Carb Loading, Pasta, Weetbix galore? – Nutrition before your next Adventure Race

Pre-event nutrition is like topping up the fuel tank before you head away on a long drive. You are maximising your muscle glycogen fuel stores for the adventure ahead.

Pre-Race Dinner

The pre-race dinner is important to prepare you or your athlete to wake up feeling rested, with a happy stomach and fuelled for the event ahead. We want to eat food you are familiar with ensuring you are catering to your USUAL dietary needs eg: gluten free, lactose free, avoiding onion or garlic. Don’t try anything new the night before race day if you can help it! Have a carbohydrate drink with the meal or after to top it up.

Hydration – Try to sip water throughout the day and especially in the evening before an event. It does not pay to scull just before bedtime so you are not up all night to the bathroom so get started early in the day and keep on top of your fluids. Have a drink containing carbs with your meal such as a natural fruit juice or a milo/hot chocolate (each have 25g carbs per cup) before bed to top up the carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates - It true in a way to “eat lots of pasta”. Carbohydrates are the main source of fuel for exercise that we want to keep the tank topped up with. By combining rest and a high carbohydrate meal the day before a race we are maximising carbohydrate available for during the race.

Protein and other “normal foods” to keep including! -  Some vegetables and a lean protein source is still important the night before – for muscle repair, fullness and to keep your bowels going in their regular routine the night before. Don’t try anything fancy here and they don’t need to be the star of the show on the plate just part of the action on the side!

How much should I eat? This is so individual I cannot tell you! Aim for at least 50g but if you are a bigger or hungry person you will need more! My suggestion? Eat until you are comfortably full but not bursting! Eat a greater proportion of the carbohydrate on your plate than normal (half your plate of food).

Some perfect Examples (with carbs):

-        Fried Rice (50g per cooked cup) with added chicken, lean beef, tofu and/or egg + chopped vegetables

-        Chicken Enchiladas (30g per wrap) with a side of homemade sweet potato or baked potato wedges (30g per cup)

-        Pasta bake (30g per cup cooked pasta) with a topping of tomato base sauce, vegetables and chicken or beans topped with cheese

-        Spaghetti bolognaise pasta (30g per cup cooked pasta) with lean mince, added vegetables and cheese with a side of garlic bread.  

-        Roasted vegetable salad including good portions of potato and sweet potato (30g per cup) + some other vegetables such as zucchini, carrot or capsicum topped with chicken, feta (add a tablespoon of pesto per person for some yummy flavour!) and/or chickpeas for a vegetarian option!

-        Stir fry with lean beef or chicken, vegetables and rice (50g per cooked cup of rice)

Need a convenient meal on the go?

-        Try Radix or another freeze-dried meal – just add hot water (service stations, campgrounds can have or take a cooker)

-        Grab 3 ingredients:

o   Microwave rice/quinoa pot / packet

o   Microwave vegetable pouch / pre made salad

o   Can of flavoured tuna, salmon, chicken, beans or chickpeas

-        For the team:

o   Pre-roasted chicken +

o   White buns or wraps +

o   Coleslaw or salad +

o   Hummus / Avocado as desired

-        Subway with steak / chicken and vegetables – go for safe sauces that you have had before!

-        Service station sandwiches / toasted sandwiches + juice

What about carb loading?

Carbohydrate Loading is effective to “super-compensate” your muscle glycogen and fuel stores. It is like filling up the tank AND taking a spare jerry can of fuel for the journey. Great for the biggest events of the season and when done well, it does improve performance and the bodies fuelling capacity. However, there are ways and means of doing it properly without compromising; weight, good nutrition in the lead up and picking what events to do it with. Get in touch with me if you want to talk about carbohydrate loading for your next event!

Pre-Race Breakfast

You want to E-A-T:

-        Easily digestible carbohydrates that are not too high in fibre. How much? At least 1g carbohydrate per kg body weight for your pre-race breakfast. Eg: if you are a 60kg person eating 60g carbohydrates.

-        Add some protein to keep you full

-        Time it 2-4 hrs prior to your event You may also need a Top up snack if it is more than 2hrs before like a gel, banana, or sports drink.

Examples (including carbohydrates) might include:

- 3 x weetbix + skim milk + banana and a fruit yoghurt (85g carbs)

- 2 x white or wholemeal bread with Honey or Jam on one + Peanut butter / an egg on the other + glass of juice (65g carbs)

- 1 medium can (approx. 200g) creamed rice + banana (70g carbs)

- Smoothie made with banana or 1 cup other fruit + 200mL skim milk + honey (55g carbs)

- Porridge (1/2 cup oats) with skim milk (1 cup) , dried fruit (2 Tablespoons) and some honey or maple syrup or brown sugar on top (75g carbs) or try this Bircher Muesli Recipe

- 1 large Up and Go (65g carbs)

- Baked beans (the one for two) on 2 x toast (70g carbs)

- Weetbix Slice and glass of juice (60g carbs)

Got an event coming up? Get your nutrition sorted now! Book an appointment with Nicole, your Adventure Racing Sports Dietitian today! Or get in touch: ascentsportsnutrition@gmail.com

What makes a good competition day breakfast?

You have spent months training, early mornings, exhausted evenings, missing sleep in’s and the odd social occasion because you are focussed on your goal. Whether it be your first 10k, wanting to break 3hrs for a marathon, complete an ironman, your standard Saturday netball, the season AFL final or a day hike you have had planned for months – you have worked hard. But what are you going to have for breakfast on that important day?  

