The week of an adventure race, we’re always busy prepping. The 8-hour Raid the Rock Adventure Race is no different. Here are our top prep tips. It’s a new-to-us race and one that we hope will be successful after a sub-par performance at the 12-hour Chisholm Trail race (and its 100+ degree weather).

1. Check the Mandatory Gear List

Every race organizer provides a list of required gear for their race. Generally the same core items will apply for all races with basics like a compass, mountain bike, and personal flotation device. A majority of our previous races have included a short mandatory gear list and are run under the Personal Responsibility Model (PRM). This means each racer acknowledges they have the skill set to complete any part of the race and sufficient training and gear as well. Aka, own your shit.

For Raid the Rock, we encountered our first lengthy mandatory gear list. We’ll run through it multiple times heading into team check-in. Definitely take note if gear is for each racer or each team. Is one item sufficient or do you need two of each? Here’s what we need for this particular race (plus a first aid kit with specified materials).

2. Monitor the Weather Forecast

As race day approaches, we are glued to the weather forecast on a daily basis. It’s vital that we know what type of clothing and gear we need based on the temperature, precipitation and wind. For this race, the forecast is 32-42 degrees from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. with no wind. We’re opting for layers so we can shed clothes if needed. In this case, a base layer shirt and pants, hiking pants, multiple thin jackets and a rain jacket with taped seams. We also have gloves, wool socks, wool hats and neck gaiters – mostly for the bike rides.

Since we haven’t run this race and organizers rarely clue you in on the race segments / strategy, we’re not sure if it’ll be hub-and-spoke. Hub-and-spoke is when there’s one main transition area (TA). In this style race, after each segment you come back to the main TA where you can pick up gear and food that you’ve set up pre-race. We’ve packed extra sets of clothes, shoes and socks in hopes that if needed, we can grab them if the race is hub-and-spoke style.

3. Plan Hydration and Fueling

A hydration and fueling plan is a function of a variety of things – the expected weather, the race structure, and above all what works for your digestive system. In any scenario, you’ll want to carry a two- or three-liter water bladder in a backpack and potentially a couple of water bottles for your bike rides. We also sometimes carry a water filter just in case.

Snacks are also a must to sustain energy levels during a long adventure race. For this race, we’ll each carry three Uncrustables, a rice crispy treat and a bag of Trader Joe’s Scandinavian Swimmers. In our experience, we’ve found these work best for us. For longer races, we’re still experimenting.

4. Perform an Equipment Check

On the paddling and biking legs you’ll be relying on your equipment functioning as expected. We typically take care of bike maintenance the week before the race. We knew ahead of time that we needed to change the tire and tube on a mountain bike after finding a nice size thorn lodged in the front tire. Easy fix for us. We also went ahead and lubed our chains and re-inspected the bikes one last time – especially the tubes and tires.

For this race, they provide the canoes for all teams. No option to bring our own, so we didn’t need to inspect the kayak. If we were bringing the kayak, an inspection would be an absolute must.

5. Brush up on Nav

Navigation is key for any race. And it never hurts to get some last-minute practice in. Once you’ve mastered navigation and have experience doing it, it tends to stick with you. But, a quick refresher is always a good thing. A couple hours spent on a local orienteering course is ideal if it’s available in your area. For me, I like to flip back through Squiggly Lines. (most adventure racers’ go-to nav book).