walking and running for groceries and other big loads

[learning]

Inspired by the information in the ERE book, I've been further exploring the option of walking and/or running to go grocery shopping and do other transportation of things. I'm wondering what is the best way to carry different size loads from small to large. I'm especially interested in being able from time to time to go shopping, fill up the cart, and bring it all home in the same way that I would with an automobile, just for the psychological value of not having to thing about the whole thing when I don't want to. Or, in case I get behind on the shopping. While I think I could adapt to more frequent, smaller loads, I still would like to have this as an option, and I think it would be great exercise.

What are you all doing for this?
How are you carrying things while walking and/or running?

Running while carrying the load will probably only work while carrying small-medium loads, even doing the gliding technique Jacob recommends in the book. This would be a way to do the twice weekly produce-and-anything-urgent trips. Has anybody tried this gliding running technique for a time period long enough to see whether any injuries result? What are you using to carry stuff? I'm guess some sort of hydration backpack or daypack backpack with chest and waist buckles. Up to what size loads and capacity packs have you tried?

For running on big grocery shopping trips, an option would be something like a jogging cargo carrier like the Burley Cub with jogger kit. (The child seats remove, converting it into a cargo carrier, as can be seen on the videos for some of their other products.)
https://burley.com/product/cub/
click "accessories" for the "jogger kit - double"
capacity 100lbs/45kg
Also can be used as a bike trailer. Note that the front wheel does not swivel on the jogger kit.
Or as a child stroller/jogger/carrier/trailer, possibly also increasing resale value.

Of course, walking is also a good way to carry a large, heavy load. I initially thought of backpacks. Having tried this and read about other's experiences, it seems that backpack size limits what can be carried to an intermediate size, so that somewhat frequent trips would be necessary. Then, I thought of using a backpack while carrying a duffel bag or two. While researching this, I found out about dry packs/portage bags and haul bags. Some examples, roughly in order of capacity, would be:

haul bags
http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Haul-Bag-Reviews/Ratings
157L Metolius El Cap Haul Bag
9000+ cu in Fish Deluxe Haul Bag

duffle bags and waterproof duffle bags
140L MEC Duffle Bag XL http://www.mec.ca/product/5030-442/mec- ... ag-unisex/
125L MEC Candem Dry Duffle Bag (waterproof) http://www.mec.ca/product/5042-014/mec- ... uffle-bag/
125.9L Red Oxx Big Oxx Expedition Series http://www.redoxx.com/big-oxx-expeditio ... 24/product

dry packs/portage bags
120L Sea to Summit Hydraulic Dry Bag with Harness http://www.seatosummit.com/product/?ite ... &o3=562-30
115L MEC Slog 115 Dry Pack (also available in Deluxe) http://www.mec.ca/product/5030-375/mec- ... -dry-pack/

backpacks
113L Osprey Xenith 105 http://www.ospreypacks.com/es/product/b ... xenith_105
103L Gregory Denali 100 http://gregorypacks.com/en/GM74780.html
6100 cu in Eberlestock F4NT - Terminator XL http://www.eberlestock.com/F4NT_TerminatorXL.htm

It seems like some of the larger ones, or a combination of some of them, could easily carry all that would fit in a grocery cart, or all that I would ordinarily buy on a large grocery shopping trip.

Does anybody have any experience with these, or other suggestions?

I recognize that it would take a high level of fitness to carry this load. This level of fitness is one of my goals.

How are you packing your groceries?
How are you able to carry fragile things like eggs and strawberries?

Learning

[Cerberusss]

Is walking explicitly what you want? I take the bike and have some sturdy bags which hang on the side.

[JL13]

I jog to the store empty handed. I carry items back in the store's disposable plastic bags.

[jacob]

Don't run regularly with more than 10lbs unless you want to risk ruining some physiology (knees). It can be done, but is getting groceries home faster really worth it? Consider that runners who weigh 100(F)/150(M) lbs and carry nothing but a gell-pack are still some of the most injured athletes around. My point in the book is that you can run a backpack.---But I wouldn't make a habit out of it.

Instead of looking at lightweight hiking/climbing gear, look at load-carrying hunting gear or military gear. It's cheaper because it's not optimized to shave off 1.3 oz but rather to carry a lot of weight. It's also generally sturdier.

http://www.amazon.com/ALPS-OutdoorZ-Com ... B004R7L7YU
https://bullpacs.com/ (strap square pails on that)
http://www.armysurplusworld.com/product ... ctID=53077 (cheap-skate)

[henrik]

How far do you have to go to get groceries? If getting exercise is part of the goal, why not just take 2 or 3 trips instead of figuring out fancy equipment?

