Drop Bag

Massive shoe review coming your way! We share our faves and few not faves for training on roads and trails and racing on both. You're gonna love this link list...

Gaiters: You can wear these on ANY shoe!! Dirty Girl Gaiters

Socks:

• Darn Tough
  • Stride Micro Crew Ultralight Running Socks (link)
  • Hiker Micro Crew Midweight Socks - good for winter (link)
  • Over-the-Calf Lightweight Ski & Snowboard Socks (winter/tall grass/etc) (link)
• Feetures
  • Elite Light Cushion (link)
• cuangya (inexpensive brand on Amazon) (link)
• Adidas cushioned crew socks (link)
• Injinji toe socks (link)

Roads:

• Brooks Hyperion Max 2 (newest version is 3, but haven’t tried) (link)
• NB SuperComp Trainer v2 (Link to v3 $119 - link)
• Asics Novablast 3 (now onto version 5) (Link to v5 - link)
• Asics Metaspeed Edge/Sky Paris (RACE!! Available for $250 - link)
• NB Fresh Foam X More V4 (have the v5 also but don’t like it as much - link to v5 - link)
• Saucony Triumph (Megan’s favorite, go-to daily trainers! - link)
• Asics Novablast 3 (the 3 is no longer available, but can find some select sizes on Amazon - link)
• Saucony Endorphin Speed 4 (quicker/tempo - link)
• Adidas Adizero Takumi (for tempos - link)
• Adidas Adizero Evo SL (cushy for long, easy runs - break from stiffer shoes - link)
• Brooks Hyperion (tempo on treadmill - Old so no longer available, but new version link)

Trail

• Adidas Agravic Speed Ultra: (Available many sites for $220 - link - also look at eBay for new shoes with big discounts depending on size)
• Nike Wildhorse 10 (Available many sites for $165 -though mens discount of $115 on Nike website - link)
• Asics Trabuco 13 (Available many sites for $140 - link)
• North Face Vectiv Enduris 4 (Available for $112 on North Face website - link)
• Saucony Endorphin Edge (Megan’s favorite! - link)
• Adidas Agravic Speed Ultra Trail (link)
• Nike Ultrafly Trail Racing Shoe (link)
• (Additional trail shoes Sarah enjoys but are older versions now and I don’t have experience with the newer ones)
  • New Balance Fresh Foam X More Trail v3 (discontinued, trail line merged with the Hierro line - link to hierro v9 - link)
  • Hoka Tecton x2 (hard to find, now the x3 - don’t have experience with this one yet - link to v3 - link)
  • Salomon slab ultra 3 (latest version is the S/Lab Ultra, which I haven't tried - link)
  • North Face Vectiv Sky (newer version looks great but haven’t tried - link to v2 - link)

K, go get you some shoes!!

Megan is back to share her Vermont 100 recap!

Drop Bag Items of the Week:

Megan loved her Ultraspire Zygos 6.0 vest

Kelly shared the Salty Britches love with friends hiking Mt. Whitney. Use our DropBag15 to save!

TWWR:

Megan always makes sure to take a full week off after big races.

Kelly has been adding hip mobility to help recover from injury.

Megan shares her race plan, execution, and post race tips! The views in Vermont were 100% She finished 8th place in 21:38! Way to go!

Inspo:

Find a mantra! Megan repeated - One Foot in Front of the Other - to get her through some hard miles.

Happy to share some time with Sierra Degroff to talk about her Western States + Badwater 135 double!

Drop Bag Items of the Week:

Sierra loves her Ultraspire Waist Light and makes sure to keep Wipes in her drop bags!

Kelly shares the secret to getting your stinky drop bag clothes smelling fresh again by soaking them in a hot tub of water with Arm & Hammer Laundry Booster Super Washing Soda and Lysol Laundry Sanitizer Tough Odor Eliminator

TWWR:

Sierra got to put in some miles again after getting fixed up by her osteopath...and recommends you get you one!

Kelly hiked Mt. Whitney...which Sierra has summitted 3 times...so we talk shop

BTW - Mount to Coast is putting together a film from Badwater. Can. Not. Wait.

Inspo: You have to believe in yourself so much that other people think you're crazy

Elizabeth Holmes said it this way...“ First they think you’re crazy, then they fight you, then you change the world. ”

K go listen

Join us to chat with Vermont 100 2024 winner Sarah Gage. She's just about the coolest and knows everything, so it's worth tuning in!

Drop Bag Items of the Week:

Sarah is a salty sweater and likes Base Performance Salt Vial for a quick fix. She also shouts out Untapped Maple as a great fuel source.

Megan got called into work and had to skip out.

Kelly ...silence

TWWR:

Sarah shares how she backed off her original trail run plan on an exposed section because she was feeling uncomfortable about it. Totally okay!

Then we get distracted by our band playing past and dream of a collab with Rachel Entrekin.

Vermont 100:

Sarah takes us through her 2024 race and her approach to going the distance. She shares her inspiration on committing to yourself as the core of ultra strength.

We are so excited to share this podcast with experienced ultra runner Justyna Wilson! She has such an impressive racing history and lots of upcoming events to watch for. We focus a bit on the Vermont 100 as it is Megan's next race and where Justyna took a 2nd place finish last year (2024).

Drop Bag Items of the Week:

Justyna recommends CARBS Fuel as an easy tasting and affordable way to get you nutrition. She also recommends Fenix headlamps

Megan has been using Tailwind High Carb Fuel and likes it!

