A few gear reviews: Harrier Kinder running pack and Voom nutrition

 Not having a good time with my training at the moment, and looking at the calendar in alarm to see that my next big race is not far off.....But thought I would ignore the lack of gains recently to talk about a few new additions to my kit. 

The first is the Harrier  Kinder 10L running pack. This was a birthday present but I was compelled to ask for it as my existing hydration pack is now falling apart and I didn't have a pack for races that required a full kitlist that wasn't my Pete Bland bum bag which was always a squeeze and only fitted kit or water, not both.

Harrier is a relatively local company to me, based over in Derbyshire, hence the naming of the packs after local Peak District landmarks. I also have some of the soft bottles, first aid kit, and dry bags from the company and have mostly been very happy with these (one of the bottles leaks but others are great). They are a relatively small business, which ticks a box for me, and the pack was designed with fell runner input. The pack has a smaller counterpart with is five liters, and they have just released a bum bag. It also reviewed positively both on various Youtube channels and by my club mates. So when I needed a pack, it seemed a good choice. 

Having taken it on a few test runs, I am really happy with it. The pocket system works well, with lots of options including a series of front pockets that are very accessible, along with a few side pockets under the arms which are useful. The silicon seals on the pocket are great as they stop things like phones moving up and down and jumping out the pocket with motion. I have used it with a bladder and with bottles and I manage to get a lot in there with relatively low amounts of ingenuity; with a bit  more application I am sure you could really pack it out. 

The pack sits comfortably high on the back, with adjustable chest straps. When the weight of the pack increases, i.e. with a bladder in the back, I did find the pack pulled across my shoulders but I am very narrow across  my shoulders so this might be my shape. Narrow shoulders also affects how much I would want to put in the side pockets and is something to think about in terms of your shape. The latter isn't a criticism as most packs have this. I also got the thing absolutely soaked the first time I used it, and would recommend using inner dry bags or sandwich bags in wetter weather! 

The Harrier vest is also very good in terms of price. Now, I haven't explored the production line in terms of ethics or environmental impact, but assuming its all much of a muchness across the industry (ie. not great), the price is excellent compared to similar. It also came with a  little bag of spare zip toggles etc which I thought was a nice touch. 

Below are two videos related to the product; the demo from Harrier and also a review from Run 4 Adventure. 

The other addition to my kit I trialed recently was Voom nutrition. Voom are, I think, a Cumbria based brand and still relatively small. They don't seem to be available via many other suppliers/ shops and are seemingly aimed at most endurance type sports such as triathalon, running and cycling. I cam across them as a freebie after a race, and didn't use the small chunk of electrolyte energy bar until a long run with a friend when my usual snack stash was running low.  So I sent off for one of their starter packs to give a try over my Lakeland Trail autumn block. 

From Voomnutrition.co.uk

The pack arrived within a few days, though I note a few people have had problems with delivery related to couriers. In it were 4 bars and two sachets. Of the four bars there were 3 different flavors of pocket rocket energy bars and a 'protein fudge' bar, and the sachets were a recovery shake and an electrolyte mix. The box  it came in was recyclable, but the product packaging apparently wasn't, which is about average these days. 

The first product I used was the electro- energy bar in lemon and lime flavor. It is a four chunk bar with each bar providing 160kcal. It seems to have electrolytes in, but without nutrition knowledge I can't tell you much about the levels; certainly its not got loads of sodium to replace an electrolyte drink but it does have magnesium. It also have some B vitamin in but again I don't know how much your body can use this during a race. But it wasn't a gel, and it might be easier to to swallow than a bar in a faster race so I was keen to try it. I used it for a very wet Coniston Lakeland Trails. I don't usually use bars for this distance but given I was starting at lunch time having had breakfast at 6, it seemed reasonable. The closest thing I can compare the bar to is Kendal mint cake in terms of texture; firm to the touch but quite crumbly in the mouth. But it had a nice refreshing taste. I had two blocks waiting to start and kept two blocks for on the way round as it was miserable and it would cheer me up. No GI side effects, a bit of a boost energy wise (I never really know if this is mental or not), and easier to get down than a goopy gel, plus easier to store once open. This was pretty good, and at £1.50 a bar, not too much than a baseline gel (certainly cheaper than top end ones). 

