I love that scene in Glengarry Glenross when Alec Baldwin's character, the bold sales director, yells across the room at Jack Lemon's character, the struggling ageing sales guy, while he's pouring himself a cup of coffee. "PUT that coffee down...coffee's for closers..."
If I could say something to every new multi-stage, desert ultra-marathoner it would be akin to that scene while a first timer is packing his or her gear. "PUT that PowerBar down" would boom across the room.
For some reason, every new competitor goes to their nearest outdoor store and falls head over heels in love with PowerBars, PowerGels, GU Gels, Cliff Bars, Go Bars, Stinger Gels, Hammer Gels, Cliff Shots, High 5 Bars, Mule Bars, Shot Bloks, etc, etc, ad nauseum...Now don't get me wrong, these all have their merits, and hell, I was even sponsored by PowerBar during my baseball days however I promise you that a bag full of nutrition bars during a multi-stage race will give you a bag full of regrets by day 2, and chances are they will end up in a bag full of rubbish. What it all really boils down to is the taste, regardless of the 'flavor' on the foil. Strawberry Cheesecake, Mocha, Vanilla Crunch, Banana, Cappucino, and more, all end up with that same chalky aftertaste and horrendous texture. Need a quick bite on your way to the gym...fine. Need a bit of extra fuel during a day hike...sure thing. Quick protein after a 20 miler...no problem. As a regular staple in the desert...big problem. My tip is this: leave the nutrition bars behind, and if you think that you really really must have one, then wait until Stage 2 when they're piled high by the dozen outside of competitor tents. You'll be spoiled for choice.
I was at a wonderful RacingthePlanet event in Kensington last night hosted by the Chairman of Primerica Asia, Douglas Fergusson and his family. It was a great venue and opportunity for RTP alumni to reconnect as well as a great chance for those getting ready to run their first desert ultra to pick the irregular brains of the imbalanced souls who have actually done this before. Coming off my rant against PowerBars above I thought I'd reflect on some of my lessons learned as well as include a list of tips sent in by some of my favorite other RTP veterans.
Here are a few of mine:
1. Do not depend on freeze dried meals for your food source. Bring lots of ramen noodles. I crush up Pot Noodle and roll it in zip lock bags. 400 calories per serving and lots of salt! You will crave them, trust me. Freeze dried porridge is good once…after that it will make you vomit. Everyone hates it.
2. Opt for salty food over sweet
3. Trade your powerbars for things like small baggies of pretzels and crushed up crisps. Plan one baggie per hour or one after Checkpoint 2 every day
4. Opt for electrolytes in pill form rather than the dissolvable powders or tablets. They are sooo sweet that after day 1 they will make you gag. (*Note: Eric LaHaie and several others told me last night that they actually really like the Nuun dissolvable tablets and what we decided on is that it is imperative that you try all of your food and gear numerous times during training as opposed to waiting until you're out in the Desert)
5. Bring salt tablets in pill form. Plan on taking at least one a day at the halfway mark of every stage. Salt is so important during these events. While water is hugely important, it can in fact wash out the salts from your body so you need to find a way to get them back in.
6. Hydropel is amazing for your feet before a stage. Slather it on and hope for the best!
7. It's usually a LONG ride from the base hotel out to Camp 1. Stock up on as much food as you can carry before you get on that bus. It can be your lunch and dinner and snack as well as your breakfast before Stage 1 begins. Enjoy whatever you get because it's your last taste of the real world before you enter the desert.
8. Bring a small 'luxury' snack for every day or every other day. Something that tastes great, doesn't weigh a lot but rewards you and keeps you sane. For example, in Atacama I brought thin slices of chorizo, small chunks of parmesan, and almonds rolled in wasabi and soy sauce powder. The Mosimann brothers, Phil and Mark, swear by their sachets of pure olive oil.