Kelly bought some decent goggles to swim in ...wah wah

TWWR:

Justyna finally loses her toenail from Old Dominion and shouts out treadmill miles for vert and iFit entertainment

Megan barely escapes a giant spider in the face.

Kelly...wah wah

In this episode Justyna shares some of her magic on staying young in the sport! She gives some inside tips on Vermont 100, where she placed 2nd in 2024.

Inspirational Quote:

A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there

-John Assaraf

This week we skip sharing a single Drop Bag item and go for broke sharing all of our faves from head to socks...saving shoes for another episode. We could talk about GEAR all. day. long.

Before we go deep, we both share a TWWR (and not running):

Megan is finally getting some running miles in with the help of some PT that she finds very helpful.

Kelly is headed to the doctor to find out what's going on...TBD

This episode is hard core Show & Tell! Check us out on YouTube for a visual.

Here are links to most of what we share:

Head:

Iced Cap - self explained!

Fabletics Ponytail Hat -if you like to keep your hair high

RNNR - washable

Sunglasses:

Oakley Sutro - trail lens!

Goodr - cheap and cool

KAPVOE Photochromic -wear all day and night

Tops:

Rabbit Ice Perf Tee SS - just so good!

Rabbit EZ Tee SS - fits over broad shoulders

Lykoxa Tank - vest base layer!

Under Armour UA Train Seamless - yes!

Vests:

Ultraspire Bronco Race Vest - lighter/smaller vest

Ultraspire Zygos 6.0 Race Vest - all the pockets and room for everything!

Orange Mud - super fun design and smaller for loops or training

Shorts:

LNDR Fatal Attraction - stay in place

Socks:

Injinjin -toe socks!

Hoka Crew Run Sock - magic material

Lights:

Ultraspire Lumen 600 5.0 Waist Light  - you know

Pretzl - headlamp

innofox Running Light - cheap BUT Works! waist clip lights

What a party! Hope you like some of these recommendations!

Drop Bag Items of the Week:

Moon Brew We've both found this to support a good night's sleep! Worth a try!

Kelly slipped her phone into a small dry bag like THIS ONE to throw in the back of her vest for easy reaching and reduce plastic baggie use.

This Week While Running (TWWR):

Megan tried Aqua Jogging (suffered defeat but will try again!)

Kelly goes all in on cold plunging (especially after listening to Trail Running Nation on the topic)

In this episode, we are injured and sad about it. Megan is recovering from a calf strain and Kelly has a case of Dead Butt Syndrome (DBS aka old butt problems). We explore options to continue training and discuss the importance of healing in order to build a new strength where injury once was.

Inspirational quote from Coach Bennett: Something is better than nothing, cause those small bits of somethingness fill up the nothingness, and soon enough you'll have a lot of somethings!

As always, get you some Salty Britches with 15% off at with DropBag15

Drop Bag Items of the Week: 

Embark Maple Energy Megan used this in her record setting High Hope Endurance 100k   Her favorite part is that it is very thin and goes down like water. 

Kelly has been trying out Perk Energy to kick her Diet Coke habit with a healthier option.  The Horchata flavor is so good and includes protein with collagen.  So far, Kelly is Diet Coke free! 

This Week While Running (TWWR): 

Megan battles a taper week injury which leads to a decision on Ground Rule for Race Week: less is more, if anything hurts - stop!, no pushing through workouts. 

We would love to share YOUR TWWR stories!  Share what you got in the comments!

In this Episode, Megan shares her High Hope Endurance 100k  NEW COURSE RECORD Recap!  Megan describes the course and conditions.  She also shares how she went from mentally accepting the possibility of a DNF at mile 10 to setting the new course record!  Amazing!  Unfortunately, Megan wound up with an infection in her leg, most likely from the creek crossing on course.  Follow along to hear how Megan tackled this post race problem! 

The inspirational quote was pretty much a reading of Kevin Fedarko's A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon  This book is so good!  Read it! 

As always, get you some Salty Britches with 15% off at with DropBag15

This is Season 3 Episode 1 with Megan Jackson!  Megan is just getting her ultra career started but brings a wealth of training knowledge to the community.  

Drop Bag Items of the Week: 

Sidekick Echo Muscle Scraper or a cheaper option like this.  Megan has used this tool to combat IT Band Syndrome and has found it really helpful. 

The past few races Kelly has had some stomach issues feeling bloated.  She's taken these Olly Beat the Bloat capsules and found them helpful.  A good add to a drop bag stomach kit.

This Week While Running (TWWR): Megan laughs over an animal explosion between her dogs and neighborhood animals and Kelly shares a near miss with a snake while being chased down by horseflies. 

Top 5 Lessons Learned by Kelly and Megan (we will just mush them together): 

1. Always have extra
2. Have fun (it's too hard not to)
3. Run your own race
4. Be intentional (your why - can be light or deep)
5. Take and enjoy recovery
6. Listen to others (try some good podcasts!)
7. Find the right fuel for you
8. Invest in your search for the best gear
9. Be ready to ride the highs and lows that come

AND always wear Salty Britches!  Hey!  Use our 15% off code to get you some! 

Ok, now go run

Kate shares her cancer survivor story and how she reentered running after treatment and two pregnancies. Everyone has challenges to overcome, and Kate's story provides all the inspiration to keep going.

Off to Cocodona we go!

Listen along on your weekend run and make sure to avoid chafing with Salty Britches – Salty Britches®