MOUNTAIN FUEL

From roads, trails or mountains, two feet to two wheels and whatever your ability, Mountain Fuel is a balanced sports nutrition system designed to provide the body with the nutrition and energy to cope with any type of physical activity. The Mountain Fuel system provides sustained energy and recovery whilst also providing the vitamins, amino acids and minerals your body needs to perform at its best, taking the guesswork out of your fuelling needs.

We have the world's best athletes as paying customers which is testament in itself to our unique product range which includes Kilian Jornet's favourite Sports Jellies, Ricky Lightfoot's Raw Energy Fuel and Katie Kaars Sijpesteijn love of our Feel Good Bars.

The 3 Peaks Race Guide by Chris Holdsworth & Mountain Fuel

 1-3 miles

No matter what, you can guarantee it'll be a fast start as you leave the field and make your way along the road to the beginning of the track leading up to Pen Y Ghent. Don't be fooled. There's a hell of a long way to go, and you'll be seeing most again bonking around Whernside. The first couple of miles along the rocky farm track is a taster of what's to come further ahead. If you feel your thighs glowing red here, ease off slightly as the real climb has yet to come.

Tip: Unless you have visions of a podium place (and even then) don't go off like Usain Bolt. You hammer this first few miles and miles 19-23.5 will be one of your greatest suffer fests. Wherever you think you should start in the pack, take a step back, a good few steps back and then enjoy the thought of steadily overtaking folk as the day goes, rather than being the one overtaken.

3 - 6 miles

Between the 3rd and 6th mile, you'll summit and descend Pen Y Ghent. However, an ascent of almost 1000ft (on top of the climb already registered in the legs) still awaits. As the most runnable hill, you may feel strong and willing to push hard to the top. Holding back and keeping the pace steady here can be the defining factor between having a good or bad race. Once you summit the top, you'll begin a fast, runnable descent down the grassy section along the farm wall, bringing you back along the way you came up, allowing you to open up the legs for a fast paced dash back down the trail. At mile 6, you'll climb for a short while up slabbed steps to Whitber Hill, where a long section of flat running awaits.

Tip: Start getting your fuel in early. If you plan to wear a race vest, start sipping your drink. If you're carrying bars or gels (ahem our Sports Jelly), take on board something as you want to keep your glycogen levels topped up from the off as this will help with a stronger finish.

6 - 11 miles

The safest advice is to keep within your comforts. Play it safe, don't feel the need to bust into your 10k pace and pick off other runners. The terrain is very runnable along flagged paths, farm tracks and road, the eagerness to race ahead will be felt. Just keep it relaxed and churn out the miles as you make your way over to Ribblehead Viaduct and your first aid station. 

Tip: This is a good spot to pick up a replacement bottle or extra fuel if you have support on the course. The race has only just begun if you've fuelled well on the way you can climb steadily, ready for the rougher and steeper climbs and descents. Don't forget to keep fuelling, as we said earlier that final few miles will be a killer unless you've managed your pace and fuelled well along the way.

11 - 16 miles

The anomaly of the course begins... Before and after this point is purely runnable, most compact hard trails. Your legs will have acclimatised to the pace set in the first half of the race, so expect to be met with unresponsive limbs as you come to a grinding halt as you cross the river the begin the climb up the marshes at the foot of the monster, Whernside... The beginning section is undoubtedly the worst. The vast boggy section is a killer for bringing on a good dosage of cramp to the calves, as you fight to pull out your increasingly weary limbs. Relax through this section, as the next is steeper but less tough to wade through the waterlogged tussocks. False summits await, but you'll eventually get sight of the crowd at the top, signalling the end of the long slog up the face of Whernside. It'll take at least half a mile to shake off the damage done on the way up. The feeling of dead legs, back cramp and stiffness will be met with the newly laid slabs. Navigating the walkers and a slippy terrain won't be easy, but allowing your legs to come back to life with a steady run along the top will bring the strength back into the quads for the admittedly awkward descent down the steps of Whernside.

16 - 19 miles

You'll feel mostly battered and bruised at this point, but at the same time, you'll gain a second wind knowing you've conquered the worst of the three peaks. A couple of runnable miles along tarmac and farm track brings you to Hill Inn and your second aid station. Once the turning to Ingleborough past Hill Inn begins, it's a long drag to the point where the actual climb begins. The climb itself is very runnable. Until, that is... you reach near the top and you'll begin to almost rock climb up the trickier terrain. Nothing to be gained here, just one of those moments you have to get through no matter how slow of hard you find it, but it's a very small section before you're back running along the top to the trig for the turnaround back to the finish.

Tip: Save a gel (Sports Jelly), possibly a caffeinated one for a mental kick and hammer that final descent.

19 - 23 miles

Most downhill finishes to races are usually met with joy. Not the Three Peaks. Whether it's a mental situation as you can see the finish tent from 3 miles away (which feels like it never gets closer), or simply because you're battered and broken from the previous 20 miles of Yorkshire terrain and weather, this section is tough... and it’s not to be dismissed as essentially gravity bringing you back down from Ingleborough when you're factoring how much fuel is left in the tank on the climb up. Expect the legs to be tired, your energy levels to be red lining, but the end is in sight and there is practically no more climbs left to conquer.

23 - 23.5 miles

Savor this moment - it's all down hill from here as you make your way back to the finish field for your hero's welcome.

If you want a more detailed nutrition guide, download our free Trail Marathon nutrition plan. /) 

And don’t forget you can save 15% on your fuel using the code 3PEAKS15 at www.mountainfuel.co.uk

“I love Mountain Fuel, particularly when I use the whole system on race days. The Sports Jellies are best gels I’ve ever used and the flapjack bars are so much easier to eat on the run than other bars I’ve used.” Jon Albon, World Trail Running Champion / Obstacle Race World Champion