So often we plan and train for months for a sporting event whilst we plan nutrition the night before! Good nutrition won’t make a weekend warrior an elite athlete. However, it will quickly make an elite athlete mediocre if not done well! What nutrition will do is make YOU (weekend warrior, average athlete, elite athlete or whoever you are!) feel like an absolute superstar on the day and perform at the absolute best you can be. Great nutrition is like a secret weapon you have above all the others – you can always mask a certain amount of pain, fatigue, those few sleep in’s and missed trainings, or that slightly slower speed if you have the best fuel to keep you going. 

Where does good nutrition start? Well on race or competition day of course it starts with a good breakfast.

Key Ingredient #1 Carbohydrate

Eating carbohydrates at breakfast is like topping up the fuel tank. Carbohydrate is the primary source of fuel for our bodies during sport. When we work at a higher intensity (race day, competition day, finals in particular) we also burn through carbs a lot faster. In fact, our muscles can only store 60-90mins of carbohydrate therefore we have to maximise that by topping it right up for the meal before. It is also why we often need to think about nutrition DURING an event too!

Key Ingredient #2 Type of carbs

This mostly depends on how you tolerate food before training. Fibre is great for day to day health however on race day it can be a bit of a problem if you are feeling those butterfly tummy nerves or have difficulty with stomach discomfort during sport. Fibre isn’t crucial for performance so on event day we can leave it out. Go for things like white bread, cornflakes, bananas, juice, sports drink or smoothies in particular if you have stomach issues or want to keep the carbs simple and easy to digest. Liquids do not sit for a long time in your stomach making them more comfortable again if you have a few butterflies.

Key Ingredient #3 How many carbs

Generally, about 1g per kg body weight eg: a 60kg person needs about 60g carbohydrate for breakfast. What does this even look like? Check out the examples below based on a 60kg athlete. If you have a bigger engine then you need more fuel! Smaller engine? Less fuel required – on paper however you still might have a good appetite! If you can eat more – comfortably then go for it! Remember this is your time to maximise the fuel within your body and make the most of that precious 60-90mins worth!

Key Ingredient #4 Add a bit of protein

Day to day protein is essential at breakfast as it to keep us full throughout the morning. It also helps with recovery if brekkie is post exercise and helps with recovery anyway even if our training was at a different time in the day. On event day we still need to feel satisfied and not hungry, it is still beneficial to have amino acids around for recovery however if we are talking the main event of the season… the carbs trump in the priority list. Plan your brekkie based on Key Ingredients 1, 2 and 3 (the right amount and type of carbohydrates) first – then include some protein. Protein is better when it is low in fat where possible to reduce the risk of stomach upset during that high intensity activity coming up or to prevent irritating those butterflies in the stomach. Include things like; low fat milk, fruit flavoured yoghurt (as it has extra carbohydrates), peanut butter or eggs.

Key Ingredient #5 Timing

Breakfast timing is important – if you have problems with your tummy then having breakfast 3-4hrs before an event helps for your food to digest before you get started. It is then important to have a small top up snack within an hour of starting such as 250mL sports drink, a banana, some lollies or a gel. Breakfast within 2hrs of the event start is fine without a top up snack and good for those who tolerate food well before an event.

This is all well and good but sleep may also be compromised in the process if your marathon starts at 7am for example. It is always a balance to get both right, but make sure nutrition is just as much of a priority as sleep. Consider for you the impact of 30mins less sleep vs having a decent pre-race breakfast and what performance different that might make.

What are some ideas that have all the ingredients?

-        3 x weetbix with a Banana, skim milk and a fruit yoghurt

-        2 x white or wholemeal bread with honey or jam with a glass of juice

-        1 medium can of creamed rice

-        A smoothie made with a banana, 200mL skim milk, honey

-        Porridge with skim milk, dried fruit and some honey or maple syrup on top

-        A large (350mL) up and go and breakfast biscuit or muesli bar

-        Baked beans on 2 x toast

-        French toast with maple syrup

-        Weetbix Slice and a glass of juice

But where does good nutrition actually start?

With your breakfast every day to fuel your training too! Imagine if you could have a race day quality breakfast every day of your life to fuel your body and brain to be the absolute best it can be. Now this one is more individual and the above factors might vary day to day. For example; you are more likely to tolerate things like fibre, fruit, healthy fats and need things like a certain amount of protein to contribute to the day to keep you fuelled for more than just sport. There are also the longer-term considerations of having foods that include lots of vitamins and minerals to ensure you have enough of things like iron to keep up with a heavy training load.

Training for Breakfast

Yes, there are some trainings where it is beneficial not to eat beforehand – but these fasted sessions are best used strategically. Just remember when “Breakfast is best”, before high intensity, skill sessions or long trainings that mimic a race or competition. The other thing we often forget is that training is not only training muscles but also training our gut. If you are the person who struggles to eat before exercise or the above suggestions have made your stomach curl just at the thought of trying to eat all that prior to race day – your gut needs training too! Starting with just a small bite of something before training morning or afternoon can help to overcome this.

““Breakfast is best” before high intensity, skill sessions or long trainings that mimic a race or competition”

Where to next?

Breakfast is where good nutrition starts – however the pre-event meal, carb loading, race plan nutrition and recovery nutrition are all very important parts of your race or competition day nutrition plans too!

Get in touch!

If you need help with your Race Day Nutrition plan, Training Nutrition Essentials or have other dietary requirements Nicole can help you out. She is an Accredited Sports Dietitian with Sports Dietitians Australia and works with athletes from many sporting codes to be the best they can be with elite level sports nutrition. From ballet dancers, to boxers to ultra-endurance runners to rugby players Nicole loves personalising nutrition to your sporting logistics! She has worked with people with medical conditions such as Irritable Bowel syndrome, Diabetes, Coeliac disease and requiring weight loss and can work with you to alter metabolism and body composition.

