Comments on Desert Racer: Kalahari Marathon - Nutrition & Hydration review

Byron, I'm taking Pop tarts again to the Atacama C...

2009-02-28T20:18:00.000Z

Byron, I'm taking Pop tarts again to the Atacama Crossing in a few weeks time. They are just very easy to eat and pack plenty of carbs. They get a little crushed up usually, but that just makes them more enjoyable to eat. They have saved me a couple of times in big events. Unable to stomach any real breakfast or any other food, I can always seem to eat Pop Tarts. Another treat I'm taking this time is chocolate covered coffee beans. A treat and a cafeine hit at the same time.

Rich,
Thanks for putting Pop Tarts back on my r...

2009-02-28T19:24:00.000Z

Rich,
Thanks for putting Pop Tarts back on my radar. I've eaten them during relay races and probably even in ultras, but hadn't considered them as an MdS fuel source. Quite the tasty carbohydrate source.

You might be onto something there. Why both with ...

2008-10-31T09:08:00.000Z

You might be onto something there. Why both with tiresome carbs, just drink olive oil, hit the wall straight away and run off pure fat as fuel? :)

So you're saying I shouldn't just take 1.7 litres ...

2008-10-30T23:40:00.000Z

So you're saying I shouldn't just take 1.7 litres of olive oil??? Back to the drawingboard...

Thanks for your insights.

William

William. I weighed the mulebar at 71g and looked ...

2008-10-30T22:16:00.000Z

William. I weighed the mulebar at 71g and looked on the back and very quickly wrote down the kcal content. Now, after looking at their website, I suspect that the nutrition information is a little misleading. I think the mulebar packed gives the calorie content of 100g and not the 71g pack content! So, you are probably correct. Mulebar need to make their labelling as clear as the other brands (unless I just missed it totally, I'll have to check)! I'll edit the original post for clarity. Thanks for that! They still taste great though.

There are certainly times when you don't feel like eating on a race, but I'm not sure how easy it is to get a quantity of liquid calories? Sure the electrolyte drinks have them, but I mix they so weak as to ensure my that the carn content is low. The higher the carb content, the more difficult it is for your stomach to uptake fluide for rehydration. Gels are another option, but I think they are too heavy for the carbs they provide. Maybe there is a liquid solution out there, but it would be a balancing act of getting calories and getting hydrated.

There are certainly times when only solid food will do. Well into the night stage I was realy craving solid food, and so wolfed down those mulebars in a matter of minutes.

It's hard to say what your palette will desire when you are in the desert, so unless you know for certain a good mix of foods would be a good idea. There is always a little trading that takes place amongst some competitors, if you find you hate everything you've bought along!

Hi Rich, good food analysis. One thing - don't Mul...

2008-10-30T22:02:00.000Z

Hi Rich, good food analysis. One thing - don't Mule bars weight around 100g? So prett much the same cal/weight ratio as the rest?

Do you find that there is a point into arun when you prefer liqiud cals to solid (or the opposite?)

William