If there is one tool that has made all the difference to me, in fact the only reason that I was able to get into this sport, then it's my trusty 10kg sack of rice. Actually, I own a 5kg sack of rice and a 10kg sack of rice.

I had a history of knee pain that would reappear every time I ran more than about 7km. It would then build slowly and stop me run more than 20km. But I had got it into my head many years prior that I wanted to complete the MDS. Reading all the posts about people training for the MDS, I soon realized that about a third of the participants hiked the entire route without ever running. And that's therefore what I decided to train for also.

So what to do:

  1. Get a rucksack, ideally the one you will run your race with. You'll want one with padded shoulder straps as otherwise your shoulders will be hurting you long before your legs start to get tired.
  2. Get a 5kg sack of rice from your local supermarket. Pop it into your rucksack and go out for a walk.
  3. As your legs and shoulders get stronger, start adding 1.5L bottles of water to the rucksack to increase your weight. You'll want to slowly work your way up to 10-12kg.

The reason for the water bottles are that they give you the ability to pour out the water and reduce the weight if you get tired. It's happened to me on a long training day, when I was hiking 30km, that after about 20km or so my shoulders really started killing me. It's a bit tricky if you only have rice in your rucksack. But the water bottles you can empty. I've also tried training only with water bottles, but that is actually really uncomfortable, as they have really hard edges and if you walk/hike/run for several hours, they will dig into your back. So mixing rice and water bottles is ideal. The water bottles at the top of the bag, as if they sit at the bottom of your rucksack, they will shave your back. Once you get really comfortable with the weight, you can also switch out the 5kg bag for a 10kg bag. Then either keep this as your max weight, or add 1-2 water bottles on top of it.

So what's the benefit of all this?

It's really a runners' specific strength workout. You feel it in your legs, but it also works out your core muscles. More recently I have switched to running more, becasue my legs are now strong enough. But if, like me, you've had knee issues in the past, then this may be a good way to build up your muscles to take the strain of tendons and joints (disclaimer: I'm not a physician and am only reporting my personal experience). I started with walking for an hour each evening. Then it would become two hours every other evening and then at the weekends I would walk for anything between 3-6 hours to reach 15-35km. In fact I did very little running before the MDS and instead just focussed on rucksack hiking. Get a good Ebook or podcast to listen to while you're out there. When I completed my third multi-stage race in Georgia with Racing the Planet, I actually had a shock at the end of the first day. I got back into camp feeling strong but then my body really started to hurt in the hours after and I soon realized that my decision to focus on running (mostly without a rucksack) was a mistake. I should have put in more hours with a rucksack in the weeks before the race.

Another benefit I see is when you're recovering from a cold. If you get sick relatively shortly before a race and feel that you really cannot afford to take a long break, if you're afraif of detraining, then going for slow (!) walks with a weighted rucksack has worked well for me. The same applies to days with a hangover where you don't feel like running. You can alsmost always go out for a walk with a weighted rucksack. So you can keep up the miles/load on your legs (even if your Garmin watch won't be able to account for the weight). Walking doesn't result in the same impact as running and your hear rate stays comparatively low. Having said that, if you're healthy and feeling good, there is no reason not to do some fast-packing at speeds of 6-7km per hour (3.73-4.35 miles/hour). That's then adds a cardio workout to the mix.

I'll do a speparate post on how to choose a rucksack for a multi-stage race, how to pack it (heavy things go on top), and why it's important to train with it before the race. But that's all for now as it's sunny outside. Since I'm just recovering from a cold, I'm not going for a run today but instead heading out for a three hour walk (15km distance) in the local woods with my trusty 10kgs of rice. Did the same yesterday. Stay healthy.