Book an appointment with Nicole, your Sports Dietitian today! Now based on site with the team at Physiologic.

Beginners Guide to Adventure Racing Nutrition

Image: Maximum Adventure Race

New to adventure racing? Or have you done a couple before but have no idea what to eat? Tried your best to plan nutrition but felt sick or bonked halfway? Do you have a 3-6hr event coming up? Read on to get your nutrition plan sorted.

How long are you out there for?

It is good to plan your nutrition per hour that you are out. Are you doing a 3hr, 4hr, or 6hr race? Is it all running or is it multi-sports? If you are racing over a mealtime eg: 8am – 2pm you might need to think about something more substantial to have mid-way through as you are skipping a meal and might find yourself a bit peckish! Is it going to be hot, rainy or cold? Think about the environment as a good starting point!

What type of food do I need and how much of it?

• You mainly want to be eating easily digested carbohydrates that are low in fibre and high GI. Fat and protein are not as useful for fuelling shorter events but they do get more important for longer events

• Start in training with 30-60g CARBOHYDRATES per hour and progress up to what you want to eat in a race

• In a race aim for 60-90g CARBOHYDRATES per hour but see how you go in training

• Always practice in training first and then stick with whatever you get to. If you can only eat 45g per hour in training without feeling sick then that is also your goal for race day.
  

Approx. 30g carb examples:

o   3 x snakes lollies

o   2 x small baked potato in tinfoil

o   2 x pieces of white bread in a vegemite sandwich

o   1 x white bread with a thick layer of honey or jam

o   1 x large slice of cold pizza

o   1 x white bread roll

o   1 x Weetbix slice (check out recipe!)

o   1 x oat-based muesli bar from the supermarket

o   1 x creamed rice pottle

o   1 x bottle sports drink (made at 4% carbohydrates)

o   1 x sports gel

o   1/2 cup of pretzels

o   4 x Cliff brand Bloks

o   1 x 250mL juice box

o   10 dried apricots

o   1 x 300mL can coke

o   2 x mini packets of shapes crackers

o   1 x banana

What a smorgasbord of snacks!

Tips for planning

• Take a variety of foods: some liquids, some sweets, some savoury, some snacky, some substantial

• Consider eating something a bit more substantial mid race like a mini lunch or whenever is convenient if you are racing for more than 3 hrs

• Try out a bunch of different combos in training, in a similar temperature to race day if possible and for the different disciplines

• Consider taking a couple of items just for “Mood Foods” that aren’t necessarily the perfect nutrition but they perk you up mid race! Eg: Mini chocolate bars, your favourite chips, a mandarin or other small fresh fruit

• Another golden rule is to eat a little bit, often. Aim to eat every 15-30mins. If you want to keep it simple you might choose 1 x snack option from the above list and eat every 30mins on the hour and half hour and you should be right!

• Remember to remind your team mates to do this too especially if they are distracted by navigating!

• Golden rule ALWAYS TRY IN TRAINING!

What should I drink and how much?

Some drinks can also contain carbohydrates and serve two purposes such as sports drink. Electrolytes are handy as they can taste good, making you drink more and replace lost electrolytes from sweat. However, water is just fine as long as you are fuelling at the same time! Remember that 1 Litre = 1kg so it is also important not to take way too much fluid. Know where along the course you can fill up your bottle and if you are prepared to take the time to stop.

How much? It is very individual and it depends how hot it is! In the heat you might need 750mL – 1 Litre or more per hour, in the cold might only need 300-500mL per hour. Try in training and go with your thirst! You might use a bladder in your backpack too. Make sure you know how much it holds and how much you need. You might not need to fill it all up! Also, try to keep just water in your bladder as any sugar or electrolytes causes it to go mouldy really fast even with a clean!

Image: Triadventure’s Wild Women Adventure Race

How do I carry my food?

• Clothing: you might wear a bike shirt that has pockets at the back for the whole race, or tights/cycling shorts that have pockets

• Backpack: a small hydration backpack or vest is handy. The best ones have lots of pockets on the front for storing food eg: one for your lollies, one for your muesli bars and a bladder pocket for your fluids or soft flask pockets

• Belt or hip bag: with a drink bottle holder – good if you hate backpacks but I find them particularly hard to sit tight

• Bike bags: a top tube bag is a really handy food storage and easily accessible.

• Drink bottle cages: are essential on your bike. Try and fit two on there if your bike allows and if you are in a hot environment, I love using 1 Litre bottles (normal bottles are 750mL).

• Lifejacket pockets: if you are buying your own lifejacket look for one with pockets in the font for easily accessible snacks!

Big pockets on lifejackets come in handy for kayaking nutrition.

Know the course rules and logistics

If you know that you are passing through a transition where you can pick up and leave gear, consider leaving a little bag of food and filled drink bottles. Then you just have to swap the bottles out (not spend time filling them up) and you can pick up more food without having to carry the whole 3 or 6 hours’ worth. Consider eating your heavy food in transition eg: a juice box or creamed rice.  

Should I eat different things on different legs?

Kayaking: Make sure your kayaking nutrition is waterproof! Otherwise, it might not look like anything nutritious at all! Even if you plan not to fall in (don’t we all?) you often get wet by just paddling and if you need to get in and out of the boat to collect checkpoints. Good options are gels or muesli bars.

Running / trekking: it is easier to eat your sandwiches because you have more hands than in the kayak or on the bike and you might walk for a little while. If you are competitive and running fast, you might not feel like large amounts of food and your sugary snacky foods more often might be best.

