Fuel plan
90 kg, 162.2 km, 19:10 of running. Targets per leg, worked out from the schedule rather than per hour of clock time.
- Carbohydrate
- 1320 g≈ 69 g per hour, tapering
- Fluid
- 9.8 L≈ 510 ml per hour
- Sodium
- 8830 mg≈ 460 mg per hour
- Energy taken in
- 5300 kcalAbout a third of what it costs
Leg by leg
| Leg | When | Running | Rate | Carbs | Fluid | Sodium | Roughly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start — D1 Tranum | Evening | 3:08 | 75 g/h | 235 g | 1.6 L | 1410 mg | 3 bottles + 6 gels |
| D1 — D2 Svinklovene | Night | 2:45 | 75 g/h | 205 g | 1.2 L | 1100 mg | 2½ bottles + 5 gels |
| D2 — D3 Bulbjerg | Deep night | 3:23 | 70 g/h | 235 g | 1.5 L | 1350 mg | 3 bottles + 6 gels |
| D3 — D4 Vigsø | Dawn | 2:51 | 70 g/h | 200 g | 1.3 L | 1140 mg | 2½ bottles + 5 gels |
| D4 — D5 Klitmøller | Morning | 2:03 | 65 g/h | 135 g | 1.0 L | 920 mg | 2 bottles + 3 gels |
| D5 — D6 Vorupør | Late morning | 1:51 | 65 g/h | 120 g | 1.1 L | 1020 mg | 2 bottles + 2 gels |
| D6 — D7 Lyngby | Midday | 1:37 | 60 g/h | 95 g | 1.1 L | 970 mg | 2 bottles + 1 gel |
| D7 — D8 Lodbjerg Fyr | Afternoon | 0:50 | 60 g/h | 50 g | 0.5 L | 500 mg | 1 bottle + 1 gel |
| D8 — Finish | Afternoon | 0:42 | 60 g/h | 40 g | 0.5 L | 420 mg | 1 bottle + 1 gel |
| Total | — | 19:10 | 69 g/h | 1320 g | 9.8 L | 8830 mg | — |
A “bottle” is 500 ml of mix at 30 g carbs, a “gel” is 25 g. Every depot has bananas, cola, energy drink, wine gums, crisps and muesli bars — anything you eat there counts towards the same total, so take one gel out for each. There are no cups at the depots: bring your own.
Caffeine
The useful dose for 90 kg is 270–540 mg across the whole race, and it works best saved for when it is dark and you are slow. Starting early wastes it: tolerance builds within hours.
- Until 22:00
- none
- Leave it alone — the night is long and you cannot take it back
- D2 Svinklovene
- 50 mg
- 23:58 — a small first dose as the night settles in
- D3 Bulbjerg
- 100 mg
- 03:26 — the circadian low. This is the dose that matters
- D4 Vigsø
- 100 mg
- 06:27 — carries you through dawn, when sleep pressure peaks
- D6 Vorupør
- 100 mg
- 10:36 — only if you need it, for the last 25 km
Drop bags
Pack each bag to cover the whole distance to the next one, on the assumption that nothing at the aid stations appeals. If the station food does appeal, you carry less — that is the good outcome.
- Bulbjerg 03:26
- 335 g · 2.3 L
- Has to reach Klitmøller: 41 km and 4:54 of running, through dawn. Roughly 5 bottles of mix and 7 gels, plus 200 mg caffeine, a headlamp battery and dry socks.
- Klitmøller 08:35
- 310 g · 3.2 L
- Has to reach the finish: 40.2 km and 5:00 of running, in the warmest part of the day. Roughly 6 bottles of mix and 5 gels — more fluid, fewer sweet things, and something salty you will still want at 12:00.
- Start to Bulbjerg
- 680 g · 4.3 L
- Too much to carry — 81 km over 9:16. This stretch depends on the crew or the depots at Tranum (21:08) and Svinklovene (23:58). The 29 km from Svinklovene to Bulbjerg needs about 1.5 L on its own — the entire mandatory minimum — so leave with every bottle full.
Before you use any of this
These are starting points, not prescriptions. The single biggest predictor of whether 70 g an hour works is whether you have practised it. With eleven days to go there is no time to train your gut — so if your long runs have been at 50 g/h, run this race at 50–60, not 75. A plan you can keep down beats a better plan you cannot.
Do not chase the fluid number. 510 ml an hour is an estimate for a cool night and a mild Saturday; drink to thirst and let it float. Over 20 hours, drinking too much plain water is the more dangerous mistake — that is what the sodium is for. Finishing 1–2 kg lighter is normal and fine; finishing heavier than you started is not.
When the stomach turns, it will be around 03:00. The fix is not to push through: stop the gels, sip cola, walk for ten minutes, then restart at half the rate and build back. Ten minutes spent fixing it at Bulbjerg is cheaper than four hours of nausea.
Worth weighing yourself before the start and at the finish — it is the only honest feedback you will get on whether any of this was right, and it makes the next plan better.