In this short blog I tackle the issue of food.  I’m a mid pack plodder so my requirements may be different from a front of pack power runner but the aim of this blog is not to tell you exactly what to buy and how much of it , rather to give you the skills to decide confidently what you actually need AND NO MORE. The right number of Calories for Rory Coleman or Elizabet Barnes is exactly that …the right amount for them…and not you.

Choosing food for the MdS is a fine balance , take too little and you will feel weak and find things very tough , but take too much and a bag weighing over 10kgs is in serious danger of being the main reason you don’t make it through the race.

 I’ve seen both things first hand on other racers and neither are pretty.

I remember how daunting this choice and decision is. To take advice from one expert on this on exactly what to take and exactly  how many calories is  a terrible terrible idea. Firstly no two people are alike and secondly YOU are responsible for you food not them.

There is much debate on what is or isn’t good. I’ll avoid the intricate debates and give you a broad overview. This is a boutique race and as such there are no one size fits all solutions. Anyone that gives you a winning kit and food list that is the same for everyone is an arsehole.

Firstly you need a starting point. Ignore the 14,000 calorie minimum . Its for the mentally deranged. I would suggest a starting point of between 18,000 to 20,000 calories for the week and then tweak in testing over the next few weeks to dial down or up your exact needs. This is the starting point , not your final destination. Your food choices should weigh in total around 4.5kg which again should be highly sobering given the weigh of the mandatory kit ,  sleeping bag etc etc.

As a rule of thumb you will need a good mix of fat , protein and carbs. I would say that front runners will be more inclined to opt for carbs and rear plodders more inclined to opt for a more protein and fat orientated set up.  High revving engines of fast runners need the sugar whereas the low heart rate plodders tend to burn fat more.

You may choose to opt for recovery shakes in powder form , I’m personally indifferent to a lot of the pseudo science out there designed to peddle drinks and whey protein at high prices.  Use what works for YOU.

Your daily intake should be a mixture of freeze dried breakfasts ( I opted for a superb Granola ) , some easy to snack on things during the day on the move like nuts , gels and pulsin bars , pepperami etc and a freeze dried meal in the evening of about 800 to 1000 cals that may be combined with some recovery shake. If you are thinking of asking exactly what ones I used …. my tastes are different from yours so go out and buy a small variety and try them , hot and cold.  This is what I refer to as ‘controlled failures’ find out what you like and what you don’t.

So how do we dial down now from this rough 18,000 to take exactly what you need and no more  ? Well it turns out its easy! many of you will be doing Pilgrims Ultra in the months leading up to the MdS. a superb opportunity to live entirely on MdS food all day . This gives you a very good idea of what you will actually need , I appreciate that is cold and the body needs more calories but I actually think that the cold requirements help counter the fact that on the MdS your body will be under daily repair needs from the previous days running/ walking . I suggest this to my friend Pete Rees who did the race the year after and he said he was very glad he worked his food requirements this way. Pete came top 100.

Do a day on nothing but MdS food and do at least 20 miles WITH PACK ON to simulate your energy requirements. Take a note of what you ate and what you CRAVED. Your body will tell you what you are short of . I learnt I HATED beef jerky but LOVED nuts.  listen to your body. Shaky and weak at he end of the day ? up your calorie plan for the MdS. Feel good and have food left over ? reduce your calorie plan accordingly.

|Congrats you now know exactly how much and what type of food YOU need to complete the MdS. You are now the worlds expert on how to get YOU through the MdS nutrition wise.

A final few tips and tricks while we are talking about food.

Stuff your face with a huge breakfast of as much as you want on day one .  take self heating full english breakfast packs , anything you fancy as you aren’t carrying it for the rest of the week !

A stove and the resulting fuel needed is in my opinion a pointless addition of weight you cant eat . You’ll understand this more when you first weigh your bag fully with all the gear in it , groan and wonder how you are going to get your pack down from the 9kgs it will be on its first weigh in .  Try your food with luke warm water to dehydrate it . NOT STONE COLD. the desert will be at 40 to 45C which is plenty warm enough to be fine in the dehydrated food packs.

Go self sufficient in camp for food pre race. I know they provide food for you and its good food too but youve paid so much to go out there, don’t let poor hygiene or dodgy food you aren’t familiar with spoil your race before its started. Don’t shake anyones hand either.

Start loading water the MOMENT you get through security at Gatwick. Buy an embarrasing amount of water at WH Smith and take it with you . I saw a high correlation between non finishers and visiting the Gatwick Wetherspoons last year before the flight.