While it’s true that the activity of running really only requires a pair of shoes, ultras demand a couple extra items. The farther you run, the more gear you’ll need. You’ll need more gear because you have to carry food and fluids. You’ll need more gear just to cover the distance comfortably (i.e. trekking poles, gaiters, headlamps). And you’ll need more gear as you’ll be exposed to the elements for longer periods of time. Now you won’t need all this gear for every ultra as some of it will have pretty rare or infrequent use cases (i.e. nano spikes), but eventually you’ll hit a situation where you need that special something.
I’ve been pretty lucky with my gear choices over the years. Shoes have never been an issue as I can wear anything. I still use the exact same Nathan waist pack I bought over 12 years ago along with my first UltrAspire pack when I needed more storage space. GPS watches, trekking poles, gloves, bottles, hats, etc., I’m all set with and have been good pretty much from the start.
Headlamps and rain gear are the two areas I’ve struggled the most over the years. I think I’ve finally settled my lighting issues with the BD Icon 700. It’s got a good balance between brightness, runtime, wearability and power source (4xAAs). I can probably be sold on another option, but I’m more than content to roll with this as my go-to headlamp for the next couple years. I’ve got a cheap, lightweight Petzl for early race starts and backup use which is solidly in the good enough category.
I eventually stumbled upon my rain jacket from LightHeart Gear a number of years ago and love it. They are an ultralight hiking cottage manufacturer, however make good rain gear. This is most definitely not a breathable jacket, however what I’m looking for isn’t something that will keep me dry but will keep me warm.
The final missing piece in my gear list has been waterproof mitten shells. Cold, wet hands makes things so much harder than they should be as they tend to have knock on effects like causing you to under fuel. I’ve tried a couple different models/designs/workarounds over the years, however nothing has been good enough. It’s either been too bulky, not waterproof enough, or just poorly done. I’ve settled on a pair of mitten shells from Zpacks. I’m not going to link to them as I haven’t tested these out yet in race conditions so can’t recommend them. I paid many pretty pennies for them though so they better work as well as I expect them to or I’m going to be quite upset. I’m conflicted about testing them out though because in order to really put them through their paces, I need some absolutely craptacular weather. And no one wishes for that.