The Gear You Need to Crew and Run a 200-Mile Race

I’ve crewed 100-mile races, so I know what it takes to support a runner through a long day and a longer night. But stepping up to a 200 is a different animal. It’s not simply twice the distance.

A 200-mile race lasts for days. Across 40 to 100+ hours, weather loops through full seasonal cycles, real food replaces sports nutrition, and sleep deprivation turns the trail into a fever dream. Through it all, the crew operates as a rolling pit crew — keeping food, clothing, hydration, batteries, and pacers moving from one remote aid station to the next.

I saw all of this firsthand while being the crew captain at Bigfoot 200. Our runner, John, put together an incredible debut race to finish fourth overall in under 60 hours. But whether you’re competing at the front of the pack or giving everything you’ve got to earn that finish line buckle, the main challenge of a 200 is similar: Adapt to the unexpected, and keep moving forward.

The crew’s job is essentially the same either way: keep the runner fed, safe, and moving back out onto the trail.

After days of driving, organizing, and repacking, two hard-and-fast rules emerged:

1. Anything that can break, die, or soak through gets at least one duplicate.
2. Most everything else has to do more than one job.

Mandatory Gear and Race Rules: Read the Fine Print

First, read the Runner’s Handbook for your specific race, and then reread it regularly for updates. I thought I was well ahead of the game by mapping out our crewing and pacer logistics in June for an August race, but the race periodically adjusted aid station access without sending notifications.

Course tweaks, road closures, and aid station shifts can happen right up until race day. Consider this a core mantra for crewing a 200: make a plan, and then be ready to pivot.

Every 200-mile event enforces a strict mandatory gear list based on terrain and wilderness exposure. Bigfoot 200 required a detailed kit for both runners and pacers, including specific layering pieces, emergency bivy sacks, and water filtration.

At many races, mandatory gear is checked randomly. John and his pacers went through multiple checks during the event. If your runner switches vests, every piece of mandatory gear must transfer over. You don’t want to arrive at the next aid station only to realize you left the required WAG bag in the other pack.

Pay attention to pacer rules, too. The overall winner of our race received a 3-hour time penalty for dropping his pacer. He still won, but it reminded everyone that knowing (and following) the rulebook inside and out is critical.

Build a Mobile Aid Station

Once you know the rules, you can start planning what to bring and how to pack it. Your vehicle is your mobile aid station. Organization matters, and you’ll need a system that performs well when you haven’t slept much for 3 to 5 days.

Figure out how you are going to organize things prior to the race. Know what bags you are bringing to the aid stations, and which can stay at base camp. Because we flew to the race, I used our suitcases at base camp as “warehouse” storage. I pulled items from those suitcases to stage in the smaller bags we brought directly to the aid stations:

• Silo Bag + Silo Roll-Up: Housed quick-reach items — spare shoes, extra clothes, skin lube, taping supplies, charging cables, spare batteries, medications, salt tabs, and miscellaneous essentials.
• RUX Tote Bag: Held larger, more awkward items like a massage gun, bags of extra nutrition, spare trekking poles, and dirty clothes John changed out of.
• Berghaus Backpack: For aid stations with longer walks from parking, I transferred gear into a backpack to haul everything comfortably.
• Cooler System: We kept a large hard-sided cooler in the car as our main food and ice reservoir, pulling items into a smaller, portable YETI cooler that I carried directly to aid stations.

Trail Tip: Before dropping cash on specialized gear organization, shop your garage first and hit up friends for gear loans. Standard dry bags, heavy-duty plastic storage bins, and regular backpacks will work; you don’t need a $200 duffle to run a tight, efficient mobile aid station.

Nutrition: Options Without Overwhelming

Prepacking nutrition into labeled gallon plastic bags by course section saved us a lot of time. On each bag, John wrote down what he wanted us to prep or carry at that specific stop, creating a hands-on checklist for the crew. For example, he wrote how many liters of water he needed for the next section, what real food he wanted, and whether he needed a shoe/sock change.

