We are planning to do our first 5K, possible 10K, this summer in Montana. We've never had to deal with a feed station and we are wondering what types of nutrition and drinks other people would use and recommend for swimming these distances?
Are you asking about organizing the race, or about what you personally should eat or drink?
I have never done a swim race that maxes out at 5K or less that offered a formal aid station. They may well have supplied the course monitors with water as Rob suggests, but I never stopped to check.
I have done 10K races that handle this issue a few different ways. Allowing or requiring individual kayak support is one that is common for point-to-point races, but most races that involve multiple laps prohibit individual kayak support. The pontoon boat is another. The local race that uses a pontoon boat doesn't let racers bring their own food or drinks, but does supply plain water (in, say, clear cups) or some sports drink (in, say, red cups) that race volunteers can hand out to passing swimmers if the swimmers stop for it. In that race, if a person wanted anything except for sports drink or water, the person would have to carry it in his or her suit.
In another race I did they just let people's "coaches" (friends or family or whoever, max one per swimmer) hang out on a little dock that stuck out into the lake. The "coach" could hand his or her swimmer a snack or drink as the swimmer passed. I have done 10K races where the swimmers had to pass by the starting area every lap, and the organizers set up a self-service feeding station there. One used tables set up in shallow water; the other used a clever system involving over-the-door shoe racks on frames. In each case, the swimmer had to put whatever he or she might want at the feeding station before the race, marked with the swimmer's race number, and then could get it self-service if necessary between laps.
Several factors will affect what you personally might need to eat or drink. For a 5K, most people I know don't need anything because they'll be out of the water in well under 2h. If I thought I'd need a snack during a 5K, I'd tuck a gel packet into my suit.
For a 10K, most people will want at least a drink of water that is not from the venue. That's all I ever have needed, although I'm pretty well fat-adapted and not slow (2:35 range). Others I know like to drink sports drinks like Cytomax or Hammer Heed. A gel packet is easy to carry in your suit but a PITA to open, and then you have to make sure that you don't discard the empty pack in the venue even accidentally. I would consider those, or other solid food, only if I were doing a race with personal kayak support.
Make sure while training for your race to test out different strategies during practice so that you can find out what is the minimum you can get away with and still feel comfortable at the end, what tastes good to you, and what is easy to consume without making you feel weird.
Are you asking about organizing the race, or about what you personally should eat or drink?
I have never done a swim race that maxes out at 5K or less that offered a formal aid station. They may well have supplied the course monitors with water as Rob suggests, but I never stopped to check.
I have done 10K races that handle this issue a few different ways. Allowing or requiring individual kayak support is one that is common for point-to-point races, but most races that involve multiple laps prohibit individual kayak support. The pontoon boat is another. The local race that uses a pontoon boat doesn't let racers bring their own food or drinks, but does supply plain water (in, say, clear cups) or some sports drink (in, say, red cups) that race volunteers can hand out to passing swimmers if the swimmers stop for it. In that race, if a person wanted anything except for sports drink or water, the person would have to carry it in his or her suit.
In another race I did they just let people's "coaches" (friends or family or whoever, max one per swimmer) hang out on a little dock that stuck out into the lake. The "coach" could hand his or her swimmer a snack or drink as the swimmer passed. I have done 10K races where the swimmers had to pass by the starting area every lap, and the organizers set up a self-service feeding station there. One used tables set up in shallow water; the other used a clever system involving over-the-door shoe racks on frames. In each case, the swimmer had to put whatever he or she might want at the feeding station before the race, marked with the swimmer's race number, and then could get it self-service if necessary between laps.
Several factors will affect what you personally might need to eat or drink. For a 5K, most people I know don't need anything because they'll be out of the water in well under 2h. If I thought I'd need a snack during a 5K, I'd tuck a gel packet into my suit.
For a 10K, most people will want at least a drink of water that is not from the venue. That's all I ever have needed, although I'm pretty well fat-adapted and not slow (2:35 range). Others I know like to drink sports drinks like Cytomax or Hammer Heed. A gel packet is easy to carry in your suit but a PITA to open, and then you have to make sure that you don't discard the empty pack in the venue even accidentally. I would consider those, or other solid food, only if I were doing a race with personal kayak support.
Make sure while training for your race to test out different strategies during practice so that you can find out what is the minimum you can get away with and still feel comfortable at the end, what tastes good to you, and what is easy to consume without making you feel weird.
