Ultra_Tales_Issue_13

ARTICLEEAT 2 COMPLETEAndy Mouncey talks about “fuelling during an ultra running”By Andy MounceyIt became increasingly apparent as I picked throughthe wreckage in the aftermath of my DNF at theSpine Race in January 2014 that while mine is(eating) most of the time, there have also beenregular occasions when it just isn’t. This realizationhas been a bit humbling as I thought I’d got thisthing nailed – and hey, aren’t I supposed to besome kinda expert here?Four other things have happened since then toshake this cozily constructed belief:• I created and applied a new reviewingtemplate that caused me to see my SpineRace attempt differently• The final content for my new book ‘So YouWant To Run An Ultra’ was the food-fuelsection and that research gave me pause forthought• I was poked and prodded on this subject bymy audience at Keswick Mountain Festivalrecently and that forced me to check myanswers in a very public way• My www.itera.co.uk adventure racingteamies and I sat down with Sarah Gartonwww.nutritional-vitality.co.uk atwww.wholesomebee.co.uk in Settle evenmore recently and that gave us all pause forthoughtAs I’ve written about previously the short versionon my Spine Race fun and games was that I simplydid not eat and drink enough to do the relentlessforward motion bit and keep warm. The solution isto eat more pies and wear a thicker cardigan. Butit’s the bit before that that’s the key:How on earth did I - an experienced and informedparticipant who had a clear and compelling goal tofinish the damn thing – allow myself to get into thatstate?The key to arriving at any valuable answer is to askthe right question in the first place – and thatmeans rising above the usual What Went Well? WhatWent Wrong?So I came up with something else* that revealedthe real culprit for the first time:SHORT TERM THINKING CAUSED BY UNCHECKEDCOMPETITIVE TENDENCIESSomething that apparently I’ve been honing all mylife:‘Andrew’ noted a junior school report from the1970’s ‘likes a challenge.’So much so that on occasion everything else goesout the window. I can become consumed in thethrill of the chase, the tactical micro-battles, andthe joy of moving as well as I can through thelandscape. Even when I’m well into a downwardspiral I know can do bloody-minded and get to aninterim check – though the cost can be great andsometimes terminal. There were two significantoccasions – that’s right only two - in my Spine Racewhere short term thinking became the basis for mydecisions – and I paid for them both in the end.Reading other race reports from The Spine it quicklybecame clear that one thing I wasn’t doing thatmany other folks were – race winner Pavel probablyanother exception – was stopping to eat at pubsand cafes along the route. Even the kids in theschools part of the project thought that was abitdaft. Except to me it’s a race – and I don’t stop atpubs when I’m racing – ‘cos it’s a race! If that staysthe same then I only have one alternative: Carrymore – and accept all the implications that bringswith it.The book writing forced me to see this trend goingback years:23 ULTRA TALES | OCTOBER 2014Sponsored by thehttp://