Riding nutrition: needs to be easy to access that is why stem bags are great and easily accessible pockets. Nibbling on snacks and muesli bars you can hold and bite easily are great (that’s why snakes are the best compared to smaller lollies!). The ultimate nutrition cycling skill is being able to open and eat a banana then throw away the skin without stopping pedalling!

Weetbix Slice - a favourite amongst Tiger Adventure teammates

Need more help?

Join me for my webinar: Planning Nutrition and Logistics for your next Adventure Race on at 6PM AEST Thursday 25th March 2021. Missed it? No worries it is available via recording here.

This advice is a is great place to start for most people, however some of you may need more individual advice. You might decide to get help if you:

• Have tummy upset problems, specific nutrition needs or medical conditions

• Are getting more competitive and want to maximise your nutrition to win!

• Want to attempt a longer race and are not sure where to start

Get in touch with a Sports Dietitian if this is you! I am available for consultations in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Online at Ascent Sports Nutrition and would absolutely love to help you maximise your Adventure Racing dreams!

Take us to the Wildside

The 5th and final race in the Australian Adventure Racing series took place on the first weekend of October down in Kangaroo Valley, 2hrs drive south of Sydney. The ruthless, unrelenting, technical and raw adventure of Richard’s 36hr Wildside was simply an incredible race.

With yet another loaded team of legends, Trev back from Peru to captain his team Tiger Adventure, fellow inseparable pocket rocket Sara, Aurelien lead nav / gorge hopping moutain goat and myself completely and hopelessly in love with Adventure racing therefore the first to say yes to this kind of team!

Team Tiger Adventure #19

This race was a slightly different from the beginning as we were not given Race Logistics prior to the event, merely a list of the “order of events” therefore had absolutely no idea about how long each leg would take and what we would be doing during the day or night. We didn’t know where we would see our gear boxes making it very difficult to plan both food and gear for each leg. My method for this was to pack a supermarket bag for each leg with 3hrs food for each, earlier legs having food I could eat at higher intensities and later legs having more “morale” foods and things I could eat while going more slowly. I packed a change of clothes into each leg and figured I can always take them out.

Checking the weather a week out – it was going to be cold. Checking the weather half a week out – it was going to be hot. Checking the weather the day before – it was going to rain and be early 20’s down to 8 degrees overnight on Saturday then fine up on Sunday to over 30 degrees. Brilliant for when you need to pack your gear and food a week before the race for your team mates to drive it down and have no idea what time you will be doing each leg! Basically the best of planning will be planning at best, as always with adventure racing!

I flew down to Sydney midday on Friday with good mate and training buddie Milford chatting logistics, predictions and strategy the whole way especially as it was Milford’s first race in a while. Greeting our friendly ride and new mate Pierro helped to get excited about the adventure to come. By the time we neared Kangaroo Valley the mist rolled in, the landscape became greener, hillier and more densely packed bush I was buzzing to get into the wilderness surrounds. The setting reminded me more of NZ, a stark contrast to the brown, dry, prickly and relatively quite flat terrain of Queensland. There was one particular road that I am writing in this blog to refer back to for good reason – Moss Vale Road. Remember the name road cyclists if you are ever in the area. Descending into Kangaroo Valley this road offered Tour De France quality switchbacks in dense beautiful green bush descending/climbing almost 600m across 8km. I will definitely be keen to give it a ride someday, but as this weekend called for a lot more activity off road – it was an adventure to be had another day.

Arriving at camp my team mates had already taken over our cabin with gear and packing. Trev and Sara – legends – had done the 12hr car trip the day before, truck packed up to the sky with gear. The immense amount of gear required for these races is unbelievable, I will detail this more in one of my blogs over the summer – look out for it newbies as I will share my gear lists after three races of my experience to get you started. My first gear packing venture took two weeks. I now have it down to about 2 days.

Just one corner of the house packed with gear. This was the area of the floor with the most walking room!

Arriving about 5pm, some excited hugs were shared and had a brief meet and greet with my newest team mate Aurélien Penneman. Aurélien has raced many times with Trevor including twice at New Zealand’s prestigeous GODZone 7 day expedition event. He is a very experienced racer having raced in many events in home country France and other AR World Series Expedition events in the Nordic Islands, Scotland and others. I was pretty proud to be racing with this speedy, experienced Frenchman and had full confidence in his role as Lead Navigator – just as much as I always had in Craig. This for me is such an important factor as a team member who is still pretty new to the sport. With Aurélien leading Tiger Adventure #19 and my trusty faithful’s ever strong Packhorse and Team Captain Trev, and motivational, everlasting side kick Sara it was set to be a solid team. With a few of the big dawg teams still recovering from Eco Challenge the field was looking promising for us to rank well. I knew I would need my game face on in order to pull my weight with this team, time to pull up the socks for whatever was to come our way!

Favourite Race Tucker – Baked spuds and the increasingly famous Weetbix Slice

Packing last minute sammies and baked potatoes before Rego at 6pm where we get the customary “fresh as a daisy” team pics and Map handout and briefing was at 7pm – after which the course is revealed and we can finally pack our bags.

Briefing was a little different to normal – we didn’t have the maps before we were introduced to the course. I actually loved the way Race Director Richard introduced the race. Telling a story of how we would pass through the course revealing one epic leg after another, having full attention of all 60 odd racers in the crowd listening to every detail of the adventure ahead.

