You are what you eat? perhaps not!! by Nick Gracie

Getting nutrition and hydration right is a key element of any adventure race. With expedition (multi day) racing there is a need to consume large numbers of calories, on average you will be burning between 8,000 – 12,000 calories per day – depending on the activity, the intensity and also the weather.

There are 3 general rules to expedition racing nutrition:

Eat little but often
Keep properly hydrated the whole race
Eat a balanced and varied mixture of foods.

In multi day races it is important to eat real food as well as the normal stable of energy drinks, gels and bars. Try and keep to a bit of a routine if possible – have something more substantial for breakfast, maybe a sandwich for lunch and in the evening a larger portion of food.

There is always going to be a trade off between eating well and going fast. Generally the faster you race the more your diet may suffer. Preparing and eating proper meals takes time and energy. If you are on a long bike leg or Kayak stage you have little options but to eat bars, gels, sweets and maybe the odd sandwich, anything else will just force you to stop and slow you down. On the trekking legs it is a lot easier to eat real food as you are moving slower and you have both hands free to sort things out.

Eating in transition is an option but if you want to race competitively you need to avoid it turning into a picnic. Transitions should always be done as quickly as possible and not viewed as a time to stop, have a rest and eat a three-course meal. There are always things to do in transition but there is no reason why you can’t eat as you sort your admin. Things like tubs of pasta, Pringles, bananas, tinned fruit, fruit juices and yogurt are all good things to scoff down, as they are heavy and bulky to carry on the course.

An expedition race is never going to be a gourmet culinary feast – you need to get into the mindset that eating is purely a process of fueling your body. A race is never going to replicate what you eat in a normal day; eating food becomes a real function rather than a pleasure.

Sports Nutrition:

Sports nutrition is generally well packaged and easy to use, contains complex slow release carbohydrates and numerous vitamins and minerals. Although a cereal bar from a supermarket may be similar to a specific energy bar like a Clif Bar it is very different – a cereal bar will contain high levels of white sugar which will give you a very quick high and an equally quick low – you body will spike with energy in between hits – energy bars release energy much slower so you have a more consistent energy level which gives a much better performance. It’s the same with comparing a jelly baby to a Clif Shot blok – although they appear similar the ingredients are very different. General foods found in supermarkets are designed for the general public or as treats and not as energy sources for athletes pushing there bodies to the limits.

That said trying to eat 8,000 calories a day is not easy so there is no harm in eating sweets, chocolates and other supermarket food just don’t plan to survive on it.

Energy drinks are the best way to absorb complex carbohydrates quickly into the body however in multi day races they do have the drawback of having a very sweet feel in the mouth which can cause ulcers which are good to avoid in a race. I would recommend using energy drinks sparingly and probably best saved for kayak / canoe stages when it is the easiest way to keep energy levels up while not slowing down progress. It is the one discipline of adventure racing that really limits your ability to eat well. I would recommend eating as much proper food pre and post paddle stages and then whilst paddling use energy drinks in a bladder or just scoff down a handful of energy sweets or a gel – keep it quick as every time you stop paddling you lose time! The best drink I have personally found for long races is High 5 4:1 drink (4 parts Carbs to 1 part Protein) which helps maintain and rebuild muscles as well as providing good energy levels.

Protein recovery bars and drinks are great for long races and I would aim to eat a protein bar at least every 6 hours during a race. Protein drinks such as For Goodness Shakes are also very good, as aside from tasting great they have a very milky texture to them, which is a welcome change to other foods, you will be eating which are generally sweet or salty. When you stop at night for a sleep or another rest that is a great time to get some protein in as it helps rebuild your muscles as they rest.

Generic daily food plan.

