Long distance marching

[Oxkern]

Hello

In March I'll be taking part in a half-marathon with a group of re-enactors to raise money for charity. We'll be marching (not running!) the course in full kit, including packs and muskets. We'll be accompanied by a fife and drums too.

Whilst I'm an experienced hiker and am not daunted by the distance, I'm well aware that marching is different to hiking, especially since I won't be wearing my usual outdoor stuff and will have a musket to carry around too as well as remembering to keep step. I've been wearing my brogans for long walks, and we've a practice event this weekend too. I also now understand why knapsacks were discarded: I've spent ages adjusting the straps and re-packing it to get it to sit comfortably!

I was wondering if anyone has any advice about how to survive long-distance marches in period kit (on macadamerised/tarmac, not open fields) or what I should/should not do in order to last the course.

Thanks!

Oxkern

(PS if I may plug it here - http://www.amarchforcharity.net )

[captainrlm]

I have no advice but I offer you the best of luck. That sounds really cool, but extremely tough and I admire you for doing that. That will be so much closer to what soldiers experienced then than any of us civilians can ever know.

Please let us know how it goes. That sounds like the type of experience that would make for a good article in the future.

[Glorybound]

Nice website, Oxkern. Thanks for posting the link. I liked the photos posted at the "about our team" link, of your reenactment group. You guys are very authentic.

I clicked on "The British Soldier" link for a look. Very compelling photos of your boys in Iraq/Afghanistan. The photo of the soldier on fire, escaping from a burning tank is stunning, amazing. I'd like to know if that soldier survived his burns. The last photo of the hearses with flag-draped coffins in them, in motorcade remind us that the British are and have been our staunch allies in Iraq/Afghanistan, and are suffering losses as well.

Good cause, Oxkern. Best of luck with the hike and with your efforts to raise money for your veterans.



Lee

[Glorybound]

[ole]

I was wondering if anyone has any advice about how to survive long-distance marches in period kit (on macadamerised/tarmac, not open fields) or what I should/should not do in order to last the course.

First, get in shape. Second, and probably more important, is to tinker with your brogans. (It is one thing to diddle around camp and burn powder -- any shoe will do. Marching for a distance is quite another matter.) Your feet will get you from point A to point B; you don't want to do those last few kilometers in pain.

Get a big package of cotton balls. Try walking with them stuffed between the toes. Get insoles and heel inserts. Pack the loose areas with cotton. Get some really fat, non-period socks. Work on the fit and the packing. (I'm guessing you won't be wearing hiking boots.)

If your feet ain't happy, ain't nobody gonna be happy.

Admirable doings, marching for charity, but you don't want to suffer damage to your feet while doing it.

[hlightcap]

Get some really fat, non-period socks.

I have found through years of backpacking that Smartwool and Thorlos hiking socks are the best. They wick moisture away which reduces friction and blisters. They also have padding. If I feel a blister coming on, I place a piece of duct tape over the area for added protection.

[ole]

Good one, cap. There is nothing duct tape cannot fix.

Ole

[johan_steele]

I favor the blanket roll over the knapsack, the nice thing about tarmac finished roads is that it's easy to sleep while marching. Just make certain you aren't in the front rank... and your musket is slung.

If your brogans fit properly a set of good wool socks will go a long way. Given the choice i would rather march in the ditch than on the road, especially as I have both a heel plate and hobnails.

Strip your gear down to the absolute minimum, throw the jokers out of that deck of cards and really look hard at what you need because after the first 5 miles you will really feel every bit of weight.

Half way through my first route march I tossed out my pencil, some paper, deck of cards (I've never carried them since) and looked real hard at my tobacco & pipe. As we left the half way point the clearing was littered w/ books, musket cleaning kits, and all manner of unsundry items... and more than a few of the 8 lbs lead weights carried in our cartridge boxes to simulate the actual ammo weight. A very learning experiance.

Good Luck

[dvrmte]

I ran a marathon in 2003 and several half marathons.

I would suggest putting on your gear and walking a few miles a day. You'll be able to see where you need to make changes in your gear. The neighbors might call the police, though.

If you feel the least bit of rubbing or discomfort after a few miles you can multiply that into pain by 13.1 miles.

Train hard and you'll be the one helping the other guys the last few miles.

That way you can talk junk after carrying their rifles for them.

Sincerely,
dvrmte

[Oxkern]

Many thanks for the messages of support and the advice, especially about footcare.

I'll happily let you all know about how it goes, but a lot more training between now and the day itself.

Oxkern

[PINCKNEYUSMCRET]

Train in what you will be marching in, train, train, and train more. We used to do 50 mile marches in full combat gear when I was in the Marines. Like Johan said. You soon figure out what you should be carrying. good luck

Pinckney

[ole]

This is getting interesting. It is serious in that Oxkern asked a serious question. And he's getting serious feedback. I have a pair of shoes, slippers actually, that I wear all the time. But I've learned to not take a walk in them. Quarter mile down, quarter mile back and my feet will hurt for the next two days.

Which comes to the advice given to Oxkern. Walk that half-marathon several times privately before you do it publicly. Couple three times through it, and you'll find things to fix.

Gotta be hard to decide to skip the flask, though.

