Will consuming raw food during the world’s toughest marathon race mean the difference between winning or losing?!
We are very excited to be supporting one amazing athlete called Richard Bettles on his 250km race through the sand dunes of the Sahara Desert starting April 6 2013.
The race called “Marathon des Sables” spans over 7 days and each competitor must carry their packs with all of their food and water for the duration. And if that is not enough to make you feel tired just reading it, some days they will have to cover over 80km’s including vertical sand dunes and endure 50°C+ heat.Richard is racing for charity. All contributions go to Bear Cottage in Sydney, such a great cause!
The Raw Food Kitchen will be supplementing Richard with REAL food in-between his dehydrated camp food to help keep his energy levels and nutrition intake up.
To make things tricky, he has certain food weight and calorie requirements so we have to make sure we get his raw food treats just right.
Richard and I met a month ago and went over his current training program, and the foods he was eating. I was surprised to see that although he thought he was eating quite well, alot of the foods were quite processed and included my old favourite (not), low fat dairy and meat.
Because he trains super long distances regularly he has to continually keep his energy intake up and he’s currently doing this by eating jelly snakes, drinking electrolyte sports drinks, taking salt tablets and gels amongst other things.
On top of that, the powdered food he will be eating during the Marathon De Sables are loaded with MSG, chemicals and numbers and are highly processed.
Caffeine tablets are also on the menu during the day too!
While these work in the short term, my concern is that he is taking in alot of artificial ingredients, can actually contribute to dehydration, are highly processed, and acidic for the body, and may result in sugar crashes and caffeine crashes later. Training of this intensity is stressful on the body also, which can also contribute to acidity in the body.
So my plan for his race is to top up with as much nutrient dense REAL foods as is possible during the race, using superfoods, and incorporating Himalayan Crystal Salt (which contains all 84 essential trace minerals and elements the body needs, balances electrolytes, balances pH in the body, is alkalising and boosts the immune system) in conjunction with his salt tablets, camp food, caffeine tablets and jelly snakes(!).
The foods I’ve chosen to go in the back pack are:
Choc Crunch Buckwheaties Cereal.
Buckwheat is very alkalising, high in protein and complex carbs so will be great for refuelling. The cacao used in the recipe is super high in anti-oxidants and I’ve laced the cereal with superfoods such as maca, bee pollen, camu camu and goji berries, all great for energy, stress support, stamina, endurance.
Bee pollen is super high in protein. Gram for gram it has 5 – 7 times more protein than meat, and is a bio-available protein which means the body can easily utilise this protein as opposed to working hard trying to break down a complete protein such as meat.
He will add some of the raw food cereal on top of camp food in the morning before starting his big day.
Spicy Seed Mix.
Soaked and dehydrated sunflower seeds with pepitas and crushed almonds. Loaded with good fats and vitamins, plus I have been very generous with the Himalayan Crystal Salt so he can snack away knowing he is balancing his electrolytes! Almonds are also very alkalising.
Marathon Cookies.
These cookies were from my Raw for Kids workshop but Richard loved them so much we decided to put them in the pack. We have renamed them from Fairy Biscuits to Marathon Cookies though! Ha ha. These are a great treat, energy dense and loaded with cacao and nuts for anti-oxidants. Also made with dates and lime juice so by eating these cookies he gets alkalised, and refuelled with complex carbs, good fats, vitamins and minerals.
Fruit Roll Ups.
I am secretly hoping these will replace the jelly snakes for good! They are so easy to make and are 100% pureed fruit. Nothing artificial at all about these. He will get his energy fix with these but without the extra work the body has to go through to deal with the artificial flavours, and preservatives in the jelly snakes!
Plus I will be providing him with a handful of smoothie recipes that are packed with superfoods and hemp protein so he can amp up his nutrient intake and really help support his body during training.
Not surprisingly – training these distances he has an achilles heel injury he is currently battling. I hope that by incorporating these green smoothies and juices every day they will speed up his recovery process. Fingers crossed!
I’m also providing him with the calorie, protein, carb and sugar content of these foods so he can really refine what to take, when to take and how much to take.
One of the requirements of the Marathon De Sables race is that all competitors must consume a minimum of 2000 calories per day, plus Richard has to take into consideration his carb and protein requirements, and how much his pack is going to weigh, and therefore how much food he can carry. Tricky stuff!
Once Richard starts including a bit of extra raw food in his training day, he will be posting on Facebook on how he is going…. so stay tuned for the post, it will be a rawsome experiment!
Richard will be blogging of his progress during the race and how his body is responding to the challenges when he can find an internet cafe or wifi spot in the desert(!) to let you know how he is going.
Day 1 of race starts April 6 2013. We wish you all the best Richard!
