I Ran My Longest Race Ever in Pouring Rain and 30 MPH Winds. Here's the Gear That Held Up.

I WOULD GET lots of “Huh?” looks when explaining to people that I was training for an 18-mile race this year. This seemingly random distance for a race is actually a long-cherished tradition in my area, and within my family.

The Long Beach Island 18 Mile Run began back in 1973 when a local resident organized a fun run on the Boulevard (the main road) from the south end (Holgate) to the north end (Barnegat Light). Since that time it’s become a marker to the end of the summer season for locals and summer folks alike. After the 18 Mile Run, the traffic lights are all shut off, (some) businesses close for the season, and we know the cold is coming. And my family was right there from the start, running in the very first year.

My dad’s family moved to the narrow strip of sand that is LBI full-time in the ’60s, when my dad was only 7. He’s one of six kids, and his eldest sibling Stephen ran in that very first year. And he ran in a lot of subsequent ones. It quickly became a big moment in my family, as everyone would watch Steve go by in Ship Bottom with “Brower Power” signs and then gather in Barnegat Light for the finish to celebrate him (and eventually other Browers who came to run in it over the years: my uncle Pat, aunt Mary, cousin Luke, and cousin Ben) in the shadow of Old Barney. Steve would go on to purchase a home in Barnegat Light, and race day became one big Brower party year in and year out.

We haven’t had a Brower run it every year, and it had been a bit since one of us had. Having turned 40 last October, my plan had been to finally do it. But last year a storm of epic proportions caused the race to be canceled, which is fairly rare since it’s rain or shine. But when there is two to four feet of tidal flooding on the race course, it’s pretty impossible to hold it.

This year, while we didn’t have tidal flooding, we did have 30 mph east/northeast winds (so, fairly straight into you) with pouring rain. While those weren’t ideal conditions, I was finally able to say I ran the 18 Mile Race and was the first Brower to do so in a few years. It was the longest race I’ve ever done and I was pretty dedicated to my training plan for the past 16 weeks. Which, by the way, ended up being a marathon training plan because, well, 18 miles is a random distance for a race (as we’ve already established).

Here’s a run-through of the gear I used to get me to race day, along with my race day kit (soaking wet and all).

Shoes

With a training plan that had six runs a week, I ended up having to split training sessions between running in Central Park after work and running at home in South Jersey. It was really about being flexible—if I could get out of work a little early, then I’d jet home and do my run before it got dark. If I wasn’t gonna make that, then it’d be to the Park before leaving. This meant either needing multiple sets of shoes or lugging gear back and forth each day—I opted for the former because we test so many shoes anyway.

I relied pretty heavily on the Adidas EVO SL, a shoe that I’ve logged over 150 miles in at this point. Everything about that shoe has just been a great fit for me, and it’s even a shoe I would do some speed work in at times when I wanted to stay out of a carbon-plated option for any given week. Once this pair kicks the bucket, I’m definitely getting another to always have in my rotation.

For long runs, I wanted lots of cushion. It wasn’t the most well-received shoe of the year, but I found the Saucony Paramount Max to be ideal—it’s got the same foam as the Endorphin Elite 3 and it had all the comfortable padding I wanted for logging those long miles. The Skechers Aero Burst also swapped in for a few long runs, and I really looked forward to mixing that in.

I tried to mix things up with my long runs, and for a lot of them I actually did them on the Batona Trail or the Barnegat Branch Trail. For those I worked through a few different pairs of trail shoes, but really leaned on the Nike ACG Zegama and the Mount to Coast M1. The M1 in particular is built for long-distance trails, and that shoe felt like I was just bouncing along at any clip I wanted to push it. And that’s even on the Branch Trail, which cuts through towns and is mostly on gravel, dirt, and even some pavement. So the less aggressive lugs of the M1 made it versatile enough for any surface.

Apparel

If you spent any time in the New York/New Jersey area this summer, then you know it was a hot one. Which meant I was rotating through lots of different shirts, tanks, and running shorts. The North Face Summit Series Pacesetter 5” Shorts were ones I leaned on for long runs, and they ended up being the pick for race day. The liner is precise yet flowy and the waistband is plain comfy, never irritating my skin or digging into me. They held up admirably soaking wet during the race, not giving me any hint of chafing.

