A Sometimes Complete Rookies Guide to Multi Stage Trail Running Part 2
Nutrition before, during and after any race is very important, as it refuels the body’s energy stocks, helps with recovery, and it’s just plain nice having a cold beer afterwards with your feet up sharing the day's war stories with fellow runners.
Maybe the cold beer thing isn’t that important in the whole recovery process, but it’s still nice, and your mental wellness is just as important as your physical recovery!
As soon as an event extends beyond 90 minutes, nutrition and hydration becomes even more important. Every runner has individual needs, likes, dislikes and tolerance levels for different types of fluid, energy gels and food when they are running, so you should find out what works best for you before race day.
Before I knew anything about nutrition & hydration, I would literally run from aid station to aid station during an event, drink and chow everything available from potatoes to bars, gels and jelly babies, only to suffer the consequences at some later stage.
I had no idea how these gels, bars and other foods might affect me.
However, if you're not that lucky to have found your perfect combo, having a teammate with knowledge on using supplements such as bars, gels, recovery drinks and all things important for a good race, is a massive bonus. Just keep in mind to try all these products during training and not for the first time come race day.
On a multi-stage race, you eat and drink for the next day, so it's important to eat little bits regularly during the course of the day, post run too. If your partner is stronger than you, or has a bigger running pack, let them carry everything. It does wonders to replenish your energy levels.
So here are a few pieces of advice from the people who know what they are talking about.
Whilst on a single day event you just have to focus on getting through the day and can literally run yourself into the ground go home and recover on your merry time, multi-stage running is not a one-day game! So starting day one, fight that adrenalin rush after the starter’s gun, as you have to always have the rest of the race in mind as you also have to fuel up for the following days. If you don’t there is only one outcome, you won’t make it, or you will suffer enormously afterwards. This refers to nutrition pre-race, during the race, your recovery nutrition shortly after finishing each stage and your evening meal. You also need to eat tried and tested energy gels, drinks and food. The race is not the time to test new products.
Your body size and the activities you choose will determine how many calories you need to consume while running. Most experts recommend that athletes eat anywhere from 100 to 150 calories per hour to maintain proper glycolic and caloric balances. Elinor Fish and Michael Benge in their Beginners Guide to Trail Running say that regardless of what type of food or gel you use for fuel delivery, carbohydrates remain your best source of energy and can greatly influence the quality of your run. Foods like bananas and peanut butter sandwiches are all great options that can be easily packed into a hydration pack or carried on a training run. The ideal pre-run meal is eaten two or three hours before exercising, and consists of about 200 to 400 calories from mostly carbohydrates and smaller amounts of simple sugar, fibre and fat. Don’t forgo eating breakfast, or you risk running out of energy. Prior to heading out the door, or tent in this case, eat some soft foods that pass quickly through the digestive system like a banana, yogurt or an energy gel. If you've never done a Dryland Event before, don't you worry, their breakfast zone will cater to all your pre-run needs before the day’s start. Make sure you make use of this for your carbo-loading needs, while having a nice, sometimes slightly nervous conversation, with other runners.
A Dryland Traverse Breakfast! The most important meal of the day, or time to catch up on what's happening on the socials! Image by Shift Media
I'm not really much of an eater during a run, so using an endurance fuel (in my case Tailwind Nutrition), suits my hydration/nutritional needs.
Hydration plays a very important part in long distance and multi-stage running. As the Rhodes Dryland Traverse takes place in early November, you can expect warm to extremely hot conditions.
The only way to ensure that you will not become dehydrated is to stop it before it happens. When you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated. That is why it is important to properly hydrate before any event.
Although water is great to be drinking if you are planning on sitting still all day, if you are active you should be hydrating with a carbohydrate solution, preferably one with anywhere between 6-8% carbohydrates. This will ensure that your body not only gets the hydration it craves but also that it maintains the right amount of electrolytes. During the trail run itself, focus on sipping at regular intervals from your water bottle or hydration pack.
If running with a hydration pack (and you have not acquired your own yet) your best bet is to loan one or two different hydration packs from friends to see what works best for you, before you spend a lot of Randelas on one that is uncomfortable, chafes you, doesn’t have the right components or is ill-fitting.
A hydration pack needs to be comfortable with padding on the shoulder and lower back. It must also be light-weight with easily accessible pockets for items such as cell phone, gels or snack bars, light-weight windbreaker/rain jacket and first-aid essentials.
I've been lucky enough to run a couple of different stage races over the years, and few, if any, aid stations comes close to what you'll experience at the Dryland Traverse. These aid stations will be a great place to restock, have a mid race beer (yes that is allowed), or even have a bite of ostrich steak straight off the grill , but it also lifts the spirits with friendly staff, supporters or loved ones cheering you on.
Ostrich steaks, straight from the grill to your mouth! Image by Shift Media
At some point, everyone veers off their initial hydration plan! Image by Shift Media
For more information, click here, Rhodes Dryland Traverse
Till next time, happy running and just Keep Moving forward!
