Race nutrition during the Ultra Trail Nice by UTMB 2023, by Laura Van Vooren (FR & NE Version)
(Dutch version available below - Nederlandse versie hieronder beschikbaar)
2023 was the first year in which I ran long races in the mountains, and therefore the first year in which I spent more than 9 hours on the trails.
In June, I had the 90 km Mont Blanc race on my schedule. I knew in advance that I would not be able to complete this race on gels alone, because after a while I really no longer feel like eating them. So I tested several products during my long mountain training sessions. I rated each product on: ingredients (carbohydrates, protein, fat), taste, texture, mouthfeel, volume and packaging. At that time, I was mainly looking for products with a lot of sugar that I enjoyed eating, did not take up too much space and were easy to open.
I also made sure to add enough salt to my diet, mainly to break up all that sweetness a little. In the end, I started the race with High 5 gels (all sweet), GU salted caramel gel, Powerbar salted peanut gel, a GoldNutrition salted peanut bar and a Chimpanzee spicy salted bar, a Maurten 225 bar and Maurten 320 in my soft flasks. I ate a few bites of rice and a pancake at every aid station. My race went wonderfully, and I was very satisfied with my nutrition plan and its execution. I then ate something approximately every 20 minutes.
At the end of July, I decided to take on the longest distance, namely the Ultra Trail Nice Côte d’Azur by UTMB (160 km). Nutrition is the race within the race at such distances, I knew that. So I studied race nutrition and different strategies. I burn approximately 700 kcal per hour during a trail race. It is impossible to consume that much during a race and then digest it. But the more you eat, the smaller the energy deficit, and therefore the longer you can keep going.
Most of your energy comes from burning carbohydrates, but the longer the distance, the more important it becomes to consume enough protein as well. This way, you can try to minimize the inevitable muscle damage as much as possible. In addition, salt/electrolytes are also very important, especially when it is hot. Finally, I also started thinking about caffeine, because I knew that I would have to stay awake through the night anyway.
Because there are many variables and I did not want to leave anything to chance, I developed a very detailed nutrition plan.
I had the following guideline values in mind:
- 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour,
- 30 grams of protein every three hours,
- 350 mg of Na+ per hour
- 40 mg of caffeine per hour (from the evening onward).
I then looked up and noted in detail exactly what my favorite sports nutrition products contain, and the puzzle could begin!
I divided the entire race into sections between aid stations, and for these sections I calculated what I needed to eat and drink to obtain the necessary nutrients. The result was very interesting—far more than I had imagined! I always knew that eating enough was crucial, but when you calculate it all, it really is a lot. Eating enough carbohydrates is one thing, but consuming enough protein and electrolytes is another.
I had also learned from my previous races that I cannot eat hard products, so protein bars were not an option. That is why I decided to start with a 6D recovery drink during the race, after 30 km. I had never tried this before, so it was a gamble that paid off very well. I was able to consume 33 grams of protein per 500 ml. The taste is not particularly sweet either, which made it easy to continue drinking throughout the race. At each aid station, I also took 500 ml of Maurten 320, providing 79 grams of carbohydrates and 200 mg of Na+. My other favorite products were the GoldNutrition Jelly Bar (a great change from gels and very pleasant in the mouth), the PowerBar Salty Peanut gel, Gold Nutrition salt bar, the GU coffee-flavored gels, the GU salted caramel gel and the High 5 gels. For each section, I put the planned food in a freezer bag, so each time I simply had to grab the bag and make sure I could eat everything before reaching the next checkpoint.
So much for my planning—I knew the reality would be different.
A race never goes exactly as you would like, and you have to be able to respond to what is happening in the moment. After 60 km, my stomach started bothering me a little; I could feel that the sweet gels were no longer going down well. At the aid stations, I always took the time to eat a hot, savory meal, usually noodle soup with some pasta. I also took some Naak purées with me. This saved my stomach and therefore my race. In the end, I was able to stick to my nutrition plan about 80% of the time, so I am very satisfied. Of course, I am already thinking about next season, and therefore also about my nutrition strategy. I will definitely keep Maurten 320 and 6D recovery drink. I will replace some gels with Jelly Bars and purées to add some variety.
Since this year, I have been working with Nutri-Bay, and thanks to them I can test and vary so many different products during my races. I am sure this contributes to the good results, and I would therefore like to thank them explicitly!