[SimpleLife]

Best solution, live close to grocery store. Grow most of your own food and have a SO that you share a car with for those bulky items like 100lb bags of rice and beans.

[Sclass]

I lashed a milk crate to a used baby jogger. First I cut off the stained fabric hammock.

Good for a weeks worth of produce from the local farmers market.

Unfortunately it makes me look like one of Those people (gasp) who have kids

[peerifloori]

When I lived in walking distance of a grocery store (or walking distance between the grocery store and bus line), I would carry a week's worth of groceries in a medium sized hiking backpack and a totebag over each shoulder. I would pack the heavy stuff in the backpack, and the fluffy, lighter, breakable stuff in the tote bags. It was a pretty good workout.

[learning]

@Cerberusss I've already done a lot of exploration about biking and I think I have a workable option figured out. I'll post any questions on that as they come up.

@J_L13 Yes, this seems like it would work for me too for small-medium loads.

@Jacob Thanks for the advice and the specific tips. I'm not familiar with backpacks with a frame. I'm guessing it's to be able to carry heavier loads without hurting your back. I had seen your bullpac and bucket idea from another thread while searching before posting this question, but I forgot to include it. It seems that the bucket would limit how much you could carry...? Do you carry your groceries this way?

I'm still not used to the fact that I have access to large military surplus stores and thus I forget to consider them. Some of the products on that site seem quite interesting, like the Ultimate Gear Bag. I like that they are canvas, too. I hope the zippers are not too bad. This is probably a direction I will go in, although for big multi-day rainstorms I might go with something waterproof.

@henrik Well, I guess there are 2 ideas. One idea is to be able to do a big grocery shopping trip when I need to and by knowing that I can do it relieve myself of the minor worry of, what if I need to? The other idea is to carry heavy loads on my back and in my hands for exercise. Since our bodies adapt to the specific stress we apply to them, carrying a heavy load once would provoke a different adaptation than carrying a lighter load more frequently. This is especially true because I am already carrying light loads frequently. I am especially interested in the long-term benefits of this, such as doing it for more than 10 years, or the rest of my life.

@SimpleLife While that does sound like an attractive option, we are going in the direction of living in an apartment in the center of an affordable city and thus not having much of a garden. We made this decision after doing a time tracking snapshot of our lives, similar to the expense tracking recommended in YMOYL. We were shocked at how much time we spent on transportation, which for me is lower quality time than when I am not transporting myself. When we added it up annually or over a lifetime we realized we could learn much more or be together more by having that time available. One consequence of this that was difficult for me to accept was that I would have to get most of my food from the grocery store and not from gardening. An additional benefit, though, is that by living in or near the center of a city it makes it possible to walk to much of what the city has to offer, so we will be trying to live without a car.

@Sclass Yes, that sounds like the cargo/child carrier idea. How has it worked out for you while jogging/running with a load?

@peerifloori This distribution of stuff is what I'm doing now, too. Heavy on the back and lighter or breakable in the hands. I suppose the eventual distribution will be: heavier on me and lighter or breakable in my gf's hands.

[Gilberto de Piento]

I would also recommend a bike. Just last night I bought groceries (6 big bags of groceries and 2 12 packs) and hauled them in a kid trailer that I bought on craigslist for $40. On relatively level ground it's not much harder than riding without a load. Steep hills are tough though.

I like the trailer a lot more than panniers for significant loads. Craigslist will probably have lots of kid trailers for around $50 as people get them when they have kids, use them until the kids get too big, and then sell.

If you don't want a bike I'd consider an old school external frame hiking backpack since they are cheap if you can find one.

[Sclass]

@Sclass Yes, that sounds like the cargo/child carrier idea. How has it worked out for you while jogging/running with a load?
.

Honestly I don't run with it unless I'm trying to get out of a crosswalk. But I imagine it'll work as well as a baby jogger. There's just a stolen milk crate in there instead of a kid. The jogger just makes it more efficient because it has such low rolling friction. Part of our farmers market is on a potholed dirt parking lot so the big wheels are nice. Not good in crowds tho.