Hearing we would be bussed up the river to start with a 7km kayaking up one of the side creeks as far as it would take us on water into the start of the Bundanoon creek gorge. Where we would then navigate up the gorge with approx. 500m vertical elevation over 12km. At the top we would find our mountain bikes and a box of gear in the hub of a large trail network to complete a 50km MTB rogaine. After the rogaine – back at the box to change or restock food again we would head back down the neighbouring Tallowa gorge for 14km descending back to our kayaks. Next a 24km kayak down the lake would take us to our next and last Transition Area (TA2) before finding again our bikes to complete Part 1 of a 70km Mountain bike (MTB) that would end by taking us approx 600 vertical metres up Meryla pass. At the top we were to complete a 20km Foot Rogaine before completing Part 2 of the mountain bike back to town and the finish line. The second MTB would include a compulsory walk with the bikes along a tourist walking trail and a fast downhill to reclaim all the elevation gained in the earlier part of the MTB. By the end of his description I had butterflies in my stomach – two epic canyon/gorge hikes (my absolute favourite trekking terrain but by far the most energy draining also) and a total of 46km trekking/running, a huge hill on the MTB with 120km to pedal all up and 30km of paddling we would have our work cut out for us across the ~200km course in just 36 hours racing time. What made things more tricky was the two time cut offs at the MTB rogaine and the Foot Rogaine which were essential to make in order to not be short-coursed. We thought at the time we would have a good chance at meeting the cut offs if we were moving steadily through the course but it certainly wasn’t a guarantee. Throughout the brief and course notes Richard still did not give us an estimated time for any of the legs meaning we had to give it a go ourselves after maps.

After mapping the course and Richard’s adventurous tale we had the best idea we were going to get of what was in store – time to pack our gear and food for the mission ahead. Now remember – briefing started at 7pm, it was 8pm by the time we got back to mark up the maps. By 9pm we were packing our gear and approx 10.30pm we were getting into bed for a measly 5 hours sleep prior to our 36 hour venture. We were due on the bus at 5am to be shipped to the start. Sometimes the adventure racing mission starts well before and clean up certainly ends well after the race itself.

We woke to steady rain on the roof at 4am, shovelled in some breakfast, last minute packing gear in and out – rethinking how wet and cold it could potentially get. I had already done some sleep “packing” overnight, poor Sara waking at about 3am to me grabbing the duvet of the bed we were sharing and trying to “pack” what I thought was clothes into a “bag”. I woke from the eventful slumber in the middle of the night to Sara’s “You ‘right mate?”, us both taking a second to realise I was in fact “sleep walking/packing”. At least no one can say I am not organised right? Off to the start line and onto the bus. Bus trips at the start of an adventure race I find incredibly amusing. Just to paint a picture. Think of 50-60 odd athletes wearing kayaking gear, carring brightly coloured dry bags, lifejackets, packs and paddles, wearing race bibs, tight shorts, rain coats, compasses around their necks, carrying maps and the last minute banana tucked in a pocket somewhere all trying to walk down the aisle of a bus, and fit into the tiny two man seats. I imagine these bus drivers must find it quite a unique crowd compared to their normal shipments!

Arriving at the start at the Tallowa Dam picnic area in Kangaroo Valley to a steady drizzle everyone is collecting their barge of a kayak off the trailer and lugging it down to the waters edge, having last minute toilet stops, taking off and putting on last minute clothing changes, tying dry bags to the kayaks and putting split paddles together. The lake is beautiful – glassy, misty and green and I am feeling pumped to get going.

I love the colour of adventure racing kit with the contrasting rich greens, browns and greys of the rainy wilderness surrounds.

Before we know it 6am arrives and the hooter goes. There is not many formalities at the start of an adventure race I have discovered, no countdown, no warning just a hooter so often people are caught out and it requires you to be organised and time keep for yourself. So, off we go!

And we are off!

The kayak was a fast and uneventful 7km starting in fairly clear weather which slowly closed into a steady downpour heading up the arm of the lake to our transition into the gorge. With banks getting steeper on either side and some cool rock formations and cliffs at the top we were getting more excited for the depths of the gorge to come.

Getting to Dougie – the man with the flag on the bank at the top of the arm of the gorge. At the end of the kayak we ran our boats up the bank, ditched our kayaking gear and grabbed our packs out of the dry bags. There was no box at this transition therefore we had to carry everything for the Trek and the next 4hr paddle on our boats – a real staged adventure in my eyes, I loved it! Getting a couple minutes into the Trek a team member from Team Rogue was running back at us – only for Sara to thankfully ask Trevor if he had grabbed our tracker (one of the absolute essential pieces of equipment). Something so easily forgotten was actually forgotten so Trev back tracked and we vowed to make a team effort to remind him at each transition from then on. Thankfully it was only a 2 minute mistake on this occasion!

Heading on up the gorge was fast at first, travelling with team Rogue was pretty fun, knowing they were in the running for the win and having the title to defend from last year we were pretty stoked to be comfortably travelling with these guys up the Bundanoon Creek. It felt fast at first, running over rocks, clambering around trees moving at a fast pace we were travelling well and quickly caught our fellow Tigers team Tiger Shackleton containing my mates Milford and Pete 250cc, previous team mate Joel and the experienced Kevin. Finding the right junction easily with these other teams we turned up Nyes Creek where the going got a little tougher and a little slower. The boulders got bigger, the terrain thicker and the ascent steeper. We came to a junction where we could take a right up the waterfall or a longer left up a steep spur and Sara and I, pulling up our courage we put our trust into the boys faith in our ability to climb up the waterfall while team Rogue and Shackleton headed up the spur. It was a potential shortcut that turned out to be a little slower but nevertheless that sort of decision is impossible to know how it will go until its gone and can potentially mean a nifty shortcut or that you fall behind slightly. In our case this was where we lost sight of the leaders team Rogue. We quickly caught and passed our Tiger Shackleton mates again to head deeper into the gorge. Aurélien showed his true strengths at this stage, our team now alone in the gorge he led us with a finesse over the rocks that I could only dream to be able to move with and he did this while navigating with a map in hand. We often had to call back our nimble French mountain goat so we were in sight of his movements, finding it much more efficient to follow his footsteps than bumble our own way through the terrain with an eye on him in the distance. It was at this point I taught him the game Marco Polo often losing sight just 10m away behind the boulder in front. Sara and I held our own well enough with half the length sized legs and strength of the boys while we all collected our fair share of bumps, brusies and scratches on the unforgiving slippery moss covered, wet creek bed. It was absolutely fantastic.

