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Measuring a 100 miler

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DeeGee Jun 2014 12:21pm, 23 Jun 2014 15,916 posts	Quote Pin DeeGee I ran an unexpected mini-ultra yesterday - it was announced at the start of the race that it would be 28 miles. Now due to a variety of circumstances I only had 3 hours of charge left in Garmin, so naturally it went balls up about 18 miles in. Coupled with my MP3 player (which has a stopwatch) failing after 2 hours, and my phone not having charged overnight (a member of my household having switched the socket off) I had no means of timing myself or knowing how far I had gone. Thankfully, I'm not a bad judge of pace, and I finished just 2 minutes outside my target. And having picked up a photocopy of the map, I could work out how far I was between checkpoints. I did feel a little bit like I was running blind, though. Which got me to thinking. I'm harbouring an ambition to run a 100 miler next August - plenty of time to train. I know that my Garmin won't last the full distance, and I know that knowing where I am on the course, and how to stick to my pacing strategy will be important to me when the game's as much mental as physical. Other than going to the expense of buying a Suunto Ambit, are there any methods I can use to work out roughly where I am? The race I'm after running is hilly, so I suspect I'll be less able to judge pace (and therefore distance based on a stopwatch reading). What methods do you ultra-runners use, or am I worying about nothing?
Night-owl Jun 2014 12:25pm, 23 Jun 2014 17,438 posts	Quote Pin Night-owl watches with interest Is this August as in 2015? Or? All the best
DeeGee Jun 2014 12:28pm, 23 Jun 2014 15,917 posts	Quote Pin DeeGee August 2015. The year I turn 40, I've decided to run an ultra which runs over the trails I used to cycle as a kid and within a mile of the house where I grew up
Ultracat Jun 2014 12:32pm, 23 Jun 2014 10,983 posts	Quote Pin Ultracat You could Borrow an additional garmin from a friend. Learn to judge pace without a garmin.
DeeGee Jun 2014 1:13pm, 23 Jun 2014 15,918 posts	Quote Pin DeeGee I'm not too bad at judging pace on the flat, UC, but I'm not sure how I'd do it at night in the hills. A second cheap Garmin might be an option, certainly more so than an Ambit.
Gaubfar Jun 2014 1:19pm, 23 Jun 2014 1,096 posts	Quote Pin Gaubfar dee gee you must have been glad to NOT know how far you had to go on that awful course!!!
Ceratonia Jun 2014 1:36pm, 23 Jun 2014 1,243 posts	Quote Pin Ceratonia Mobile USB Charger - basically a battery with a USB connection? They're a bit smaller than the typical garmin and can be strapped to the wrist easily enough and have enough juice to recharge your garmin several times.
Velociraptor Jun 2014 1:38pm, 23 Jun 2014 29,967 posts	Quote Pin Velociraptor If it's still working by then, I'd be happy to lend you a Garmin 310xt, which would give you an extra 16 hours
Ceratonia Jun 2014 1:43pm, 23 Jun 2014 1,244 posts	Quote Pin Ceratonia On my watch, it appears to continue to store data while charging, although just displaying the "battery charging" notice. They're about 10-20 quid. My kids use them to recharge their phones when we're camping, but on my limited testing, it seems to work OK with the GPS too.
Bintmcskint Jun 2014 1:55pm, 23 Jun 2014 17,953 posts	Quote Pin Bintmcskint I used one of these during SDW50 to keep my 610 going ebay.co.uk I have just bought a 310XT though that is still just 20 hours which would be a bit of a stretch for me over 100 miles, I reckon, so I plan on using the charger again for my attempts at 100 miles next year.