Let’s breakdown how to think about a full day of eating for a typical enduro Race Day!

Nutrition science is about as clear as a mud puddle in the middle of the trail. Like that puddle, the content changes with the weather. The following is my attempt to clear the trail for you when it comes to the question, “What the F@ck do I eat while racing?” This is a follow up from a previous post, “What the F@ck do I eat while Riding?

I am going to break down what to eat while racing based on the most common and up to date scientific information I’ve reviewed. For the sake of this blog I will focus on an enduro style race such as the events offered by Racecascadia. Keep in mind there are few topics more individualized than nutrition. What works really well for me, may make you feel like poo. The golden rule of race day nutrition is: practice! Do not make your race day the first time you suck down a Gu or put electrolytes in your water. Plan a ride to mimic your day, plan your nutrition, and experiment to find what works best for you.

Race day is coming! Let’s see what we need to do to prepare. First, think about the common variables of any given race. We are going to assume a typical enduro race day. Below are ranges you will experience in most enduro mountain bike races.

Common Race Variables:

Time on course: 3-6 hrs
Distance: 18-26 miles
Elevation: 3,000’-6,000’
Temperature: highly variable from wind and rain or snow to hot and dry
Start time: 8:00-11:00am

Race Day Nutrition Plan

You definitely don’t want to be filtering water out on course! Plan your hydration appropriately!

#1) Hydration is key!

You may have a perfectly packed bag of snacks, but if you screw up your hydration your snack game won’t matter. A general rule is drink 1 bottle (12-16oz) of water per hour. Temperature and your personal sweat rate will determine more specifically how much you need to drink. Start with ~1 bottle per hour and adjust based on: temperature, how you feel, and your personal sweat rate. If it’s hotter out, drink more. If you sweat a lot, drink more. If you get headaches, drink more. Find that you don’t need as much? Drink less. Experiment and take notes to find what works for you!

If you are a salty sweater you definitely want to have a salty electrolyte in your water, or take salt tabs. How do I know if I”m a salty sweater? Do you find white salt lines on your helmet, jerseys, or sports bras? If yes, you’re a salty sweater! Look for electrolytes such as Skratch Labs, OSMO, or LMNT.

#2) Royal Breakfast.

Pancakes with greek yogurt and fresh fruit not only delicious, but a great way to start your race day!

Eat a large breakfast about 3 hrs before your race start time. Breakfast points of emphasis: Complex carbs, lean protein, moderate to low amount of fat. Examples:

Oats, fruit, cottage cheese or protein powder, nuts or nut butter.
Pancakes or waffles plus greek yogurt and turkey bacon
Potato (sweet or regular) hash with eggs and turkey bacon, ham, or tofu
Savory Rice Bowl. Rice, egg plus egg whites, kimchi.

#3) Simple carb Snacks

What are simple carbs? Simple carbs are delicious and a quick source of glucose (energy) for your body. We’re talking anything from a banana or orange slices, sugary electrolyte drinks (think Gatorade or fruit juice) gummy candies, rice cakes, bars, or pretzels. Typically simple carbs fall into the “bad” nutrition category. But when it comes to performance and race day, simple carbs are your friend. You want your easy access snacks to be mostly simple carbohydrates which simply means you will digest these foods quickly. Compared with complex carbs which will take longer to breakdown and be harder on your GI system to digest.

Complex carb examples: beans, oats, whole wheat, potatoes, or vegetables - eat your complex carbs for breakfast, but limit intake during the race.

Simple carb examples: gummy bears or gummy candy, sugar, jam/jelly, white bread, rice cakes, most bars (just look for ones lower in fat).

When to eat your simple carbs: ~ 30 min prior to race start and every 60min.

#4) The 2 hr mark!

Bread with peanut butter, smashed banana, sea salt, cinnamon, and cacao nibs!

Once you approach 2 hrs into your race, make sure you’re getting some more solid food in. You still want to prioritize carbs, but also have some fat and protein. The 2 hr mark is important because at this point you will have used up most of your body’s stored glycogen and since you will be out on course for another 1-3 hrs you want to avoid a caloric deficit which can lead to bonking, tears, and bad attitudes. Examples of real food options to eat while out on course:

Baked goods - cookies, banana bread, muffins…baked goods, especially when they’re fresh, are preferred over bars because they have more moisture in them so are easier to digest. Plus, they taste delicious!
PB&J
Wrap or Bagel Sammy with deli meat and cheese
Pita with hummus
Rice cake with cream cheese and jelly or nut butter

#5) Keep on Keepin’ On

Continue to drink water and eat small amounts of food every hr for the duration of your ride.

#6) Recover Like a Pro!

You’ve finished! Post ride, prioritize protein and carbohydrates. My personal favorite is a chocolate cherry protein shake with ginger (recipe available in my ebook), but you gotta figure out what you like. Dr. Stacy Simms recommends getting in at least 20g of protein after exercise. Here are a few ways you could do that:

Greek yogurt or cottage cheese with fruit
Cottage cheese with salsa and chips :)
Protein shake
Chocolate milk

Eat a solid meal within 2 hrs of finishing your race. Make sure to eat more carbohydrates than normal along with some veggies as you’ve probably been neglecting your veg intake all day to keep fiber low. Typically, races have burritos or burrito bowls available which truly are a great post race meal. If you’re going to be drinking alcohol, make sure to stay on top of your hydration:)

The hard part about racing is you will typically start your first downhill stage around lunch time. For a 10am start time, you will often have a 1-2hr pedal plus wait time which means you’re going to be going full blast around noon. This is where preloading your nutrition is key. If you play the delay game - delay eating, you will be gassed part way through your first run and develop a caloric deficit that will sap your energy and make it more likely for you to make silly mistakes. Remember, low blood sugar will not only contribute to a lack of physical energy but negatively affect mental focus as well! Eating small amounts of food consistently throughout the day is the best way to avoid both bonking as well as over eating.

A few specifics on numbers:

Water intake: drink half your body weight in ounces per day for baseline and add for exercise. Start with 12-16oz/hr.
Eat 30-60g of Carbs per hour. Or,
Eat 0.9-1.6 food calories/lb of body weight. For example, I am 130#, so I will shoot for about 117 - 208 calories of food per hr, and prioritize carbs.
20 g of protein plus carbohydrates post ride. The bigger the ride, the more carbs.

Take home messages:

HYDRATE! Hydration is key - shoot for 1 bottle per hour.
Fuel your performance. Eat before you get hungry and put something in your mouth every 60 minutes!
PRACTICE! Experiment to find what works best for you:)
Want to learn more? Check out the full nutrition webinar from myself and Kyla Macdonald (MsCN) HERE. Need recipe suggestions? Download my free ebook here with over 40 recipes! I hope to see you out on the race course!