There is a wise saying in Ayurveda, Indian medicine: if you can digest it, you can eat it. There is also a wise saying in ultra running; don’t try anything new on race day. That’s why I’ve been experimenting with Näak nutrition in the last couple of weeks, as Näak is providing the gels, bars and sports drinks for the UTMB CCC.
I see ultra running as a puzzle. There are a lot of pieces, and only if all the pieces fit, you will make it to the finish line. For me, nutrition is one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle. One that I got wrong a lot of times.
Let’s go back in time for a moment. All the way to March 18, 2023, my first ultra marathon; the Endurance Life Sussex. I ran 53 kilometres (1.611m+). I just ate what was on offer. I knew nutrition was important in ultra running, but I hadn’t experimented with anything yet. That race I learned a big lesson; if I just eat what’s on offer, I will run around with a belly full of gas and spend most of my running looking for bushes to hide behind.
I’ve taken my nutrition seriously since that race, and experimented with a lot of brands. Some worked, others didn’t. One problem always stood out; sugar. Too much sugar just gives me gas. Maybe not a nice thing to say, but it’s what it is. So my quest was to find bars and gels that aren’t too sweet. And eatable, because the longer I run, the less saliva I have to swallow bars away.
A combination that worked for me, was Isostar sports drink and energy bars from De Bisschopsmolen. That’s a bakery in Maastricht, the Netherlands, that created the bar together with the nutritionists of Jumbo-Visma and the specialists of the Maxima Hospital in Veldhoven.
RELATED: Running an ultra trail race on cupcakes
Yet, that combination led to two new problems. There isn’t a trail or ultra race in the world that uses the bars of De Bisschopsmolen, and most trail races I’ve run don’t use Isostar. Which simply means, I have to carry all my nutrition during my race. During the Grand Trail du Saint-Jacques I had a kilo and a half of energy bars with me. To be frank, I can do without all that weight. Especially when I have to climb 6.000 metres, like at the CCC.
The other problem; I used to take a tube with Isostar tablets with me, so I could put one in my soft flask at every aid station. But after running (read: shaking) for twenty to thirty kilometres those tablets would be all broken in little pieces. On top of that; it’s again more weight.
Now I don’t want to complain about a couple of grams, but if you have to run a hundred kilometres with 6.000 metres of climbing, and you have a running vest full of mandatory equipment, every extra gram starts to weigh you down. That’s why I started to look at Näak.
Näak provides all the nutrition at the UTMB races and with the CCC coming up, it would be great if my belly would be happy with Näak. I knew I could handle the sports drink, as I used it during the Grand Trail du Saint-Jacques. But what about the bars and gels?
I introduced those slowly to my belly. Just a bar and a gel during my training runs and rides. That went well. So when I went to Livigno, Italy, to train for a week at altitude, it was time to go full on. Every day a long run, every day Näak bars, gels and purees. Same result; my belly can handle them. The gels are salty, the bars not too sweet. That’s perfect. The sweet potatoes & butternut squash is horrible, but that’s okay.
The Näak sports drink isn’t my favourite taste. I prefer the Isostar Lemon, but the big advantage of Näak is the amount of carbs in their sports drink. Isostar gives you 35 grams of carbs per 500 millilitre. Näak gives you 55 grams. That’s a big difference. Especially because when I’m climbing I want to keep my hands on my running poles. So I can’t eat an energy bar, but I can take sips from my soft flask.
I didn’t finish the Grand Trail du Saint-Jacques. That had nothing to do with gastro-intestinal issues, but all with a torn hamstring. After 65 kilometres I stepped out. At that moment I still felt strong. I could have done the last 15 energywise, but I couldn’t straighten my leg anymore. I ran that race on Näak sports drink and on the bars from De Bisschopsmolen. It proved that I could handle a long day on Näak.
RELATED: Grand Trail du Saint-Jacques; my first DNF
In Livigno I’ve done a hike of 5 hours, all on Näak. No belly issues at all. So I’m going for it at the CCC. No kilo and a half of nutrition in my running vest, just relying on the aid stations.
What I eat between those aid stations, I already know. Näak has a nice tool on their website. You can choose your race (or distance), tell the website how long you think you’ll run for, and you’ll get an overview of what you need. If you run a well known race – in my case the CCC – it will even tell you per aid station what to take. I think that’s pretty cool.
So the only thing I have to do now is run. That’s probably going to be hard enough.
Sugars (maple syrup, maltodextrin), water, sunflower seeds, sunflower oil, pea protein, sea salt, green coffee bean dry extract, defatted cocoa powder, guarana fruit extract, potassium chloride, potassium sorbate, natural flavors, mixed tocopherols (natural preservative).
Energy Gel Chocolate