Approaching CP 3 we were certain we were in the right place and double checked the area before heading further up and down then around the creek to find the CP. Unfortunately by this time, we had missed the 11am cut off we were racing for at the mountain bike transition and 50mins later we orientated ourselves and had found the CP. We were passed by three other teams in this time, the Avengers (who had also made an earlier nav error costing them the cut off), Mont (who apparently chose the high road out of the canyon for a while) and the trusty Shackleton boys who were impressively without errors in the gorge. Soon learning as we arrived at the mountain bike transition that Rogue were the only team to make the 11am cut off and not be short-coursed for the rest of the race, meaning as long as they finished they had won the race just 5 hours in.

This timing gives you an idea of how slow going it is in the gorge. The fastest team, without nav errors moved at a speed of 23 minutes per kilometre and took approx. 4.5 hrs to complete the 12km gorge. Personal speed is important to know to be able to time when you might be approaching a creek, CP or judging the distance travelled in a race. I am usually timekeeper for the team and Trev has a keen feel for our pacing meaning we always had a fair idea how we were travelling.

By the end of the gorge and transitioning into the MTB Rogaine, simply put I felt like shite. My knee was starting to niggle at the end of the gorge and I was terrified and ashamed that my body was starting to crack this early in the race. I was especially worried because I knew downhill is always worse on joints and we had another, longer gorge in reverse to take back to the kayaks in Leg 4 to come. I popped my first Ibuprofen at around 10am just 4 hours in and was hobbling along the roads to the MTB TA1, this was not good news. I spoke up early to my team – it is always a hard pill to swallow to admit the first niggles for yourself and the team but absolutely essential to be able to go on and complete the race. Often your team mates will have suggestions that will save you that you hadn’t thought of or if you are dehydrated, low on fuel you often cannot see the correct solution yourself. From experience I knew I needed drugs and Sara also told me she had stronger anti-inflammatories I should take next time and reminded me to hand over weight to the boys if it was still niggling on the way back down the gorge.

At the TA we got our MTB Rogaine maps and Aurélien and Sara quickly decided and mapped out which 5 CP’s we were getting.

The Nav man himself, refuelling on Baby Bells – legend.

Setting into the bike I was red lining it trying to keep on the wheel of my team mates and quickly falling behind I had to also try and play catch up with food shovelling snakes into my mouth as much as my heavy breathing would allow. Trev dropped back and mentioned I might need a tow. Towing is an important part of a race – the team is fastest when it stays together and helps one another out. Although I was gutted. They were words I never wanted to hear 7 hours in. I have pride in my cycling fitness from the past two years but at this point I was busting my ass and only making 20kph on the flat – something else was definitely up. Thankfully with the word “tow” mentioned and a couple of helpful pushes from Trev and Aurélien I was able to keep on Sara and Aurélien’s wheel…just! Trying not to think of the later consequences of a 2 hour sprint session, I did what I had to to keep up with my strong team.

This was definitely the lowest moment of my adventure racing so far and although I ate something in TA, it was a quick transition and probably not enough. Looking back – the gorge and kayak took us almost 6 hours and I definitely had not had my usual 6hrs of food whilst trying to clamber over rocks and keep up with my speedy team therefore was likely running very low on fuel. Lesson learned the hard way.

Back at TA I shovelled in as much food as I dared before our run ahead. At this point it is super important to realise what is coming. Yes I was underfuelled and we had a 14km trek – during which I would be able to handle a large volume of food in my stomach as we slowly worked our way down the gorge. However to get to the mouth of the gorge we had a 6km run on fire roads – for which we would definitely run at a solid pace. Chatting quickly to my navigators I soon figured this out. Therefore TA food was calculated – liquids with sugar, potatoes, couple of mouthfuls only of rice pudding and baked beans but nothing crazy to upset the stomach. Even some of you may think, I could never run on that! This shows the importance of not only running for training but training the stomach to deal with food whilst running.

Girls on Tour

Running to the edge of the gorge and slipping into our second canyon of the day we starting making our way down the impressive Tallowa Gorge realising it will take us into the evening to get to the end of it. So, we set off with haste to get as far down in daylight as possible and after I had popped my second lot of Ibuprofen, egg sammie for dinner courtesy of Sara (wham bam thank you maam!) and sucking up my knee issues for the bumpy road ahead. Tallowa Gorge was more knarly than the first with boulders the size and height of cars and sheds often requiring negotiation around or down. For us pocket rockets – we become rather height challenged in this environment. Sara at 1.57m and I at 1.62m understandably find it a little difficult to clamber down the front of a boulder with a two metre rock face. Whereas Trev and Aurélien standing at near 2 metres tall themselves they quickly became essential to getting us down the gorge. Aurélien used the bear hug method standing front on to us and essentially grabbing us like small children and lowering down to the ground or grabbing our hands to pull up a tall boulder absent of footholds. Trev used the tree trunk method, standing strong whilst we climbed onto his shoulders and slid down his back to the rock below and giving us a leg up from the ground for the tall rocks whilst Aurélien gave us a pull up. Thanks boys, we would have definitely had trouble without you!

