How to Plan Your Aid Station Strategy for a 100-Mile Race

An aid station in a 100-mile race is more than a place to refill a bottle. It is an opportunity to reset your pace, protect a vulnerable body part, adjust for heat and make one deliberate decision about the next segment. On a course where hours of effort accumulate, small routines compound. A well-planned stop can preserve the final 20 kilometres; a hurried or improvised stop can quietly consume them.

Planning your aid station strategy should therefore produce a repeatable operating system, not a long list of possible supplies. You need to know where your supplies will be, who can access them, what you will consume, how long you will stop and what signals will cause you to change the plan. The aim is to make good decisions while tired, because fresh runners and late-race runners should not need different systems.

Map the Course and Your Limits

Start with the course profile rather than the distance between stations. Record the elevation change, surface, exposure and likely weather for every segment. Know which descents will stress your knees, where the longest climbs begin and which stations sit before exposed terrain rather than after it. Distance alone is a poor measure of effort; a 10-kilometre section of loose sand may demand more from your fuel and feet than a much longer section on sealed track.

Next, distinguish between aid stations, crew-access points and bag-drop locations. Rules may prohibit unofficial assistance, restrict what volunteers can carry or limit crew access to named checkpoints. Read the event information carefully and build your plan around what is permitted, not what would be convenient. A helpful briefing also lists station hours, medical support, water availability and whether toilets or shade can be relied upon.

This creates a chain of manageable checkpoints. The same practical logic appears in work insights: long projects become safer when progress is divided into observable stages with clear decisions attached. For your race, estimate a conservative arrival window and departure time for each station. If the course cuts are tight, treat the final permitted departure as the real deadline.

Build the Carry, Intake and Replenishment Plan

Fuel and fluid targets should be based on training rather than generic race-day rules. Many experienced ultra runners aim for roughly 30–60 grams of carbohydrate per hour, while trained athletes may tolerate more. Fluid intake commonly falls around 400–800 millilitres per hour, but heat, sweat rate, body size and stomach tolerance matter more than a single number. Test your targets during long runs and follow the event medical team’s guidance. Salt needs also vary, and forcing unnecessary supplements can create stomach problems.

A compact race-day checklist keeps decisions bounded:

• Record each station’s distance, expected arrival time and planned departure time.
• Carry enough clothing and first-aid supplies for the full gap between official aid points.
• Assign crew access and bag collection according to the event rules.
• Pack backup food for a delayed station, a missed crew handover or an unexpected stop.

The on-course sequence should be equally consistent:

• Check the clock, weather, feet and current effort before making changes.
• Refill to a calculated amount rather than carrying an uncomfortably full bottle.
• Eat a tested item and prepare the next one while the bottle is filling.
• Record only essential information, then leave within your planned stop duration.

Leave every station with a clear next objective. “Reach the next aid station” is usually too broad; “run the next 90 minutes at a controlled effort while taking 30 grams of carbohydrate each hour” gives your brain and body something usable. If a station is running late, reduce nonessential stops rather than creating a frantic catch-up effort that will cost more later.

Account for Australian Conditions and Logistics

Australian conditions can alter an aid station plan quickly. Canberra may deliver a cold early start that makes an immediate pace increase feel effortless, while Melbourne’s weather can change from wind and rain to sunshine within a day. Adelaide can bring intense dry heat, and northern Queensland adds substantial humidity. Identify the likely temperature range, place fluids and electrolytes according to expected conditions, and plan for the possibility that aid stations will not offer every product you normally use.

Access requires equal attention. Support crews often drive long distances on regional roads, remember to keep left and arrive with enough fuel before a remote section. Mobile blackspots are common outside major cities, so download the course map and exchange written updates at agreed points. Near Melbourne, Adelaide or Sydney, familiar products can be bought from supermarkets such as Woolworths or Coles, but the same choice may not exist near a remote Queensland or Northern Territory checkpoint. Buy supplies early and pack backups rather than relying on a late-afternoon shopping trip.

Organisers also carry significant legal and safety responsibilities. For point-to-point events in New South Wales, road closures and traffic control may involve the Road Occupancy Act 2001, local council approvals and formal traffic-management plans. Commercial food suppliers and event caterers must meet Australian food safety standards and state requirements, including appropriate storage temperatures, allergen controls and hygiene. As a runner, your responsibility is to understand the rules, use authorised assistance and report hazards or illness promptly.

Rehearse the Aid Station Routine

Training should include more than drinking from a belt bottle. Place bottles, poles or other equipment on a table, refill them under mild time pressure, eat while moving and complete a foot inspection. Practise putting on socks, treating blisters and changing a layer without needing to think through each step. A routine performed smoothly often takes less than five minutes and protects the legs from unnecessary rushing.

Rehearse your crew handover as well. Use colour-coded or clearly labelled bags, attach the intended station number and write instructions that account for your likely state at that point of the race. Crew members should know whether to wake you after a permitted sleep, when to replace food and which symptoms require medical assistance. Keep one person responsible for timekeeping so several helpers do not give conflicting advice.

There is also a useful parallel with uncommon angler: outdoor equipment performs best when its limits are tested under realistic conditions. Run the full routine in training shoes, carry the actual pack weight and use the same containers you will use on race day. This reveals problems while there is still time to solve them.

Execute, Adjust and Learn from the Day

On race day, use a simple decision sequence at every aid station. Confirm the time, assess how you feel, review the weather and decide whether the original plan still fits the situation. Make one change at a time where possible, because urgent alterations often create a cascade of mistakes. Stop briefly for genuine problems such as worsening foot pain, dizziness or persistent vomiting, but avoid turning every scheduled stop into a full equipment inspection.

Have contingency rules before fatigue makes you improvise. If you arrive early, eat and drink as planned without sprinting to bank time. If you arrive late, remove discretionary stops and carry enough supplies to reach the next verified station. If a station has run out of food, use your backup while maintaining your normal carbohydrate target. If the temperature rises sharply, prioritise fluid, shade and reduced effort over preserving an ambitious schedule.

Afterwards, compare the plan with the reality rather than judging it only by finishing time. Note which stations were efficient, whether crew access worked, where intake declined and which assumptions about weather or terrain were wrong. Separate bad decisions from bad conditions. An aid station strategy that supports several future races must be adjusted through evidence, while a sound plan that fails once may simply need better execution.

The strategy to remember is simple: reach each aid station with a purpose, take only what your plan can absorb, leave on schedule and preserve enough reserve for the final segment.