You may recall that when I ran Oklahoma back in May I committed a MAJOR rookie mistake by not checking the weather closely leading up to the race and packing only the bare necessities for race day.  I mean, I squeaked by relying on my wits and foraging things from the streets of Oklahoma City, but I'd just as soon not repeat that experience (except for the PR part, please, let's repeat THAT).

In order to avoid such mistakes when I travel to Richmond on November 12, I did a practice round of traveling and running by spending the night at my sister and brother-in-law's place to run a 10-miler in their neighborhood.  It was a total failure.

 Let's start with the list of  things I forgot:

• My contact lenses (not the end of the world, but really inconvenient)
• The top to my hand-held water bottle (really?)
• Body Glide (ouch!)
• There was a fourth thing, but I am forgetting it right now (do you see the theme here?)

I also overslept, didn't really eat breakfast early enough, etc. etc. and the weather was gawdawful. I ran in some humidity this summer, but that Sunday really took the prize for hot and wet.

My original Richmond plan was to try and car-pool with some folks from my training group, but after that race I realized I might need to have my own car so I can make an emergency 8:57pm visit to a Sports Authority when I realize I have forgotten my shoes!

This morning I did a Google search for "Marathon Packing Checklist" (what ever did we do before Google??) because I need professional help!

 I especially enjoy the return at the bottom for the London Marathon packing list, "english version."  Do the English pack different things than Americans or do you suppose they just mean the English language version of the list?

As you can see there is a lot of professional assistance out there for me to choose from, I can't wait to start vetting the lists and select one or perhaps compile the best parts of several lists and type up my own complete with check-boxes and fancy fonts. I do love a good list.

Generally, I think I'm going to take a page out of Sweaty Emily's packing guide and bring the full complement of running gear at my disposal, just in case.*

What do you not leave home without when you travel (to a race or otherwise)?

*seriously though, it's Richmond. It could snow or there could be a hurricane or it might be 90 degrees. This is Virginia in the fall. It's a crap shoot.