Gear

All the gear and no idea ;)

Trainers:

For the heavy duty trails I swear by the More Mile Cheviot trail shoes, of which I have worked my way through several pairs of Mk1, Mk2 and I'm now on to a pair of Mk4's. They last me about a winter season each time, so they're good for around 200 miles of hard-core racing on a fat bloke! They are quite sparse in their padding - probably how they keep the costs down so not that comfy on hard ground, but the grips stick like shit to a blanket in mud! For a long-term review of wearing the Mk1's, then click here.

When I'm racing in the mountains or in ultras, my current shoe of choice is the Scarpa Neutron 2. This is quite simply the best pair of trainers I have ever owned! I originally bought a pair of the Neutron 1's but they failed on the toes after around 100 miles, so I contacted Scarpa about this, who agreed to take a look at them and out of the blue a few weeks later a brand new pair of Neutron 2's arrived! I have to say top-marks to them on their customer service as I was not expecting that in the slightest. So far they have done over 400 racing miles and the only damage is from falling over in them! They are comfy, grippy and certainly robust enough to withstand the challenge of being worn by this 15 stone of idiot so they certainly get two thumbs up from me.

For an 'intermediate' tread I'm using a pair of Inov8 Trailroc 285 at present.

As well as a pair of More Mile Cheviot Pace:

When the trails are pretty dry then I go for Asics Gel Sonoma:

And on the road I am using Asics Gel DS:

Base layer:

To give the old groins and hammy's support I wear 'Coolbase Skin Shorts' - black in the winter and white in summer. On the top I sport a Nike Pro Combat in the summer months:

In the colder months when a warmer top is needed I use a long sleeved Crane or Total Compression Thermal base layer, and the good thing about being long sleeves is you can roll them up when you get too hot!

Previously I have used 2XU calf guard stirrup compression sleeves, but after a good year and change they lost elasticity so I have given a try to what seems to be the favourite of all trail runners made by Compressport:

Shorts:

No-one wants to see a man's junk bouncing up and down unfettered in a pair of running tights or support shorts, so to save people from wanting to tear their eyes out as I lumber towards them I cover what little modesty I have with a pair of black football shorts, or a pair of white Farnborough FC shorts, or recently a proper pair of Karrimor running shorts with their built-in mesh banana hammock and pockets for gels/ keys etc.

Shirts:

In training it is a bit of a mixed bag of tech tees from the various races I have run, but for actual race-wear it is a custom-printed 'AWD' technical tee.

Socks:

Simples: I only wear More Mile trail running socks.

Cold weather:
 
When its needed I have 2 thicknesses of Karrimor running gloves:

To keep the top half of me warm I have a light weight Dare 2B Speedfast jacket when I need to keep the wind out without overheating:

And when the weather gets significantly colder or I need to have a waterproof jacket I wear a Regatta 'Calderdale' lightweight waterproof jacket:

or when I need a waterproof but its not too cold, then it is a Montane 'Atomic' jacket:

Headgear:

To keep the sun off me when needed I wear a cycle cap as the bill is not too big so as to obscure vision, and it can be easily spun around my head so as to keep the sun off my neck if I'm running with it behind me or to the side for any period of time. In the winter I use one of the many buffs that I've acquired over time to warm my neck, or cover the lower part of my face and on the top if needed goes a woolen beanie.

For protective eyewear, at present I'm using some Sunwise Kennington sunnies:

Hydration:

Previously I have run with a Camelbak Octane XCT, however after wearing it out after several years of solid service I have changed it for a Montane Trailblazer 18 which provides me with plenty of space for all my kit & sustenance needs on marathons & shorter ultras, which was the deciding factor over replacing with a new one of the same. Happily owner and pack are getting on very well after adjusting to how it fits having been so used to something else for so long!

For longer ultra runs I previously used the larger Camelbak Octane 18x, however this too was wearing out with time so has been changed for a Montane Trailblazer 30

Miscellaneous:

For running at night, especially in the winter months I use a Cree Q5 5W head torch:

For monitoring the runs and rides I use a Garmin Fenix 5... I have been a Garmin user for a while now, having worked my way through 2x Forerunner 405CX's and a Fenix 2

The results are uploaded into Garmin Connect as 'Running4thePies' and on to Strava under my name: Neil Shoesmith.