Shinetsu Five Mountains 100 Mile 2026 | Gear and Fueling: Choices for Running 160 km
What I value most when choosing gear for 100 miles is being able to focus on running. Lightness and features matter too, but what I care about is how little it bothers me over long hours of use. Shoes, a running vest and a headlamp in particular make a big difference to comfort and how easy it is to run in a long race.
Here I look back on the gear and fueling I chose for this year's Shinetsu — why I chose them, and how they actually felt. I've written about how I built my training and race in the training and race strategy article.
Shoes | Mount to Coast T1
What I want from shoes is, first, a fit that doesn't bother me, and then a balance of rebound and stability. I don't think more rebound is always better. On descents especially, too much bounce can make landings unstable. Grip too — rather than something so aggressive it catches, I think what matters is grip that works where you need it and lets your feet move naturally.
T1 has moderate rebound, and I felt the firmness of the sole gives it stability. It handles not only runnable forest roads but also somewhat technical trail. Softer shoes were an option, but I chose the T1, which I'd used continuously since training and felt I could trust.
When running for many hours, I care not only about rebound and cushioning when the shoes are fresh, but how well they hold up. With the T1, even after using them from training through the 100 mile itself, I didn't feel the cushioning or rebound had dropped off much.
The first half of the race was all mud. The Vibram Megagrip Traction Lug isn't an extremely deep lug, but it gripped better than I'd imagined, and felt easy to run in.
Even running wet for hours, I didn't get blisters. Being able to adjust the tension of the forefoot and rearfoot separately also helped. In the first half I tightened them too much so I wouldn't slip in the mud and it started to hurt, so being able to loosen only the part I needed was good.
On the other hand, this time two of my toenails went black and partly started to come off. I think part of the reason may be that I was kicking rocks with my toes more often in the second half, from the fatigue built up in the first half.
The T1 is a strong candidate for my next race too, but I'm also interested in the new M1. On the runnable second half, cushioning and rebound might help. On steep climbs, though, too much cushioning can feel unstable, so I want to consider the T1, M1 and H1 depending on the course and section.
Running vest | THE NORTH FACE HST Fume 6
I'd kept my distance from the HST Fume 6 because it looked a bit too racy to me. But having used it for this 100 mile, it turned out to be a very easy vest to use.
What was best for me was not just its capacity or how little it moves, but that I hardly ever had to take the vest off to deal with things during the race. Getting fuel and gear in and out took no effort, and I could focus on running.
I ran without support this time, so I had to carry all the fuel I needed until the next drop bag myself. Planning for around 300 to 400 kcal per hour, that's quite a lot to carry. Being able to fit most of that fuel on the front made a big difference for me.
The front has a bottle pocket and two more compartments on one side — three pockets in total. With fuel gathered on the front, there were fewer moments when I had to reach behind my back or take the vest off.
The lower back storage is split left and right; I put my headlamp on the left and my rain jacket on the right. Mountain athlete Doi-san had been insisting you can run like this without any problem, so I tried it in training — and in practice the headlamp never fell out, never bounced and never hit my body while running; it just stayed in place. Naturally, I could take out and put back both the headlamp and the rain jacket smoothly without taking the vest off.
In this 100 mile, I took the vest off only twice: once to change clothes, and once to get a cup I'd put deep inside because I didn't think I'd need it. Being able to reach the fuel and gear you need with the vest on, almost entirely stress-free — I think this may be about the only vest that can do that. I honestly didn't expect it to be this convenient.
The three chest straps make the fit easy to adjust, and even after wearing it for many hours, bounce and chafing didn't bother me. I didn't do anything special to prevent chafing. By splitting gear compactly front and back, I could also wear my rain jacket over the vest, and all my gear and fuel for this race fit in the 6 L without any trouble.
Headlamp | milestone MS-i2 / MS-i1 / MS-G4
What I value in a headlamp is brightness and how little it bounces. Even a bright lamp is distracting if it bounces with every step, and even a light one is hard to run with if you can't see the ground well. I choose by looking at the balance of both.
This time the plan was to use the MS-i2 in the first half and the MS-i1 in the second. I had the MS-i1 ready with its battery in my drop bag at Kurohime and swapped the whole unit there, to save myself the job of changing batteries during the race. Night running in the second half was expected to be shorter than in the first, so I chose the lighter MS-i1 for the second half.
The MS-i2 is brighter than the MS-i1, and its slightly yellowish light felt easy to see by even in rain and fog. The first half was heavy rain this time, so that visibility was a real plus. The changes in brightness during use also felt natural, and it was a light that rarely bothered me at night. It's plenty bright too, and it's one of the pieces of gear I'm really glad I brought in this time.
It does have some weight, but at my pace for this 100 mile, bounce didn't bother me. There are lighter lamps if you only look at weight, but including how well I could see and how little it bounced when actually running, I think it was comfortable to use.
As the mandatory second light, I also carried the MS-G4 together with a mobile battery (the MS-G4 can be used while charging, so pairing it with a mobile battery is approved). It was a spare I didn't expect to use, so I prioritized lightness, and I never turned it on this time. For the actual night running, the charge in the MS-i2 and MS-i1 alone was more than enough.
Clothing | Coping with conditions that keep changing over many hours
In a long race, heat, cold, sweat, rain and humidity change one after another. What I want from clothing is to keep moving comfortably not just at the start, but through all those changes. That's why I've been choosing merino wool more often for running lately.
Base layer | HERENESS merino wool mesh tank top
Of all the clothing this time, this base layer was especially good.
Because it's mesh, less of it touches the skin, and I feel good breathability and that it doesn't cling. Even wet with sweat or rain it didn't stick to my body, and including how quickly it dries, it felt very easy to wear.
