OMM

A couple of weekends ago I went down to the Brecon Beacons to do the OMM with my sister. It's great fun bowling across the fell side, map in hand with horizontal rain whipping across your face. Its amazing seeing hundreds of runners flying in different directions clad in tights and brightly coloured waterproof tops! Other than being a lot of fun and a good training opportunity, it was a great opportunity to test out a couple of bits of kit:

Shoes

I've been trying to decide between two different shoes for the MdS -  the Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra 2 and the Inov-8 Roclite 315. I have been using Inov8 Roclites for several years and I currently have a pair of the slightly lighter weight Roclite 295's which I love but I'm not too sure how comfortable they would be over 155 miles. They are very light and comfortable during a day out on the fells but I'm just concerned about the level of cushioning. So as a comparison I bought a pair of the Salomons which are larger and more squishy. The jury is still out on which I prefer - I think the Innov8's would have been better suited to the OMM so I don't think it was a very fair test - more testing required here.

Pack

After lots of reading and pondering I've decided to go away from the standard issue Raidlight and OMM packs and go for an Inov8 pack. I like their kit in general; their designs are clever and well built and so I thought I'd risk it. I particularly wanted a pack I could use out on the fells as well and wouldn't just be left in the cupboard after the race. So I've gone for the Race Pac 32 which I hadn't managed to find in a shop anywhere to look at. I was very pleased with the construction though when I took it out of the packaging when it arrived.  I filled it with 7 or so kilos of kit and water during the OMM and it was extremely comfortable - I hardly even noticed it was there, so a big thumbs up there. I even liked it so much I've ordered its smaller brother to train with.

In other news, the training plan is developing and I've been finding myself some nice long routes to do in the Peaks and Lakes - more detail on that later!