bladder or water bottles)
- 1 x whistle
- 1 x emergency space blanket, light
bivvy sack or equivalent
My Salomon
Advance Skin S-Lab 12 (S12) comes standard with a 1.5l bladder. I took another 600ml water bottle
and slot it in the front pouch, making the total capacity to be over 2litres.
The S12 also comes with a whistle and an emergency space blanket.
- 1 x compression bandage minimum
dimensions 7.5cm wide x 2.3m long unstretched.
Pretty
standard. Available at most chemist.
- 1 x lightweight Dry Sack to keep your
compulsory clothing dry (plastic bags or zip lock bags are fine but Sea to
Summit Ultra-Sil dry sack is recommended)
Will be using
zip lock bags.
- 2 x bars / food portions
I called The
North Face shop and asked if I really need to bring these items in. They said
yes. So I just brought along 2 Winners energy bars for the check.
- 1 x Ziploc bag for your personal
rubbish
No problem
here.
- 1 x waterproof map case or any other
way to keep your maps protected such as map contact
Just need a bigger than normal zip lock bag. What will the world be without zip lock bags?
These following
2 items are only required if the weather is super bad. Nevertheless, they are
part of the mandatory items. Fingers crossed that we don’t need to use carry
and use them.
- 1 x long leg waterproof pants
Bought this
during a sale.
- 1 x 100-weight long sleeve synthetic
fleece top (must not be made of wool)
I reckon I
will use this item quite often. Hence I am willing to pay a little bit more for
this one.
So there you
go. Hopefully this will give you an idea of what are the gears available out
there you may need for this race. Happy running!