The first half this time was heavy rain. I was wet for a long time, and after that ran through changing temperature and humidity, and it was good that this one layer could handle those conditions. I valued being comfortable over long hours, not just breathability when it's hot but in cold and wet too.
Small differences in comfort you wouldn't notice over a short time are something you live with for a long time in a 100 mile. For me, having little discomfort right next to the skin was also an important part of being able to focus on running.
I had another one of the same in my drop bag and changed into it once along the way. Changing also gave me a mental reset, so it was good in that sense too.
Shorts | patagonia Endless Run Shorts
My shorts are the Endless Run Shorts I've used for a long time. I wear them without an inner.
What I like is that they don't bounce even with things in the side and back pockets. Even with storage, it's annoying if the contents move every step. These shorts are easy to use even loaded, and they've become my go-to for ultras.
Since it's something I use for hours, already having worn them many times and knowing they suit my body was also one reason I chose them.
Socks | THE NORTH FACE Trail Durable Wool Crew
For socks I used the crew-length Trail Durable Wool Crew. For long distances I prefer a length that isn't too short.
When they get wet with sweat or rain, they spread the moisture out, so I think the soles of my feet take less damage than with short socks. They don't stop water getting in, but how they feel when wet is far better than short ones.
Besides the feel of the wool, I like the fit that doesn't slip inside the shoe, the compression that isn't too strong, and the moderate cushioning underfoot. I chose something I could wear for hours without discomfort, thinking not just about the shoes but the combination with the socks.
Rain jacket | HERENESS
My rain jacket was also from HERENESS. I value its lightness, breathability and that it can be worn over the vest. That it uses C0 water repellency was also something I looked at when choosing it.
On this vest I had fuel, lights and so on split between front and back. Being able to put the rain jacket on over it like that, without taking the vest off, was convenient. Because how I packed the vest and how I wore the rain jacket worked together, I think I also cut down the hassle of getting gear in and out.
Cap and sunglasses
My cap is the all-white milestone original cap MSC-013. I'm not good at keeping a cap on when I'm running hard, so I used it mainly when the sun was strong. It's a white mesh type, and I like that it doesn't get hot.
My sunglasses are from SMITH. They make the bumps in the ground stand out clearly, and I felt it was easier to run wearing them.
For clothing and accessories too, rather than simply gathering the lightest things, I chose things that wouldn't bother me over long use and that were easy to handle for the conditions at the time.
Fueling | Centered on Oiena and gels
The basic plan was to dilute "Oiena" from Delicious Energy Drink Research Institute with water in a 500 mL flask and drink one bottle over two hours. On top of that I added one gel per hour, and at aid stations I had rice balls and miso soup as a supplement. I didn't carry much special solid food, and stuck mainly to this combination.
I used a mix of Oiena flavors. Each is about 550 kcal per bottle, and assuming nearly all of it is carbohydrate, that's about 135 g per bottle. Drunk over two hours, that's about 68 g per hour. Assuming 25 g of carbohydrate per gel, the total comes to about 93 g per hour. I haven't confirmed the brand of gel, so these figures are estimates.
I think I took in close to the planned amount in the first half, but in the second half Oiena dropped to about one bottle every two and a half hours, and near the end about one every three hours, with gels down to about one every hour and a half. On the same assumptions, that's about 71 g per hour in the second half and about 62 g per hour near the end. Aid station food isn't included.
I didn't have any major stomach trouble this time, like nausea or stomach pain. But in the second half I lost the urge to eat and digestion felt slower. I sensed that forcing it in might upset things, and my body's output dropped too. I didn't stick to the planned numbers to the end. Even so, I think it was good that I kept up an amount I could tolerate.
Training the gut too
I used to sometimes drink Oiena straight, but in training I found that diluting it with water and sipping it suited me. That helped again this time.
On long runs I practiced the same fueling as in the race, checking what intensity I could eat at and when eating put the least strain on me. Taking in a lot just before a long descent tends to make me feel bad, so I fueled mainly before climbs. I think you need to practice not only carbohydrate amounts but also concentration, timing and running intensity. I've written about how I built my long runs in the training and race strategy article.
For electrolytes I used TENGU SALT and others, and also took a caffeinated Medalist product at each aid station, roughly every three hours. I haven't totaled the actual amounts of sodium or caffeine, though. The electrolytes you need vary with how much you sweat and drink, so I can't recommend a set number of salt tablets for everyone.
Fueling in hot conditions: still no answer
I got through this time without major trouble, but how to fuel in hot conditions is still an open question for me. Intensity that's too high may put strain on the stomach, but heat, hydration and carbohydrate concentration also play a part. It's not just a matter of lowering intensity; there's also the cutoff times and target pace to balance.
People sometimes say "solid food is easier on the stomach," but I wonder whether the reason is only the difference in the food itself. Gels, mostly carbohydrate with little fat or fiber, are often well suited to digestion, but too concentrated or too much at once and they become a burden. When eating solid food, we often stop at an aid station, walk, or naturally slow down. Perhaps those actions also play a part in how easy it is to eat.
I'd like to try things like easing off a little after eating, or walking for a while after solid food. It's a hypothesis I haven't tested yet.
Testing what suits me in training
I had no major complaints about my gear this time, and kept fueling going, if at a reduced rate in the second half. But the same choices won't necessarily be the best for the next course or weather.
Not just specs or reputation — use it in rain, heat, at night and in long training sessions, and check it with your own body. So that over the long hours of a 100 mile I don't have to worry about gear or fueling more than necessary, and can focus on running. That was at the center of my choices this time.