Pringles to the Rescue: Combat Vomiting With Salty Snacks

When I first started ultras, my stomach wasn't ever an issue. Sure, I'd lose my desire to eat but I rarely got nauseous and I couldn't puke even if I tried (and I did try on a rare off day, but the attempts were always "unproductive"). The first time I puked was at the 2013 Western States and it was actually quite beneficial. Chugging a warm Ensure left my stomach bloated and upset to the point that I was uncomfortable running and I didn't want to eat anything else. And then I threw it all up in one big heave and was instantly relieved. I felt light and easy running, and my stomach was re-set and ready to take in more calories. I felt so good for the rest of the day, I was able to put 45 minutes on my nearest female competitor and finish 9th overall. I really couldn't see why people made race puking out to be such a bad thing!

But the vomiting started showing up at other races and it wasn't such a good thing. I had my head in a trash bag a Sam Merrill at mile 90 of the AC100, an issue that likely cost me the sub 21 finish I had as my 'A' goal. And at Spartathlon a few bouts of vomiting sent me into a 30 mile tailspin with low energy and the mental "blues" from not having enough sugar in the brain. And then there was this year's Western States, where the final 20 miles my stomach was tied in knots and even the tiniest sip of fluid would start a violent bout of retching. This not only ruined what had been a very good race for me, but it was horribly unpleasant and probably the most uncomfortable I have ever been at a race (the only thing that rivals is the last three hours of the 24 hour world championship running on a very sore and inflamed knee). But the worst part was that I had Badwater just four weeks later and these new stomach issues caused a lot of consternation and additional anxiety.

Of course, I did my homework. I had several discussions with sports nutritionist Meredith Terranova. Her advice to avoid nausea:

- Use simple sugar solutions (glucose/dextrose, sucrose, fructose) not the complex starches and limit protein and fat.

- Incorporate sugar into the pre-race diet. Woohoo- I just got permission to eat candy from a nutritionist!! (She did say "a little" but I figured: like miles, more is always better, right?)

I also spoke to Robert Kunz, head of First Endurance with an M.S. in sports nutrition. Not only did he have a lot of great input, but at no point did he promote his own product or suggest that I buy it, which made a huge positive impression on me especially in this day and age of "hash-tag [sponsor]" everything. He had multiple suggestions:

- For people with nausea and vomiting troubles, he suggests NO protein or fat, relying solely on carbs. While protein consumption may spare muscle breakdown, amino acids provide similar protection but are easier on the stomach. Also, liquids and gels absorb faster than solids and increase gastric emptying.

- Avoid "gummy" products (blocks, chews, gummy worms, etc.). These delay gastric emptying.

- Specific to my run at Western States, Robert thought I needed to drink a bit more fluid per hour given the heat and then take more electrolytes, particularly sodium. (After becoming hypernatremic at Western States in 2012, I have been quite conservative with my sodium consumption; Wins at Western States and Angeles Crest with no sodium tabs and less than 200mg/hr convinced me this was the correct strategy (even though I was puking at AC). But the recent puke-fest was the wake-up call that I needed to try something different).

Despite the lack of a sales pitch, I bought some EFS drink mix (300 mg sodium/bottle) and aimed to drink closer to 1.5 bottles/hour in the intense heat of Badwater instead of 1 bottle/hr + a bit extra at aid stations as I did at Western States. This seemed to be going fine for the first few hours but by mile 26 I was puking! This was horrible - I had more than 100 miles to go!! I knew I was drinking plenty of fluid so I was concerned I still needed more sodium (Tailwind, which many people swear fixed their GI issues, has 600mg sodium; Gatorade  Endurance has 500mg/20 oz and and S-cap is 341 mg so EFS is middle of the road in terms of sodium content). I grabbed a can of Pringles...and promptly spit them out because they tasted way too salty - disgustingly salty -  and since I was already queasy, there was no way I was getting any down. Obviously, my body didn't want more sodium! Unfortunately, I floundered the next 30 miles, sipping mostly on water and a few swigs of Gatorade while walking pretty much every step of the Towne Pass 16 mile climb. 

At the top, I decided to try some Pringles again; this time they tasted great. My stomach was still touch and go so I only ate a few, but the saltiness was no longer repulsive. On the downhill, I started taking more water and drinking soda, my energy returned, I started running and running well! My stomach recovered and by Panamint at mile 72, I was wolfing down pizza! At mile 85, I pulled out the Pringles . They tasted so good, I ate half a can. My stomach was solid and I had great energy, I was passing all kinds of people and moved into second place for the women. But ten miles later I was starting to feel a little low again and the stomach was just starting to feel a little wonky. Well, bring out the Pringles! This time I had to spit them out again but not because they were too salty. Instead they tasted like paste; there was no flavor at all and I couldn't detect any salt. I took a salt pill and was feeling better in short order. At the next Pringles taste test, they once again were delicious and I left with a handful. I had given up on the EFS as soon as the puking started and instead was using mostly soda (very low sodium compared to sports drinks) and a bit of Gatorade, so I was definitely on the low side for sodium consumption. For the next 30 miles, I was sampling a Pringle every 2-4 miles. When they tasted good, I continued on. When they tasted like paste, I took a salt pill. Using this system, my stomach was better than it has ever been at the end of an ultra and I was able to keep my energy up till the very end to the point that I ran the final 45 miles faster than ANY other competitor in the field (granted, I hadn't taxed my legs all that much early on). 

It was amazing to me how the perception of one food could change so drastically over the course of the race. But the body is amazing and it knows what it wants, you just have to learn to listen. I do believe my puking at Western States (and my other races) were due to not taking in enough sodium. However, I do think I am fairly well adjusted to low sodium running and 400mg/hr was just too much for me. Exact sodium needs are difficult to calculate precisely but Pringles* proved to be the perfect litmus test for my electrolyte needs while I was running at Badwater and I will most definitely be bringing Pringles** to all of my big races in the future.

