Harriet's Marathon of Britain

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Harriet, our Gearshack Shop manager, hates being stuck indoors on sunny days. So, when she gets out of the shop she really makes up for it. This September she entered the Marathon of Britain - 175 miles or 7 marathons in 6 days from Great Malvern to Nottingham, including one stage of 54 miles.

'This was my first Ultra event (and marathon!) and was chuffed to complete the first two days let alone the whole event. The last 3 days were a struggle due to ligament problems in my knee, but I persevered and thanks to lots of support from the other competitors and race crew I got through. Next event is the Tring to Town 45 miler in January - if the knee is recovered!'

Not surprisingly, Harriet has lots of useful gear tips for long distance running...

Shoes - Salomon Trail scs; Lots of people suffered from blistered feet from walking too much in their running trainers. These trainers gave my feet a bit more support and I didn't suffer too badly, it pays to practice walking as you'll probably do more walking than running!

Vest - Patagonia Capilene sport tank; This was worn as a baselayer under my HH top, which worked brilliantly. The tank's long cut (well below my kidneys) helped prevent rucsac rub at the base of my spine and kept me warm on the night stage. I've found that lots of running tops can be quite short, so this was a godsend.

Top - Helly Hansen short sleeve and long sleeve; Like the Patagonia tank, it's the cut with these that impresses me. I prefer a fitted top as it stops any unnecessary chaffing, again these both have a good lengthy fit, high wicking properties to keep the sweat away from the body and are very lightweight.

Waterproof - Patagonia Specter jacket; Probably the lightest waterproof on the market, so ideal as you're not guaranteed to need it. I also used this as a windproof and another layer when sat round in the evenings to prevent getting cold; this helped to save weight. Luckily it didn't rain!

Sleeping mat - Multimat foam; Some people don't bother with sleeping mats - glad I did. I cut it down to roughly torso size in a bid to save a little bit of weight!

Sleeping bag - Mont Bell; ultra lightweight, coming soon to the UK and Gearshack.

Rucsac - Gregory Iris; The pack fitted greatly, I'd been using it all Summer for both running and walking in the Alps. Looking back it was probably too big for the amount of stuff I had, but the comfort factor was worth it, as I only suffered slight rucsac rub...a sign of a good fitting pack!!!!