Sure, you can fix a lot yourself, but why? In ultrarunning, as in life, it's OK to ask for help. When things go wrong, help from someone who is not actually engaged in the battle can be a tremendous asset. (I'm making a clear distinction between "help" and "unsolicited advice"; the latter being almost always annoying).
If having things go wrong is, in fact, part of the plan. It makes a lot of sense to also plan to have some helpers on hand. Help in ultras comes in two forms. The first is from the race infrastructure itself. This varies from one race to the next, but generally comes in the form of aid stations sprinkled along the course. Race organizers typically prefer that runners not go more than two hours without hitting an aid station. In remote, mountain ultras, that can be a very hard standard to meet and often a runner is on their own for 4-5 hours; longer if they are struggling. It's not uncommon for a runner to set out from one aid station in apparently great shape and show up at the next completely broken.
Aid stations provide basic sustenance and first aid. The workers are generally ultrarunners themselves and know how to get a broken runner back on the trail. I run most ultras, including 100's, unsupported, counting on the aid station workers to provide enough assistance when I need it. They rarely let me down. However, if it's a race I really care about, I get a crew.
Having your own crew has many advantages. First and foremost, these folks are present because they want YOUR race (not THE race) to succeed. They have invested their time in the success of your particular effort. They will drop everything and tend only to you when the time comes.
Moreover, they have a better idea of what they can do to help (or, at least they should; it doesn't make sense to recruit your own crew if you're not going to fill them in on your little quirks prior to the event). If you tell an aid station worker that you want one bottle filled with just water and the other filled with electrolyte drink, they'll be happy to do that. Your own crew, however, would already have the bottles ready when you arrived at the aid station and the switch would only take a few seconds. Your own crew can have your lights ready when the sun goes down rather than you having to dig through a drop bag to find them. Your own crew can help change your shoes if your hamstrings are so tight that you can't reach the laces. Most importantly, your own crew can look you in the eye and tell you with conviction that you absolutely must get up and get back on the trail RIGHT NOW when an aid station worker would be happy to let you sit there for an hour if that was your preference.
In organizations with formal methodologies, aid stations come in the form of minimum mandatory deliverables, status reports, phase-gate reviews, and meetings with the Steering Committee. An adept project manager can get a lot of benefit from these things. Particularly the Steering Committee, if the PM has the backbone to deliver bad news in the form of a request for help rather than trying to sugar-coat the report. However, having a few otherwise disinterested individuals around who can offer frank guidance and, ideally, pull a few strings when needed definitely tips the odds in your favor.
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