During the race

By Steve Fleisig

• Don't make the rookie mistake of taking off too fast
• Don't ever assume the people in front of you know where they are going, even if it is 50 teams
• Towing people while walking or biking shouldn't be an optional exercise
• It is never too early to tow or redistribute pack loads; don't let egos get in the way
• The main navigator should be doing his/her thing and the 2nd should be closely watching everything
• Everyone should be constantly aware of direction of travel, elevation gain/loss, mileage covered and pace
• If possible, never stop and stand in the sun, always look for a shady spot
• Try not to stop every 15 mins
• If the team stops for some reason, take care of something you need to do now as opposed to stopping 5 mins later to get at some food (consolidate your stops)
• Take care of foot problems immediately before they flare up into something nasty
• When on foot, be careful not to fall into "Sunday stroll" pace - you're in a race so move with haste; many teams jog flats and downhills
• If there are opportunities to do a pace line on a bike leg, do one
• Drink and eat often - try to drink every 15 mins and eat in little bits; you should have 12 hours of food available w/o ever needing to go into your pack - there are many on-chest systems (see equipment list) that will give you extra handy storage space; when the group stops, eat and drink
• Having said the above, try not to bring too much food - you can only go a couple of days w/o water but a few weeks w/o food; you're in a race, not an eating contest
• Never ever pass up a water source because you don't feel like filling up b/c you may not find water when you need it later
• When traveling at night try to use as little light as possible - you can have 1 or 2 headlamps on vs. all being on or you can use your low beams when biking uphill or no lights when pushing the bike
• Always turn off all your lights when you stop
• In races 2 days or longer, take your shoes and socks off and raise your feet when you stop to dry them out and stem off swelling