# Endurance Racing and Electrolytes / Minerals



## SNEAK BIRD (Mar 17, 2014)

Is it possible to complete endurance races such as the Leadville 100 and the Park City Point 2 Point without taking on additional electrolytes and minerals throughout the day?


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

Probably. I feel like I must be missing some of the question, though.

Are you thinking of doing it on water only? Almost any food you might eat will have at least some of that sort of thing in it. Weird gels and bars and drink mixes marketed to endurance athletes tend to have a higher concentration, but it's not like they have anything that's not present in a ham sandwich.


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## jennyv (Nov 13, 2012)

Hi Sneak Bird and AndrwSwitch,

So just for fun, I looked this up:

Calories: A ham sandwich made with two slices of whole wheat bread, two slices of ham and one leaf of iceberg lettuce contains 220 calories. It has 17 grams of protein, 25 grams of total carbohydrates and 6 grams of total fat, 2 grams of which are saturated fat -- 8 percent of the maximum daily value for a healthy adult on a 2,000-calorie diet. It has 29 milligrams of cholesterol, or 10 percent of the daily recommended intake. A sandwich made with mayonnaise or another high-calorie spread will be higher in calories and fat.

Sodium: A ham sandwich has 956 milligrams of sodium. A sandwich with a grilled chicken breast is lower in sodium than a ham sandwich. Pickles, cheese and dressings add sodium to sandwiches.

So yes, theoretically you could get by on a ham sandwich per hour and water (although the sodium might be high for some folks). However, there are a lot of other factors to take into account on an endurance ride like the Leadville 100 and Park City Point 2 Point - not the least is how your palate and stomach will react after eating 7+ sandwiches for a 7+ hour race.

In answer to the first question though, you do need to take in enough electrolytes to keep your levels in check for a number of reasons (including avoiding hyponatremia). On average a liter of sweat contains sodium (0.9 gram/liter), potassium (0.2 g/l), calcium (0.015 g/l), magnesium (0.0013 g/l) so definitely look to replenish these levels through your fueling strategy.

Thanks,
Jenny


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