So imagine my disappointment when I opened the citrussy beta blast pre work out bar for before a run on the moor, and ended up spitting it out. Containing Beta alanine, this is designed to improve your concentration and alertness, as well as provide energy. But it tasted of burnt orange and I decided it wasn't for me. 

I then didn't get round to testing the next two bars for a while, perhaps put off by the citrus one. But I did, after a long run, get round to testing the recovery shake. Rightly or wrongly, I don't usually bother with recovery shakes/ nutrition, preferring just to eat a meal. But I was rushing off somewhere post long run and decided to give it  go. The sachet was a single portion which was helpful, and vanilla and Belgian chocolate flavor sounded wonderful. Even better, it didn't need milk as often too much diary upsets my stomach (and we were running low). It was recommended to use a shaker but I just stuck it in our blender for a second or two and drank it that way. It was lovely and light, and the blender had made it slightly frothy with not lumps. It had a lovely taste and no powdery sensation on the palate; maybe I should use more recovery products?!? Then I looked at the calories: 224 with water! That seemed a lot in a drink, given I don't like to drink my calories. But if you struggle with calories in after a run, this would be perfect. 

The next thing I tried was the recovery fudge. Boasting 10g of whey protein, this is not one for the dairy intolerant. Something about it sounded quite decadent and I looked forward to a couple of squares after my cross country race. At just over 200kcal a bar, it is a reasonable indulgence and I chose to keep half for later. Like normal fudge it was quite sweet, but not as tooth aching as some. But it was actually a bit chalky for fudge; not unpleasant but noticeable. It a four chunk bar and I kept the second half for after my run the next day and it seemed to hold up okay in an open packet at the bottom of a bag, which is quite an important factor in my disorganized life! 

The electrolyte powder was difficult to find time to try; I don't use a lot of these in winter and would be nervous using a new brand straight up. But I decided to use it after a night at work in PPE (sweating) before a run. It had settled in the packet (my fault) and a struggled to get it all out in to the bottle. I also struggled to dissolve it but apparently you are supposed to shake the the powder in the bottle before adding the water.... oops. The flavor was okay, it went down okay, but some of it was stuck to the bottle at the end. I'll probably stick with the dissolvable tablets for convenience. 

The final bar was a caffeine kick bar, also for use during exercise but this time berry flavor. I stuck it in my pack for the second day of the dirty double Lakeland trails but wasn't sure if I was going to use it after the citrus one. It also contain caffenie and taurine which are a double edged sword; alertness but decreased gastric transit time..... But having had a bad night, and not much breakfast, I ended up opening it on the first climb and looking at it with a bit of a surprise: it was almost brown in color! Well at least it wasn't full of artificial colors! When I had the first chunk I was really pleasantly surprised! It was a nice berry flavor, not too artificial. It had the same light mint cake type texture as the lime flavour, and pleasingly there were no caffeine side effects over the shorter race. Would use again. 

So a bit of a mixed batch. Nothing wrong with the concepts but I guess not everything is going to suit everyone. I've ordered a few of the lime ones to add to the stash of snacks for long runs, but that is about it for now. Worth a try if you are still experimenting though, especially if gels don't suit you are bars are a bit solid for you. 

Race Report: The Lakeland Trails Dirty Double

 Looking back at my recent race reports, I seem to have become a fully fledged trail runner with minimal fell running. Its not the end of the world, as long as I get out, and the boundary is pretty blurred. I suspect some would argue what I have done in the past is glorified trail running but I can't be bothered to argue to toss. 

Anyway, I have wanted to do the Lakeland Trails Dirty Double for quite some time. Two back to back 15k (ish) runs over a weekend in my favourite place; what's not to love? Yes, I know it isn't cheap to do the Lakeland Trails event, and I have my suspicions that the boat never runs on the Sunday event (an eternal disappointment, as I have a thing about a run and a boat....) but the events are safe, supported, and usually pretty good fun. I must say, Saturday may have stretched that definition! 

We travelled to the Lakes on Friday evening, and arrived in utter chaos due to work overruns and an early campsite check in that we didn't make. Fortunately, the Quiet Site is brilliant and Si got us settled in our 'hobbit hole' despite our tardiness. We had seen bonfires and fireworks on our way up, the latter having caused part of the problem at home (dog won't wee if there are fireworks, daft thing), and I felt a bit nostalgic for my childhood village event. I also had a bit of a feeling of 'coming home' on leaving the city which is weird, as I'm not entirely unhappy there, but perhaps subconsciously I am craving village life again post pandemic. 

