OUR ROUTE IS FOCUSSED ON THE STUNNING WAITIUKUBULI NATIONAL TRAIL WHICH SNAKES ITS WAY UP AND DOWN THE ISLAND.

This kit list is from our 2022 event - you will be notified of any changes to this list ahead of the event you have signed up for.

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General advice on heat

This event unfolds in the Tropics and this means hot and humid is the order of the day! That heat can be fierce and problems associated with heat can creep up on you. So a wide-brimmed sunhat, sun-cream and lightweight and breathable fabrics (ideally with SPF protection) should be used. Given the sweating you will experience, waterproof sun-cream and hat selection is very important. As the sun comes up, sunglasses with at least Cat 3 protection are required. There is a large degree of shade in the rainforest itself, but we will frequently be popping out of the jungle and descending to the coast, so decent sunglasses are essential.

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The beauty of the support afforded by the vehicles is that we can interact with you many times on the route. So whilst we require you to take a lot of water with you at all times (and always leave a pit stop with full supplies), we can also re-supply you often. There are some exceptions to this, which you will be made aware of whilst on the route of course.

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Do not underestimate how much the heat and humidity will take out of you. Even if you think you are going well earlier on, as soon as that sun comes up and you spend a few hours sweating through some thick vegetation, it’ll start sapping energy. You really do want to ensure you have max sun protection and keep taking on fluids and salts.

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For your feet, we would advise trail running footwear or mid-top ankle lightweight boots. On some stages you will be self-contained all day long, so what you take at the beginning of the day will remain with you throughout. On other stages you will be able to access Pit Stop bags and be able to change clothes, socks or even footwear during a stage. This level of detail will be communicated to you when you arrive at the event. For now, you should know that some stages will be self-sufficient (i.e. no access to personal items that are not on your person, all day) and some stages will permit you to access Pit Stop bags.

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THE KIT LIST

Here’s a rundown. We may revise this nearer the time but this should give you a good idea at this stage.

Note: All items are mandatory, unless it says recommended, where they are, well, recommended!

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Running or trekking

• Trail running footwear (We would advise bringing a spare pair also). Mid-ankle or standard shoes. Footwear with mid-ankle support is definitely recommended given the uneven nature of the terrain.

•  Full body cover bottoms – lightweight tights, loose fitting trekking trousers that you are comfortable running in at times. NOTE: You do NEED full-body cover on your legs (and not shorts) on account of spikey and sharp vegetation which will constantly cut and aggravate your skin if you wear shorts.

•  Undershorts/comfortable underwear to stop chaffing!

•  One set of running shorts and t-shirt for the coastal traverse day

•  T-shirt, long and short sleeved: Pack BOTH so you can use long-sleeved for stages with thicker vegetation for upper arm and body protection

•  Ultra vest or small daypack (see bags required breakdown below for capacities required on daypack and ‘wild-camp night’ bag)

•  CAT 3 sunglasses

•  Bladder or bottles/ soft flasks (aim to be able to carry a MINIMUM of 2l at all times, preferably over a combination of containers i.e. bladder and soft flask/s)

•  Gloves – suitable for the rope sections. These could be cycling gloves or gardening gloves

•  Hat – cap with ‘desert-style’ backflap or wide brimmed hat are fine

•  Socks – with plenty of spares

•  Buff or similar neck gaiter

•  Ultralight rain shell jacket

•  Blister care kit – see our advice on this below.

•  First Aid kit – see our advice on this below. Also include any personal medication

•  Scooby snacks of choice: Whilst the Pit Stop vehicles will be stocked up with yummy things, including drinks and sweet/ savoury snacks, sports nutrition can be a very personal thing so we would advise that, regardless of our Pit Stop service, you pack items that you know work for you out on the trail. If you have a high protein diet please bring supplementary protein bars/powder for drinks.

•  Electrolytes and salt tablets – lots, expect to use a tube/pack per day.

•  Either a GPS handheld device or Smartphone capable of following a GPX file (phone with Viewranger App is recommended – see section on ‘route finding’ below) OR a GPS watch for following the route. See more info and rental option below.

•  In all cases, participants must carry a Smartphone (so if you are using a watch for following the route, you must also have a Smartphone in your kit for comms purposes)

•  Power pack and cable for recharging phone, in waterproof bag (ziplock or dry bag)

•  Headtorch, waterproof to IPX7 standard, minimum 150 lumens + spare batteries or second headtorch

•  Salt tablets and dissolvable electrolytes for water. Please bring salt tablets and some electrolyte mix for drinks. You will 100% need these on this trip and they are MANDATORY

•  Trekking poles – MANDATORY. We may decide not to use them but we require you to bring a pair with you

•  Dry bag or liner for main valuables and electronics: in the rainforest, everything gets wet. You must plan to protect all electronics (like phone) and other valuables/ foodstuffs

•  Small zip lock bags: Very useful for general gear storage/ organisation/ protection in warm climates

•  Whilst not mandatory we would recommend a small water filter for personal use – it just helps to have one in the more remote parts of the Jungle. They are small and cheap and mean that you have access to clean water whenever you need it. See below for full info on what bags you need; and for what purpose.

