No, the guy who wrote this is actually in the military I think. I did some research and found a thread on Reddit about shoes. The Alta Lone Peak seems to win out. It's a trail running shoe that isolates against blisters pretty well. 30k seems like a good distance for the first one. That might be the one distance I settle on. Those organized events can be fun! Wow, I bet that was a different experience with the weight on your back. How did you do?