Why the Lumen Ally is a great racing asset

By Henry Howard

I’ve learned a lot during all of my marathon and ultra races. Most lessons relate to nutrition, training, pacing and other factors that have led to improvements.

During my most recent ultra, the Hennepin Hundred, one of my pacers/crew members could not stop raving about his Lumen Ally Plexus from UltrAspire. Like me, Chad Prichard is an ambassador with UltrAspire. (Chad also has an incredible story about overcoming addiction and homelessness. Read about his redemption here.)

After the race, I ordered the Ally and proceeded to use it with the waist light I already owned. (I had resisted using a waist light but now much prefer it over the traditional headlight. Here’s why.)

In addition to Chad’s recommendation, I opted for the Ally combination as a way to carry hydration during my next race. In early January, I will be doing a trail marathon in Ohio. Since the weather could be really cold, I did not want to have potentially cold water bottles on my chest with the vests I usually wear.

The Ally provides a solution with a compartment on the back for a water bottle that is easily accessible on the run. During training runs, I’ve been able to grab the bottle, take a swig of water and replace it all without breaking stride. I had been somewhat concerned about the weight of a full water bottle on my lower back, but I have not felt any discomfort or had it alter my stride at all during numerous training runs.

The January race consists of two loops, a half marathon each. Since it begins in late afternoon, I am expecting one loop to be during daylight and the other in darkness. In addition to my hydration needs for the race, I will need a good way to light an unfamiliar trail.

It was easy to connect the Ally with my waist light. So now I am able to have access to my hydration needs during training runs and races, no matter whether I am running at zero dark thirty or during daylight.

Check out the video from UltrAspire for more details about how the Ally works.

As I compete in the trail marathon, I’m sure I will learn a lot about how the Ally met my needs, how my training corresponded to race day performance and more. And all of that knowledge will be useful as the journey continues. What else is in store for my running and racing in 2023?

Stay tuned.