Occasional Runner
My poles are the ultra variety.
Leon does a lot of videos, so I haven't seen that one. But I'm certain he was wearing the Gregory pack. It has a long storage pocket for trekking poles and Leon really likes that pack. Gregory sent me that pack and I wore it at the American River 50 miler this year and wasn't a fan. I loaned it to a friend that wanted to play with it and haven't seen it since. I'm not distressed.
I'm a flatlander so I don't have much use for poles, so I've never used them. Therefore I can't really help out here, but I do have two comments:
- I like to use handhelds so I have made the choice to carry bottles and not poles when I venture away from the flatlands. But, this summer at HR100 I saw someone that had bottles clipped on to his poles, interesting.
- FYI, I talked to an old-timer who finished both HR100 and LV100 this past summer who used poles for a while a few years ago, but now says that he feels he is more efficient NOT using them. Go figure.
tbd.
Le professeur de trail
My poles are the ultra variety. Leon does a lot of videos, so I haven't seen that one. But I'm certain he was wearing the Gregory pack. It has a long storage pocket for trekking poles and Leon really likes that pack. Gregory sent me that pack and I wore it at the American River 50 miler this year and wasn't a fan. I loaned it to a friend that wanted to play with it and haven't seen it since. I'm not distressed.
If you don't like the Z poles after using them, you could always let me "borrow" them.
My favorite day of the week is RUNday
I'll definitely do that.
Will run for scenery.
I tried using poles when I was a hiker (pre-running) and was absolutely sold on them on my very first hike.
For long uphill climbs where you are walking, not running, they are a huge help IMO. Just transferring a small fraction of the workload away from your legs is something you can totally feel. For hiking downhill, they are a huge help with stability, and open up lots of options for maneuverability.
I have tried running with poles, and could never get the hang of it; best I could do was put them both in one hand and carry them like a spear, paleo-bling-style. But I see videos of Europeans who use the poles while running, so maybe with practice they become helpful.
Just to second (third ?) a couple of things : make sure you do some practice runs with them to get your upper body used to the poles, otherwise you'll wear yourself out. Also, think hard about how you will stow/unstow the poles in a race where time matters. I use poles for really long (many miles) climbs, but up-n-down stuff would not bother.
Stupid feet!
Stupid elbow!
I use trekking poles for backpacking and have experimented with using them while running. I have the Black diamond ultra distance z-poles as well. They are the only poles I ever considered using due to their super lightweight and compact size when folded. They are very helpful for me when carrying a heavy backpack over rough terrain. I don't find them helpful when running downhill as you are moving to fast to keep the poles under control.
I tried them at Speedgoat this year, but since I hadn't picked them up since last fall they were not as helpful as they could have been. As others have mentioned, if you don't use them regularly your arms and shoulders will quickly tire and they will become not so useful. I don't have any input on stowing them, as I picked them up from my wife at one aid station and gave them back to her at the next. I ran the downhill with them in my hands. That worked fine, but probably wouldn't want to do that for 100 miles. If you are able to train with them quite a bit I would say they can be very helpful. If you don't use them much in training they may not help much.
I'm not familiar with the Bear 100 course, but maybe you could leave them with your crew or in a drop bag for use on some of the bigger climbs and then ditch them again once the climb is over.
Uh oh... now what?
I have seen video of runners with poles, maybe review them (Salomon or TNF)
quite a few of them evidently have several sets so they can pick them up, drop them, depending on if the next few miles would be easier (?) with the poles
Some of the pacers are carrying the poles---slide off into muling, pro or con
rgot
Muling is awesome and has saved my ass at least twice.
I'm not really interested in running with poles. People keep mentioning it, so I want to discuss that. I would only want to use poles on the steepest ascents, which would be hiked, not ran. If the terrain is runnable, I would be running it and I wouldn't need/want poles for that. I don't have any concerns about my ability to run on runnable terrain.
For me personally, if poles were allowed in a race and I had the option of a mule to hand the poles to I would absolutely go for it. Totally eliminates the logistical downside.
Although I still think it's essential to practice climbing with the poles, the mule opens a new option : you could just give the poles a try during a race without feeling "committed" to using them.
Another thing, I don't think anybody mentioned yet. One of the things to learn about using poles is to not grab hold of the handles. Spend some time getting the wrist straps adjusted so that the handles just sort of hang in the right position between your thumb and palm. As long as snaggy underbrush is not an issue, you can just sort of drag the pole forward by the strap and only really grab hold of the handle while you are applying a downward force. A teeny, tiny savings in energy times 10,000 or so starts to really matter !
There are other issues in learning to use poles. Some people on the Webz like to demonstrate the right way. But I've found I vary my technique quite a bit based on terrain, speed, fatigue, etc. Do some practice climbs and try changing things up. Right pole with each left step, then one pole for two steps, then two poles simultaneously for a pair of steps, etc. It's not something you need to think about a whole lot, it's all pretty natural, but it takes some time before it just happens on its own without your noticing it.
This is why I'm considering poles.
running under the BigSky
I also own a pair of Ultra Z's. They fold up/out quickly and w/ the right setup on a pack they will stow away quickly as well. If you have a backpacking store near by, look at the setup that Osprey uses on many of their packs- "stow on the go" is what they call it and it works great. I also think w/ it could be readily replicated on another pack.
video here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSX2iKZXw6U
pics here:
http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/gear-news/osprey-reinvents-trekking-pole-stowage/5092.html
I have not tried mine running, but have used them extensively for hiking and backpacking- if I had a course w/ that elevation profile, I'd certainly consider trying them
2023 goal 2023 miles √
2022 goal- 2022 miles √
2021 goal- 2021 miles √
Wow, I think I'd want poles for that race.
Take Charge. Train Harder. Suck Less. No Excuses.
Refurbished Hip
I know absolutely nothing about poles, but is it possible to find a pole that collapses and is easy to stow away in your pack for the running sections of the Bear? So running = poles in pack. Steep ascents = use poles. Seems like a logical solution in my head.
Running is dumb.
100 Miles • 21,986' of climb • Max Elevation 9060' • Min Elevation 4860'• Avg Elevation 7350'
Use the poles!!