"Once you pop, you can't stop...running!"

*Other salty snacks would likely work as well but they have not undergone the same rigorous scientific testing. ;)

**No personal affiliation with Pringles

The Cost of Badwater

Every big ultra has its critics these days, and Badwater is no different. However, if you pay attention, almost all of the Badwater criticism comes from those outside the event; those who have participated are full of appreciation and praise. I am a cynic by nature and I admit there was plenty to make me skeptical as well. However, after participating in the race, I, too am a convert and you will only hear me say good things. That being said, the indisputable fact is that Badwater is a VERY expensive race and if this race is on your bucket list you might need to start saving a few years in advance!

Here is a breakdown of my costs. I believe I spent significantly less than the average person, but there are a few places which I noted below where you could shave off a few more dollars.

Badwater entry fee - $1500. This is probably the most criticized thing about Badwater - a $1500 entry  fee and they don't even have aid stations! This starts to make a little more sense when you are there when it finally dawns on you that Death Valley is really the middle of NOWHERE and there are no locals to help out, meaning many people have to be put up in hotels. There are a few niceties offered to runners, such as a cottage room in Panamint and a post race dinner for everyone. I will say the race had more officials for monitoring and safety on course than any race I have ever been at. Race officials found me three times to try to help me with my tracker (not entirely successful, but still appreciated) and I used the cottage room and footcare available at Panamint. Yes, the race is for profit and I am sure the RD gets a decent wage from the race, but this is now fairly commonplace in ultra running. The price is steep, but the only way around this is to pledge to raise $7500 for charity.

Crew Travel: $1200. Standard practice at Badwater is for the runner to pay entirely for the crew. This includes travel, lodging and hotels. My pacer Dennis and I drove from Oregon and crew chief Jimmy drove from L.A, significantly cutting travel costs. I paid $660 for my sister's flight and $515 for my other pacers flight. It was worth every penny to have them there with me, but if you want to keep crew costs down, stick with three crew members instead of four and find crew that doesn't have to fly to get to Death Valley. (Update: Others have noted "standard practice" is to pay for crew once they get to Death Valley but for crew to pay their own travel. That would certainly mitigate expenses.)

Van: $750. I rented a van for a week for $525. I was a little taken aback when the person picking up the van added the $30/day insurance; however, this ended up being a good thing as we spilled dirty water in the van and it stunk to high heaven when we were done with it. The crew also reported there were a lot of places that it was easy to open doors into rocks. Anyway, we probably could've gotten by without the insurance, but it was nice to know we didn't have to worry about anything we did to it while racing.

Hotels: $1900. I had two hotel rooms for two nights in Furnace Creek and two rooms for two nights in Lone Pine, plus one extra night while traveling. Both places outside of Furnace Creek, we stayed at Best Western, which has air-conditioning (about half the hotels in Lone Pine don't - your crew will thank you for the AC!) and a free breakfast (decreased food costs!). I got 10% off with my Costco card. I paid $127 in Fallon, NV and $141 x 4 in Lone Pine, both of which seemed reasonable. Furnace Creek  is where you will pay an arm and a leg - nearly $300 per night per room - and anyone looking to save money should think about staying elsewhere and driving to the Sunday race briefing and the Monday night time start.  I had my crew come in Sunday, which worked out fine in the end, but most people arrived Saturday which made for a bit more leisure time and less stressful race prep, but certainly adds to the costs, especially if that means more nights in Furnace Creek.

Gas- $500. This was 6 tanks of gas to and from Oregon, plus three tanks of gas for the van to and from LA and during the race.

Food - $500; Groceries -$150. A huge chunk of this was a $190 crew dinner on Sunday at the nicest place in Furnace Creek. On the bright side my crew didn't do much drinking and they weren't into dessert. ;) I brought a lot of groceries from Oregon and several crew members traveled with food, which meant we had snacks and race food covered.

Ice- $138. That's 200 pounds of cube ice plus two frozen water jugs. Be prepared to be gouged on the ice pricing in Panamint (and severely limited) but every place else was reasonable and plentiful.

Race Items and Supplies - $120. This is where I spent nearly nothing but you could easily rack up big bills here. Driving from Oregon meant I could bring things like coolers, sunscreen, towels, chairs, and spray bottles from home instead of buying when I got there. Critical gear includes: calf sleeves, arm sleeves, a high coverage hat, ice bandanas, and full protection sunglasses but I already owned all those things (and actually didn't pay for any of them originally either!). I also wore clear glasses for most of the second night but I used a free pair of protective eye goggles I got from the hospital where I work. I did not buy any of the "add-ons" offered by the race, such as signs or crew shirts, nor did I have any matching team shirts for my crew (they have to be in OSHA gear anyway, so not like anyone really sees them on race day!). Next time (yes, I said that!) I will buy better OSHA gear because I borrowed and skimped and we should've had a little higher quality stuff. I did buy 8 red blinky lights ($28) and 10 "Biffy bags" ($25) (cheaper online than through the race) as required, plus one OSHA vest ($8), and an umbrella ($14). I was able to borrow coolers and water jugs from a local race as well as a crew member and only bought one extra large cooler at Walmart for $60.

Total: ~$6,800. That's a hefty price tag for a single race! (Now think about the ten time finishers or Marshall Ulrich and his 23 Badwater starts - yikes!). As one friend and excellent Badwater candidate told me, "I'd much rather vacation in Europe for that kind of money." It's hard to argue with that, and as such, a lot of top runners will never be on the starting line of this race. However, there's a reason this is an iconic race and it was definitely a unique and special experience.