Heading into Buckeye 200 in 2023 I had a lot of ultra experience, however zero experience in sleeping during runs. I did some research and decided to go with short “dirt naps” along the route instead of prolonged sleep breaks. I’m not the fastest runner out there and so intentionally try to spend as little time stationary as possible.
My first dirt nap occurred about an hour after it got dark on the second night of Buckeye. It would have happened even sooner, but it took me a while to find a good spot. There was an abandoned store next to the road that looked inviting. I took off my pack to use as a pillow then set an alarm for an hour. I laid down and was out like a light. Only to wake up 10 minutes later. I rolled over and woke up again 10 minutes later. This time I realized that my bottles had spilled and my pack was completely soaked. Ugh. There was no way I was going to be able to get back to sleep so I got up and hit the road. My first time sleeping during a run didn’t go according to plan, but I learned what not to do.
The next time I stopped to sleep, I decided to sit up instead of laying down to make sure my bottles didn’t leak all over my dry pack/clothes. I also didn’t bother to set an alarm figuring I would wake up when I was rested enough. And sure enough, I easily got to sleep sitting up and then woke up 20 minutes later. I’ve used these two lessons (sit up, no alarm) from that first partially failed dirt nap to much success in each of my next three 200 milers. I’ve got some longer runs scheduled though and wouldn’t be surprised to find out I have more lessons to learn in the Art Of A Dirt Nap.
