Sarah Funderburk, the leading woman as darkness falls at Battersea, is partial to salted potatoes. Brian Robb, the overnight race leader, slurps his way through 57 yoghurt tubes, the sort more commonly seen in a child’s lunchbox.
Samantha Hudson dos Santos Figueira (formerly Amend), a GB 24hr runner and the British women’s 100-mile record holder, has taken it a step further in the past. “I’ve had baby food in a race – because it’s easy to get down.”
In a 24hr race, eating on the go takes on a very literal meaning. But getting food – or “fuel”, as many call it – into your body is not easy, especially after it has taken a pounding for several hours.
“I had such a hard time chewing,” Funderburk, an American now living in London, says after the race. “I made loads of jam tortillas but I just didn’t want to eat them.”
Stocks remembers “gagging even when I looked at food”, while Hudson dos Santos Figueira eats raw ginger to combat nausea. “I just munch on it – it’s disgusting.”
Britton, who coaches some of the world’s best ultra-runners, says: “I eat mostly gels. It’s painful but you’re just getting in as much as you can. They taste OK, but does that matter? I’m not eating to enjoy it.”
Every long training run is eating practice, according to 37-year-old Field. “I did one where I ate a Pot Noodle and a tin of rice pudding.”
He stopped for only 26 minutes of his record-breaking run. Britton was on the go for all but 23 of his.
Although there are portaloos by the side of the track, even those few extra footsteps can seem like an unnecessary diversion. In a 2018 race infamous for its atrocious weather, Stocks remembers shunning social etiquette. “It was late, it was pouring with rain, so why would I bother stopping? I would pee in my pants.”
Lined up along the edge of the track are the support crews – normally a partner or friend who has sacrificed their weekend to pull an all-nighter.
Some runners arrive with little more than a plastic bag of snacks and a camping chair. Others operate out of the boot of their car. The best prepared bring a gazebo, fridge and spreadsheet containing a scientific nutrition and hydration strategy.
