Destination Racing, Part 3

Written by Beth Dougherty

Destination Racing Tip #3: The Road Less Traveled

For those of you who are curious about racing or running in faraway or remote places, this Tip Tuesday is for you! I’ve gathered a few tips here but also am happy to talk about travel anytime!

Traveling internationally for a race adds a lot of extra considerations, so my first tip is to make sure you know why you are doing it. Having a solid Why helps keep you motivated and can help you manage the stress.

My second tip is to think about the travel first. What are you comfortable with?

There are two main options: traveling on your own or traveling with a group.

• For travel on your own, you’ll need to manage visa requirements, vaccination requirements (https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/list), flight times and availability, travel within the country, seasons/weather/road condition considerations, lodging options, sunset and sunrise differences, and time zone considerations.
• In New Zealand, for example, we traveled on our own and had to carry chains in case the passes iced over. This was in May — and it did snow! We did have to cancel a side-trip but never had to use the chains, thankfully. For the race I’d chosen, there was no tour group option and I really wanted to do this particular race in this remote area of the South Island, so that motivated me to plan ahead and nail down all the details!
• For travel with a group, almost all of this is taken care of! I recommend Marathon Tours (https://marathontours.com/en-us/). I haven’t had a bad experience with them. The do a great job of supporting you as runners and also as tourists and their prices are very good for what you get. Also, great people on these trips! I’ve heard good things about Albatross Adventures (https://albatros-adventure-marathons.com) as well.

My third tip is about packing in and packing out.

I’m a fan of packing light and not checking bags at all unless it is absolutely necessary. However, you never know if your bag will be gate checked (unless you upgrade) or you might have a hop on a small plane with limited overhead space in your itinerary, so you want to think about what needs to be carried on and what can be checked.

• I always carry on my entire race kit. That’s shoes, vest, fuel, clothes, bladder, and whatever else I need. I try to bring individual packets of Tailwind so I’m not carrying a white powder and I shove all of my gels in a ziplock bag.
• Note — TSAPre and GlobalEntry are helpful for carrying extras like gels in addition to your toiletries because it gets you through TSA security in the US. But if you have to go through security in another country before your race, the rules might be different.
• Also note — Poles usually need to be checked.
• Also note — some countries restrict what you can bring in. NZ does not allow honey, for example, or dirty shoes, which I learned the hard and embarrassing way. Antarctica allows no packaging at all, so no Gu packets, on land. I used small soft flasks designed for Gu and filled them from a large Gu refill dispenser. Make sure you know the rules.
• Also note — races in more remote places have fewer aid stations. They might not have any. They might not have anything you want to eat. The race might be very demanding physically and you might need more fuel than you think. Practice and plan ahead and be prepared — you don’t want to have to use the evacuation insurance you bought (which I will get to in a second).

After the race, you’ll have dirty clothes. If you have access to laundry, use it! It’s worth it. I usually wash everything out in the sink or shower and hang it to dry. I usually use my shoes again and again for other activities, but I do pack them in a small shoe bag in my luggage — which I usually check for the ride home because by then, who cares if it gets lost?

My fourth tip is about managing the time change.

You are probably going to experience some jet lag and also have to navigate unfamiliar foods. Here are my recommendations:

• Don’t sweat it. If you’ve trained, your body will show up for you on race day.
• Try to get as much sunlight as possible on the day you arrive, sleep during local sleeping hours, and eat during local eating times. DO NOT sleep all afternoon after a red-eye to Europe! Go for a run or walk instead.
• If you can start to adjust before you leave (details here: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/…/how-to-get-over-jet-lag), it can help.
• Make sure you know how to prevent Traveler’s Diarrhea (https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/travelers-diarrhea).
• You’ll probably still get sick if you go somewhere exotic, so don’t forget to bring Immodium that is not expired (seriously!) and anything else your doctor recommends.

My last tip is about having a plan for when things go wrong. Hopefully they won’t, but you’ll have put a lot of money, sweat, and maybe some tears into this trip, so you want to have your own back out there.

• Get travel insurance. It will help ease the stress if your trip is canceled or interrupted.
• Know how your medical insurance (https://travel.state.gov/…/Insurance_Coverage_Overseas…) works overseas and what the requirements are for where you are going.
• Know if you need to have evacuation insurance, especially if you’re going somewhere remote. Same goes for pandemic insurance, like coverage if you have to quarantine suddenly.
• Know if and where you can get medical care where you are traveling.
• Make sure you travel with anything you need medically and make sure you know how to get it any country you will travel through.

In Madagascar for the race, we were 7 hours driving on a terrible road to get to the nearest medical care. Plus our guides told us that hospitals are “where you go to die.” Yikes. Luckily, Marathon Tours travels with a doctor in remote places, so problems can be managed immediately.

It sounds like a lot, and it is, but it is so worth it. You can choose your own adventure! Many in the club have traveled to Europe and Asia for races. Travel to more remote places adds more considerations, but it is all do-able!

In case you are curious — and if you are still reading, maybe you are! — these are the races I did for the Seven Continents. I added approximate times to give a sense of the adventure!

• Boston Marathon 2015 (3:56)
• Great Wall of China Marathon 2017 (6:45)
• Inca Trail Marathon 2019 (11:20)
• Dramathon in Scotland 2022 (4:08)
• Antarctica Marathon on King George Island 2022 (5:20)
• South Island Ultramarathon (55k) in New Zealand 2023 (5:56)
• Madagascar Marathon 2024 (5:35)