Question:  I am doing the Catalina Channel crossing prone paddle relay this weekend and wanted to know if you have any advice regarding fueling for the race?

– Anonymous, Orange County,  USA

Race day nutrition for a major channel crossing raced as a relay can be a little tricky. It is a long race but you have long periods of down time. As such, it can be difficult to extimate your caloric intake. Too little and you bonk. Too much and you have extra food in your gut that you have to work to assimilate that can cause you to feel bloated as you wait for your next turn.

The good part about a relay is that you can eat solid foods durig your break so you do not need to rely on gels and manufactured foods like you do during a solo mission where you cannot take a break and eat.

Before the race:

• 48-72 hours befor the race: Be sure you start to hydrate 48-72 hours before the race. Try to make sure that you “pee clear” the morning of the race. Be sure your glycogen stores are topped off.
• 1-3 hours before the race be sure you get in a good breakfast. We like to get up a few hours before and get our meal in and moving so we are ready to start eating at the start of the race. Be sure to get at least 500-800 calories on board.

During the race:

• Hydration: you are going to battle dehydraton. A channel crossing is a long race no matter how you do your relay. If it is a hot day you really need to stay on top of your hydration. You are going to be out there all day long. Be sure to consume at  least one bottle of liquids per hour and more if it is a scorcher. We recommend a sports drink such as Gatorade (any sports drink will work). When you finish your leg- EVERY LEG – your first order of buisness is to drink.
• Calories:
  • Do not wait to fuel. The American College of Sports Medicine states that consuming a given amount of carbohydrate after two hours of exercise is not as effective as consuming the same amount at 15-20 minute intervals during the first two hours of activity.
  • After your second leg you better start getting your calories ingested. The problem is that you might be feeling good, you will still be jazzed up from your morning coffee, and you won’t think you need to eat. It is an automatic fail if you do not eat early and often. Hunger is not a good indicator of your need to eat. Use your brain and eat according to a schedule not by feel.
  • Your goal is to consume 300-600 calories per hour. That is a pretty wide range but do your best. It can be difficult to estimate caloric expenditures during a relay event as there are many variables (number of people on the relay team, ocean and wind conditons, effort level, etc).
  • Ingest primarily carbohydrates.
  • What you eat is not as important as how much you eat. You can get your calories from liquids such as a maltodextrin drink, gels, or as stated previously, solid foods.
  • If you start to bonk: even the best game plan can go astray of you over cook your effort. If you feel yourself starting to bonk, try to eat one gel per hour and sip on a Coke.
  • Caffeine: in long events such as a channel crossing take it easy on the caffeine. Have your normal morning coffee then take it easy on the caffeine and use it only if/when you need it toward the end of the race.  A channel crossing is too long to try to stay jacked up on caffeine for the entire race. Caffeine will supress your appetite making it hard to get your calories down. Caffeinated gels, however, can be a lifesaver at the end of a race. Keep some caffeinated gels on the boat but save them for the final hours of the race.

NOTE: this answer is a real life implementation of the guidelines included in the nutrition chapter of The Riding Bumps Book

George and Roch