By Keren Faulkner

Having worked in sport for over 25 years and observing the way athletes prepare for their events, I have a strong interest in applying my learning when I head out on a rogaine. I want to share a few ideas, respecting of course that there are plenty of people with more experience and expertise than I have.  I am not a dietitian (but I do spend time with some very good ones.)

One thing I’m interested in is the research that links cognition (eg problem-solving and decision-making) with blood glucose levels. It won’t be surprising to regular rogainers that our chances of making a navigation mistake increase when blood glucose is low. What might be surprising is that if we’re feeling depleted, we can trick our brain into thinking we’ve eaten a meal by sucking on a sweet or holding a high glucose drink or gel in our mouths.  There are glucose receptors in our mouth which signal to our brain that we’ve eaten food.  Mood and cognition have been shown to temporarily lift, even when a glucose drink was just swilled in the mouth for a few seconds and expelled. Think about this tactic when you’re making basic errors that you wouldn’t usually make.

When I’m packing for a rogaine, the weight of my pack is important.  The heavier the pack, the more energy required to carry it up the hills.  I’ve wasted energy before by carrying food that I didn’t need so now I try to pack exactly what I’m going to eat on the course.  Food that provides a lot of energy for its weight is helpful.  I love nuts and dried fruit for this purpose.

It can be helpful to consider the Glycaemic Index (GI) of the food I eat before I leave the Hash House and while out on the course.  GI is a measurement of the speed at which a food increases sugar levels in blood.  More simple carbohydrates like cordial, lollies, jam or white bread have a high GI.  They are digested quickly and provide a sudden increase in blood sugar (glycogen) that can be utilised quickly to produce energy.  For short sporting events, these are ideal.  The down-side of high GI food is that the energy availability is short lived.

Low GI food provides a slow increase in blood sugar that is sustained over a longer period of time, perfect for a rogaine.  Examples include brown rice, oats (porridge is great), almonds, walnuts, legumes, most fruit and sweet potato.  Most are minimally processed.

One last consideration is the way food is consumed during a rogaine.  Eating small amounts frequently will keep our energy levels more even.  I try not to get too depleted – aiming to avoid getting to the point where I’m hungry, tired, thirsty and likely to make mistakes.

My top tips are;

  • Eat low GI food before the start. Porridge or brown rice with vegetables are great choices.
  • Try almonds, walnuts and dried fruit while out on the course for high energy and low GI. Nut bars can be great too, especially if you invest in ones with a range of nuts.
  • Wholemeal wraps are another good choice on course. Add cheese and salad, peanut butter or hazelnut spread. Cut them in half so that you can grab a smaller snack more frequently – maybe eat something every hour at a minimum.
  • As you get towards the end of your course and energy is lower, suck on a lolly (keep it in your mouth as long as you can) at each control or whenever you have an important decision to make.

All the best with your next rogaine – see you out there.