📷 @nicecotedazurbyutmb
Laura Van Vooren
laura.vanvooren
3rd in the 90 km Mont Blanc race
1st in the 160 km Ultra Trail Nice Côte d’Azur by UTMB
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Race nutrition 2023
2023 was the first year in which I ran long races in the mountains, and therefore the first year in which I spent more than 9 hours on the trails.
In June, I had the 90 km Mont Blanc race on my schedule. I already knew in advance that I would not be able to complete this race on gels alone, because after a while I really no longer feel like eating them. So I tested quite a few products during my long mountain training sessions. I rated each product on: ingredients (carbohydrates, protein, fat), taste, texture, mouthfeel, volume and packaging. At that time, I was mainly looking for products with a lot of sugar that I enjoyed eating, did not take up too much space and were easy to open.
I also made sure to add enough salt to my diet, mainly to break up all that sweetness a little. In the end, I started the race with High 5 gels (all sweet), GU salted caramel gel, Powerbar salted peanut gel, GoldNutrition salted peanut bar and Chimpanzee spicy salted bar, Maurten 225 bar, and Maurten 320 in my soft flasks. At the aid stations, I had a few bites of rice and a pancake each time. My race went fantastically, and I was very satisfied with my nutrition plan and its execution. I ate something approximately every 20 minutes.
At the end of July, I decided to take on the longer distance, namely the Ultra Trail Nice Côte d’Azur by UTMB (160 km). Eating is the race within the race at such distances, I knew that. So I studied race nutrition and different strategies. I burn approximately 700 kcal per hour during a trail race. It is impossible to consume that much during a race and then digest it. But the more you can eat, the smaller the energy deficit, and therefore the longer you can keep going well.
Most of your energy comes from burning carbohydrates, but the longer the distance, the more important it becomes to consume enough protein as well. This way, you can try to minimize the inevitable muscle damage as much as possible. In addition, salt/electrolytes are also very important, especially when it is hot. Finally, I also started thinking about caffeine, because I knew that I would have to continue through the night anyway.
Because there are many variables and I did not want to leave anything to chance, I developed a very detailed nutrition plan.
I had the following guideline values in mind:
- 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour,
- 30 grams of protein every three hours,
- 350 mg of Na+ per hour
- 40 mg of caffeine per hour (from nighttime onward).
I then researched and wrote down in detail exactly what my favorite sports nutrition products contain, and the puzzle could begin!
I divided the entire race into sections between aid stations, and for these sections I calculated what I needed to eat and drink to take in the necessary nutrients. The result was very interesting—far more than I had expected! I always knew that eating enough was crucial, but when you calculate it all, it really is an enormous amount. Eating enough carbohydrates is one thing, but consuming enough protein and electrolytes as well is another. I had also learned from my previous race that I cannot eat hard products, so protein bars were not an option. That is why I decided to start with a 6D recovery drink during the race, after only 30 km. I had never tested it before, so it was a gamble that turned out very well. This allowed me to consume 33 grams of protein per 500 ml. The taste is also not particularly sweet, which made it easy to continue drinking it throughout the race. At every aid station, I also took 500 ml of Maurten 320, providing 79 grams of carbohydrates and 200 mg of Na+. Other favorite products included the GoldNutrition Jelly Bar (a great change from gels and very pleasant in the mouth), PowerBar Salty Peanut gel, GoldNutrition Salt Bar, GU coffee-flavored gels, GU salted caramel gel and High 5 gels. For each section, I put my planned nutrition in a freezer bag, so each time I simply had to take the bag and make sure I could eat everything before reaching the next point.
So much for my planning; I knew the reality would be different.
A race never goes exactly as you would like, and you have to be able to respond to what is happening in the moment. After 60 km, I started having a little trouble with my stomach; I could feel that the sweet gels were no longer going down well. At the aid stations, I took the time each time to eat a savory, hot meal, usually some noodle soup with pasta in it. I also brought some Naak purées with me. This saved my stomach and therefore my race. I was able to keep going again! In the end, I was able to stick to my nutrition plan about 80% of the time, so I am very satisfied. Of course, I am already thinking about next season, and therefore also about my nutrition strategy. I will definitely keep Maurten 320 and 6D recovery drink. I will replace some of the gels with Jelly Bars and purées to add some variety.
Since this year, I have been working with Nutribay, and thanks to them I can test and vary so many different products during my races. I am sure this contributes to the good results, and I would therefore like to thank them explicitly!
📷 @nicecotedazurbyutmb
Laura Van Vooren
laura.vanvooren
3rd in the 90 km Mont Blanc race
1st in the 160 km Ultra Trail Nice Côte d’Azur by UTMB