Nutrition strategies vary wildly by runner. However, a gel your runner loves at mile 30 might trigger an intense gag reflex by mile 150. You need variety — gels, drink mixes, bars, broth, salty snacks, and real food — but keep choices constrained. Someone awake for two or more days cannot process 30 options; sometimes, they just need you to hand them something and tell them to eat it.

If possible, don’t rely solely on aid stations either. Menus vary, and if your runner craves a specific comfort food, bring it yourself.

Shoes, Packs, Watches, and Poles: Runner Specifics & Backups

Every runner’s biomechanics, foot shape, and gear preferences are unique. What worked for John at Bigfoot 200 might give another runner instant blisters, but the strategy for managing footwear, packs, and poles stays the same: redundancy and pressure-point management.

• Shoes: Feet swell, sweat, and take a beating over the course of a 200. John ran in the HOKA Tecton X 3, swapping into a fresh pair of the same model at mile 100 before eventually switching back to the originals later on. We also packed a pair of Mount to Coast shoes as an emergency backup that sat in the car for 200 miles untouched. Other crews brought up to six pairs to cover every possible blister or swelling contingency.
• Packs & Vests: Different vests distribute weight across the chest and shoulders in different ways. After 30+ hours, changing those contact points can offer significant physical relief. John started in an UltrAspire Traverse, swapped to a Salomon ADV Skin 12L vest when his shoulders needed a reset, and finished the final 13 miles in a lightweight Dynafit race vest.
• GPS Watches: Over 60+ hours, every watch will need a charge — keep cables plugged into a dedicated power bank ready to go at each station. Equally important, make sure your runner and pacers know how to operate their devices long before race day. We had Garmin, COROS, Suunto, and Apple represented on our team, but high-tech navigation is only as good as the person using it. Practice using the navigation maps well before the race. 
• Running Poles: Running poles break at the worst possible moments — usually on a steep, technical descent miles from the nearest road. A runner who relies heavily on poles and snaps one is in deep trouble. John used Leki Ultratrail Fx.One Superlite, and we kept a fully matching spare set (including gloves) ready in the crew bag at all times.

Trail Tip: If your runner takes a quick trail nap, have them lay their poles on the ground pointing in the direction of travel. When they wake up dazed in the dark, they won’t make the mistake of running backward down the course.

Clothing: Comfort Wins

Preparing apparel for a 200-miler means packing for four seasons of weather — and enough fresh layers to handle days of trail grime. Pack short- and long-sleeve tops (both sun shirts and insulating layers), shorts, tights, and far more socks than seems reasonable.

John wanted a fresh shirt at almost every aid station (13 in all!) to stay clean and combat chafing. He rotated through tops and shorts from Smartwool, Ciele, Path Projects, Janji, and FlipBelt, paired with Gordini socks.

For cold or wet spells, pack a solid midlayer, gloves, a waterproof shell (like his Salomon Bonatti Pro rain jacket), dedicated rain pants, and a packable insulated jacket. (John used Marmot WarmCube Active Aerothermal PrimaLoft Hoody.)

It doesn’t hurt to pack backup rain gear, either. If your race runs through days of unrelenting rain, even top-tier waterproofing will eventually saturate and wet out, making a fresh, dry outer layer a massive relief.

While we got lucky with mild conditions, the weather turns fast. Cold snaps can quickly become dangerous — keep heavy down jackets, insulated pants, and a rotation of dry beanies and gloves staged in the vehicle so you’re ready for worst-case conditions.

