How to eat during the longest race from our offer - Spartan Ultra? What to eat before, during and after the race, how to deal with crises? We will look at this in a two-part series on nutrition by nutritional therapist and our ambassador Klára Viršíková.

Ultra is a massacre where every detail matters. It goes without saying that at such a race, tried-and-tested clothes, shoes, high-quality socks, trimmed nails and various proprieties such as sunscreen, thermal foil, gloves... And of course nutrition.

And the time for all this testing, which will fit you, is right now. Preparations for the races in the new season are in full swing, each competitor is solving the details and thinking about how to adjust the training according to their goals. And if you've made it your goal to complete an Ultra, it's time to train. It's not enough just to run and exercise and practice obstacles, it's important to try these things: what shoes fit you for longer runs, what clothes are comfortable and don't chafe anywhere, and of course FOOD and DRINK.

Now is the time to try home bars and see if they work for you during a long workout and don't make you sick. You can try different drinks and superfoods, etc. It is definitely better if you have to go to the forest during training, when you can return home in peace or call an ambulance and go rest. When you have an accident like that on the race track, it's not so much fun anymore. I myself experienced a bit more nausea at the 9th km of the 1/2 marathon and I jumped over the barriers from some slope so as not to throw up under people's feet. The feeling afterwards was crazy and the race was completely ruined, and when I somehow got to the finish line, I fell straight into the arms of the rescuers and was kicked a little bit. Just an experience you don't want to experience at Ultra! At 50 km it is more difficult to curl up than at 21 km without obstacles.

So: - you can take various dried fruits or nuts on the track - if you prefer salty, try dried meat or a bag of spices from Chinese soup, which you will gradually put on the tip of your finger, can save you - you can also try chocolate or various home-made and purchased bars, for example made of dates and various pieces of fruit and nuts, when you just press everything into a mold and cut it - you can try different isodrinks or diluted vegetable and fruit juices

Try everything several times on a longer run / training session.

You can then take tested foods and drinks to the races and thus reduce the likelihood that you will get sick after something you haven't tried. The biggest mistake we can make before such a demanding race is to go to the stall at the festival and buy something you've never had before and put it on just because Franta also always wears it before the race and it suits him. You have to follow what suits you. Don't forget to combine the food and drink that suits you in different ways, if by chance the given order in which you had the tried-and-true goodies didn't suit you.

Next time we will talk about eating during and around the races.