Finally dark descended on us in the gorge and the progress became slower, but who should come upon us at this time – our mates Rogue Adventure who had been travelling with us in this section of the Bundanoon creek earlier in the day. With 8 pairs of eyes and headlamps, spotting routes in the creek was much easier and we kept up a good pace for the remainder of the gorge, the need to keep up with Rogue outweighing nagging knees and other niggles. Finally we came across our kayaks once again that we had left so long ago that day, after a mighty 11 ish hours in gorges and just 2 hours on our bikes, it was safe to say most bodies were pretty glad to be sitting in a kayak for the next 4 hours.

Usually kayaking at night is sleep-inducing, disorientating and difficult to keep a decent pace however this particular 24km course I really enjoyed. Aurélien and I worked well in the navigating boat, me keeping timing and pacing at approx. 7km/hr and my spotlight on the obstacles ahead and the shoreline for orientation whilst Aurélien kept his eye on the features of the lake matching to the map. He chatted to me about the map and what to look for ahead which was really helpful in both of us keeping our orientation. A strong headlight beam up front was essential to find our way in the pitch black. With cloud cover and no moon there really was a deep velvety black colour in the night. We luckily had Rogue to follow in the distance and kept pace well. Collecting CP’s without error, as we paddled to more populated areas of the river we came across campers and the lights of distance campfires along our travels who were startled to see paddlers at this time of night, and in an intoxicated state called out “what are you doing!!?”. I feel once they got their answer they were probably more confused as we informed them we were in a race and had 12 odd kilometres more to paddle and were only halfway through our race! Nearing the end Trev and Sara became a little dozy and I was in the mood for a song, having downloaded some Elton John words in my mind earlier that week I cracked out some Crocodile Rock and Tiny Dancer to keep the brains of my team going. Nothing like the cliffs of a river to accentuate and echo the voice of an undiscovered star bellowing out a Rocket Man chorus (I always knew I sounded amazing, why did Mum never agree?). Unfortunately I didn’t hear Sara’s request for Eminem whose songs I have had unashamedly memorised since I was 12, oh well I will save it for next time mate!

Making it to TA2 in a nifty 3.5hrs and the second and only TA with a box of gear to restock we were feeling good. My team mates were pretty chilly at this CP however I was thankful for my NZ blood and slight winter layer at this point finally being the one not in discomfort. It all swings in roundabouts over 36hrs! Just to paint a picture at this point – we spent approximately 45 minutes at this checkpoint. You may be thinking woah thats a huge amount of wasted time! But this was our last and only overnight transition, the last place in the race (with 15hrs to go) where we could change clothes, pack extra clothes for warmth, rain, the heat of the next day, shoes for the foot Rogaine to come, reapply chaff cream and gurney goo, eat a decent feed that weighs alot eg: tin of beans or can of coke, refill water and electrolytes, fit lights to our bike, use the bush bathroom and dump the gear we didn’t need. We need to pack up our kayak gear, close up the boxes and carry the kayaks to wherever the transition volunteers direct us. Its not a fast process and almost essential to take this time in order to have the energy and gear later on to survive the race. I am sure the fast guys reading this will be thinking that it is a long time but relatively I bet they spent there longest break here also.

Setting off on our bikes we had a big night ahead, zooming through the first few CP’s on the road we set off into the bush, thankfully my bike legs were pretty much back and I mostly kept up with my team, except for the odd hill here and there. There was one descent that lulled all of the team to sleep especially classic snoozer Trev, I become increasingly worried about the lack of NoDoz taken by Trev at this point compared with his usual requirements by 2am and his veering towards the cliff on the side of the road. So I directed him to ride on the inside of Sara and I so at least we could try and wake him before disaster. Falling asleep whilst biking downhill does sound funny, and is certainly laughable at times but the consequences are potentially very severe so it does need to be taken seriously! Paddling is a little safer, and in fact falling in would probably solve the problem! The packs were heavy on our backs with 15hrs of food and 6 hours of fluid plus rogaining shoes and clothes heading up some steep hills including the intimidating and epic Meryla Pass. This was one helluva hill on which once again we found team Rogue curled up asleep in the ditch halfway up. Disturbing their peace they joined us for the walk / granny gear slog after 20 hours of racing up the 550m of elevation over approx 3.5km required to get to the Foot Rogaine at the top. However at least it kept us awake and as we neared the top we were rewarded by dawn breaking across the Crackey’s Creek canyon looking very similar to the picture of the Blue Mountains I had seen.

After frustratingly looking for a CP15 with Rogue for a good half an hour that some little bugger had nicked off with and no longer existed we approached the Rogaine. Now in full daylight, breezing within the first 7am cut off by about half an hour. Us girls and Trev were pretty knackered by now (Aurélien barely seemed to break a sweat the whole race … machine!), with probably 2000m elevation, 25 hours of racing and 11 hours of gorge trekking in our tired legs, a 20km fire trail run ahead was not a welcoming task.

