Crew and Pacers

Settle roles early

Decide in advance which family and friends are crew and which are spectators, and name one crew chief: one person in charge, no democracy. Line up a backup for the crew and for the pacer, so a missed flight does not end the plan. Make the gear decisions before you arrive, because fewer decisions in the race leave more attention for heat, effort and pain: whether you carry a vest the whole way or hand bottles for a stretch, when you put your light on (err toward earlier), where you will cool off, and when you change shoes.

Read your race's rules for crew access, crew limits and pacers early, because they differ by race and change from year to year. The pacer section below shows how far apart they can be.

What the crew is for

The crew's main job is making sure you have what you need for the upcoming miles: water, food, and knowledge of what is coming. A runner can forget almost everything else and still reach the next aid station. Have the crew separate needs from wants, and tell them what kind of day you are trying to have. Write short instructions for each station and expect them to change, because the more precise the plan, the less likely it holds.

Give every stop a time limit and a short list of tasks, such as "you have three minutes." Moving forward slowly is almost always better than standing still. The crew also improvises when the plan fails: they should know where the grocery stores are, and a surprise bag of savory or sweet food, a slice of pizza or a hamburger, can turn a bad stretch around.

Assign one crew member to your feet. Deal with a hot spot or a pebble early and often, but late in the race, close to the finish with your feet already wrecked, a ten-minute fix may not be worth it. A shoe and sock combination that worked in training may be right for only part of a hot, wet race, so pack a second pair of each. The guide on foot care and blisters covers the fixes.

Plan so that you can get yourself to the next aid station without your crew. Your crew can miss a station, and success is ultimately your responsibility.

Choosing a pacer

In most ultras a pacer is there for company and safety, and in the back half for the low patches. Choose someone who knows you, who will give you a little tough love when you need it, and who will go with the flow.

Pacer rules differ by race and change from year to year. These are the rules the race pages showed in October 2026, and the main thing to see in them is whether a pacer may carry your gear. Read your own race's current rules, and have your pacer read them too:

• Western States 100 (page last updated August 31, 2025): one pacer at a time, from Foresthill (mile 62), or from Michigan Bluff (mile 56) for runners leaving it after 8 p.m. A pacer may not carry water, food, lights, shoes, clothing or other supplies for the runner, and pacers may change only at the designated places on the page¹.
• Hardrock 100 (rules published for 2027): pacers are allowed from Grouse Gulch on, one at a time, and may not carry for the runner. Runners over 60 may have a pacer for the whole run².
• Leadville Trail 100 (2024 athlete guide, the latest edition on the race page): pacers are allowed from Twin Lakes inbound (mile 62), may carry food and equipment for the runner, and only one may be on course at a time until mile 99. Only 4 crew members are allowed at Twin Lakes and Mayqueen³.

Aid stations and drop bags

The aim at an aid station is to get in, get out and be on your way without wasting time, and not to get so engaged that you stay too long. Make a short mental checklist 10 to 20 minutes before you arrive, and give your crew your aid-station plan in writing. Settle the plan before race day, including whether you go inside a warm aid station at all, because a plan is much harder to keep late in the race than at home.

A drop bag should be a waterproof bag that closes securely, labeled with your name, your bib number and the aid station. Put in food, gels and drink mix for at least the next section, a change of socks, a spare light battery, chafe lube, and plan B food and weather gear such as night clothing or a jacket. For a crew bin, use a duffel or bin that is very well organized, with labeled bags for each aid station. Write concise instructions for yourself and for your crew, because you will forget your plan mid-race. The post on the race plan and race report templates lists what goes in each drop bag.

Pack for the heat, the cold and the night: wicking fabric or wool and not cotton, a bright light with a compact backup, and a way to charge it. See the guide on night running. For fuel, see the guide on carbohydrate during exercise.

Rehearse it in training

Your nutrition and hydration strategy should be dialed in from training before it meets a crew. Practice drinking from a cup while you run, and on a long run ask whoever will crew you to time your stops, so you can see how long you are really stopped.

Running without a crew

With no crew, the drop bag does the crew's job, so write the instructions for yourself and label everything. Be more proactive in solving small problems early when no one else will, and remember that bad patches pass: if your stomach turns, slow down and cool off, then eat and drink, and give yourself time before you decide anything.