Nutrition plan for the Diagonale des Fous

164 km and 9,917 m of positive elevation gain, this is what awaits the "crazy" people who will participate in the new edition of the Grand Raid de la Réunion next October. How to prepare for this ultra-trail? How to manage your nutrition before and during the race? Luderce Marguerite, MX3 partner for many years and who has participated several times in this crazy race, shares with you all her advice.

Physical preparation

For the 2017 edition, my preparation began in May of the same year. I built myself a training program that included Muscle Strengthening, Intensity, Threshold Work, Mountain and Endurance (RITME) sessions:

R	Muscle strengthening	1 time every 10 days
I	Intensity Work	1 session / week
T	Work at the threshold	1 session / week
M	Session of Mountain	1 hill interval training session / week + 1 long mountain outing / 15 days
E	Endurance session	1 session / week

Despite some strong constraints, I managed to stick to my program, which I think allowed me to finish the race. For my training, I had as playgrounds: the forest of Meudon, the slopes of Issy-les-Moulineaux, the 25 bumps course (Milly-la-Forêt) and occasionally the trails of the Bauges massif.

Nutrition during training

At the start of each preparation session, an energy bar

Endurance sessions

One tube of Long time gel at the start of the run and one to two tubes of Antioxidant gel diluted in the water bottles. One sip every 10 minutes.

Hill interval training sessions

An Antioxidant gel at the start of the session + one to two tubes of Fast Energy gel diluted in the bottle

Long outings

An energy bar at the start + antioxidant gels diluted in the gourds + a Long time gel 10 minutes after the start (taken directly) + two Fast energy gels for hard climbs (taken directly).

The little tip

I find the method of diluting the gel tubes in the gourds interesting; it has several advantages:

Space saving.
Absorption spread over a longer distance (regular nutrient supply).
Spreading out the intake avoids sugar saturation.
Product effectiveness preserved.

Nutrition during the race

1 hour before departure: 1 waiting drink .
30 min before departure: 2 bottles of water (600 ml), one containing a diluted Long time gel and the other containing 1 diluted Antioxidant gel.
10 min before departure: 1 tube of Long time gel .
5 min before departure: 1 tube of Antioxidant gel.
At each refreshment point, I fill my water bottles with 1 dose of maltodextrin and 1 Antioxidant or Long time gel diluted in the water bottle.
For each big climb, 1 Fast energy gel.

Diagonal of Fools