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Nutritional tips from some of the best
Nutrition Tips from Kathmandu Coast to Coast winners Dougal Allan, Sam Clark and Simone Maier, Presented by Radix Nutrition.
Nutrition and fuelling adequately for a multisport event is no walk in the park, much like the traverse from Kumara Beach to New Brighton Beach, it’s complex, hard to navigate and there are a few different routes you can take. Getting the right amount of energy that you require in the form that you need it can be a challenge.
Previous Kathmandu Coast to Coast Race winners Sam Clark, Dougal Allan and Simone Maier have no shortage of experience when it comes to multisport nutrition. Radix Nutrition sat down with them to discuss their top race tips for ensuring that their nutrition strategy is prepped, primed and ready for race day.
1) Plan in Advance- Dougal Allan
Spreadsheets - they're not just for office use. Dougal shares,
‘I use a spreadsheet and plan my race day nutrition so I’m sure I’ll have enough carbohydrate, electrolytes and fluids to manage myself through the day. It also means your support crew know exactly what you need and when.’
Planning out how and when to consume the energy that you need, is key to mitigating fatigue. Mapping out the points where your energy levels are likely to need replenishing and specifying the type of nutrition required will remove the guess work involved and enable you to direct your focus on the race ahead.
2) Trial whilst you Train- Sam Clark
Event nutrition and finding what works for you can involve a bit of trial and error, but what if you could minimise the error? Sam Clark shares his top tip,
‘Never try anything new on race day. Practice eating whatever you plan to eat as your race day breakfast in the days before the race.’
It’s a good idea to try to incorporate any changes to your event day plan in the weeks of training leading up to the big day.
EXAMPLE
For Simone Maier, her 2019 Kathmandu Coast to Coast Nutrition matched that of her previous events. It included:
55km Bike: 1 bottle of Amino Complex, 1/2 Bottle Nuun, 1/2 of EM's power bar
Goat Pass Run: 150ml Salomon Flask high solution Amino Complex, 5 Cliff Gels, 1/2 Em's Power Bar. She also carried an empty cup and tried to get as much water in during the run from the streams.
15km Ride: 1 Zip log bag Kumara Mash, 3/4 bottle of Amino complex
70km Paddle: 1.5l Coca-Cola, 1.5l Pure sports nutrition, 750 ml Amino complex, 2 Em's Power Bars, 3 x Clif Blocks stuck to her kayak’s deck.
70km Final Ride: 750ml Coca-Cola, 750ml Amino complex, 150ml Coffee
Having a mix of simple and complex carbs, electrolytes and a small amount of fat which can easily be absorbed into the blood stream will help to ensure that you are performing your best on race day.
Much like Simone’s race day nutrition illustrates, keeping your carbohydrate and the resultant energy levels topped up, will help to keep you on track to the finish line.
The important takeaway however, is to figure out what works best for you- and practice it, before the event!
3) Access to Food, Make it convenient - Dougal Allan
Training and the lead up to race week is busy, and it is important to get the right nutrition onboard throughout. Dougal suggests,
‘It’s important to stock up on stored glycogen so having healthy/convenient food at hand to keep the fuel coming in during race week is important. I’ll often make a Radix Meal while I have my breakfast, then it’s ready to eat at some stage in the day when I need a top up. Healthy, nutritious and convenient.’
For many athlete's optimal nutrition is a massive challenge. You’re trying to balance a busy professional life and don’t always have time for meal prep and cooking, and maybe you also don’t have the knowledge to prepare super healthy meals! This is where doing what Dougal does can save you a lot of time and stress, and help ensure you turn up on race day knowing you’re ready to perform.
If you’re interested to find out more about Radix Nutrition and their world-class meals designed for athletes and adventurers check them out at https://www.radixnutrition.com/ . They’re a New Zealand brand that is making massive strides in the sports nutrition space and are again a sponsor of this year's Kathmandu Coast-to-Coast.
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