There is an old saying that

If you want to go fast - go solo.

If you want to go far - go together.

The saying rings true when it comes to trail and ultra running.

Most runners will agree that one of the highlights of any race is coming into an aid station cold and wet in the middle of the night and seeing your crew ready and waiting all ready to look after you. Often it is those people that give you the boost that keeps you going to the finish line.

Before we get into the top tips and advice provided for us by moretrail community on our online forum (If you want to read the full post click here) we thought we'd point out that crew is a luxury and it is not 100% essential.

Its a big ask to get friends/family to come and spend hours waiting to see you for 5 minutes at a check point and there is no reason why you cant successfully complete your next ultra successfully using drop bags (we wrote a blog on that!) and the help of the angels that volunteer at aid stations. If you can though we do recommend trying to get crew - even if just for the mental boost it gives you seeing a familiar face after a particularly hard stretch of the course.

So here are our top tips for managing crew at your next race:

Ideal Number: 2

Just getting anyone to come and crew you for an ultra race is amazing and lands you in the lucky bunch. if you do find yourself in the position though where a lot of people are keen to come and be involved we highly recommend you seperate them into crew and supporters.

Lots of happy smiling faces is great - but when your 12 hours deep and have 6 people asking you what they can do to help when you arrive at a checkpoint, it gets old pretty fast.

We recommend nominating two dedicated crew per aid station (nothing wrong with these two switching out for others as they get tired.) Have the first person look after your gear when you arrive. This will include restocking your vest with hydration and nutrition, removing rubbish, checking mandatory gear is still there etc.

The second person should look after you. This will include getting you something to eat/drink, changing shoes/equipment, anything you need to keep going.

Pre-Race briefing:

In the same way event organisers will run a pre race briefing for participants there is a lot of value in doing the same for your crew. It can be nice doing this in person the night before a race and is a great way to get everyone in the same page and locked in for the race.

Things you want to discuss with your crew may include things like:

• What everyones roles will be on the day

• How to get to each of the check points (and what check points they need to be at for that matter)

• Nutrition and hydration for each aid stations (This may need to be adapted as things change in the race but knowing how many soft flasks to have filled up ready to go can drastically help save time at aid stations)

• You can also discuss things that will help motivate you if things get tough

• Be sure to include when the crew are going to be able to take breaks/rest themselves

Write it down!

Dont forget that as the hours get long into a race and you are feeling tired so will your crew. Having everything written down in a list or spreadsheet for them just takes the guess work out of duties at the aid station and more than anything saves time to get you back out and racing.

Keep it fun

This goes both ways but some of the best experiences I have had both crewing and being crewed was when we kept an element of fun throughout the day. This could involve matching outfits or custom printed t shirts. We played a game crewing a backyard ultra where one person walked into town every lap to add something to the tent to make it more homely!

Remember as a runner you are gonna feed off your crews energy. Making sure its fun for the crew also takes some of the stress and guilt off the runner as naturally you may be worried you crew are going to resent you having to sit in a trailhead carpark for 6 hours while you are trudging through the mud.

So surround yourself with the right people and you will no excuse to be out there crushing your next race! And if we've forgotten anything - leave us a comment below or better yet... join in the discussion on our online trail running forum

Check out more from Moretrail

Race Advice - making the most out of your drop bags

Having crew at your race is amazing and no doubt a huge help with logisitics. It's not always feasible though so read on for our top tips on utilising drop bags to get you through to the finish line.

Race Advice - packing your running vest

As the races get longer the amount of gear you need to carry seems to get exponentially larger. Heres our top 3 tips for packing your mandatory gear into you vest for race day.

Race Advice - Is it time to ditch your water bladder?

Ditch your bladder and switch purely to soft flasks to nail your next race hydration plan!