As a woman crewing a male runner for this event, I wanted to make sure this guide covered the realities for everyone on the course. I made a point to survey several female runners and crew members throughout the race, and these were their top three non-negotiables:

• Sports Bras: Treat them like you would socks. A sweat-soaked bra worn for 14 hours becomes an aggressive chafing engine along the band and shoulder straps. Swap them out at major crew stops, and keep a few different styles on hand to shift friction points.
• Period Products: Pack them regardless of expected timing. The physical stress, sleep deprivation, and extreme mileage of a 200 can throw off menstrual cycles without warning. Keep pads, tampons, cups, period underwear, wipes, and sealable disposal bags in one dedicated, labeled pouch in the main crew kit.
• Privacy Screen: Aid station porta-potties get tight, filthy, and hard to maneuver after days on the trail. Holding up a large blanket as a privacy curtain gives runners a cleaner, much simpler changing option right at the vehicle.

Accessories & Microclimate Control

Weather over a multiday race isn’t one problem; it’s two, and they don’t respond to the same solutions. For some, heat is the harder of the two problems, because you can’t add layers to solve it.

Once a runner’s core temperature climbs, their gut goes with it. A thermal problem turns into a nutrition problem you’ll spend the next 4 hours digging out of. The accessories here are for staying ahead of that, not fixing it.

Arm sleeves are a useful tool: your runner pulls them up or down as the sun moves, and can soak them at a water crossing to dump heat between aid stations. A buff (or ice bandana) packed with ice from the cooler does the same work on the neck, and a breathable cap keeps the sun off without trapping air against the scalp.

Sunglasses can help protect the eyes from wind, dirt, and glare from water and rock, which keeps eye fatigue at bay. Check out photochromic lenses, as they handle courses that move in and out of tree cover better.

Cold is the one you pack for and hope you never need. Swap the sun cap for a warm beanie and pull on a dry thermal buff to lock in crucial heat in the head and neck. Pair those with two levels of gloves — liner gloves for the dusk transition and windproof mitts for the sub-freezing hours after.

Chemical hand warmers earn their space on deep-night shifts. Tuck them into gloves or drop a pair into the sleeping bag before your runner arrives, so the bag is warm on arrival.

Mobile Pharmacy & Vehicle Hygiene

The car is where your runner gets patched up and cleaned off. Keep this kit readily accessible.

• Eye & Lip Care: Sun, wind, and dust/sand can cause dry eye irritation and blurred vision during long hours. Keep lubricating eye drops and an SPF lip balm in your main crew kit for quick application at aid stops.
• Body wipes: Your runner, and likely the crew, won’t see a real shower for days. Heavy-duty, oversized wipes wash away dirt and dried sweat, helping keep things fresher for wardrobe or shoe changes.
• Toothbrush: After days of sugary gels, drink mixes, and dusty trail miles, a mouth reset is pure magic. Keep mini, prepasted toothbrushes in your crew kit.
• Belly & Pain Relief: Pack Tums, anti-nausea meds, Imodium, peppermint, and ginger chews. For medication, stick with products your runner has used safely before and avoid NSAIDs like ibuprofen, which carry serious renal risks when combined with dehydration and extreme physical stress.
• Bug Repellent: Mosquitoes and biting flies can turn aid station stops into absolute torture for both runner and crew. Pack treated clothing, spray, or both.
• Dirty Laundry: Days of sweat-soaked clothes, damp socks, and muddy gear sitting in a warm car will quickly overwhelm the vehicle. Air out the clothes if you can and then pack them into trash bags or a dedicated dry bag, and toss in a few Arm & Hammer scent balls to keep the car from turning into a biohazard zone.

The Ultimate Foot-Care Kit

Foot issues end more 200-mile runs than almost anything else. The single best piece of gear I didn’t have? A simple yoga mat. It gives your runner a clean, dry surface to stretch, lie down, or change socks without putting clean feet back into trail dirt. Keep your full foot-care kit with the mat:

• Leukotape and KT Tape
• Blister pads, sterile needles, and band-aids
• Lubricants (Vaseline, Squirrel’s Nut Butter)
• Wet wipes and disposable gloves

A hotspot caught at mile 60 takes 5 minutes to tape. Ignored, that same hotspot becomes a race-ending blister by mile 120.

