XAVIER THEVENARD'S ADVICE ON PREPARING FOR THE UTMB: ‘BEFORE THE RACE

TIP NO.1: ‘MY PREPARATION FOR THE UTMB DOESN'T START ON A SPECIFIC DATE. IT NATURALLY FOLLOWS ITS COURSE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

‘My preparation for the UTMB doesn't start on a specific date. It naturally follows its course throughout the year. So I don't make any spectacular changes to my diet in the run-up to the race. I'm sticking to my basics and keeping in step with my day-to-day diet, which is built around fresh, seasonal, short-distance produce. I look for real diversity in my menus and a balance between acidifying elements, such as cereals and proteins, which make up 30% of my meals, and other alkalising elements, such as fruit and vegetables, which make up 70% of my diet’.

TIP NO. 2: ‘MY BEST PREPARATION? IN 2015.’

‘Every athlete has their own recipe for preparing for the UTMB. As far as I'm concerned, even if I repeat the main lines that I know work, I like to try out new things every year. In this respect, I think that my best preparation, the most accomplished, was in 2015. Unlike 2017 and 2018 - when I pushed the machine hard with copious blocks of training, between 25 and 35 hours a week - I was more cautious and parsimonious in 2015, diluting the physical load over a larger number of weeks, less voluminous, around 20 hours. Longer preparation, but more linear’.

TIP 3: ‘IN TRAINING, LEARN TO SAVE ENERGY’.

‘On the UTMB, I'm setting off cautiously, managing. My average heart rate over the whole event should be around 120 or 125 beats per minute, compared with my usual maximum heart rate of 180 bpm. From then on, it's the lipid pathway that gets activated and proves to be the most effective in providing the body with the energy it needs. In practical terms, this means using lipids, or fats, as the main source of energy... Why? Because our natural reservoir of fats is larger than that of carbohydrates and their transformation generates less waste, particularly toxins. The use of lipids as the main source of energy is called lipolysis. The idea ahead of the UTMB is therefore to develop these lipolysis capacities in order to deploy the most efficient lipid system possible on race day! How do you do this? By practising the low-carb diet carefully and regularly, as well as going out on an empty stomach! ​

TIP 4: ‘BE CAREFUL ABOUT CARBOHYDRATE INTAKE 

‘I try to be really careful about carbohydrate intake in the 10 days before the UTMB. This is known as the carbohydrate recharge. In other words, building up a sufficient stock of what are more commonly known as ‘slow sugars’ in preparation for D-Day. So at every meal, I make sure I prepare a portion of sweet potato, quinoa, buckwheat flour pasta or something else, the only constraint being to avoid gluten, which tends to irritate my intestines.'

TIP NO. 5: ‘AVOID RAW FRUIT AND VEGETABLES’.

‘I also avoid eating too much raw fruit and vegetables, whose fibre is more easily digestible when cooked, steamed or in the form of purée and compote... Some fruit and vegetables, because they're in season at this time of year, remind me of the good taste of the UTMB: apricots, peaches, cherries, figs, melons, courgettes, tomatoes, artichokes, broccoli...’.

TIP 6: ‘MY PRE-RACE MEAL: TWO EGGS AND SWEET POTATO’.

‘As the start of the UTMB is at 6pm, I'm not changing my usual eating pattern. I have breakfast at 8.30am and lunch at 12.30pm. Then I have a snack at 4pm. Then, banzai! The same thing every time: two eggs and sweet potato, mashed or steamed. I love sweet potatoes, not only for their taste but also for their benefits: they're rich in carbohydrates, have a low glycaemic index, are gluten-free and easily digestible. The mistake not to make is to eat too large a meal on the big day. To avoid feeling ‘heavy’ on the start line, I recommend eating sensibly but at more regular intervals, until 6pm.'

TIP NO. 7: ‘BEFORE THE RACE, GO GREEN’.

‘To succeed in the UTMB, you need to be physically fresh, of course, but above all mentally fresh. Because it's this energy and willpower that keep you going over the last few kilometres. In order to be able to wait calmly and retain as much nerve impulse as possible, I advise you to have packed your bags and be ready to start on Wednesday. I'd also recommend avoiding the hustle and bustle, the overload of demands and emotions... in short, staying calm!'

TIP NO. 8: ‘THE NIGHT BEFORE, WHEN I GO TO SLEEP, I PROJECT A FILM IN MY HEAD.'

