Hi Alan,
It was me at La Fouly with the magic potion! I wish I'd given you another one at Champex - although you did look pretty pale (well completely white actually) when we spoke again at Champex.
I am very lucky as my wife has an MSc in Sports Nutrition and runs a nutrition business
www.inside-out-nutrition.co.uk
As part of my preparation/training she looked at the route and the timings between check points for my estimated running time. The difficulty was in knowing what was actually available at the checkpoints - food/drink wise.
She then calculated a feeding and drinking programme that she put onto a card so that in my befuddled state I would remember! I checked the card at each cp to see what I needed to eat/drink and pick up. The card worked a treat and I got stronger and stronger through the race moving steadily through the field from 830th down to 225th to finish in 34hrs 49mins. I also carried 1.5 L of fluid rather than the basic 1L required (or nothing if you were the race winner?) The extra fluid was in view of the time I was likely to take between cp's and the absorbtion rates for water/fluid.
For a race of the length of the UTMB I regarded the feeding plan as a major part of my overall preparation - especially because of the likely temperatures. Crossing the start line fit and fueled was only the start, as too many Brits found out the race plan has to build in what you need to keep moving in the conditions. I get her advice on shorter races too - as soon as I know that I will need to eat on route.
Ultimately this time I just wanted to finish as I had based a family holiday around the race, maybe I will go for a time in 2009?
Simon