 

Medical kit

• Pad and bandage style dressing (large)

• Adhesive dressing – 1x medium and 1 x large

• 1 x conforming bandage

• Dioralyte sachets x 5

• Basic pain relief (Paracetomol)

• Any personal medications

• Over the counter antihistamine tablets

• Savlon tube

• Hand sanitiser

• Insect repellent

• After-bite cream

• Recommended: Triangular bandage

• Recommended: Plasters

• Recommended: Sudocrem/Vaseline for chaffing

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Blister kit

• Zinc Oxide tape (Recommended brands: Rock tape or Tiger Tan tape)

• 4 x sterile needles

• 4 x scalpel blades

• Small pair of scissors

• Gauze swabs (2 x packs of 5 swabs – used for drying/cleaning before applying tape)

• Recommended: Compeed

• Recommended: Haplaband tape (if you are prone to getting blisters in-between toes this is recommended)

• Recommended: Disinfectant solution

• Recommended: Foot lube (water based)

• Recommended: Rubbing alcohol (used for drying feet and help prevent fungal infections)

 

All medical kit should be stored in a dry bag.

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Overnight

•  Personal toiletries and medication

•  Towels will be provided in the a/c but we would recommend bringing one as it will always come in useful to have your own towel

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General

• Casual clothing for use in evenings at hotels and transit stages

•  General ‘overnight’ bag (holdall, duffel) for spare kit – pls don’t bring a hard suitcase – ensure all bags are soft (much easier for managing in vehicles)

•  Towel – travel micro towel or full-size

•  Power bank for mobile phone and/ or GPS unit

•  International plug adaptor suitable for use in Dominica

•  Swimwear (recommended)

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Camping

• Thin sleeping bag

• Roll mat

• Mosquito net (self standing)

 

IF THERE ARE ANY CHANGES FOR THE EVENT THIS WILL BE COMMUNICATED IN THE PRE-EVENT DOCUMENTATION

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Carrying this kit is a requirement of the Event and forms part of our planning in ensuring reasonable measures are put in place to keep you safe should anything go wrong during this adventurous endeavour. We ask you not to take short cuts or ‘second guess’ our advice. For instance, the carrying of waterproofs is required even though this is a tropical environment, as these items can prevent cooling down too fast if you get injured in a location that is very exposed to wind or when it is raining heavily leading to more rapid cooling. Remember you may be very tired and sweaty, and weather can whip up pretty quickly in the Tropics. So we need you to respect the kit list at all times.

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The emergency kit is important for several reasons:

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1.            It helps you to help yourself should you have a problem.

2.            We are in this together and you may need to assist others if they have a problem.

3.            In the case of an incident our Event Control and safety teams will make decisions based on the knowledge that you all have this equipment.

4.            Carrying the kit is a requirement for everyone and hence provides an equal and fair challenge.

5.            It is part of our risk assessment process that is shared with insurers. Your insurance may be invalid if you do not follow our advice.

6.            If your lack of kit preparation contributes to making an incident more serious, then you may be avoidably drawing resources from our medical team and the emergency services at the expense of others.

7.            Without the kit you will be unable to complete registration. If during the race you are not carrying the mandatory kit then you will be disqualified and deemed to have not completed the challenge.

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GPS

We require you to have a device that can be used to follow a GPS line, which is a very simple and reliable way of you being able to follow our route on the ground, should you require any guidance on this whilst on the route (e.g. if the path is not clear underfoot or if you get to a junction and you just cannot work out the correct direction of travel). GPS technology has come on leaps and bounds in recent years and as such there are several devices on the market.

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The device you use can be a ‘handheld’ device suitable for use in the outdoors (not your phone). Or a GPS watch. Our own recommendation is that you have the route on your phone as a back-up as well but as a ‘live’ navigational aid, using a GPS watch such as the Garmin Fenix 5 is a great option. The reason we do not permit you to use your phone as your primary GPS device is that whilst very capable and wasy to follow GPS lines with many Apps available that do this, a phone can overheat or get wet quite easily in the Tropics. If this happens, most modern smart phones will shut down. GPS watches (and handhelds) are rugged and designed for life in the outdoors in extremes of temperature and weather. A GPS watch specifically will sit on your wrist in all environments and these are typically therefore very robust and waterproof.