If you would like to find out more about Richard or donate follow this link
For more information on the Marathon De Sables follow this link
NEWSFLASH! Stage 1 | 38k | 7 April 2013: Update from our Raw Food Runner, Richard Bettles:
What a fantastic 38k stage. Started the Highway to Hell, massive energy on start line. We had plenty of flat stony ground, a few k of dunes and some solid rises. Started towards back of field and worked way forward. First checkpoint at 13k, flashed through,made up 1.5ltr sports drink and pumped down gels etc, next check point was getting HOT.
First 20k’s felt rock solid and sarted to tire at 28,more food and got back on track. Passed a Moroccan at 30k which felt good and eventually the finish line was in sight, 4k away. Picked up pace and tucked in behind Italian woman. I’d been passing runners continuously at this stage and going toe to toe with the Italian was great fun.Finally crossed finish in 4h12m somewhere in top 100. I believe there are 1030 starters. Tent mates are great, 2 x British Army Colonels, Emma a Captain and Apache Pilot! Captain Chrissy, a lawyer and my old school buddy, Matt Hebden. Only got 1000 characters to work with and a dodgy keyboard. Signing off for today with NO blisters =result!
NEWSFLASH! Stage 2 | 31k | 8 April 2013: Update from our Raw Food Runner, Richard Bettles:
Started today in 73 spot & first Australian. That was yesterday, today was BRUTAL. 3 djebles (mountains), a treacherous ridge, long long flats and sand dunes. Had a bit of a panic when running out of water across flat and a Polish competitor had run out and looked desperate. Still had some spectacular views but definitely less conversation today with other competitors. The water at checkpoint 2 was liquid gold and the cup of sweet tea given to us at the end was even better. So feet..felt invincible yesterday, today = 3 black toenails that have now been lanced and taped by “Doc Trotters”. The rest of the race is going to be interesting. Hats off to the blind guy and the team carrying 3 disabled children in a sedan chair, how they are going to get across that ridge god only knows. Amazing, and that’s what’s great about the race. BTW it was only 40c today so i’m told. Thank you to those that sent emails of support, we look forward to them. Looking forward to 38k tomorrow and 75 on Wednesday. xxxxxxx
NEWSFLASH! Stage 3 | 38k | 9 April 2013: Update from our Raw Food Runner, Richard Bettles:
Thank you to all those that sent me emails. I’m really feeling the support and we look forward to the delivery. Today was long and mostly flat but HOT, man it was hot. Some nasty sand dunes and hot salt flats, again amazing scenery and great commaradery on route. We all push each other along and friendships are made. Yesterday was brutal but today hit my straps thanks to some painkillers, feet felt much better. Ate salt tablets like Maltesers and worked water strategy well. Somehow managed to come in 55th and now 67th overall. Safely outside the top 50 Elite runners who tomorrow start 3hours after the rest of us for the 75kday. I cant imagine what thats goingto be like! Adding Amandas food from “The Raw Food Kitchen” has kept me strong; todays fruit roll ups and the Buckwheat i’ve been adding to breakfast have been great + many other raw food treats. The best part about this whole experience is the time in camp and just being in the desert. Keep the emails coming and love to all xxxx
NEWSFLASH! Stage 5 | 42k | 12 April 2013: Update from our Raw Food Runner, Richard Bettles:
What an experience. Needed yesterday rest day to get through todays 42k. Yesterday = amazing experience, chillng out in desert, tending to wounds and geting food down. Cant stomach any more freeze dried, and apricot crumble was a mistake for food after long day. Having a snooze yesterday and a twister came through camp and sraight through our tent. Kit was suddenly 100m in the air, biggest loss was Chrissy’s sand gaitor so had to make new one out of a buff and tape. Today started in 75th, now 2nd Aussie. It felt hotter and we are all knackered. Lots and lots of dunes and next Aussie 7min behind me. Needed to keep that distance and today was a race. The dunes were so tough and getting water rations at checkpoints was delightful. I think I managed to hold off all the Aussies. Last 8ks were long and tough, thought I’d take it easy in until Italians and 2 Aussies started making a race of it. It was on and we went hard last few k’s, so hard I threw up over Patrick Bauer as he gave me my medal. Finished and so close to beer x
NEWSFLASH! | The Finish Line | 14 April 2013: Update from our Raw Food Runner, Richard Bettles:
Cest Fini. The most fantastic and toughest days of my life. What a blast. The desert, the racing, the camps, the organisation, the friendships, getting back to basics, freeze dried apricot crumble (not) will be missed….until next time (better discuss that with Louise). Overall came 72nd/1020 competitiors and 2nd Australian but the experience was the winner. Thanks Matt Hebden for sharing with me. And a really huge thank you to all those that emailed during event and supported from afar. It was really felt. Its beer and tagine o’clock with Tent 130 – with Matt Hebden and Annie Hebden at Ouarzazate! xx Richard.
What do you think of Richard’s current diet being a marathon runner? And what are your thoughts on raw foods for athletes? Feel free to leave your comments below!
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