Main content

The endurance diet

How athletes feed themselves during extreme sporting events.

When you鈥檙e 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鈥檙e 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/ 麻豆社)

Available now

28 minutes

Last on

Sun 4 Jul 2021 07:32GMT
麻豆社 World Service except Europe and the Middle East

More episodes

Previous

The lure of on-demand groceries

Next

Life lessons from the honey bee

See all episodes from The Food Chain

Broadcasts

  • Thu 1 Jul 2021 03:32GMT
    麻豆社 World Service except Australasia, East Asia & South Asia
  • Thu 1 Jul 2021 04:32GMT
    麻豆社 World Service Australasia, South Asia & East Asia only
  • Thu 1 Jul 2021 10:32GMT
    麻豆社 World Service
  • Thu 1 Jul 2021 21:32GMT
    麻豆社 World Service except Europe and the Middle East
  • Thu 1 Jul 2021 22:32GMT
    麻豆社 World Service Europe and the Middle East
  • Sun 4 Jul 2021 07:32GMT
    麻豆社 World Service except Europe and the Middle East

Food Chain highlights

Tea, coffee, spices, chillies ... snack on a selection of programme highlights

Podcast