Supah wicked light New England style.

Patrick, I think any sub-5lb gear list from BPL users will give you a good start…just tailor it to your own needs accordingly.

Check out Jamie's 5lb trip here:
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=13855
The same thread has really good info from subsequent posters and their own 5lb lists

Here's another 5lb gearlist
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=46066

Good luck!

why a tarp for 2? are you planning on this trip with another?
I have a hennesey hammock for when I go out alone (well, with dog). it has a tarp for rain, the dog lays under the hammock on the floor. I have a z-lite for him.

us NE'ers should set up a meetup up hike…

I'm confused. You are looking for a running SUL-packing kit but are going to bring a 2 person Tarp tent, Spot, and Dry Ducks, camp insulation…

My thoughts.
If you are running, sub a tarp for the tarp tent. You are running, not carrying trekking poles right? Leave the Spot and Dry Ducks. You are running so you are sweating. Wear a breathable windshirt/running windbreaker. When you get to camp. Switch out your base layer and go to bed.

Also can ditch the puffy jacket. If you have time to lounge around camp, why are you running? Run, get to camp, crawl into sleeping bag, eat, sleep, repeat.

+1 on what mark said when I do long distance running trips I take my mh phantom 45 and a emergency bivy then just the little stuff like lighter sm knife compass I jog from sunup to till I can't see well enough to run then crash wakeup eat a bar and repeat

That's what I used last year 'running' the Western Mass AT. Carried a 3l bladder, change of socks/running shorts and shirt. Alcohol stove / 900ml ti pot / spoon. The vo24 isn't the lightest, but I like how it compacts and carries. This is the older version, I think they changed it in '09 and made it heavier. I love the lay down and go to sleep part of the bivy; it was nice during a heavy thunderstorm up on the cobbles.

I say tarp for two as yes i plan on doing this half the time with a friend and the other half the time alone. Probably once a week alone and once a week with a friend.

My interest in a tarptent vrs. a tarp is wanting to be able to protect myself from rain. I live and play in New England and i hate staying home just because the weather is not forecasted to be perfect as it is rarely ever forecasted to be perfect. If it is forecasted to suck then i stay home but everyone has a different idea of suck and damp weather imop does not suck. I just wanna be able to stay dry in wet weather and i have no idea how easy that is to do with a tarp or a tarptent?

I like the idea of carrying only what i will run in and then pulling a bag over myself laying down and passing out. My problem is i can only see being able to run say 20 miles a day and hike another 5-10 or something like that. I am just getting back to running and hiking after 4-6 weeks off due to an achillies/planters strain so i am gonna have to go easy to start and build. This is why i figure i may have some extra time in camp and want a warm layer or two just to screw off in. By mid summer or fall i hope to be able to run sun up to sun down. We will see though?

So can people tell me about tarps and tarptents and shelter from the rain. Can someone also tell me how much site choosing and tent set up will determine if i stay dry using a tarp or tarptent. Like with a tarp would a hammock and tarp rigged proper keep me nice and dry but no hammock and i am up poops creek?

To add to this i will need just a straight up tent for more family hiking purposes with one family member and two dogs. So i am kinda thinking one big two person tent and and one small fast and light tarp would do me just perfect. If i went with a UL tent i guess i would lean towards the BD lighthouse or the Eason Kilo. From what i can figure the lighthouse is not a wet weather tent at all though so? I think i will save the lighthouse for winter climbing and hiking as itis also a bit small for two people and two dogs. If i could get away with it spring summer and fall for the few times i need a actual tent though that would be sweet but i don't think it will happen as i have spoiled dogs and human company when i travel with humans also.

http://blackwoodspress.com/blog/2532/video-tarp-camping-in-the-rain/

How long can a tarp withstand sustained rain, puddling so forth and so on. I guess i imagine the ground becoming so saturated at some point that you will get a river running below you ground cloth and eventually through your ground cloth. I can also see wind blowing rain in all over the head and foot of your sleeping bag?

I am really interested in this style of traveling as i want to be able to venture off for days on end into the woods by myself running with the feeling of just a long day run from home per say. As interested as i am though it has to be practical and able to keep my dry 100% of the time when needed.

Re:
"I guess i imagine the ground becoming so saturated at some point that you will get a river running below you ground cloth"

This is not just a problem with a tarp, but any shelter.
It's funny, but my experience has shown that tarp shelters tend to suffer less from this issue as the people who use tarps tend to find a proper site to pitch their shelters.

It only takes a pinhole in a bathtub floor to make for a bathtub full of water if the tent is pitched in a bad spot.

Believe me I understand the insecurities that people have about floorless shelters, but a bathtub floor is a false security.

I live in the very wet and rainy NW and I prefer a tarp over a traditional tent, I agree totally with what Steven says.