• Compression Socks & Calf Sleeves: Lower-leg and foot swelling is close to guaranteed over 200 miles. Go with calf sleeves rather than full compression socks; you get the circulatory benefit without forcing your runner to strip off shoes and undo a tape job every time they go on or come off. As a bonus, they shield the lower legs from brush and nettles on overgrown sections.
• Recovery Tools: Bringing recovery gear like massage guns, foam rollers, compression legs, or cold-therapy devices can help loosen tight muscles during longer stops. While massaging wrecked quads can be painful in the moment, it often helps the muscle relax enough to keep the runner moving forward. John also used PlayOn pain relief spray at nearly every aid station to keep his hamstrings from tightening up.

Camp Lighting & Power Solutions

Your runner needs reliable headlamps and plenty of spare batteries — we brought five sets. John used a Fenix headlamp and an UltrAspire waist light, but crews often forget how much lighting they need. Trying to hunt through gear bags, prep food, and fix feet in the dark using only your phone flashlight is inefficient.

To keep things fun, we used BioLite string lights at our base camp, along with lanterns and a Skylight setup, to transform dark mountain pullouts into illuminated, efficient workspaces.

For electronics, a multiday race requires serious power support. We relied on a BioLite portable power pack and a Goal Zero Yeti power station. The Yeti was our workhorse — charging phones, GPS watches, headlamps, and satellite messengers while recharging via solar panels during the day.

Trail Tip: Establish an automated routine: The moment your runner arrives, their electronics go straight onto the chargers. You don’t want to be the crew whose runner’s watch dies 10 miles before the finish line (we saw it happen to another team, and it was heartbreaking).

We dutifully charged three pairs of Shokz bone-conduction headphones for days straight. John pulled them off at mile 57, declared he was completely done with music, and never asked for them again. We kept charging them anyway — just in case.

Note for travelers: You can’t check or take large lithium power stations on commercial flights. If you’re flying, hand the power station off to a crew member driving to the race (and make sure they retrieve it before they drive back, or you’ll end up paying to mail a heavy battery back to yourself as I did).

Satellite Communication & Navigation

Cell service can be nonexistent across vast sections of 200-mile courses. We deployed two Garmin satellite devices, one carried by the runner/pacer team and one with me as crew chief, paired with an off-site contact monitoring tracking data from home. Satellite texting via iPhones and Garmin inReach units kept our logistics running smoothly.

If someone in your crew owns a portable Starlink setup, have them bring it. Having internet at remote stops is a game-changer for tracking runners. While we didn’t have one, neighboring crews were often generous with Wi-Fi passwords — though you shouldn’t plan on relying on the kindness of strangers.

Always download offline maps (like Gaia GPS or CalTopo) to all crew phones before driving into dead zones. Crucially, make sure pacers have their specific course sections preloaded onto their GPS watches and know how to operate them beforehand.

I never like to rely 100% on electronics. I keep physical, waterproof paper maps of the race course and the surrounding Forest Service roads with me. An old-school paper map highlighted with crew access points, driving routes, and aid stations is the ultimate analog backup when technology fails.

Warmth and Sleep Setup

A runner can get cold quickly the second they stop. Having a heavy blanket or a sleeping bag unrolled before they step into the aid station is key.

Our quick warmth setup was a Helinox Sunset Chair (re) paired with an integrated Toasty blanket. The second John sat down, we wrapped him in the blanket. For sleeping, a zipperless Marmot Wraptor Sleeping Bag worked great — letting him slide in and out without fighting zippers with cold, clumsy fingers.

Best of all, the crew put the chair and sleeping bag to work during the stretches when John was out on the trail, proving once again that the best gear pulls double duty.

Sleep locations are very unpredictable. Runners may plan to sleep in aid station cots, only to find the noise of generators and people impossible. John often opted for “dirt naps” — sleeping directly alongside the trail for 10-minute stretches.

