Obstacle course racing mixes running with carrying, climbing, crawling and hanging, often in mud and heat. How you fuel depends mostly on how long you will be out on course, not on the distance on your bib. A 5K with 20 obstacles can take longer than a flat 10K, and a 15K course can take anywhere from 90 minutes to 6 hours. Plan your fuel around your expected finish time.
Match your fuel to your time on course
- Under 90 minutes (short courses, 3K to 5K): you do not need fuel on course. Your race is won in the last 30 minutes before the start.
- 90 minutes to 3 hours: 120 to 180 calories per hour from Hammer Gel or HEED, plus electrolytes every hour.
- More than 3 hours (long courses and ultras): make Perpetuem your main fuel and use Hammer Gel as a top-up.
- Endurance laps (8 to 24 hours): fuel from your pit at the end of every lap, starting after lap two. See the lap plan below.
Key Hammer Nutrition Fuels for OCR
Race Day Boost
A phosphate loading system for your most important races of the year.
General Application: For a one-day "A" race, take 4 capsules with food and water 4 times a day (16 capsules daily) for the 4 days before the race. Use it for your key races only, about 4 to 6 times a year.
REM Caps
Good sleep in race week matters, especially if you travel to a race in another city or time zone.
General Application: 2 capsules one hour before bed in the nights leading up to race day, and again the night after the race.
Fully Charged
A non-stimulant pre-exercise drink. A good fit for short, fast courses.
General Application: Mix 1 serving in 4 to 8 oz (120 to 240 ml) of water, or take 2 capsules, 15 to 30 minutes before the start.
Energy Surge
Fast-acting tablets that dissolve under the tongue.
General Application: For short courses under an hour, dissolve 1 to 4 tablets under your tongue 5 to 30 minutes before the start. On longer courses, take 1 to 3 tablets before a big climb, a heavy carry or any hard section.
Anti-Fatigue Caps
For the "heavy legs" feeling late in a race.
General Application: 2 to 4 capsules 30 minutes before the start. On courses longer than 2 hours, add 1 to 2 capsules each hour from the two-hour mark.
Race PR Kit
Race Day Boost, Energy Surge and Anti-Fatigue Caps together in one kit, for your biggest races.
HEED
A sports drink with complex carbohydrates and electrolytes, without refined sugar or citric acid.
General Application: Mix 1 to 1.5 scoops in 12 to 20 oz (355 to 591 ml) of water. Sip in the last 15 minutes before the start. On courses over 90 minutes, carry a bottle or use it at aid stations.
Hammer Gel
90 calories of complex carbohydrates per serving, easy to carry and quick to take between obstacles.
General Application: 1 serving 10 minutes before the start and every 45 minutes on course, washed down with water. A Hammer Flask holds 5 servings and fits in a pocket or race vest, so you are not tearing open sachets with muddy hands.
Endurolytes / Endurolytes Extreme
Electrolytes in capsule form, taken on top of your fuel. Choose Endurolytes Extreme in hot weather or if you sweat heavily.
General Application: 1 Endurolytes capsule for every 60 lb (27 kg) of body weight, 15 to 20 minutes before the start and every hour on course. With Endurolytes Extreme, take 1 to 2 capsules in the same way.
Perpetuem
Steady fuel for races longer than 3 hours, with carbohydrates, protein and fat.
General Application: 1 to 2 scoops per hour. Mix it fresh when you can, and do not leave mixed bottles in the sun.
Recoverite / Vegan Recoverite
Carbohydrates and protein to start your recovery as soon as you finish.
General Application: Mix 2 scoops in 8 to 16 oz (236 to 473 ml) of water and drink it within 30 minutes of finishing.
Hammer Bar®
A convenient whole food option before and after racing.
General Application: Before a race, Hammer Bar® is a convenient whole food option when you need something light and have sufficient time for digestion. Treat it like your last meal and finish it at least 3 hours before the start. After the race, take Recoverite within approximately 30 minutes when available. Hammer Bar® is a convenient whole food recovery option when Recoverite isn’t available, or can be eaten alongside your recovery drink when you need additional food. Follow with a proper balanced meal.
Race Week and Race Morning
- 4 days out: start Race Day Boost if this is your "A" race.
- Every night of race week: REM Caps one hour before bed.
- 3 hours before the start: finish your last meal. Keep it simple and do not overeat. After that, water only.
- 30 minutes before: Anti-Fatigue Caps and Fully Charged.
- 15 to 20 minutes before: your first dose of Endurolytes.
- Last 15 minutes: sip HEED. On short courses, take Energy Surge now if you are using it.
- 10 minutes before (courses over 90 minutes): 1 serving of Hammer Gel.
Endurance Lap Plan (8 to 24 hours)
Set up your pit so everything is ready before you arrive. At the end of every lap, starting after lap two:
- Drink most of a bottle mixed with 2 scoops of Perpetuem.
- Take 1 Endurolytes Extreme capsule.
- Take 2 Anti-Fatigue Caps.
Out on the lap, take 2 Hammer Gels about halfway round, near an aid station so you can wash them down with water. Adjust these amounts to your lap time, so that your total from all fuels, Perpetuem and Hammer Gel together, stays at about 120 to 180 calories per hour. Bigger athletes on very long efforts may need a little more, but very few can absorb more than 200 to 300 calories an hour, so more is not better. When you finish, have Recoverite straight away and REM Caps that night to get your sleep back on track.
Fueled by Our OCR Athletes
Hammer Nutrition High Performance Tips for OCR
- Practice your plan in training. Use the same products, the same amounts and the same timing in a long training day before you try them in a race.
- Fuel on the lean side. Take the least you need to keep your energy steady, hour after hour. If it is not quite enough, add a little more. Count the calories from all your fuels together and keep to about 120 to 180 per hour.
- Drink to the conditions. Aim for 18 to 25 oz (530 to 740 ml) of fluid per hour, and up to 28 oz (830 ml) per hour in hot weather.
- Plan around the obstacles. Take your gel and electrolytes on the running sections or at aid stations, not right before a hang or a carry.
- Refill the tank. Recoverite within 30 minutes of every hard session and every race, followed by a proper meal.
The above recommendations are provided for information purposes only and are not intended to provide specific dietary or medical advice.
