How much time should you budget at aid stations?

Small stops accumulate

Six five-minute stops add thirty minutes to elapsed time. If a finish goal stays fixed, those thirty minutes must come out of moving time. That is why adding stops in Goal mode makes the required moving pace faster.

The important number is not a universal average stop. It is the time required for the specific actions you will perform at that specific station, including the transition into and out of the aid area.

List the tasks before choosing a number

Write a short job list beside each checkpoint. A plan such as "refill two soft flasks, collect four gels, empty trash, leave" is easier to estimate and rehearse than "five-minute stop."

If the plan includes several groups at one station, treat it as a major stop. Do not stack a quick-refill estimate on top of a drop-bag and clothing-change job.

Use ranges as test targets, not promises

The ranges below are practical starting hypotheses for rehearsal. They are not official standards and will not fit every race, station layout, runner, or accessibility need.

Choose the conservative end when a stop is hard to rehearse. The calculator makes it easy to compare a clean plan with a version that gives major stops more room.

Rehearse the whole stop clock

Time the process from the moment you enter the aid area until you are moving on course again. A stopwatch started only after bottles are already open misses the transition time that counts on race day.

1. Lay out the planned supplies. Use the same bottles, vest pockets, packets, and drop-bag organization.
2. Approach while mildly fatigued. Rehearse after a long run segment rather than at a kitchen counter.
3. Follow the written job order. Measure the process you plan to repeat.
4. Add ordinary uncertainty. The race may include a short queue, a missing item, or slower hands at night.
5. Update the calculator. Replace the guess with the tested budget and inspect every later departure.

Reduce indecision before cutting necessary tasks

The easiest minutes to remove are often the minutes spent deciding what to do. Organize a drop bag in task order, label crew instructions, and decide which items go into which pockets before arriving.

• Use a short station script. Refill, collect, change, confirm, leave.
• Separate optional actions. Know what can be skipped when the card shows less cutoff margin than planned.
• Give crew a departure cue. One person can read the task list and call the planned leave time.
• Pack by destination. A clearly labeled station bag is faster to use than one large mixed supply bag.

Do not shorten a stop by ignoring a safety, medical, mandatory-gear, or official check requirement. The timing card is subordinate to race rules and current conditions.

Run a stop-budget audit

Before printing, ask four questions for every station: What am I doing? Have I rehearsed it? Does the budget include walking and waiting? What later checkpoint moves if this stop runs long?

Then compare total stopped time with the goal. The 50K and 50-mile examples show how the same finish target changes when stop minutes change. For a longer overnight case, use the 100-mile worked plan.

When the budgets are ready, enter them in the calculator and print both arrival and departure times. Departure is the number that carries the full stop cost into the rest of the race.