9. Run in shoes 1.5-2 sizes bigger than your normal street shoe. There's some debate on this, so I can only speak from personal experience and say that it makes a world of difference. There's nothing worse than looking at your swollen, blistered foot and then at the shoe in your hand and wondering how it's going to fit.
10. Kill your iPod. The remoteness, the landscapes, the pain, the camraderie is so incredibly soulful and empowering. Don't ruin it with P Diddy...
11. Perpeteum and other similiar drink powders are actually great to keep your blood sugar levels high and for adding protein. Take one sachet an hour.
12. Gels are for short bursts of energy and are actually detrimental to performance in ultras because they spike your blood sugar. Not a good thing. Leave them at home.
13. Bring some kind of sleeping mat. If you can't sleep because you've been curled up on a pile of rocks then you can't recover and repair. They take up room in the pack but they're worth their weight in gold. Remember that blow up mats can and do pop when you put them on a pile of rocks.
14. On the flight over, be sure to grab an eye mask, travel toothbrush and ear plugs from the airline overnight kits. After each Stage you may want to take a nap even though the sun is beaming overhead. And just in case you have snorers in your tent. The tooth brush is for brushing your teeth of course...
15. Bring one or two pairs of socks. Three max. No need to show up like the kid going back to college with a bag full of clean laundry that mom just washed. They will be gross and they will stink but so will everyone and everything.
16. A great way to get a bit of extra hydration is to bring plenty of sachets of soups and hot chocolate. Have two sachets when you get into camp each day and then another two during dinner. Have the hot chocolate sachets whenever you want to feel like a kid home from school during a snow day.
17. Sometimes just stop and stretch. Don't push yourself past the point of exhaustion.
18. Smile damnit. This is fun!
Tips from some of my favorite ultra-runners:
Rowley Aird:
8kg is max weight needed for backpack. I am max 7 and always have plenty of food and hydration. Pack smart! Train smart and mix it up. Don't kill yourself doing the same routine day after day...you won't improve much. Hills, diff terrain, weights in gym, sprint sessions and of course a few back to back long sessions. Taper smartly too for 2 to 3 weeks. Tapering does not mean do sfa as most people do! Good luck!
Richard Trice:
For me its all about the food and feet.
1. Bring lots of salty snack food. Chips, jerky, etc. The meals... who cares, but its the snacks that you can eat while out there that made you feel better for short stretches.
2. Feet. Take care of them. Treat the blisters. I've half a mind to try the pre-taping business that the docs were going to try....
And I've one more, which is probably more important than the other 2.
3. Find a good crew to hang with... even if they go faster than you'd like, stay with them, and if possible have good stories at the ready. Nothing passes the time like a good story, especially on the long day.
Kristina Narusk:
1. It's ok to eat crisps and peanuts and jelly bears. Often, it's the only thing that goes down the throat! So bring enough.
2. It's ok to go slower than you perfect plan. If you're not going for the trophy, noone cares if you finished 37th or 217th. Getting to the finish line really is all that matters.
3. Make sure to take a long look at the stars at night. Nowhere else is the sky so unbelievably amazing.
Ian Jones:
1) Your mind is stronger than your body. That's good and bad; good because you can still push on through when your body is exhausted. Bad because if you... See More’ve got an injury/blister/ache, you can ignore it until it becomes bad enough to knock you out of the race. Be strong when you’re tired, but be sensible when you have a problem and GET IT FIXED.
2) Take some kind of savoury snacks; you can get really sick of sweet sports drinks/snacks after a few days.
3) Look after your feet, and they’ll get you to the finish line.
4) Hydration is king, including getting some electrolytes in. Once you’ve taken care of that, get some form of energy in regularly, no matter how bad you feel. Take 6 sachets of protein shake and have one every night.
These are just a few tips and ideas but would love to answer any questions and absolutely would love to see more ultra-runners weigh in with their version of "if they had to do it all over again"...
Good running!
Rp
**Lastly, have you read this...RIDICULOUS!
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
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