On Thursday July 12, I had the opportunity to speak at Camp Kingswood Oxford about my experiences with obstacle course racing and how nutrition impacts my performance. I met Sheri, the director of the camp, on the plane when I was going to the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships in Canada back in October. We got talking about why we're going to Canada and she told me about the camp, and I told her about obstacle course racing and how I got interested in it.
I started off telling the kids about how I got started with racing. I ran my first 5K road race back in 2014 and that led to me cleaning up my diet. A couple months after that race, I ran my first obstacle course race which was a Warrior Dash. After completing that race, I wanted to find something harder, and that's when I found Spartan Race. I started competing in the open division, which is where racers can help each other with obstacles. In 2016, I started competing competitively, and this year is my first year as an elite racer. I have been working with a coach and he has me training 6 days a week.
I also explained how my nutrition can make or break my performance. Last year, I had a couple of bad races, and it was because my nutrition was off. I've had a hard time balancing my electrolytes and I feel that I finally figured out how to balance them. I take an electrolyte tablet, as well as an electrolyte powder and I feel that combination works the best for me. Also, leading up to a race I eat a lot of complex carbohydrates, such as pasta, oatmeal, and bread. During races, especially ultras, I eat a lot of simple sugars such as honey, gels, and fruit. Simple sugars give that quick energy because they get digested quickly.
I also brought some of my medals to show the kids, and I explained how each race is a different length and how Spartan has 3 different lengths. The sprint course is about 5 miles, the super course is about 8 miles, and the beast course is about 15-16 miles. I described the different obstacles that Spartan has, and how my favorite is the bucket carry.
To give the kids an idea of how challenging the bucket carry is, I brought a 50 pound bucket full of rocks, and I had the kids pick it up and guess how heavy it is. The kids had a great time picking up the bucket and a few came close to guessing the weight.
To end, I left time for the kids to ask me questions. The kids asked so many thoughtful questions! One girl asked how I balance school and racing. Another girl asked what I wore when I ran a winter race back in March. Overall, I had a great time speaking to the kids, and it was an incredible experience!