Breakfast (6.00am): Cereal bomb / For Goodness shakes / Cereal bars
Every hour: 1 item of food: Energy Bar, Gel, Savory Snack, Nuts etc.
Lunchtime (1.00pm): Sandwich / Roll / Wrap
Every hour: 1 item of food: Energy Bar, Gel, Savory Snack, Nuts etc.
Tea Time (5.00pm): Sandwich / Roll / Wrap
Every hour: 1 item of food: Energy Bar, Gel, Savory Snack, Nuts etc.
Dinner Time (9.00pm): Sandwich / Roll / Wrap – Pasta / Potatoes if possible.
Every hour: 1 item of food: Energy Bar, Gel, Savory Snack, Nuts etc
Before you sleep (2.00am): Protein Bar and Protein Drink

The kinds of foods you can eat on an hourly basis are:

Energy Bars: Clif Bars, High 5 Sport Bars, Cereal Bars etc.
Protein Bars & Drinks: Clif Builders Bars, High 5 Recovery Bars, For Goodness Shakes, Peronin etc. (at least 1 every 6 hours)
Energy Sweets & Gels: Clif Shot Bloks, High5 & Clif energy gels etc (excellent for kayak stages or for easy to consume quick hits)
Savory foods: pepporami, baby bells, pork pies, scotch eggs, peanuts etc
Seeds and Dried fruit

Meal times:

Cereal / Muesli – made up in a pot or bag with powdered milk or recovery drink powder – add water and you have a solid breakfast. You can eat this while trekking but forget it on the bike or kayak.
Sandwiches/Wraps: make sure they are moist so they are easy to eat – keep in simple cheese and ham etc – don’t worry about the sundried tomatoes or rocket!!
Pasta / Potato salad – this is heavy to carry but can be eaten quickly in transitions – it will help replenish carbohydrate stores but it will only keep for a few days so towards the end of a longer race this is less of an option.
Meal replacement drinks: super easy to consume and quick to make up: For Goodness Shakes and Peronin are both excellent. These can also be used whilst kayaking and biking.

Hot Food:

If you do decide to stop to make hot food – have a good cooker that heats up food fast so there is less hanging around – keep it simple – soup or noodles as they are easy to eat and quick to cook. Hot food can give the team a real boost especially if the weather is cold and your bodies need warming up. If you have the luxury off passing a shop, café or fast food establishment that you can get hot or even fresh real food from it is worth considering, it will no doubt waste time but the benefit of some good food may have very beneficial effects physically and mentally.

During the adidas TERREX race we will be making hot food available at all the overnight transitions areas. An excellent local caterer will provide this and it will be a combination of potato’s, pasta, soup and bacon rolls etc. This will be a great thing to take advantage of and should help with your overall nutrition strategy.

Supplements:

As your diet will suffer during a race and also your body is under fairly extreme pressures and sometimes environments depending on the weather and temperature a few supplements may help you prolong the body deteriorating and also give you better energy levels. High levels of Vitamins and especially Vitamin C can be good – multi vitamins and Berocca work well for me. Creatine could also be used as it allows your body to recover faster. – there is a lot of information out there about Creatine so best to make your own mid up about using it.

Caffeine:

In moderate doses caffeine can substantially increase the absorption of carbohydrate and fluids. Caffeine also stimulates the body’s nervous system: reducing fatigue, making you more alert, increasing your concentration and reducing the feeling of effort during exercise. If you are sensitive to caffeine and experience symptoms such as hand tremors or heart palpitations I would recommend not to use caffeine. Caffeine can be taken in many sports drinks, tablets or drinks such as Red Bull. In the middle of the night when the body most wants to sleep then caffeine can become essential if you need to push through a stage. It can also help out one of the team if they are feeling tired and the rest are not.

Hydration

Staying properly hydrated can be critical to a successful race. It is important to keep drinking the whole race and also to use electrolytes. Water on its own is good but if you add in electrolytes the water is absorbed quicker into your body and there is less waste – meaning you don’t have to drink as much and you won’t need to go to the loo as much (both saving time). Electrolytes are also helpful in avoiding dehydration and cramp. The easiest best way to take electrolytes on is through products like High 5 ZERO – simple easy to use tablets which you can drop into bladders or water bottles.

Conclusion

You basically need to eat a hell of a lot in a long race, probably three times as much as you would in a normal day without the luxury of a kitchen or restaurant. Therefore set you watch alarm to go off every hour to make sure you eat and everyone in the team should always be making sure everyone else is eating and drinking, even forcing them to eat if they don’t really want to – try to avoid getting hungry as by then it can be too late. Eat some really good quality food and there is no harm in throwing in some fatty junk, as you will need ever calorie. Four days before the race starts you can begin fattening up a little as it will have very little effect on your performance but it will just give you some extra reserves to call on during the race. Little but often is the key.