A Guide to Backyard Ultras Part 4: Nutrition and the Mental Game

In the final installment of this series exploring all things BackyYard Ultra, we’re going to be looking at nutrition and the psychology of BYU. Whilst these 2 might not seem like obvious training partners, there’s loads of links between the 2, not least that getting either of them wrong can bring your race to a premature conclusion.

Nutrition

The first thing to note is that at most BYUs, there will be very little food provided – so don’t expect it to be like other ultras with loaded checkpoints. The usual offering is a hot water urn, tea, coffee and a few snacks like fruit and crisps, but make sure you check this before your race. There won’t be any provison on the loop itself other than what you take with you.

As with you kit, you have much more scope at a BYU to bring lots of nutrition with you. This is a good thing, but you need to be careful not to just pack like you’re going to a toddler’s party without thinking strategically about your needs.

So start with your basics.

• What provision for food preparation is available at your race? Some will have access to basic kitchen facilities such as a microwave, toaster, fridge and kettle. Almost all will at least have hot water. Don’t forget to pack things like a mug, plate, bowl and cutlery
• What is your target hourly intake? The ‘golden rule’ of 90 grams of carbs per hour may well be too much for you as an individual, and is likely unnecessary given the very low intensity of the race, meaning that you should be able to rely heavily on your body’s fat stores
• How do you normally consume calories during a race? Liquid, sports nutrition, bars, solid food? Consider whether you want to stick to what you know or to reduce the amount of sports nutrition given the race intensity and the easy, regular access to food. Whatever you decide, make sure you PRACTICE it well before race day to allow you to pin down your strategy
• Don’t forget to also plan for hydration and electrolytes
• What is Plan B if your nutritional strategy isn’t working?

Once you’ve established the basics, you can start to get into the detail and to think about the extra potential offered by a BYU:

• If you are going to rely predominantly on solid food, make sure you have a variety of tried and tested food with you. This should include at least 3 options of both sweet and salty foods
• Remember that you will need some food that is easily portable and can be taken on the loop
• Try to plan in some ‘real meals’ around your usual meal-times. This will help your body to keep some sort of routine, and can be a real mental boost too
• Have a few ‘treat’ foods that you keep back for when you really need it deep into the race
• Think about when you will eat. Will this always be at base or will you take food on the loop too?
• Remember to factor in the need to eat more during the night time hours, and try to plan in some hot food/ drinks over this period
• Consider you caffeine strategy (if using) so that you can get the most benefit from it
• Have an ‘if all else fails’ option, like reverting to sports nutrition if nothing else will go down
• Make sure that your crew is aware of your nutritional strategy, and include the details on your race spreadsheet/ crew notes. Ask them to keep a record of what you are eating, when, and any problems with that food
• Remember that the longer the race goes on, the more likely you are to experience problems with eating/ digesting food. Make sure you hae a plan in place for these potential difficulties
• Finally, there’s often random food offerings at BYUs, such as someone sending out for takeaway pizzas. Don’t eat anything that could cause problems for you, but a bit of something hot and different can be a real pick me up when things are getting tough.

• The lack of any definite finish line
• The repetitive nature of the loop
• Never making tangible progress in relation to other runners
• Deciding on pacing when pace doesn’t really matter
• The temptation to stay in the chair at the end of the loop
• Sleep deprivation
• Needing to collaborate with other runners whilst also competing with them
• Never having enough time to deal with serious issues or just to properly rest
• Continuing when you’ve already hit one of your goal distances

The most important thing is to go into the event with your eyes wide open to the fact that if you are going to push yourself, things are going to get pretty tough. You also need to recognise that your brain will play all sorts of tricks on you to try to force you to stop when physically you might be able to go on for much longer. Accepting – and embracing – this is key to being able to stay in the race.

A few tips to help you prepare:

• Don’t set yourself a distance target unless you are absolutely certain that you want to stop when you get to that target. Otherwise, you will likely end up stopping very soon after you reach the target even if you could have gone further
• Have some treats available for the tough bits – particularly through the night
• Make sure your crew know how to pick you up – humour. straight-talking, hugs etc?
• Write down some mantras/ reasons for what you’re doing so you can get motivation from these
• Use distraction – listen to a podcast, count your steps, sing a song, plan your next night out…
• Chat with another runner or tag along with a group – company and conversation are great distractions – even if it’s only to share the misery
• Use self-talk – both to give yourself encouragement and also to challenge yourself to dig deeper
• Embrace the pain – it shows you’re pushing yourself and gives you the chance to come out on top
• Stick to the golden rule – NEVER GIVE UP IN THE CHAIR! Make sure your crew are ready to boot you back into the corral ready to start the next loop
• Remember – one loop at a time – just one more loop!

And finally – BYUs take practice. If this is your first then just enjoy it, soak up the atmosphere, follow these tips to get as far as you can, and take what you learn from it into your next attempt. Beware, it’s a very addictive pastime – you’ll definitely be back for more!