Anyway, the next day dawned grey and drizzly. Martin and I took Oscar dog for a walk around Mell fell and it wasn't too bad, if a little cold and damp. After a second breakfast (the site does bacon baps for Martin, I stuck with  a banana), it was time to gear up and head to the start. I was in the 12:30 wave, having found waiting for the mass start not worth it at the Cartmel event. Parking was straight forward if a bit further away at Patterdale cricket field, which also meant we were all walking along the course where the 10k runners were coming in and it was quite narrow on certain  sections of footpath. The overlapping courses would be a bit of theme for the weekend, and whilst it didn't affect my times, I can imagine some people found it a touch infuriating. 

The start field was muddy, and by now a really wild weather front had come in. There was a decent wind, and a lot of rain. The field was getting a bit boggy, but not disasterously. I hid behind a marquee to finish putting my kit on but everything was already quite wet. I had decided to test my new harrier pack, and was glad of the extra room for hat and gloves (though they were soaked before the end). Amazingly, the band had made it, and as ever, the amazing Lakeland trail volunteers were cheerful and excited to be there. Martin and the dog retreated (to a bar I later found out) whilst I hid under a tree until the start (along with a few other people). 

The Saturday is the Helvyllan race, which, being a Lakeland trail race, doesn't go right up the mountain. Instead, the race goes up two of the lower inlets: Glenridding beck and Grisedale beck. Going up through the town, there were still a few people about but nothing like the crowds there had been August weekend. The first section had a bit of road in, and then it was good track. It was uphill to the youth hostel and I tried to keep running as much as possible, but there was some walking. It was very wet, and some people looked quite miserable. I won't lie, even I was questioning life choices at this point. As we went over the bridge above the youth hostel to cross the beck, it was very full and pretty impressive. 

The next section was a bobbly path that takes you back down the otherside of the beck, but at a higher level. In this section, I actually found my stride and felt more like the fell runner I used to be. I moved well over the gorund and over took a few people (as well as being over taken) but perhaps I went a touch fast as I paid for it later. The view over Glenridding was grey but beautiful as we turned up the step section of steps towards Lanty tarn and the next valley. Lanty tarn was very pretty but the weather was deteriorating and as we started in to Grisedale, I could feel the wind in my face pushing against me and snagging at my feet. 

Photo courtesy of Photographer James (day 1)

Over the next section, I had a bit of a battle. I was moving far slower than I should have been, with fitness not living up to expectation. I was also battling my mental deamons from the ultra, which goes up the same route. I had struggled here in the ultra, and in my mind, I was thinking that if I do the ultra again in July, I am going to fail. It wasn't helpful. And I was being overtaken by people I should have been able to keep ahead of. And the wind and rain were almost painful. 

But then we reached to top of the valley, and the bridge and a change of direction. After a short section of unevent ground we hit the bridleway on the otherside of the valley. The wind was suddenly on my back and the path was good. I managed to get going and make a bit more progress, and I perked up a bit. This was a longish sectoin but it went quickly. I was soon at the road section down to Patterdale and running past the waterfalls which were raging with the extra rain, but also hidden from the road by a wall. Dropping in to Patterdale, I pushed along the road section, dodging people walking back to their cars, but fortunately not get too caught in the oncoming races.The section round the field was hard work but I made it across the line running. It wasn't a glorious result but it wasn't a disaster. It was also shorter than I had anticipated; 8.6 miles rather than 9. I wasn't that impressed at myself but mostly I was cold and wet, and realised I didn't have any dry clothes forthcoming. I trudged to the bar where Martin was waiting (without my dry clothes which I had stupidly left in the car) with the dog and fortunately a gas fire. 

After a pizza at the campsite the night before, and a restful evening reading books and prepping kit for day 2, I woke up a bit brighter. And the weather was brighter too. I took Oscar out for a walk to loosen up as my legs were a bit wrecked. I also checked my emails which revealed the problem that the parking field was unable to open today, so there was a bus, from Penrith....which was pretty useless given we were near staying near Watermillock. Cue paking up the car abit earlier and heading down to Glenridding and finding the parking there full. Fortunately we got parked at Glencoyne Bay and quick marched it back to Glenridding on the Ullswater way. 

