I had the best adventure supporting Will Robinson on Running India – 700km across India from Chennai to Mangaluru. This took 7 days, 11 hours and 2 minutes, totalling 741km. 

My role was to organise and prepare the nutrition, support and crew Will across the challenge. I also had the opportunity to run several sections across the days. This is the first time I have supported such a big project, so many learnings and reflections. 

Here are my top reflections and things I will take forward to any future projects and considerations for you if have a multi-day challenge in mind. 

Be flexible and adaptable

Challenges like this never go totally to plan, we covered different distances than initially planned. Accommodation planned on the fly. Equipment not available as planned. 

The best purchase of the trip was a kettle which allowed the breakfast and dinners to be made, I thought hotel rooms would have them, but none of them did! A lack of cool box in the entire of India meant keeping food cool was not an option. It turned out that ice is not readily available anyway so potentially would have been of limited use as it turns out. 

Will’s nutrition preferences changed everyday, from a predominantly sweet day to savoury. Bigger meals to mostly sports gels. Therefore, I had to be adaptable to have preferences available, seek out suitable shops to obtain any extra food we might need. 

There is always a trade-off between ideal nutrition and practical delivery

The aim was for 60g carbohydrate per hour. This was thought to be quite punchy and due to the lower intensity running that amount was probably not necessary, but I thought it was better to aim high, rather than go for less and then not hit this. The research for multiday challenges of this length is minimal, so the name of the game was to eat as much as possible. Practically there wasn’t always options available, it depended where we were, we were also limited by lack of hot water to make bigger meals during the day. 

Overall, he averaged 207kcal per hour and 42g carbohydrate per hour whilst running.

Work out what approach best motivates the client. 

Reflecting on the nutrition strategy with Will on how what we can do differently has been interesting. Whilst I wrote down everything he ate during the challenge, I did the analysis a few days after. However, on discussion it may have been more motivating to see the numbers in real time to help reinforce the importance of eating and drinking. I was worried it may be demotivating to hear that you are way off nutrition targets, but this was my opinion rather than the clients. 

Do your location research in advance.

One of the biggest surprises of the trip was the variety across the 700km, from different climates, food, availability of shops. Whilst I had spoken to a dietitian from India and done some of my own research into the food options, the availability was quite different and with different variations of the same foods across the route. 

The climate was always going to play a huge part in this challenge. The high temperatures and humidity were difficult to replicate in training and more consideration on how to manage this going forwards would be higher on my list. Some of the cooling strategies planned in terms of ice, and cold foods were just not possible. 

You cannot control everything

Accepting that there will be so many variables out of my control was so important. I was really pleased with how well I felt I adapted to the challenges and changes. You never knew where you would end up stopping, what would be available, what mood Will would be in. Would he accept the food you had prepared? Most often no, but putting it away, providing an alternative often worked. Always have a Plan B and C, but be prepared for these to all go out the window!            

Know your client and crew; teamwork is key

It took several days to get into the swing of crewing, as a group of people that hadn’t worked together before and never been to the country there was bound to be teething problems. Whilst knowing Will quite well before the trip, I had never crewed him during a race or event. During these periods it is important to set expectations, communication styles, how best to motivate. 

One thing that was difficult for me was trying to change my communication style. More closed questions, more direct and less options to be provided was what was needed. This is a totally different communication style to what I have spent years developing in my professional career, and I really struggled with this. As a crew member, your job is to take away as many stresses and decisions as possible from the runner to ensure that they can focus solely on the running (or whatever sport). 

Mix up real food and sports nutrition

Variety is key, but knowing the place and timing of both is important. The sports gels provided a quick and easy high carb option, whilst the food helped keep up interest and enjoyment. Considering time of day as to what options may work better. For example, fresh fruit and more liquid carbohydrate options during the hottest part of the day, rather than dryer options tended to work well. 

As ever, practice with as many options as possible in advance of any event or challenge. There were a lot of new foods involved in this trip, Will had never been to India before, nor tried a lot of the cuisine, but we needed the local food, so more carefully selected options were provided and tried on the route. This was a little higher risk strategy than initially planned, however this provided great variety, enjoyment and integration into the community. 

Keep it simple

Breakfast and recovery routine were the same everyday, this meant there was some routine to the day. Which was helpful from not only my perspective but also for Will.   

Prepare as much in advance to make it less chaotic on the road. 

Breakfast was pre-portioned, recovery shake in individual sachets. Full lists of options and carbohydrate options written out to make it easier to track. I spent most the time organising from the boot of a car, so with little room so I was pleased for my pre-packaging before we left for India. 

Taking along antibacterial wipes and washing up liquid to clean on the go. Ziplock bags to split up the food as needed. Wooden cutlery, plate and knife, cup, thermos and Tupperware cup – all so useful, and allowed to cut up fresh fruit on the road, prepare noodles out the back of the car and many more useful options. 

Make sure you take time to enjoy the experience and get stuck in

I was very lucky to be able to join Will on various running stints, covering between 10-35km per day. This allowed me to experience the country from a different angle. It was not always super scenic, the hard shoulder of the equivalent of a motorway into a major city wasn’t always the dream, especially surrounded by the most chaotic driving you’ll ever see. But experiences I would have never got otherwise. I have never had so many selfies in my life, but always felt so welcomed by the locals which completed the experience.

Food is always so important to me and a huge part of my travelling experience, some of my favourite moments of the trip were enjoying breakfast across the country. Trying all the different local options was a pure delight and always absolutely delicious. 

My role as a crew member went far beyond just the nutrition; and included at times route planning, clothes washer, wake up duty, packing bags, and generally whatever else was needed. 

Having the time to enjoy the country, meet new people and forge new friendships in the process has been incredibly special and most of the time this did not feel like a job. It has helped me develop as a practitioner and I hope I get the opportunity to support another client on a project in the future!

If you have a challenge coming up, or would like to dial in your sports nutrition then please get in touch to see how I can support you.