12 November 2008

Nutrition for a South Pole Race

I was interested to read a PDF of advice published by the team behind the South Pole Race (a 430-nautical mile race part-way from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole scheduled to start later this year) that advocates eating every two-and-a-half hours while hauling a pulk.

I might be letting slip one of my secret weapons here, but the longest I'll go on an expedition without eating is 90 minutes. I was taking in 260 calories per hour (predominantly carbohydrate) on my North Pole speed record attempt this spring and I've never felt stronger – or travelled faster – on a polar expedition. There's some great background on this approach in Steve Born's excellent piece, Proper Caloric Intake During Endurance Exercise.

I'll post something slightly less geeky later today.

— Filed under North Pole 2008, Other expeditions, SOUTH

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