logo
episode-header-image
Jun 2021
28m 27s

The endurance diet

Bbc World Service
About this episode

When you’re competing in a round-the-world race and you have to take all your food with you, what do you bring and how do you cook it?

If you’re scrambling up and down mountains for days on end, or swimming across an entire ocean, how do you find the time to eat, and what can you stomach? Tamasin Ford speaks to three extreme endurance athletes about the planning, practicalities and monotony of these gruelling events. Is food simply fuel, or can it power competitors in other ways?

Producer: Simon Tulett

Contributors:

Dee Caffari; Billy White; Benoit Lecomte

If you would like to get in touch with the show please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk

(Picture: A runner in the 2019 Marathon des Sables race. Credit: Erik Sampers/Gamma-Rapho/Getty/ BBC)

Up next
Jul 15
The rise of eating alone
Listener Melanie wrote into The Food Chain to ask us to make a programme about the rising numbers of people who eat alone. She told us she often dines solo and sometimes finds the experience daunting. So today Ruth Alexander hears from Melanie and from other solo diners – some wh ... Show More
26m 27s
Jul 8
What do World Cup footballers eat?
Elite footballers are among the world's most finely tuned athletes. Every meal is carefully planned to fuel training, maximise recovery and prepare for the next match. But it wasn't always this way.In this episode of The Food Chain, Ruth Alexander explores how football's relation ... Show More
26m 29s
Jul 1
How to order a restaurant meal like a pro
With dining out becoming an increasingly expensive luxury, we find out how to order the perfect restaurant meal with top tips from a panel of seasoned pros. The Irish Times food critic, Corinna Hardgrave, veteran server and podcast host Brittany Felton and chef and hospitality ad ... Show More
26m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2024
Fueling For Endurance Sport With Alex Harrison
tail spinning
1 h
Jun 2023
The Food-Obsessed Subculture Of The Appalachian Trail
<p>How do you feed yourself on a hike that’s more than 2,200 miles long and takes six months to complete? Every summer, hundreds of people attempting to hike the entire Appalachian Trail, from Georgia to Maine, are faced with that question. This week senior producer Emma Morgenst ... Show More
39m 45s
Aug 2022
Ultra Endurance: Real Life Nutrition Tips - Ep. #36
<p>Bob and Dina chat about some real life sports nutrition tips and strategies that ultra endurance athletes need to know and do in their training, competition, or simply to make for a better overall “ultra experience”.</p> <p>We chat:</p> <p>· What is “ultra”?</p> <p>· What does ... Show More
35m 20s
Apr 2021
Endurance with Louise Minchin
How do you go from a six-mile commute to tackling 180km? Geraint and Tom welcome one of the best amateurs around to the GTCC to find out. BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin chats extreme triathlons, becomes the GTCC head of snacks and Geraint gets some presenting tips. See ac ... Show More
47m 5s
Feb 2022
Spinning on the Wheel of Constraint | My Opinion Is Fact
Dave, Chris, and Noelle check in midway through Day 1 of a monthlong sugar-banishment ordeal, and things are already looking tense. With two meals down and 88 to go, are they prepared to make it to the mountaintop? Surveyed through the hunger pangs: what Dave had for lunch, a NAS ... Show More
1h 1m
Feb 2024
Nutrition & Training for Endurance Athletes with Will Frantz
<p>In this episode, Mike is joined by Will Frantz to discuss nutrition, training, and recovery for endurance athletes. Whether you are someone who wants to run your first marathon or compete at a high level or just casually want to improve your endurance, this episode is packed f ... Show More
57m 17s
Feb 2022
How to Fuel Your Body
We’re joined by Anita Bean, registered nutritionist and author, to discuss how to fuel our bodies properly to best support exercise. We discuss: The rise in plant-based high-performance athletes How a plant-based diet can support athletic performance Is soya harmful or benefic ... Show More
43m 35s
Jul 2012
198 ND Sports Nutrition: Fact or Fiction?
With the 2012 summer Olympics underway, the world's greatest athletes are being put to the test. What are they eating to prepare? Test your knowledge about which foods fuel athletic performance.New to Nutrition Diva? Check out our special Spotify playlist for a collection of the ... Show More
7m 15s
May 2023
The Best Diet for Athletic Performance
You run, you jump, you walk. What do you eat? This episode features audio from Why All Athletes Should Eat Plant-Based Diets, Do Alkaline Diets Help Athletic Performance?, and The Gladiator Diet and the First Studies on Vegetarian Athletes. Visit the video pages for all sources a ... Show More
21m 34s