Fast Running Blog

Q:  For those of you who were able to use the water bottle drops at SGM last year, what were your general thoughts?  Did you like it?  Did it slow you down trying to find your bottle?  Would you do it again this year?  How would you mark your bottle?  Or would you just use the normal aid stations?

I know one complaint from last year is that at the first station it was too dark and difficult to find the bottles.  What about the rest?

I also would like to know the answer to that question. I have option to drop this year and I think I will but it would be nice to hear some insider tips/tricks on making it run smoothly and what works and doesnt work.

I've told Jon this in person, but I'll post it here as well.

I had a hard time finding my bottles early in the race, as it was dark and also crowded. When I got to my aid table, pretty much the whole pack started going after their bottles, which made it harder. At one station, I ended up losing about 10 seconds searching for my bottle...and never got it. Too bad, because my final time had ":09" at the end, so I speculate that if I hadn't had done the water bottles, I would have seen ":59" with a whole new number in front of it, if you know what I mean. Oh well.

Once it got light out, and the pack thinned, it got much easier and I didn't have problems.

If I could do it again, I would have have still done bottles, but done them all on the second half of the course. That way I could have just relaxed and drank whatever the race supplied during the first half, and then still had my own stuff and my Gu during the more critical second half.

Thanks Paul, that helps! I dont think I will be with any of the "lead pack" of men or women so I dont think I should have a problem finding mine:).I was already thinking that I would probably skip the first one anyways. Thanks for commenting back.

Paul is exactly right - is the guy ever wrong? - but at first it is just a mess: dark, overcrowded, unorganized.  I am planning on using a drop at around 11 or something and then a couple other times later when the crowd has thinned and chances are I don't have to stop and search and break any rhythm.

This might be a silly idea, but how about one of these around a water bottle for when it is dark.  Of course I do not know how long they last, nor do I know how early you have to drop your bottle.

http://glowproducts.com/glownecklaces/glowandlednecklaces/

And do not be afraid to laugh at me on this one !

Not a bad idea, Scott. The one problem may be that the bottle drop off is at 5pm the day before the race and the glow effect may not last long enough to make a difference.

 I agree with the prior comments about the first table of bottles being dark, messy and overcrowded. Last year I stopped, in a sort of nervous effort to find my bottle. My advice is to use the elite bottle option, but don't count on it for all of your hydration needs and don't spend any extra effort on finding your bottle. If you are using the elite tables, then chances are you're far enough ahead of the pack that the normal water/gatorade stations will have plenty of volunteers to help you and you won't have to slow down a bit to get a drink or two.

Having said that, it's nice to have the bottles so you can carry something for a hundred meters or so and get all you need to drink.  Also,if you have a special performance potion that you can't race without, i.e., 50% Base Water,  25% Mango flavored Cytomax , 10% Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar, 10%, flat Coca Cola, 5% No-Doz, then the bottles will come in handy.

Chad that's a mix and a half. Is that what you race with?

No, I race with watered down Cherry Lemonade from Hot Dog on a Stick. 

Or gatorade.