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There are plenty on the market to purchase. Handheld units tend to be cheaper. Watches are more expensive. As with all technology, you tend to get what you pay for and the really good GPS watches are a.) expensive (!) and b.) extremely good pieces of kit. We have a selection of Garmin Fenix 5’s for rental, which are our favourites: They are user-friendly and they have great battery life – which is essential if you are out on the trail as long as you’re going to be! Check out the model we use here: https://buy.garmin.com/en-GB/GB/p/552982

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These will provide you with ultimate peace of mind as we will already have pre-loaded the route onto the watch, preventing you having to log into online portals, download files and upload to your watch.

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So to re-cap, you need:

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• GPS handheld device designed for outdoor use OR GPS watch

• Phone

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Or rent our GPS watch. In all cases, we require you to have your own phone for communications purposes.

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Bags

Pit Stop bag access: There may be some occasions on some stages where we permit you to access your “Pit Stop bag’ – so you can stash away spare socks and fresh clothes, favourite snacks, medication and even a second set of footwear if you wish. You will be told where and when these occur when you get onto the event. At this stage, we want to explain how that relates to the bags that you will need.

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There are 3 bags to be considered for this journey.

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1.) Daypack or running vest – this is the bag you will carry with you for the run and trek stages. It should contain the mandatory kit, spare clothes, food and water. You will use the same daypack throughout and it can be any size, provided you can fit in the mandatory gear and sufficient food and water.

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2.) General ‘overnight’ bag (Recommended: Holdall or duffel and no suitcases) – for spare and general kit. Please go for a MAXIMUM size of around 80 litres and no more than approx 23kg pls. This bag will be transported to the event accommodation with you and we will transport it each day to the finish of the daily stage (Or it will remain in your room if we are using the same hotel). (Weights tend to be limited by airline policies anyway, hence we have gone for a standard economy class single bag allowance of 23kg here). Anything you are not using on your person when on the trail, you just stash in this bag and we carry it around for you for the duration of the trip. We will tell you where and when you need to pack this and hand it to us – don’t worry!

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3.) Pit Stop bag – doubling as larger ‘wild-camp bag.’ This is the bag that you will access at certain Pit Stops. It will sometimes therefore be handed to us at the beginning of a stage and we will take it to the relevant Pit Stop location (and back again at stage end to the accommodation). Sometimes you will not need it at all and you can pack it into your main general overnight bag. Or keep it separate and just hand it to us as an extra bag. IMPORTANT: When you go on the stage that requires you to wild-camp in hammocks, you will need to take a bit more kit with you into the jungle – notably a hammock and sleeping items, some more food and also a share of the communal cooking gear (possibly a pot, pan, stove or fuel bottle). Your daypack racevest is probably not quite going to be big enough. So we advise that your Pit Stop bag – this bag – can double up as your wild-camp night bag. As such, this should be a backpack capable of carrying up to 30l. It can then be used as wild-camp bag AND Pit Stop bag.

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TRAINING

 

The key to multi-day events like this is time on your feet, learning how to fuel and practicing moving with weight on your back. You need to train on hill, both up and down. The Trail in Dominica can be steep and technical at times. Also train with poles – I cannot stress how useful these are on long uphill sections of jungle when carrying weight.

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We’ve said it once but I will mention it again. Dominica is very hot and very wet – you don’t notice how much fluid you are losing a lot of the time, so making sure that you are hydrated is key. You should also be using salt tabs on a daily basis to help stave off heatstroke or dehydration. Practice running with a bladder or similar – the more water you can carry the less you will have to stop to fill up or filter more.

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Training wise, you need to get some back to back running or hiking done. This involves going out for longish runs /hikes  back to back days to get used to pace and recovery. Make sure you train carrying a backpack with weight in. This not a race – it’s about endurance. The longer you can stay on your feet, the further you will go in the long term. Running fast can have so many adverse effects in this environment. You’re more, likely to dehydrate without knowing, your more likely to injure yourself and you overnight recovery won’t be as good as if you maintain a steady pace.

Training runs/hikes should be long and slow, preferably with some hills involved so you can trial using poles. Time spent training should also be used to train yourself how to eat little and often on the trail. The ascent and environment mean that you burn way more calories than you would trotting around a forest in the UK. High energy foods that are easy to transport are best – nuts, protein bars (not chocolate – it melts!) salty crisps – anything you can easily put into a zip lock bag and carry with you at all times. Be aware everything gets wet in the jungle, so think about this when choosing snacks! Top tip… Babybels don’t work in the jungle but a plastic tub of Nutella does.

It’s obviously pretty difficult to train for the heat and humidity when you live somewhere like the UK. There are heat chambers available at a cost to train in, but I have found that putting a few extra layers on on a hot day also helps. You have time to adjust to the temperature and environment when you arrive, and as I said before – it’s about taking it easy and keeping hydrated.

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We are always here and on hand to answer your questions – just drop us a line at expeditions@ratrace.com.