Every December, running shops all over Memphis sell out of tights and every other piece of warm clothing as runners freak out at the prospect of the weather possibly being cold for the December race that they signed up for back in the summer. It’s all for a great cause, though- the St. Jude Marathon and Half Marathon.

Unfortunately, this year, the weather wasn’t just “cold.” It was cold and intermittently icy. Volunteers cancelled on the promoters, police and fire officials were busy, and select parts of the course (like the finish line), as well as most of the state of Arkansas were seriously dangerous with ice. So, the race was cancelled.

Immediately, social media was alive with people who “couldn’t” race… as in, “it’s cancelled, so I can’t run my marathon/half marathon today.” Fortunately, a lot of people figured it out:

Some people ran the course anyway: “Unofficial” St. Jude Marathon

Some people rolled their own:

In the meantime, the food that had been allotted for runners was re-distributed to the homeless by a local group:

All in all, the cause was still helped, a lot of people were inspired, and others didn’t go hungry.

However, there were still a handful of people who, at the first mention of cancellation, threw their hands up and resolved themselves to not running. I’m not 100% sure what everyone’s reasons where, but I’d imagine a lot of people couldn’t work out the logistics of how to get what they needed while they were running without the planned aid stations and whatnot. I can’t imagine training hard enough to do a marathon on a given day and then not actually doing it, so, I figured, I’d list a few tips on being self-supported. These are not only for running, but for cycling as well (even more so considering a 3-5 hour bike ride will generally take you further from your starting point than a run of similar duration… half to all-day efforts, not overnight. That’s a whole ‘nother ball-o-wax). It’s all about planning…

-Carry extra: use a pack of some sort to carry larger quantities of water & food. You’ve likely trained enough to know how much you need for a given time/distance/effort, so extrapolate that out to what you should carry to go longer between refills.
– Loops to the car/house/personal aid station of choice: like my Facebook friend above, plan a route that returns you to a place where you can refill, refuel, use the restroom, etc. every now and again. The loops don’t all have to be exactly the same, but that does simplify things.
-Link “aid” spots together: this is my personal favorite for long road rides. I normally use churches (though there’s a volunteer fire dept. on one of my routes as well). They usually have a water hose outside and don’t mind if you use it for bottle refills (sometimes they might even invite you in!) Some people stop at gas stations or convenience stores. I’m not a fan of those, because, as I ride primarily solo, it means I have to both leave my bike unattended and get ogled by men who think that because I’m in spandex, I am asking to be ogled. Additionally, there’s the inconvenience of  keeping up with money,  tromping around on linoleum in cycling shoes, and the limitation of riding in areas populated enough to have convenience stores (the best riding areas are far too remote to support business other than farming). I can carry plenty of food, it’s usually just a question of refilling water.
-Make a drop: Drive to a spot and leave a jug of water (and whatever else you need). Then, drive back to your starting point. I like this one for riding at Syllamo. I’ll hide a jug of water at one of the trailheads that’s about halfway around the loop, then drive to a different trailhead to start.
– Phone a friend: Ok, so this isn’t totally “self” supported, but it IS a way that you could run (or ride) a long way without “official” support. Just plan with someone ahead of time to meet you at a certain time/place with whatever it is you need. Sometimes it’s not the food/water they’ve got that’s what you need… it’s more the friendly face and words of encouragement that keep you moving.

So, there you go. Venture out, get your base miles, run your marathon, and explore some new places.