I had planned on wearing the Janji Singlet on race day, as for hot days when I didn’t want to go shirtless this tank is so lightweight and moisture-wicking that it was like not wearing one at all. But standing around at the start line for an hour in the wind and rain (there’s no parking down there so everyone has to shuttle in) made me a little chilly. So I switched my bib to The North Face Summit Series High Trail Shirt just to give me a little more coverage.

The Shinzo Tamura glasses are a staple in any active pursuits I’m doing outside (hiking, golfing, cycling, running) as they are extremely lightweight and this lens color is gentle enough to even wear on cloudier days—I’ve got pretty sensitive eyes and need shades almost always. And the NoBull Performance Hat is on my head for nearly every run. It’s comfortable, sleek, has a good curved bill for running, and wicks sweat like it was born to. It kept a lot of rain out of my eyes on race day, too.

Training Gear

One of the big things with my training was not overdoing it and getting on a bike for some of the easy day miles. When I got past 10 miles, each of those runs was the longest I’d ever done. So stacking that much mileage can have consequences (especially for someone who stopped running cross country in high school because of knee issues). Going five miles on my bike a few times a week helped with that, and to add to the training load on those I’d wear the new GoRuck Achilles Weighted Vest. Adding that extra 20 pounds made the rides more difficult and more impactful. The vest is sleek, extremely comfortable, and easy to adjust the fit.

For my wearables, I’ve really been relying on the Coros Pace 4 as a go-to running watch. It’s a smaller case size at 43mm (compared to Garmins) and the Coros interface is really smart without a ton of unnecessary bells and whistles. I like the Recovery part that lets you know how long the training load impact will take for you to be back at 100 percent, but felt like a training readiness component was missing.

Which is where the Garmin Cirqa came in. I’ve used Garmins in the past and really dig that app. Plus, there’s no need for a subscription. It definitely helped with the Body Battery and Training Readiness daily scores to let me know if I should take it a little easier on a day or if I really had the capacity to push it. Now a lot of that is just listening to your body, but there were definitely some times where I was on the fence and that number just helped solidify what I was already feeling.

For those longer trail runs I did, I ended up wearing the Nathan QuickStart 3.0 3L Hydration Pack. That was especially the case for hot summer runs on the Batona Trail, a 53-mile south-to-north path that cuts through the thick of the Pine Barrens. Going 10-11 miles deep in the thick of summer, I wanted to make sure I had more than enough water with me and that pack was just stellar. The hydration pack/vest vs. a handheld water bottle is an age-old question for runners, and on race day I went with a yet-to-be-released vest (coming in early 2027) that housed two 8-ounce soft flasks and a 14-ounce one (all filled with Skratch Labs Hydration Sport Mix). I was also able to carry a ziplock bag of the Skratch Labs Energy Chews, which are a good consistency (kinda like gumdrops) and are super easy on the stomach.

Recovery Tools

A downside of all the shoe testing we do is that it can be a recipe for foot pain (like plantar fasciitis). But the Chirp Sole Vibe saved the day for me with heat and vibration specifically designed for runner arch pain. The heated side has a nodule in the middle that really lets you work out those kinks.

Speaking of kinks, IT band issues are another thing that cropped up for me during the mileage ramp-up (which is pretty common for runners adding lots more mileage than they’re used to). This can typically reveal itself through knee pain. And the Hyperice X 2 helped alleviate that a lot, with its cold/heat contrast therapy with compression tossed in. But that’s just to treat symptoms, not the cause (which is why I continued to strength train two days a week, specifically focused on building glute strength to combat the IT band issues).

And speaking of compression, the Hyperice Normatec 3 Boots were a complete godsend for my training. Even though they’re the hosed kind, these things seriously help aid the recovery process after hard sessions to get blood flowing and things to start repairing.

All of this gear was crucial for me in going after this lofty family tradition. While I didn’t hit my sub-two-hour goal (the conditions just didn’t allow for that), I did place second in my age division and added one more Brower name to the 18 Mile Run list of finishers.