Ultra drop bag checklist: what to pack and how to label it

A drop bag is a bag of your own things waiting for you partway through an ultramarathon. You pack it before the race, the organizers carry it to an aid station on the course, and when you get there, hours or a whole night later, it has the dry socks, food, warm layer and headlamp you'll need for the next section.

That's the whole idea, and it's why this site is named after it. Done well, a drop bag turns a 100-mile race into a series of shorter runs between resupplies. Done badly, it's a soggy bag of the wrong things at the wrong aid station. Here's how to do it well.

What a drop bag is and why you use one

In an ultra you're out for many hours, sometimes more than a day. The weather changes, night comes, and your feet and stomach go through a lot. You can't carry everything you might need from the start, and you shouldn't have to.

Aid stations give you water and food. A drop bag gives you your things at the points of the course where you choose them: the brand of gel your stomach tolerates, the socks that don't give you blisters, the jacket for the cold stretch over the high point, the headlamp for when the sun goes down.

Not every race has drop bags, and those that do often allow them only at some aid stations or only for some distances. At the Bighorn Trail Run, for example, the race says drop bags are allowed for the 100, 52 and 32 only (Bighorn drop bags page). Find out what your race offers before you buy anything.

How to decide what goes in each bag

Don't pack one bag and copy it to every station. Plan each bag around where it will be.

Start with your race's aid station chart and your own pace estimate. For each drop bag location, ask:

• What time of day will I get there? If there is any chance you'll reach it near dusk, put a headlamp in it, even if your plan says you'll be there in daylight. It's common to run slower than planned.
• What's the next section like? A long climb or high, exposed ground calls for a warm layer and gloves. A hot canyon calls for sunscreen and extra drink mix.
• How far until the next bag? Pack enough fuel to reach it, plus a little extra.
• What's likely to go wrong by then? Wet feet, chafing, a stomach that's had enough of sweet things.

Western States, for example, strongly recommends warm clothing and an extra flashlight in the drop bags for its night aid stations (Western States aid stations page).

Feet

Foot problems can wreck the second half of an ultra, so give this part of the bag the most thought. Dry socks in a zip bag, a small blister kit, and something to clean and dry your feet before you put the new socks on. If the bag is late in the race or the course has stream crossings, consider a spare pair of shoes you've already run in.

Fuel

Pack what you know your stomach accepts, not what you think you should eat. Pre-measure drink mix into small bags so you're not pouring powder with cold hands at 2 a.m. Add one thing that sounds good when nothing does: something salty, something you love. Everything should have been tested in training. If you use caffeine, save it for the night and only in doses you've tried before.

Clothes

A dry shirt can make a cold, wet runner feel new. Put in a warm layer for any night or high section, plus a hat and gloves. If your race has required gear, carry that in your pack from the start; the drop bag is for extras, not for things you're required to have on you.

Light

A headlamp in the bag at the aid station before dark, a second one or spare batteries in the bag after that. Charge everything the day before you hand the bags in. A small backup light weighs almost nothing and saves the night if your main one fails.

Care

Sunscreen, lip balm, anti-chafe, wipes and toilet paper. Any personal medication you need, as agreed with your doctor. A small bag to carry your wrappers out; Western States, for example, strictly prohibits littering on the trail (participant guide). Some runners also put a short note in each bag: "Change socks. Eat. Get out in five minutes." It's surprisingly useful when you're tired.

How to pack and label a drop bag

Use a soft, waterproof, sturdy bag. Bags sit outside, get thrown into trucks and get rained on. Bighorn says all drop bags must be soft-sided and doesn't allow coolers, tubs or buckets, and warns it can't guarantee bags won't be exposed to weather (Bighorn drop bags). Western States asks runners not to use paper bags, shoe boxes or anything made of paper-like products, because these get wet and tear (Western States aid stations).

Bag everything inside the bag. Put clothes and socks in zip bags or dry bags, grouped by use: one for feet, one for fuel, one for warm clothes. At the aid station you grab the bag you need instead of digging.

Put what you'll need first on top. Usually that's fuel and the headlamp.

Label it big and clear. Volunteers handle a lot of bags. Most races want your name and bib number, and many want the aid station name too. Western States requires bags to be securely tied and labeled clearly with the runner's name and entry number (Western States participant guide). At Bighorn, volunteers at packet pickup help you mark each bag with your name, runner number and aid station. Use a waterproof marker, duct tape or a luggage tag, and label more than one side.

Put a contents list inside. Write a short list of contents on a card inside too. When you collect your bags after the race, you'll know if anything is missing.

Check the size rules. They vary a lot between races:

Sources: Western States aid stations, Bighorn drop bags. Rules can change every year; these are examples, not your race's rules.

What not to put in a drop bag

• Valuables. Western States says not to leave valuables in drop bags and that it is not responsible for lost or damaged bags or their contents (Western States aid stations). Treat every drop bag as something you might not see again.
• Perishable food. Western States says it is imperative that runners do not leave perishable items in their drop bags. Bags can sit in the heat for many hours.
• Glass. Western States says not to put glass bottles in drop bags.
• Things you can't do without. Required gear, medication you need during the race and your main headlamp for the first night: if you would be in trouble without it, carry it or have a backup.
• More than you need. Big, heavy bags are hard on the volunteers who move them, and digging through clutter costs you time. Western States, for one, asks runners with crews not to overload volunteers with unnecessary drop bags.

Drop bag vs crew bag

A drop bag goes to one aid station, handed over before the race and carried there by the organizers. It has to be small enough for the race's rules and packed for one point of the course.

A crew bag, or crew box, travels with the friends or family who meet you at the aid stations crews can reach. It can be bigger, it can hold a cooler with cold drinks and real food, and your crew can respond to what you actually need on the day instead of what you guessed in advance.

Many runners use both: crew at the stations where crews are allowed, drop bags where they aren't. Some races ask you not to double up. Western States describes its drop bag transport as a service to aid crewless runners and asks those with adequate support not to overload volunteers with unnecessary drop bags (Western States aid stations).

If you have no crew, the drop bags are your crew. Pack them with the same care.

At the aid station

A drop bag only helps if you use it fast and well.

• Know what you want before you arrive. Run through it in your head in the last mile: socks, refill, headlamp, leave.
• Thank the volunteers. They have often been out there as long as you have.
• Don't sit too long. A few minutes for a sock change is worth it. Half an hour in a warm chair is how races slip away.
• Close the bag and leave it where you found it, so it comes back to the finish with the others.
• If something is wrong with your body, tell the aid station. Medical staff and experienced volunteers are there for that. This page is general information, not medical advice.

After the race

Find out where and when bags come back, and collect them in time. Western States returns drop bags to the finish at Placer High School and says they must be claimed by 3:00 p.m. Sunday; bags remaining after the event may be disposed of (Western States participant guide). Bighorn returns bags to the Scott Park finish area, where they can be picked up until 8 p.m. on race day; after that, unclaimed bags go to a location in Ranchester, available from 7 a.m. Sunday (Bighorn drop bags).

Then empty them at home, and write down what you used, what you didn't, and what you wished you'd packed. That note is the start of the next race's drop bag checklist.

If your next race is a road marathon, our marathon packing list does the same job for race day on the road. For fueling in the days before a long race, see our guide to carb loading, and if you'll be walking the climbs, the run-walk method is worth a read.