Got to love that superstar Tiger’s grin

Collecting our rogaine maps we set off, quickly realising that Sara and I , the pocket rocket twins that we are, had now both developed twin ITB knee pain issues and running was not an option at least for now. Keeping to a fast walk we were pretty bored at this point, collecting CP after CP at a slow pace to our usual in the increasing heat of the morning. With knees becoming increasingly painful and our minds more, to be honest, disappointed in this relatively boring leg of the course we started to get savvy with our race decisions. Trev, realising we wouldn’t catch the teams ahead at our current max pace and that we had been the last team to enter at the 7am cut off suggested we get 5 checkpoints out of our potential 7 CPs allowed which was one more than the 4 CPs allowed for those who reached the rogaine after 7am. To still come ahead of those teams but also to not bust our girls knees completely and take an extra 1.5hrs on course for no change in placings. It was a welcomed and motivating call so, giving the boys our backpacks we were able to hobble an interesting style of jog for the last 2 CP’s.

Looking buggered in the early hours of the morning

Now for the last stage – the MTB back to the finish. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy but somewhere involved 600m of elevation loss and a section of sealed road, can’t be too hard right? Wrong.

Zooming through the first few fire roads through massive puddles was super fun to start and then we got to the section of the race where we had to walk our bikes for 3.5km along a tourist scenic walk called the East Rim Walking Track. Reaching the entrance we were greeted with absolutely breathtaking views at Twin Falls lookout over the incredible Yarrunga Creek gorge. Looking even more similar to the Blue Mountains pictures I had seen this was confirmed by team mate Aurélien who knew the Blue Mountains well, that this sight was potentially even more impressive.

What incredible views! Definitely looking like we are 30 hours in!

Yarrunga Creek Canyon from one of the lookouts on the East Rim Walking Track.

Walking our bikes along what was admittedly one of the most incredible short walks I have ever seen past many waterfalls and lookouts, was also extremely frustrating at the time! Just imagine midday on a beautiful Sunday long weekend at the end of school holidays how many tourists and families were out enjoying the trail in the good weather. And here we are now 30 hours in, sleep deprived, hungry, tired, exhausted, now hot and some who-will-not-be-named very grumpy racers trying to keep up a pace through the mahem. Thankfully the pictures don’t look as bad as we felt!

Dodging tourists…took some of them out with those handlebars, whoops!

Finally out of the circus, smiling again we came to the Fitzroy canal, we hooned along the fire road keen to get to the finish line. A couple CPs collected and our last hill done and dusted, we had the most epic section of riding to go! A massively steep and fun switchback fire road down down down losing all our elevation in one go, certainly testing my down hilling guts and skills with butt right back behind the seat, brakes on, conservatively pumping, it was a cautious descent for this weary rider. I made sure Trev was behind me knowing I would slow him down and how tired he had been getting in the last few km’s. Sara and Aurélien were fast out of sight with skills vast excelling mine in this terrain. Hitting the road we were almost home. With our second to last CP under the main bridge into town at the popular swimming bend on the Kangaroo River, Sara and I couldn’t resist jumping in fully clothed shoes and all to cool off on what was now a 30+ degree afternoon. Looking a little out of place amongst the other bathers, thankfully our boys joined us for safety in numbers. What an amazing feeling!

Riding into the finish I thought back to that moment in the gorge when I had to admit my knee was niggly and the worry I had at the time about completing the race. Adventure racing really digs deep into your abilities as a human, through sleep deprivation, physical exhaustion, mental obstacles and real physical pain shine qualities of endurance, determination, grit, teamwork, strategy and mental toughness. It really is an amazing discovery of self, of those supporting you and those that you are there to support along the journey.

I did finish with the team, honest, I am hiding behind Aurélien, camera shy after all those hours in the bush!

Another race finished, another adventure had, job done superstars. That’s my team of which I am immensely proud to be part of, Tiger Adventure. This pic will always bring a giddy smile to my face. We came away with 5th overall and 4th in the premier mixed my best result yet. This meant that overall for the year team Tiger Adventure finished 6th in the A1 National Australian Adventure Race series of which I was able to be part of for three amazing events with five incredibly gutsy, awesome humans Trev, Sara, Aurélien, Joel and Craig. Thanks for the adventure guys!

Some of you may be wondering why my race report has come out so fast, usually it’s a month later! Well, the aftermath of this race in the last few days have been a tough ride. Scratched and bruised, hobbling with the knee that managed to persevere the remaining 29hrs after the original niggle, a creaking back from carrying 15hrs worth of supplies by bike over the pass and sore muscles I never knew existed after the gorge. On the drive home the immune system started to fail also, leaving me with a head cold, sore throat and mouth ulcers that are yet to heal meaning a week sick at home alternating between bed and couch writing my race blog! Probably didn’t help having by far the greatest the volume of long events back to back throughout the year, it caught up on me and I am wrecked. Lesson learned…But what better test of endurance, sometimes you learn more about yourself from the tests in life that hurt the most or don’t go to plan.

That’s a wrap for racing for 2019 my debut year into the sport I feel I am truly made for. I’ll be taking a break until March but over summer I plan to blog about stuff that will help those newbies out there get started comfortably into Adventure Racing with gear lists, discussions, recommendations especially for the ladies! Also my forte of food, what to eat, when and how to plan it. So if you are interested, getting in to it or perhaps are still working on getting it right, then I will share all the secrets for your 2020 debut! Stay tuned to my adventures, share the blog with your mates and comment away! I love hearing your stories and advice.

Bring on 2020 with first race in the calendar in March, 24hr Explore Gippsland run by AR, Rogaine and Orienteering Aussie legend Rob Preston in Gippsland, Victoria. However, next years overall goal is bigger than 24 hours. It’s been my life dream since its inception in 2011, the world class 9 day expedition race in Rotorua, New Zealand, GODZone 2020. Bring it on Tiger Adventure! Lets get training!

Thanks Trev for all the amazing Tiger efforts you do to bring together fantastic people for incredible adventures.
You are Awesome.

“Awesome (defn): extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring awe.”