At Base Camp Food, we’re passionate about fueling adventures of all kinds, and that includes the incredible journey of Lucy Marland, a full-time NHS Dietitian and rising triathlete. Balancing intense training schedules with a demanding career, Lucy exemplifies dedication both in sport and in life.
We caught up with Lucy to talk about her journey into triathlon, how she manages training alongside her work in healthcare and the crucial role that smart nutrition plays in peak performance and recovery. Whether you’re an aspiring endurance athlete or simply looking for everyday nutrition advice from a true expert, Lucy’s insights are not to be missed.
About you and your training:
What inspired you to take up triathlons, and how did your journey into the sport begin?
My triathlon journey is quite recent. I began cycling during lockdown, securing one of the last turbo trainers available to complement my running training. I enjoyed having something new to focus on, new stats, and gradually started joining local cycling groups to build my confidence on the road. I heard about beginner swimming sessions with a local triathlon group Rhondda Tri, and never having swum efficiently, I thought I’d give it a go with the possibility of trying a local triathlon eventually. The first triathlon I entered was a local sprint distance (400m pool swim, 20km bike, and 5km run). I loved it! I finished as first female and was hooked on the complex nature of triathlon, with so many factors to consider—including race nutrition.
How do you balance training for triathlons with your role as an NHS Dietitian?
I've always been involved in sports—from hockey to track running, cross country, and endurance road races up to half marathon distance—competing for Wales at an international level for many years. This passion coexisted with my studies to become a Dietitian and led me to pursue my Master's in Sports Nutrition. Since then, I've worked full-time as a dietitian in the NHS and continue to work as a Performance Nutritionist as my triathlon journey has developed. Training for triathlons requires considerable time; training for my first Ironman last year saw my hours per week range between 14-20 hours. Managing this alongside a full-time job and part-time work took a great deal of planning ahead. Fitting in training around work and ensuring my nutrition for fueling and recovery was crucial to keeping it all going. I spent time batch cooking to make sure I always had meals ready after late sessions or early mornings.
What does a typical training week look like for you?
Currently, my goal is the 70.3 Ironman World Championships in November. I'm building up to this with a busy race schedule. My training generally includes twice-daily sessions: swimming 3-5 times per week, speed work on the bike, long rides (currently around 2-3 hours), strength training (including weighted and bodyweight exercises), running 3-4 times per week (including speed work, tempo runs, and a long run), and a couple of stretching sessions or yoga.
What’s the most challenging part of preparing for a triathlon?
There is so much to consider when undertaking any event, but combining three disciplines with transitions between them brings various skills and techniques to master, along with a comprehensive set of rules and regulations to keep the sport safe and fair. Learning these and how to be as efficient as possible in the transitions—Transition 1 (T1): coming in from the swim, removing a wetsuit, putting on bike shoes and helmet, and running out of the specified transition area with the bike; Transition 2 (T2): dismounting the bike before a specified line and transitioning smoothly to the run—requires focus and practice.
Nutrition and Performance:
As a nutritionist, how do you approach fueling your body for endurance sports?
Firstly, ensuring the basics are right by aiming for balanced meals containing carbohydrates, protein, and fruits/vegetables. This approach provides fuel, supports recovery, repair, and performance progression, and helps maintain immunity. Secondly, practicing nutrition and hydration strategies before race day—before, during, and after—using training sessions as race simulations. This practice helps rule out any adverse effects from nutrition, supplements, or rehydration aids that haven't been used before or in the required quantities. Get this right, and stick to the plan on race day—avoid trying anything new!
How important is meal planning when training for and competing in triathlons?
Planning is key to fitting in the required training alongside a full-time job. Dedicating time to batch cooking allows me to enjoy freshly cooked meals that I like while meeting all the nutritional elements needed to stay healthy and benefit from training. In terms of recovery, refuelling, and overall health, I carry food with me wherever I go to ensure I always have pre-training snacks and post-training recovery options, especially since I often have a long drive home after a session; a snack during this time is key to beginning the recovery process.
Why did you choose Base Camp Food for your training and competitions?