This created a unique gear quirk: every time he stepped off the trail to lie down, his COROS watch assumed he was off-course and began loudly chiming. He ended up sleeping on the trail margin with one arm touching the dirt path to keep his watch silent (or simply lying down in the middle of the trail).

Finally, pack earplugs for both your runner and your crew to catch sleep near noisy staging areas — just make sure your alarm is loud enough to wake you up through them!

The Crew Vehicle Is Gear

The vehicle serves as the mobile command center for your crewing operation, and navigating remote roads can be trickier than you think. Back roads often have deep ruts, sharp rocks, and mind-boggling washboards. Make sure to check your spare tire and top off fuel whenever you can.

I ended up spending the race managing a slow tire leak with a NOCO Boost Air AX65 2000A Jump Starter & Air Compressor, and I was so grateful I packed it! I saw other crews that were forced onto tiny spare tires or stranded by major breakdowns. It’s hard to prepare for everything, but bringing a portable 12V tire inflator, a jumpstarter pack, and extra vehicle fluids is a really good idea. 

Remote roads are narrow, and an RV or oversized van can block other crews trying to get to their runner. Honestly, one of the more challenging parts of crewing was navigating around vehicles larger than what the race allowed. Please be aware of vehicle size limits set by race directors; they’re there for a reason.

Crew Responsibilities

Tailor the designated roles to your crew size and runner preferences, but assign core aid station responsibilities beforehand so you aren’t swarming an exhausted runner with three people asking the same questions:

• Runner Care & Fuel: One person focuses strictly on the runner — getting them seated, stripping wet layers, serving food, and handling body or foot care.
• Vest Restock & Gear: One person grabs the pack, dumps trash, refills fluids, and restocks fuel and mandatory gear.
• Tech & Power: One person immediately plugs in the runner’s GPS watch/phone/headphones and swaps headlamp batteries.

Your crew also needs a dedicated mobile workspace. A fast-deploying setup — we used the Snow Peak camp kitchen alongside a lightweight Helinox camping table — provides a clean, flat surface to mix drinks, prep food, and fix gear. A portable camp stove is non-negotiable for brewing 2 a.m. crew coffee, heating broth, or making instant mashed potatoes for a shivering runner.

Standing around waiting for your runner for hours can be both boring and physically draining. The weather can swing from blistering sun to bone-chilling cold, and sitting idle makes the conditions hit harder. You’ll want to pack for every element: extra insulating layers, blankets, and plenty of sun/bug protection. Plus, don’t forget cards or games to help keep passing the time.

Finally, keep the “double duty” rule in mind: merge crew and runner gear wherever possible. Sleeping bags, camp chairs, stoves, and power banks can easily serve both runners and crew.

Trail Tip: If needed, sleep in shifts and rotate who rests between stops. Driver safety comes first — never let a sleep-deprived crew member drive!

Plan, Then Pivot

You can color-code every map and precharge every battery, but a 200-miler will always defy your master spreadsheet. Ours defied it in the best possible direction.

John ran nearly 10 hours faster than we had planned for — the ultimate dream for a runner, and a “high-speed” game of catch-up for the crew. The gear was packed and ready, but our carefully mapped timeline vanished instantly.

Sections we’d penciled in as daylight miles became solo miles in the dark. I had planned to head back to our rental house to rest between aid stations, but instead went station to station for the rest of the race while other crew members shuttled pacers into place on short notice.

That’s the point of all of this preparation. Every system you build in advance is one fewer decision to make when the plan stops applying — whether that’s at 3 a.m. on hour 80 because of weather, or because your runner is having the race of their life (or not…) and the schedule shifts out from under you.

The Crew: Pack. Drive. Crew. Repack. Recharge. Repeat.

The Runner: Eat. Drink. Keep Moving Forward. Repeat.