Training & Kit
Training and
kit
Consistency beats heroics. Seven consecutive days rewards the rider who trained every week, not the one who trained hardest.
Every participant receives a base training plan when they enter. This page covers what that plan is built around, and the kit you will actually need.
Preparation
The base training plan
Your entry includes a base training plan designed around the demands of seven consecutive days rather than a single long effort. It is built to be adapted, not followed to the letter.
- Back-to-back days. Two rides on consecutive days teaches your body more about Monster than one very long ride.
- Open water, not the pool. Cool natural water in a wetsuit is a different skill. Start months out.
- Running on tired legs. Short runs the day after a long ride prepare you for stage seven better than any single long run.
- Eating on the bike. Practise it. Under-eating on day three is the most common cause of a hard day four.
- Time in the saddle. Six days of riding is as much a contact-comfort problem as a fitness one.
[Draft copy] Written to the brief’s stated purpose for this page. Replace with the approved wording.
What to bring
Kit list
A full kit list comes with your participant guide. These are the items people most often ask about, and the ones worth buying early enough to test.
- Wetsuit. Compulsory for the Loch Ness swim.
- Neoprene gloves, socks or swim boots, and a neoprene cap. These make a real difference in cool water.
- A brightly coloured silicone cap to wear over the neoprene one, so the safety team can see you.
- A road bike in good order, serviced before you travel, with tyres you trust.
- Bike computer or GPS watch that will take the GPX files we send.
- Wet weather kit. This is Britain in June, from the Highlands to the Thames.
- Two pairs of running shoes, both already broken in, for day seven.
- Chamois cream, and more than you think.
[Draft copy] Written to the brief’s stated purpose for this page. Replace with the approved wording.
Mechanical
Your bike
Our event mechanic travels with the group and carries a range of tools and spare parts, but the week goes better if your bike arrives ready.
- Have your bike fully serviced in the month before you travel.
- Bring spare tubes, tyres and any proprietary parts specific to your bike.
- Secure bike storage is provided at every overnight stop.
- Bike transport to the start is available as an optional extra. [Confirm]
[Draft copy] Written to the brief’s stated purpose for this page. Replace with the approved wording.
Still deciding?
Download the Monster Route Guide and see the full week, stage by stage, before you commit. We will also send you the kit list and the questions most people ask before they enter.