Understanding what your body needs to fuel itself during an adventure race is critical and can be the difference between success and failure. So how do you go about maximising your race nutrition for Gaelforce West?
Why nutrition matters during your event
By race day, your training is all in the bank, so nutrition is an area where you can make improvements, or conversely can cause problems that will cost valuable minutes or hours, or even lead to a DNF. We all want to avoid hitting the wall, running out of gas, the dreaded bonk - whatever you want to call it, you want to avoid it at all costs.
Establishing a correct fuelling protocol is critical for maximum adventure racing performance. Many adventure racers will tell you their success comes as much from making the right nutritional decisions before and on race day, as doing the right volume and type of training.
Establish your fuelling protocols during training
Maintaining an adequate fluid and food intake during an adventure race is as much an art as a science. Experienced racers will tell you that the best way you can prepare your gastrointestinal system for the fuelling challenges of these events is by practicing during training.
When you are planning a long race, plan the timing for each snack or drink you are going to take. Will it be in the first 15-20 minutes? Every 20 minutes? Will it be sports drinks, gels or jellies? Or a mixture? Work out what suits you and your body during your training – it is really important not to try a new product or pattern on the day.
What do I need to know before race day?
Every athlete has their own individual nutritional requirements that they’ll have to establish through trial and error, because human taste and absorption rates are highly individualized. In addition, you’ll also need to establish the volume of each foodstuff and drink you can handle without adverse side effects! You’ll need to work out:
- Which sports drinks and liquid meals work and what doesn’t by practicing eating and drinking while training.
- What different flavours of sports drink are palatable and how often they should be changed during the event to prevent flavour fatigue.
- What foods you can stomach and what makes you feel nauseous.
- What pre-race meal will give you the biggest boost.
- What carbohydrate loading protocol works best for you.
- How much you can drink and tolerate without feeling liquid sloshing around in your stomach.
- Whether you can tolerate de-fizzed soft drinks (e.g., Lucozade Sport) to get a caffeine boost or if they wreak havoc with your blood sugar.
What do I need to know for race day?
Seasoned ultra endurance athletes will tell you these golden nutrition rules of endurance competitions: Eat before you get hungry, and drink before you’re thirsty – so you’ll need to start eating and drinking very early in the race, and the longer the race, the slower you go, and the more you eat.
Your body stores carbs in the form of glycogen and glycogen fuels your muscles. Start taking in carbohydrates right from the start, and at regular intervals, to help you conserve the glycogen that you have previously stored in your muscles and liver, for as long as possible. Also realize that no matter how good a job you do of refuelling and drinking during an adventure race, you’ll still burn through your stored glycogen towards the end.
How much will I need to take in?
Lots! Considering that runners burn 200 to 800 calories per hour (depending on size, gender, temperature, terrain, and intensity of race pace) and that adventure races can last for a number of hours, that’s a lot of grub. A 70-kilo (154lb) runner going at a moderate pace for ten hours can burn 6,000 or more calories!
You’ll need to be able to digest, and then absorb, your food and drink. Your food first starts to break down in the stomach, then empties into the small intestine, where the carbohydrates, fats and proteins are absorbed. Ideally, you want your food or liquid to become absorbed as fast as possible to fuel your muscles and brain.
A good goal is to take in 1 to 1.5 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight per hour. For most athletes this will be between 280 to 420 calories for a 70-kilogram person per hour or 30-60g of carbohydrate per hour, but again, see what works for you in training. This should include a mix of solids and liquids.
Plan when you are going to eat or drink along the way – and be very specific: at 6km eat 6 jellies; at 9km four gulps of a sports drink and so on. Don’t wait to refuel: Sometimes, if a race is going well and you’re feeling good it can be tempting to skip a snack or drink. Don’t! Keep to your plan or you can end up crashing sooner than you think.
What should I eat?
Most ultra endurance athletes will stock standard carbohydrate rich foods like fruit, watermelon, lightweight fried fruit, bagels, fig bars, energy bars, chocolate bars, cakes, biscuits, jelly beans or sweets, pretzels, boiled potatoes, pies, even sandwiches (cheese or even jam sandwiches are a favourite). But many a competitor has fantasized about and craved pizza, crisps, milk shakes and cheeseburgers during the latter stages of their event! Find out what works for you and stick with that. Don’t even think about trying something new on race day!
Don’t forget about hydration
Remember your hydration as well. You will need 500mls per hour for events longer than two hours. Sports drinks will supply carbs and help replace electrolytes lost in sweat. When you’re finished, keep hydrating until your pee is very pale yellow to clear. Water is great but sports drinks (bought or homemade) can help replace carbs and electrolytes as well.
Refuel after the race
Have a good carb-rich snack with a little protein soon after you finish – the sooner the better. Aim to have something that gives you 1-1.5g of carbs per kg of your body weight as a snack. Don’t skip the snack even if you don’t feel hungry! Your body will need nutrition to recover and help stop you from feeling as stiff and sore the next day. Then relax and enjoy a good protein-rich meal later on.
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