[Jersey Dirtbag]

Everything above is good stuff. I'll add a note about the 12-miler. I highly recommend doing a full dress rehearsal prior to the event and make certain you are under 2:45. I did a diagnostic 12-miler on my own (on a hilly, albeit paved, course) in 2:41 about four weeks before the record event and I was confident. However, for whatever reason, I seriously sucked ass and I barely passed with at 2:57. Others' experiences were similar; in fact, there were quite a few folks behind me (not counting those who failed) and I think the majority of the class had times greater than 2:50. There is nothing particularly hard about the course they use but just make sure you make room for that margin of error/performance or you'll be out of the game.

Regarding land navigation, apparently this has to be stated explicitly: BRING A FREAKING MAP CASE AND TIE IT DOWN. Stuffing a map into a ziploc bag is the wrong answer. That is a recipe for losing your map while hacking through heavy vegetation. I have no idea how people manage to screw up this simple stuff, but it happens.

edit: When you do the 12-miler you will step off with six quarts of water, your FLC, and a dummy weapon. Add that all up and it's around 70 lbs. Plan and train accordingly.