Ole

[johan_steele]

Ahhh the flask, just remember you can toss it aside when empty half way through the march. But I guarantee you won't feel any better marching w/ a .08 blood alcohol level.

I used to climb the bluff behind my house twice a month to prep me for the season... not likely to do that for a while again. i do miss the vuiew and the feeling of accomplishment for having scaled something as tall as the Empire State Building.

[bama46]

I have no idea if it would work for brogans or not since I have never worn them, but years ago when I was doing a lot of hiking, every time I got a new pair of boots, (leather in those days), I put them in the bathtub, filled them with hot water and let them soak, then put them on with the wool socks I would wear while hiking, and waked them dry.. got a great fit, and never had problems with blisters

[Oxkern]

I'm finding the replies very helpful: it's much appreciated.

The practice march on Saturday went well. We must have covered around 7 miles and made good time. Four laps of a county showground isn't perhaps the most scenic hike I've ever done, but it's not an exercise in sight-seeing, and I usually don't go for walks in formation. Sadly we weren't allowed to carry the guns with us, so our pace was probably faster than we'll do on the day but good experience nonetheless.

I mostly kept in step and in place, but need to work on not looking at my feet so much. The plated brogans held up, and my feet feel ok; I haven't seen any blisters, though my left leg was a bit stiff in the evening. Some have already decided to wear modern boots: I'm not sure at moment but am going to check the soles of mine to see how much damage the pounding on the hard ground did to them.

The straps on my canteen and haversack will have to be readjusted to get them out of the way, and I need to switch from the straight Enfield bayonet scabbard to the slanted Springfield one as it is less likely to be obstructive as it slides along the belt.

I need to do more training over the next few weeks, but am feeling more confident about it. I think I'll be saving the flask for after the event!

Also: camping in January is a silly idea, even in modern tents. Brrr...

[ole]

One of the "benefits" of reenacting, Oxkern. Suffer. Kinda develops an idea of what they did, doesn't it?

The Brits seem to have done a thing or two quite similar to the privations experienced in the USCW. Sounds quite similar to self-flagellation. I'll tilt back my recliner and just wonder what makes grown-up men subject themselves to primitive conditions.

Do what moves you. I'll be content to read about it. And issue suggestions while snug and smug and really close to my refrigerator.

And now I have to go out and figure out why Dear One's car didn't start this morning. After my nap. Maybe tomorrow.

Ole

[Severon]

I agree with you ole. I wonder why men subject themselves to it as well. Ah, a good use for a reliner, besides movie night.

[K Hale]

I get cold when it drops below 70. Props to you campaigning folk.

[Nathanb1]

I'm finding the replies very helpful: it's much appreciated.

Also: camping in January is a silly idea, even in modern tents. Brrr...

Heck, in my book, camping PERIOD is a silly idea. (No, they haven't convinced me to do reenactment yet....who wants to see a sweaty, grouchy old fat lady on their vacation? Should have done it when I was young)

[johan_steele]

Winter camping isn't so bad. All you need is a fire, tin bucket and a dozen fist sized rocks. Place fist sized rocks at edge of fire until red hot then put them in the tin bucket. Up end them into a small pit in the center of your tent, leave the bucket over them. Each rock will give you a half to full hour of heat. More than enough to warm a wedge tent decently through the night.

If you have a dog... shelter half down, gum blanket on top o that, wear every stitch o clothing you got, sleeping cap and blanket on top and you'll do decent enough. Won't guarantee a good night sleep but it sure beats no rest.

[bama46]

Winter camping isn't so bad. All you need is a fire, tin bucket and a dozen fist sized rocks. Place fist sized rocks at edge of fire until red hot then put them in the tin bucket. Up end them into a small pit in the center of your tent, leave the bucket over them. Each rock will give you a half to full hour of heat. More than enough to warm a wedge tent decently through the night.

If you have a dog... shelter half down, gum blanket on top o that, wear every stitch o clothing you got, sleeping cap and blanket on top and you'll do decent enough. Won't guarantee a good night sleep but it sure beats no rest.

When I was my sons' scoutmaster, we did a LOT of winter camping down to -10 and lower. Johan is partly correct, but there is one more VERY improtant thing to do. Before you go to bed, strip down bare mother naked and put on absolutley dry under clothes as well as dry sleeping clothes. The small amounts of moisture that collects in the armpits of undershirts and the crotch of undershorts is enought to keep you awake and keep you miserable on a bitter cold night.... dry and you will sleep, moist, and you will be awake, cold and miserable..

[K Hale]

The hot rocks and dry clothes sound all well and good, but it seems to me that the really bad thing about winter camping is that you would eventually have to come out of the warm, dry tent...

[Severon]

I know that feeling, cold tootsies!

[dvrmte]

My dad served in Alaska back in the 1940's. He was involved in an insect study by the Air Force. They slept on the ground in the winter and summer often without tents.

They would sleep under a tarp in the winter to keep the snow from piling up on them. They used the mummy type sleeping bags and they took off all their clothes and stuffed them into the foot of the bag before crawling in naked.

If they were in grizzly country, dad would cut poles and build a makeshift cage around himself.

Sincerely,
dvrmte

[frankconrad]

I doubt if very many long marches were done cadence. more than one offecer caught H for marching his men without a break. A 10 min break every hour, and you will cover more ground at the end of the day and get there in shape to do something.