5. Training

I like to keep fit and I take part in a number of obstacle course racing (OCR) events throughout the year.

To help me do this my usual weekly fitness routine is:

• Monday - a 10K run
• Thursday - a tough circuits class
• Saturday - a training session with a focus on whatever I'm aiming for at the time
• for Mongol 100, this is a mix of weighted step ups, weighted lunges, deadlifts and spinning - all designed to improve leg strength 
• core and upper body strength to balance the workout

I don't ice skate so I took some initial lessons at a local ice rink to get the basics and the practice is up to me.

I took to the ice rink with my new nordic touring boots and skates to try them out last weekend only to be told that I couldn't use the nordic skates in a public session as they were to long and pose a safety risk to other users!

Fortunately, a member of the Forth Valley Speed Skating club was around and invited me to train at their sessions on a Sunday, which I will do.

The boots felt fine with the skates but I still have a way to go to be completely competent on the ice!

3. Suggested Kit

Suggested Kit

	Rat Race Advice https://ratracebucketlist.com/mongol100/	Daniel Jones http://daniel-jones.com/mongol-100-kit-list/	Darren Grigas https://darrengrigas.com/mongol-100-recce-100-miles-ice-temperatures-low-50c/	Lee-Stuart Evans https://theairlandandsea.com/2018/02/rat-race-mongol-100-lake-khovsgol-kit.html
Head gear	Balaclava x2 Hat plus spare Neck gaiter/snood, fleece tube plus spare Goggles / Sunglasses Fox fur Mongolian hat	Skull cap x2 (Armadillo Merino) Warm Hat x2 Balaclava x2 (Rab) Fleece buffs x2 Buffs x4	Merino skull cap (Icebreaker) Thick wool peaked cap Thermal balaclava (Rab) Buffs x 3 – for rotation as they freeze with your breath Goggles (Sun Dog)	Thinsulate beanie Buffs x4 Fleece snood hood balaclava sunglasses
Body wear	Heavy duty down jacket Base layer x2 plus spare Mid layer plus spare Good insulating outer jacket Wicking underwear plus spare	Thermal base layer x3 (X-Bionic) Micro fleece x3 (Rab) Running Jacket x1 (Rab Vapour-Rise Alpine) Down Jacket x1 (Mountain Equipment Skyline) Super warm down jacket for camp	2x Merino baselayers (Icebreaker & Peter Storm) Warm lightweight fleece (North Face) Wind/Waterproof lightweight jacket (Mountain Equipment) Warmer down jacket for camp (Hi-Gear)	Helly Hanson LIFA baselayer Helly Hanson Daybreaker midlayer x2 Rat Race Fort Augustus Thermal Jacket North Face Jacket for camp Typhoon Underfleece for camp Traditional Deel from Mongolia
Hands	Good gloves varying thickness Liner glove Outer glove, thin & thick mitten	Liner Gloves x2 (Mountain Warehouse) Goretex mitts (Moutain Equipment) Goretex gloves (Black Diamond)	Liner gloves (Rab Primaloft) Thick Goretex Thinsulate Gloves ((Trekmates) Goretex over-mitts (Extremities)	Silk liner gloves Cotop standard running glove Thinsulate ski gloves
Legs	Base layer x2 plus spare Mid layer plus spare Wind stopper style soft shell trousers Tights	Thermal base layer x3 (X-Bionic) Overtrousers x1 (Inovo8 Race pants) Hiking Trousers (used in camp) Warm camp trousers or salopettes	Thermal base-layer leggings (Sub Sports) Running tights (New Balance) Hiking Trousers – (Craghoppers) Salopettes – for camp Thermal long johns – for camp	X-Bionic Leggings Helly Hanson baselayer Northern Diver Fleece Arctic Baselayer Fourth Element diver gear baselayer Typhoon Underfleece
Feet	Nordic touring boot NNN Spikes Minimum 1 liner sock and thicker sock plus spares Yak wool sock available	Running socks x 4 (Hilly twin skin) Warm trekking socks x 4 Warm camp socks Running trainers or boots (New Balance) Camp boots (Salomon) Crampons – micro spikes	Saucony Everun Kathoola nanospikes – strap on carbon spikes 2x warm socks (plus plenty of spares)	Altra Lone Peak RSM Mid shoe - 2 sizes up Altra Lone Peak Neo Mid shoe - 2 sizes up Topo Atheltic Ultraventure shoe Kahtoola nanospikes Kahtoola microspikes Hilly Trail Ultra Marathon Fresh socks Army Sealskinz Military grade waterproof breathable socks Injinji toe socks
Sleep wear	Base layer top Leggings Gloves Hat Socks Sleeping bag liner Pee bottle
Bag	Daypack for spare clothing, food drinks & mandatory kit	100-140L holdall Ultimate Direction 25L backpack		Ultimate Direction 25L backpack
Equipment & Accessories	Lip balm 1L dry bags squeezy water bottles vacuum water bottles trekking poles sleeping bag / liner Thermarest mat Wide mouth pee bottle Head torch Pebble charger pack Toilet paper Toiletries Knife, fork, spoon Meals Baby wipes Anti bac handwash Suncream Blister kit Holdall Moisturiser Battery charger

2. My Travel Arrangements

Mongol 100 Travel Arrangements

I used several flight search engines (Kayak.co.uk, skyscanner.net, google.flights, momondo.co.uk)

to work out the best route for me, leaving from either Glasgow or Edinburgh Airport, arriving in Ulaan Baatar, the capital of Mongolia.

I wanted to choose travel that wasn’t too expensive, too long a flight or too long a wait in an airport between flights.

The main routes to Ulaan Baatar seem to be via Moscow or Peking and there are several choices depending if you want to travel via Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, London or Copenhagen. 

The quickest routes took about 15 hours but were expensive and some routes took up to 24 hours due to long waits for flight connections in airports.

Having considered all the various options, I eventually chose:

Outgoing

Edinburgh to London Heathrow, Terminal 5

London Heathrow, Terminal 4 to Moscow

Moscow to Ulaan Baatar

Return

Ulaan Baatar to Moscow

Moscow to London Heathrow, Terminal 4

London Heathrow, Terminal 5 to Edinburgh

This combination represented a maximum of 7 hours on a flight (Moscow to Ulaan Baatar) and kept the total travel time to around 17 hours.

Long haul flights were booked through the Aeroflot airline website and UK flights booked through British Airways.  I booked Edinburgh to Heathrow separately and used Avios points to part pay this flight and the return flight to Edinburgh from Heathrow.

The total journey time also meant I had to leave Scotland a day early otherwise I would miss the Mongolia internal flight to Lake Khovsgol.

In addition, I would also have to stay an extra day in Ulaan Baatar following the challenge to secure the best travel flights and price for my return home.

The internal flights from Ulaan Baatar to Moron were arranged by Rat Race.

I used TripAdvisor and Trivago websites to find suitable accommodation for my time in Ulaan Baatar.

The Khuvsgul Lake Hotel stood out as it had very high approval ratings (over 9 out of 10, mod cons as it’s a fairly new hotel), in central Ulaan Baatar and was very reasonably priced (£32).  And off course, I would be ice skating across Khuvsgul Lake; so it seemed very appropriate. 

Not to be confused with Khuvsgul Lake Hostel, which looked OK but I don’t want to stay in a dormitory!