Thanks! It's a great race, can't recommend it enough.

Thats a good question. I dont remember them having very much there! I think its all self supported. They have a Facebook group, you might ask there. The organizers are super responsive!

It definitely depends on the temperature, how far apart the aid stations are, and how much your flasks carry. I agree that you need both water and electrolyte in separate bottles. I have learned to drink electrolytes and then immediately drink and swish some plain water around in my mouth to get rid of that salty aftertaste. I also prefer water when I'm eating food and gels, it helps me swallow all of the food rather than chewing it and developing a sugary film in my mouth. It helps prevent cottonmouth. I supplement with salt pills and if you sweat a lot, you probably do the same. Taking in salt pills is supposed to help your cells retain water better, so you need less of it. Also breathing through your nose instead of your mouth means you evaporate less moisture through breathing. I've found that nose-breathing makes a small but meaningful difference in how much fluid I need. More to your question: For Cloudsplitter, because of the longer time/distance between some of the aid stations, I found it best to go with the bladder and one bottle in front. I would only fill the bladder to 1L (it had a 2L capacity) at the most and my bottle held 500ml so I would fill it up with electrolytes at every aid station. I never ran out of fluids, and I never even came close to running out of fluids. It was a cooler day so I could have gotten away with a 1L carrying capacity instead of my 2.5L capacity. For No Business 100, where the aid stations are a little closer on average, I used one 500ml bottle in front and a handheld 500ml water bottle. I didn't love carrying that water bottle in my hand the whole time, but I don't own a 2nd chest bottle, so I made do (and I brought some carabiner clips to stash it on my vest when it was empty). Having less water capacity is risky, and I definitely came close to running out of fluids, but it ended up working out fine. I just made sure to drink as much as I could stomach at each aid station before filling my bottles up and heading out on the next leg. I also took a lot of salt pills when the sun was up. In general, I would say most experienced runners really prefer the two bottles up front, especially for a something like a 40-mile distance. If you can carry 1L with two 500ml bottles up front, then I'd say you're fine. You could take the extra handheld just to be safe, but you probably won't need it unless the aid stations are all 10+ miles apart and it's really warm (like 75F or warmer).

@@joshkeckwv Wow, this response is great! The hand held tempted me only bc I can sip quickly.... I worry the bladder may heavy on me. I've never ran with a bladder but I will if it's one of those "it'll save you" moments when I'm in the woods dying, lol.

Thank you! It definitely warmed up throughout the day! I had to scale back the effort after 15-miles because of how much I was sweating, I started getting real bad cramps and all of a sudden my race focus turned solely toward electrolyte and hydration management. Night was great though, nice and cool, I didn't want it to end! I do wish I had brought my poles after seeing how technical the course was, I didn't know how steep some of the climbs would be.

@@joshkeckwv I saw you on race day and was like.. Wow! That’s gonna be hot and uncomfortable. Lol. That’s not the poly I want to be running in. Lol. Did it last year and was so sick in the heat. Couldn’t hold down anything and bonked hard. I cut 3 hrs off my time this year. Weather was close to perfect. Congrats again on your finish.

Thank you! It was a great time. Highly recommend this race!

Haha thanks man! It was a blast

Thank you! It was a blast

Thanks Juan! I try to film even when I don't want to, it's hard sometimes!

Man I appreciate all the miles we got in together, you kept me going when I was feeling my lowest! Great race

Thanks so much! You have some beautiful trails down there. I had never been there before but I'm definitely eager to go back again and enjoy the area! Without the suit that is

Awesome! It's a fun little hobby that not too many people are doing. I like to film all of my races but it's definitely something that takes practice, especially in longer races where you just don't have the energy to film.

Thanks Seth! Add this one to your bucket list, it's a blast!

That's awesome! It's a brutal section, especially the climb back up that you have to do TWICE! But, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it haha

Yeah I couldn't believe how much snow we had gotten dumped on us! You would think March would be more docile but NOPE. I might try to volunteer for the next one, it's such a fun environment

Thanks man! I felt pretty solid all day. Crazy how much difference the right nutrition, salt, and hydration makes in feeling good or feeling like crap!

It was a little more technical than I had remembered! Thanks a lot for putting your music out there, I hope I did the attribution correctly! I usually use the RU-vid library but thought I'd change it up for this one and I really enjoyed the songs I found from you

Thank you Josh! You've made the attribution perfectly! Makes me every happy to watch your video with this song in the back! Stay healty and full of power! Lobo

Thanks Chris! I hope your hike went well. Cloudsplitter was a really great race, highly recommend to anyone interested.

That's awesome! I won't claim to be an expert but some of the things I thought were most helpful to me: Sit as much as you can. Eat in small increments and eat often. Stretch your legs frequently, the breaks between laps will lead them to locking up and getting stiff. Time goes by much faster when you make friends and chat with people. Most importantly, have a better setup than I had! You don’t want your gear to fail you. You could even support yourself from your vehicle, that’s what I’m doing next time I run any endurance loop-type race. Lastly, don't set a limit on your miles ahead of time. Go in with zero expectations and just take it lap by lap.

Thanks! Running ultras is a blast. Good luck on your first ultra!!

Thanks, it was a crazy experience. We had a long drive back and definitely didn't need to take any unnecessary risks. I was really counting on my wife getting a good rest and that just didn't seem possible in that weather!

Thanks Joe! It was my first time in Indiana and I have to say it was not what I expected!! Haha

Thanks Chad! I just checked out your channel and man I just want to say, I appreciate the amount of work you put into your channel. It definitely shows! I'm dying to get out to Colorado and see what your trails are like but in the meantime, keep posting videos so I can like vicariously through them haha 😄

@@joshkeckwv Thanks so much! That means a lot! Drop a comment on the videos you watch too. Let me know what you think. Keep up the amazing job and I'm looking forward to your next video!

Thanks John! Next time maybe I'll rent a cargo van haha

Thanks John! My wife is from Grayson, KY so we're down that way all the time visiting her family. Cloudsplitter doesn't have any qualifying requirements. I think it's only the most popular races that require qualifications like that since most races can only handle a limited number of people. Cloudsplitter usually doesn't sell out like that. It's one of the easier races to get into, even at the last minute. Actually, I think last year's winner of the 100-mile had signed up a few days before the race! I definitely recommend it, it's a beautiful area and a perfect time of year to be there. Good luck!

@@joshkeckwv Thanks for the info. Grayson, that's awesome. I am actually from Greenup. About 30 minutes away. Small world. How was the newer 100 miler at the New River?

I have a few things on the fall schedule but still I'm still looking for at least one more race beforehand just to keep me motivated for the summer. I may run the Highball to Thurmond 50-mile in May. I have signed up for these races already, the first two being are local races in West Virginia: August - Kanawha Trace 50k September - Hurricane 100k October - No Business 100 Always open for suggestions!

Thanks John, great running with you too! You looked strong every time I saw you. And you're right, there will always be other races! I'd like to find my way back to Indiana again, I know the Indiana Trail 100 gets a lot of positive comments so its definitely on my list for the future