Bob Graham food

[Stolly]

Okay I'm trying to finesse my Bob Graham food and drink list which, from my failures/experiments last year, I've managed to whittle down to the following:

Road stops

Flat coke - bottles
Water - bottles
Lucozade sport (just a few)
Milky tea
Fruit cocktail + rice pudding
Soup and soft buttered bread dunked
Cold pizza
Peanut butter and jam sandwiches

Carry myself

Chocolate coated raisins
Mini jaffa cakes
A couple of whispas (much easier to eat than mars bars or snickers)
Mini Pringles (salt is good)
Jelly babies (ideally just for the final leg or 2)
Sultanas

Support runners

Flat coke - a couple of bottles
Water - 2 or 3 bottles
Lucozade sport - 1 bottle
Peanut butter and jam sandwiches
Mini pringles
Bananas
Sultana cake
Cold pizza


All ideas and suggestions welcome - I'm not going until June so plenty of time

[Bob]

Don't carry anything yourself, it's what your helpers are for.

I found that as the round went on I went for softer foods, had tomato soup at Wasdale. Peanut butter might be a bit "dry".

[DrPatrickBarry]

Did I read somewhere that you should be keeping away from sweet stuff, protein is more important!

[Stolly]

Did I read somewhere that you should be keeping away from sweet stuff, protein is more important!

Too much sweet and you can feel as sick as a dog but getting any food down (and feeling sick) is preferable to not being able to eat. Cakey dry and savoury stuff and bread can easily become unchewable and unswallowable

[old un]

Custard goes down easy when you can't face owt and full of calories, the little jelly pots with fruit or the custard and fruit potd are very easy and handy to carry too

[vespa]

dried fruit especially apricots
dry roasted or salted nuts
lemon flavoured sweets from power bar better than jelly babies
tunnocks caramel wafers
lots of variety of flapjack bars
marmite and cheese
cornish pasties from keswick

[Corniceman]

Too much sweet and you can feel as sick as a dog but getting any food down (and feeling sick) is preferable to not being able to eat. Cakey dry and savoury stuff and bread can easily become unchewable and unswallowable

In theory that sounds OK but from experience the vicious cycle of not eating enough, the onset of nausea and then not wanting to eat takes hold. Nausea creeps in after a few hours (for me its so often at about 7 hours onwards). The onset of the nausea's feeling can be delayed/held at bay by eating more early on. But once you feel nauseous eating or fancying anything on a prepared list is really difficult and its often then a case of your support cajoling you and almost forcing you to eat very regularly. Often sweet stuff is the last thing you want so I would definately have available to you some more savoury stuff. Crisps, tiny little squares of thin ham sandwiches that you might chew for ever and have to wash down with water. I would also have someone carry some gels for you as even jelly babies can become revolting and a gel however palatable or not can just do the job you want it to. So it is worth being prepared for the unexpected, as what you fancy now might just not be what you want on your round.

[Mike T]

The nausea is because the fuel needed for digestion is being diverted to the muscles, so to prevent/treat the nausea you need to eat more and/or slow down. Prevention is of course better than waiting until the problem develops, but it must be difficult to appreciate the importance of eating early in the round when full of energy and going well.

[DrPatrickBarry]

Cakey dry and savoury stuff and bread can easily become unchewable and unswallowable

Oh boy did I find that out yesterday on my leg 1,2,3 recce. That is what recces are for I suppose!

[Stolly]

On the carrying myself front Bob, I like to carry a few bits and bobs of food + plus a waterproof and gloves. No big weight and I can always pass the stuff on if necessary.