From Popcorn to Porkpies: Tash’s Nutrition Secrets for Conquering Everest

Everesting

I first heard of Everesting a few years ago when a friend said ‘Tash, shall we do an Everest?’ I responded how I do to most things in life and said: ‘Sure’. Followed by: ‘What’s an Everest?’ I’ve now completed three Everests and I’d say one thing for sure, success comes down to planning, planning and more planning. An Everest put in simple terms means choosing a hill and riding up and down until you get to the height of Everest (8848m), simple right! But to succeed there are much bigger questions… What I’m going to say now won’t get you the fastest Everest so if that’s what you’re aiming for you’ll need to find a different blog… but it probably will get you to the finish!

Choice of hill

You need something not too steep but not too shallow, ideally you want something with a relatively consistent gradient so that you can spin up and freewheel back down. Belmont Hill in Bristol is pretty much perfect 🙂

When to do it

I’d suggest June time when the days are long, and you can make the most of the daylight.

Nutrition and hydration

There is no real way of getting around the fact that you won’t be able to eat or drink much whilst riding up and down the chosen hill. Planning scheduled breads after a certain number of reps (we started with 10 and after 40 moved to 5) to eat/ drink is crucial. And having a variety of available snacks too. Each time I’ve done it we’ve had a car parked at the top which has contained a cool box with everything from pasta, rice, and porkpies, to popcorn, mars bars and cans of coke!

Choice of companion!

100 reps of a hill is going to be a long day out, and there is no way I would have survived any of my Everests if it hadn’t been for the company on the day. Special shout outs to Mike (Everest of Ide Hill), Tom (Everest of Harthill) and my partner Paddy (Everest of Belmont Hill). So what’s it actually like? It’s like riding up and down a hill all day with no real change in scenery to distract you (yes I’m selling it I know!) Trying to maintain a gentle rhythm and not push too hard to begin with can be difficult, and has certainly led to an argument or two in my case! I’ve found myself discussing everything from politics and the weather, to favourite foods and children’s TV programmes! A game of eye spy can be a good distraction too! Without a shadow of a doubt support on the day makes the biggest difference of all and I am lucky to have had plenty of support on all three Everests I’ve done. On the most recent Everest of Belmont Hill BRC riders joined us for reps pre and post club run, with one rider supporting our final reps in the rain to present us with a celebratory can of beer!

Would I recommend it and will I do another? I mean I’ve done three so I can hardly say no! I think I am probably done with single Everests now, but do have my eye on a double. 41 hours is the current woman’s record… I sort of think that might be beatable?!

Watch this space…