Winter Hell and Back - what to wear

Mr. Flibble

The winter Hell and Back run is coming up at the end of Jan and I am trying to work out what to wear if the weather is 0 - 5°c.

I don't being cold and am totally willing to look like a wuss! I'm also willing to let my gear get trashed.

Would a shorty wetsuit be worth considering? Or a tri-suit of some sort?

Does anyone who has run these in the past have any suggestions?

Oryx

I wore underarmour baselayers and a merino wool baselayer for this kind of event before. And make sure to wear a hat and gloves. Youll be fine. The key to keeping warm isn't the clothes really, it's keeping moving. Though if they have bottlenecks like last week's race you won't be able to!

Don't wear a wetsuit. Total overkill, too restrictive and hot when running.

miller82

less is more imo.
if you are freezing during this you arent pushing yourself hard enough
face and fingers and toes will get cold but you wont even be thinking about it.

i've done it twice. runners, shorts and running t-shirt (i forget the proper term...technical or airtex ?) i think i wore an underarmour top the last time. too many layers will absorb the water and mud and make it colder, heavier and harder

Mr. Flibble

OK, so sounds like a shorty wetsuit is out.

Right now I'm thinking neoprene gloves, neoprene hat (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beanie-neoprene-stretchy-very-waterproof/dp/B005FFSWY6/) and neoprene vest (http://www.wiggle.co.uk/orca-heat-seeker-vest-1/ ), along with underarmour baselayer.

Provided it's near freezing that is. If it's 10° out then I reckon that would be too much.

Oryx

Neoprene gloves don't work for me, my hands are colder in them! The vest is unnecessary, underarmour doesn't get cold when it gets wet and will be grand. But honestly unless theres ice on the ground you really have nothing to worry about. And even then you just need to move, all the time, even if stuck in a bottleneck, jog on the spot and stuff. Ive seen guys do worse races in mankinis, it really is a case of mind over matter and generating body heat through movement.

sconhome

Heat seeker is a good idea to keep your core warm (thats an inflated list price though). The rest is going to get wet and chill you even quicker. Keep it simple, black bags to keep you warm at the start line, shorts & a top, go hard!

Make sure you've plenty of warm layers for afterwards and don't hang around the finish line chatting. Straight to the car, get dry and dressed, then go back and talk.

mylostaccount

I just did hell and back in November, first timer! I wore a long sleeve baselayer that I bought in lidl, a short sleeve running top over it, three quater lenght running pants, shorts over it (in case the pants get caught on something) and trial runners. One recommendation, duck take your runners on, around the shoe and around the ankle. Two girls running beside me lost their runners in the second obstacle, we found one of them but the others disappered into the mud. I will wear full lenght pants in Jan as my legs were pretty badly bruised and stratched! Buts it great fun

...oh and just steeped all my gear after in the bath with vanish and all were ok after!

Forgot to include, I also wore gloves that I got in aldi!

Hottowel

There were a lot of people complaining about long qs for the obstacles this time so it's not just a question of going harder if your cold. You will be standing waiting (sometimes up to 40 minutes for your turn at obstacles).

Mr. Flibble

Hottowel wrote: »

There were a lot of people complaining about long qs for the obstacles this time so it's not just a question of going harder if your cold. You will be standing waiting (sometimes up to 40 minutes for your turn at obstacles).

That's not very appealing Must remember to bring a book.

Mr. Flibble

Some info for future Hell & Backers:

In the end I went with

- underarmour baselayer, top and leggings
- Gul 1.5mm neoprene vest
- SealSkinz waterproof socks
- Neoprene beanie
- SealSkinz waterproof gloves

I wore normal running socks under the SealSkinz and glove liners under the gloves, the intention being that they would soak up any sweat as there wasn't going to be anywhere for it to go in a waterproof glove/sock.

I also taped the tops of the gloves and socks to my arms and ankles with gaffer tape in an attempt to keep the water out. This didn't work as intended - some water got in - but it made it harder for water to get in and out meaning that the water that got in seemed to stay in there and get nice and warm.

I was very happy with the clothing - it seemed about right. The only part that I felt too hot was when the sun came out during a long period away from water (and taking off the banie for 2 minutes solved that), and the only part that I was very cold was while crossing the river (not after). If you are very fit you'd probably be fine with less. There were many 'athletes' with less on that seemed to handle the cold fine with less clothing. But there were also many people shivering massively and not looking at all happy with their lives in that moment.

The neoprene beanie was amazing. If anyone is thinking of doing a similar event in cold weather I couldn't recommend this highly enough. It keeps you very warm, even with hail stones showering down, and if you get a bit warm you can simply roll it up a bit or take it off for a few minutes.

Micilin Muc

I wore shorts and t-shirt, thin socks and trail running shoes. Being fit enough for the trail run section meant I didn't really get cold, even after the three river crossings!

Got really really cold just after finishing though, but so was everyone!