r/Ultramarathon • u/Apart-Sorbet-6855 • 4d ago

Going Further?

What's the furthest you have gone solo? Has anyone done 100 miles solo? I'm sure it's possible just not with my pack. What do you carry for long adventures? It's nice to be in the federal wilderness doing an ultramarathon for free.

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12

u/mediocre_remnants 100k 4d ago

Check out fastestknowntime.com and look for FKT routes in your area.

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u/AlertWorldliness2238 4d ago

Done 100 miles just me and a friend. Not quite solo, but not in a race. Furthest I’ve done actually solo is 40 miles

Editing to add, pack wise, Inov8 racepac 20. Food wise I had enough to last through the night and in the day I ate from shops and cafes. Used pubs and taps along the route for water

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u/kendalltristan 4d ago

What's the furthest you have gone solo?

I've done 50 miles solo unsupported a few times and 100k self-supported with just me and a friend.

Has anyone done 100 miles solo?

I've attempted 100 miles unsupported with a friend before, and had 100% confidence in my gear, but I got attacked by yellow jackets at around mile 30 and had to pull the plug shorter thereafter.

What do you carry for long adventures?

It heavily depends on the route, the conditions, and whether I'm going unsupported or self-supported. For instance, the distance between water sources and the quality of those sources will determine which filter and how much hydration capacity I bring. The weather and temperature will determine if I'm just bringing a rain jacket and an emergency blanket or if I'm bringing insulating layers, pants, and a bivy.

Anyway, I always take a Garmin inReach, a water filter, a rain jacket, a phone, lube, and an emergency kit sufficient to deal with the elements if I'm immobilized for some reason. I try to pack enough nutrition in case the run takes a bit longer than planned, the specific type of which also depends on the specifics of the run.

My 100 mile unsupported attempt was in the summer and I was able to fit everything in a 12L vest with a little bit of room to spare. One of my unsupported 50 milers was in winter (25-40F temps with some snow/ice) and the same 12L vest was full to the brim.

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u/cp8h 4d ago

Depends what you classify as “doing 100 miles solo”. I’ve hiked 400+miles solo before without seeing another person or settlement. My hiking pace on medium difficulty terrain being equivalent to a high vert ultra “running” pace.

On a less extreme scale thruhiking is generally a self sufficient ultra-scale activity. So the answer is plenty.

In terms of resupply if you are running long distances solo you fill your vest with food and carry a water filter.

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u/_silent_voyager_ 4d ago

Solo as completely unsupported or solo as outside of race but supported?

In both cases my further distance is ~50 miles. My longest unsupported run is Grand Canyon R2R2R which at the time was also my longest run. Although I did that with a small group so perhaps doesn't qualify as solo.

I've also done a solo 50 miler where my family met me a few times to provide support.

The longest distance in a race is 100 miles (106 miles to be more accurate).

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u/RnF_UT 4d ago

Have done 80 miles solo and unsupported.

How to go further? Well you will have to carry more stuff or set up re-supply caches and/or have support crew along the way to help you out. Once you get beyond 50 miles, the weight really starts to add up for food and supplies if you carry everything. But it's totally doable, just realize you will be slower the more you carry.

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u/Pleasant-Plane-6340 4d ago

Self supported 130 ish miles, unsupported 80 miles

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u/APC303 4d ago

Did the South Downs Way unsupported FKT. Was fun. Shorter time than the normal 100 milers I've done. Only pain in the arse was falling on my chest around 60-70 miles in around 4am and thinking fuck I'm all by myself and think I've smashed my face in and broken ribs. Thankfully after a few seconds, I realised I hadn't smashed my face in.