UKC

Hi guys, looking for some advice and/or tips.

I've entered into a local ultra race. (50km) which will be by far the furthest i've attempted to run. The cut off time is 9hrs.

What i'm after is some info on nutrition, food, drinks etc that would be worth taking with me to keep enough fuel in the tanks to get round.

I think there is at least 2 stops where the organisers will place bags for you to stop and eat/drink etc. And i've bought a small 10ltr running pack for my camelpak and a few essentials.

I've heard that Beetroot juice is good pre-run, and that Cherry juice is good post-exercise to help with recovery.

Anyone got any thoughts?

I'm off to run part of the route tomoro as a recce.

Many thanks. DM

In reply to drunken monkey:
Hi - Experiment and see what works for you - the only given is that you will need to eat - smallish quantities on a regular basis best( probably at closer intervals than provived by the organisers) - what you eat will be keeping you going in 1 to 2 hrs time.
50k in 9 hrs is around 4mph , a fastish walk , and sandwiches , banana , flapjack and mars bars would work , possibly as effectively as purpose made energy bars.
Feet in the Clouds is an inspirational read , and time of year / terrain will obviously come into it in terms of how much energy you will need.
ian

In reply to drunken monkey: I found I needed to have a proper decent eat from time to time when I did a 112km ultra a few weeks back, I even devoured white bread jam sandwiches. In the latter stages I didn't feel much like eating, so I had a couple of Cliff protein bars. For me, in a race that long, energy gels would have been horrific.
Post race - I had a decent protein/carb shake and then ate what my body craved for a few days.

In reply to mrchewy: Thanks for the replies guys. I suppose its a case of finding something quick and easy that I can stomach. I know nothing of these fancy energy gels as i've never taken them.

In reply to drunken monkey:

Whatever you choose make sure you get used to eating it during a run. On my first long race (a 29-mile mountain trail in Colorado) I'd never tried eating while running before, got to 18 miles quickly, felt wasted, ate a banana from the drink station and promptly ground to a stomach-aching, throwing up halt!

"Experiment and see what works for you - the only given is that you will need to eat"

Sound advice, and be flexible. Buttered and quartered hot cross buns worked ok. They're soon down and don't have such a massive impact when they thud into your belly like anything bigger. Nothing that takes too much chewing if you're eating on the hoof. I guess that's less important if you're going to stop and take a bit of a break.

I've popped a couple of gels, but aren't super keen. Along similar lines I tired Chomp GUs last time - hi tech jelly babies, but around 10x the price. I quite like having something in my mouth slowly getting chewed away. Gives you a bit of a distraction and gets the juices flowing in your mouth. Hope that helps a bit.

In reply to drunken monkey: Most of it has been said.. for 50k, if its not too hilly food isn't a huge concern. A few gels, banana etc is all I'd eat.

I don't take anything extra before hand, eat a reasonable meal, a few slices of toast and Jam for breakfast, then run..

But main thing is just try and see what works, have an idea of your time, if its going to be 5 hrs or so then food isn't so important.

re the banana: don't eat it in one go - small bits, every 20-30 mins is good. I do adventure racing, where we have to eat pretty much all the time. Last race I was on the hoof for 37 hrs straight, lol.

Keep snacking, and keep it small.

I make up trail mix with pitted dates, nuts 'n raisins, seeds, jelly babies (for emotional support!), yoghurted ginger, peanuts etc. Major long term energy

In reply to fuddam: I think it depends how much you train yourself to eat and run. I can now eat a meal and run pretty much straight afterwards. My body is just used to processing on the go now. It never used to be like that so I think eating and training is worth working on..

In reply to IainRUK: about the only issue i find with it, is trying to breathe/swallow at the same time!

In reply to IainRUK: Hi Iain, Its quite hilly (nothing to you though). I did the middle 20km yesterday (which looking at the route appears to be the hardest bit) It had 490m of ascent, and took me 2:05. And to be fair, I ate nothing on the way round. i'll need to eat for the full 50km though.

I also took one of those beetroot juice shots before i started. Man, they are awful!! Seemed to help with energy levels though.

Many thanks for all the replies.

In reply to gingerdave13: On a hilly route I eat on walk up hill sections..

In reply to drunken monkey:


Personally I neck a bottle of Lucozade Sport about half an hour before setting off. Might taste better than the beetroot juice.

In reply to Removed User: Yer damn right it will! Apparently this beetroot stuff boosts yer nitric oxide levels. Certainly didnt do me any harm the other day. Other than tasting like shite!

In reply to drunken monkey:
That isn't too far, so eating shouldn't be a problem. Don't try anything new, like gels, energy drinks, juices etc. which you haven't practised with. Stick to plain and simple, sandwiches, cake, malt loaf (I spread butter and marmite), choccy bars, banannas, plus some savoury/salted like salted peanuts, cheesy crackers, and make sure you have handfull of jelly babies in case you need a sudden sugar boost (you'll know if you do).

No need to take masses, just ensure you have both sweet and savoury available and keep nibbling little and often. Drink wise, if in doubt, stick to plain water - it's kept humans alive for quite a few years so it must work!

In reply to drunken monkey: are you doing The Long Tour of Bradwell? its my first ultra and i am starting to get worried!

In reply to Got a job rob: No mate, doing this:

http://speysidewayrace.webnode.com/