One thing that can definitely make or break my ultrarun on Saturday, is nutrition.  It is critical that I take in lots of calories during the run.  Not fueling my body sufficiently, means that there is a good chance that I will bonk.

Fortunately, my experience in fueling for full distance Ironman events, will help me. I am used to consuming hundreds of calories per hour from those events, and I will need to do the same on Saturday.  I also have the fueling that I did on my Rachel Carson Trail run, to fall back on.  For that event, I was able to eat several things, that I would not eat in a triathlon.

The big difference between my solo run on the Rachel Carson Trail, and Saturday’s Ultrachallenge, is that there will be aid stations along the way.  They will be stocked with standard items like, gatorade, sports gel, soda pop and water.  Many of them will have other treats like PB&J sandwiches, cookies and potatoes.  This is a good thing, because you never know what you will feel like eating, at any given moment during the run.

One thing I do know, is that I need to consume lots of calories early on in the race. It is very important that I don’t get behind with my nutrition. I need lots of calories and once behind, it is hard to catch up.

Finally, I must not forget hydration.  It looks like it will be a fairly hot, partly sunny day for the race.  I am sure I will be sweating a lot, and not just about making the cut-off time!!