It was brighter and drier and the event field, and there was more of a party atmosphere even without the band. The theme was pirates but there weren't many dressed up, possibly due to weather fear, possibly as the annoucement only went out in the week running up to the event. Martin and the dog hung around to wave us off today. It was a bit blowy so the start gantry was taken down. 

As we headed off, it was back along the stretch of footpath to Patterdale, with some 10k runners coming the other way, and also pedestrians and people making their way to the start. The overlap with the returning 10k runners returning was probably not very nice for them as it was a bit of a scrum. This was a new route and I hope the team think about this problem for the future. We left the road and entered and undulating section across low fell. I was going easy due to my legs still feeling pretty tired.  I concentrated on keeping moving which was tricky dodging around people. We dropped in to a small section of trees and were suddenly crossing over the A592 and Goldrill beck. Good path made me try and get going. 

I hadn't run this section and didn't know it at all. I had glanced at the map but not really taken it in. It was a good undulating bridleway initially, and we passed walkers. I tried to keep up with a couple who were a bit ahead of me. This was brought to a halt when the path narrowed and I got stuck in a queue behind some slower people who weren't up for letting other through and there were a few of us so overtaking was a no go (though a few people tried from behind and I just let them through). I just got on with it, jogging slowly as we jogged toward Silver Crag). I eventually got my chance to overtake as we ascended the first climb. It was a rocky climb and most people were walking, but I was walking relatively quickly once I got round a few people. Looking back, there was a fab view over Ullswater. The climb was steep but manageable, and in my mind this was the biggest climb of the day. I was very wrong....

Dropping down the other side of the climb we were on a slightly rockier bridle path and I found myself with a bit more space.. I got a decent trot on but my legs felt very tired. A few speedsters came through but I kept running well. I overtook the tail walkers for the 10k and actually caught a few of the 10k-ers. I could see a marshal ahead and people turning round and down....

Unfortuantely, down was not the way we were going. In almost comis fashion, the marshals directed short route down here, long route up there! And up there it was! It was a pretty steep climb up to Boredale hause. I was doing my best to keep going but it was definitely a walk and I was over taken by a few lighter faster people, though most were walking. Damn being overweight! What seemed a long time later, we turned the corner up to the crossroads and a marshal pointed us down. Allelujah I though but the top was steep and I didn't really manage to get going until further down. But then I made an effort, trying to get back some time and failing. It was a good section and lots of fast people came past. 

                                Photo courtesy of Photographer James (day2)

The route turned back on itself and again, we were on a section I think I recognised from the ultra. It was a good path again but I felt tired, and annoyed at myself and once again I got myself into a bad headspace. I tried to chase a lady who had just overtaken me. It wasn't hilly but I was feeling useless. Eventually we arrived at Rooking.

I had no idea how we were going back, and in my mind I was very aware that I didn't want to be stampeded by the mass start going off on the last section on the road. We wereback climbing but going a slightly different way back over the low fell above Patterdale. I was trying to catch someone then got over taken so tried to keep pace with that lady instead. I was struggling but it was actually quite pretty low fell in this section. 

Eventually we were back coming down past the waterfalls and heading down to Patterdale and the road. The section across the field felt very windy and hard work but I had closed the gap on the lady in front a touch and came across the line at a run. I was done. How on earth am I going to run more than double this one go in a few weeks for the Moors the Merrier!?

This time I had kept my dry clothes to hand and got warm and had a cup of soup quite quickly. Martin reappeared and we watched the penultimate wave go off. Martin had taken the dog up to Lanty tarn and we all trudged back to the car, me struggling a bit more than normal on the easy Ullswater way. And then it was in the car and home for a night shift (emergency cover again). 

So did it live up to my expectations? The Quiet Site comes completely recommended for families and couple wanting a quiet weekened. As of the event, I love Lakeland trails and think they are fab events. I found the boat and parking situation a little frustrating when I felt it could have been predicted, and the crossing of routes on the road section was a bit tiresome (though more for others than me). But they kept the event running safely in bad weather conditions and it was a nice excuse for a weekend away with Martin. I think it would be a fab weekend to do as a group of friends that run, but I think Martin found it a bit annoying being orientated around my races.  Also, the colours were simply amazing at this time of year, and none of my photos do it justice but check out the Lakeland trails facebook group for better photos of the amazing oranges and reds of the fells. I suspect I will do it again, but not every year. 

But for now, it is time to buckle down and train for my 21 miler in December. A bit nervous!