‘Pre-race sleep is often tortuous, even with experience. When I have trouble falling asleep, I project images of a film whose lines I know by heart, as if I were watching it in my head... It helps me get into my bubble!'

XAVIER THEVENARD'S ADVICE FOR A SUCCESSFUL UTMB: ‘DURING THE RACE

TIP NO. 9: ‘START VERY CAREFULLY’.

‘The UTMB is so precious to me, it's such a great party, that I won't allow myself to spoil it by setting off too quickly! The fear of not seeing Chamonix again and thus seeing the festivities through to the end encourages me to be cautious and patient. So I prefer to start at my own pace, managing the race without worrying about the rankings. On the first descent in particular, I'm taking it very easy so as not to cause too much muscle strain in my quadriceps. Obviously, the atmosphere and the popular enthusiasm encourage you to speed up, to let yourself be carried along, because you feel like you're growing wings, but that's a trap you mustn't fall into: the energy of the smiles you meet along the way, it's better to put it away in your rucksack to use later than to use it right away...’.

TIP N°10: ‘DEFINE A NUTRITION PLAN AND TRUST IT’.

‘I like to define a nutrition plan before the race because it allows me to move forward unhindered during it! This nutritional framework is precise, but not rigid. It's a set of guidelines that allow me to improvise and adapt calmly, if necessary, depending on what happens. Defining this framework beforehand also has the advantage that you don't have to ask yourself any questions during the UTMB, particularly when you start to lose your lucidity. The mental burden is less. You just have to trust the protocol!'

CONSEIL N°11 : « DES BARRES POUR COMMENCER, Du semi-liquide POUR FINIR. »

‘My nutrition plan is relatively simple. I eat une barre énergétique even if I'm not hungry and don't feel the need. Then, once I reach Champex (km 126), I swap the bars for les compotes énergétiques et gels énergétiqueswhich I take more frequently: every 20 to 30 minutes, depending on how I feel.'

TIP NO. 12: ‘CULTIVATE THE SURPRISE EFFECT’.

‘What I particularly like about Baouw is the variety of recipes! I like all the bars and all the compotes, so to create the element of surprise, I put them all in a big bag and pick and choose. It's very invigorating and comforting to be surprised by the taste in your mouth. The pleasure of the taste buds makes you forget the pain in your legs for a while!'

TIP NO. 13: ‘ALWAYS CARRY 2 ENERGY BARS AS A SAFETY MEASURE, JUST IN CASE’.

‘There's always a great deal of uncertainty at the start of a UTMB. To limit it slightly, I prefer to carry two emergency energy bars, which I can eat in an emergency. In fact, I've already had to use them, after 12 hours of racing, to put an end to the threat of a huge hunger pang that was just around the corner!' 

TIP NO. 14: ‘RUN YOUR OWN RACE, NOT SOMEONE ELSE'S’.

‘Rather than chasing a position, I focus on lap times, which I learn by heart or write down on a little bracelet. This allows me to get into my own bubble, to detach myself from the competition and to run my own race, not someone else's! From Champex onwards, I start thinking about the rankings and focusing on the result. Not before. These times vary very little from one year to the next. I just adapt them to the weather conditions and any changes to the route’.

TIP 15: ‘DO AN INTERNAL SCAN TO MAKE SURE YOU'RE GOING AT THE RIGHT PACE’.

‘To avoid going into overdrive, I do a little internal scan based on three indicators that tell me I'm in the right rhythm: firstly, the feeling of fluidity in my stride, as if I were unwinding with a certain kind of ease; secondly, my breathing, which is regular; and thirdly, the desire to have fun, which is increased tenfold by the joy of being there!

THE NUTRITION PLAN FOR UTMB, BY XAVIER THÉVENARD

Xavier Thévenard, three-time winner of the event, shares his nutrition plan for the UTMB. Before you read it, we'd like to make a couple of important points:  

• ‘Xav' is a great champion and his nutritional needs may differ from those of another runner whose aim is to become a finisher.
• Each nutritional plan is very personal and deserves to be tested and validated during training beforehand.

NUTRITION : 

1 organic energy bar chosen from any of our recipes, ‘to cultivate the surprise effect’, every 40 minutes, up to Champex, km 126. Then 1 organic energy compote every 20 to 30 minutes, ‘depending on how you feel’, from Champex onwards, at km 126.

HYDRATATION : 

500 to 700 ml per hour of naturally sparkling St-Yorre mineral water, depending on the heat conditions.

© Peignée verticale, Benjamin Becker