Fellsman kit

The Fellsman notoriously has the most thorough (and rigorously checked) mandatory kit list of all UK ultramarathons. Videos exist demonstrating that you can get all the mandatory kit for e.g. the UTMB (a very long, very hard, very prestigious race in the French alps) in a 3 litre race vest. You haven't a prayer of doing that for the Fellsman.

The reason is simple: the organisers want you to finish, which means you're out there in April against whatever crazy stuff the not-too-distant Atlantic decides to throw at you until the end. Bright sunshine, howling gales, torrential rain, snow: all have been known, sometimes within the same 12 hour period.

After a couple of unfortunate incidents with ill-equipped runners getting hypothermic a few years back, the Fellsman requires a lot of warm clothes, and 2 emergency fall backs (a survival bag and a foil poncho).

I was planning on using a 15l Omm Ultra pack for this, but having done a few 50 milers with it, it rubs my back and hurts my shoulder. Plan B is a 12l race vest.

It's a bit of a squeeze, but I think I can get everything on the kit list in, plus the extras I want to carry.

 clockwise from left:

Spork
Drysac for spare clothes
compass, & foil poncho below it
SOL survival bag, with waterproof coat, then trousers below
First aid kit (I'll carry a smaller one than this) with gloves, backup torch and spare batteries below
Inov8 insulated jacket & Montane Prism hat
Additional layer (this is just a warm fleece base layer, chosen because it's fairly bulky, with Petzl Nao2 headtorch above
Buff, with Harvey Fellsman map above
MSR titanium mug.

This assumes I'll be wearing 2 upper body layers and carrying 3, which is likely. On the day I'll make a call on what to actually wear, but it'll probably be a Raidlight top (which means extra pocket space).

I still need to include emergency food, and eating food. That means 300g of cheese, 2 baby food containers of peanut butter, and various bits of cheese, nuts etc. My nav GPS will go in the pocket of my race vest, as will additional buffs, my Buffalo mittens and one or two other bits.

 

I'm pretty sure this is all going to fit OK, but I'll do a trial run on an actual run sometime in Feb.

Just a reminder that I'm doing this in aid of Yorkshire Cat Rescue. If you want to make a donation, you can do so here:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/charles-colbourn4