Base Camp Food offers a wide variety of nutritional support options. I don't typically use just one brand, so being able to access this variety from one place has been incredibly helpful. They are UK-based with a friendly team always willing to help.
What are the key things you look for in performance nutrition? (Calories, macros, convenience, taste, etc.)
As an endurance athlete, for products used during events, I look for a combination of easily digestible carbohydrates (CHO), such as glucose and fructose. This combination maximises uptake during the event. Everyone talks about grams of CHO per hour, but individual tolerance varies. This tolerance depends on training and the type of CHO used; using the same type exclusively can limit absorption. Post-event or training, I seek products combining protein and carbohydrates—protein to initiate the repairing process and enable adaptation and gain from training, and carbohydrate to replenish depleted glycogen stores. Without both, recovery becomes much harder.
What has been your favourite Base Camp Food product, and why?
I am new to using TORQ products, but their flavours are amazing, especially the gels. During long-distance triathlons, taste fatigue can develop, so having diverse flavours helps break that monotony. Clif Bars are also a great post-training session must for me—easy to carry and ready to have after training.
How does proper nutrition impact recovery after intense training sessions?
Nutrition plays a crucial role after a session, particularly intense, long or multiple sessions. What and when we consume helps your body repair, rebuild, refuel and enable adaptations from the training which has taken place.
In many ways, timing can help to enhance this recovery, along with the content in which you consume. The post-training, time-critical window would be in the first 30-45 mins post session. What we would be looking for at this time is something containing carbohydrates and protein particularly (for endurance sports), along with hydration.
This starts that recovery process, in readiness and to be followed up by a meal. This meal would contain further protein, carbohydrates, fats, fibre whilst also containing a wide range of vitamins and minerals, ie Vitamin C, calcium and iron to further continue the recovery whilst refuelling for the next session.
Advice for Athletes:
What are the biggest mistakes people make with their nutrition when training for endurance sports?
As a performance nutritionist, I find people often panic about nutrition too close to an event or rely on race-provided nutrition without having tried it first. Nutrition for an event should be something that is practised hand in hand with the training process. If you don’t know what products work for you yet, especially, buy a variety of products and test out one brand on each long ride to begin with. Keep a note of which products you tolerate better than others.
Do you have any top tips for athletes looking to improve their fueling strategies?
Have a plan—set out how often you'll be taking on board your fuel and hydration. For example: a sip of glucose drink every 10-15 minutes, a sip of electrolyte drink every 10 minutes, a gel every 20-30 minutes, and repeat. Keep a diary - did you feel okay with this volume/frequency? How were your energy levels (score it 1-5) during and after the ride? This will help gauge if you're fueling and hydrating enough to get you through, while also setting yourself up well for the next discipline.
What’s your go-to meal or snack before a big race?
Ah, I love oats - they’re so versatile, either as porridge or overnight oats. I travel with oats wherever I go, just in case I can’t get hold of them. I never seem to get bored of them, with honey, peanut butter, fruit, or jam. Recently, I’ve also introduced scotch pancakes about an hour before a race or training - they’re easily digestible for me (and of course, I’ve practised this before using it in a race!).
Looking Ahead:
What’s your next big goal? Any exciting races or challenges on the horizon?
This year, I’ve qualified for the Welsh Tri squad, competing across the Sprint and Standard distance Duathlons and Triathlons at the British Championships. The main goal of the year though, is the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Marbella in November - a distance I fell in love with last year!
If you could compete in any triathlon or endurance race in the world, which would it be?
I love triathlon, and I’d love to make it to the Ironman full-distance World Championships one year. But I also love running, and I feel my time for pursuing longer endurance running events isn’t over. In Wales, we have the Dragon's Back Race - a six-day ultra running event covering 380km through the beautiful mountainous scenery of Wales. That’s definitely on my radar!
How can better nutrition help everyday people, not just athletes, improve their performance and well-being?
I feel like people often find nutrition advice a minefield- there’s so much misinformation out there these days. I’d say bring it back to basics: think about each meal and what it provides. What is fuelling you for day-to-day activities? Carbohydrate sources like bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes provide fuel, whether it's for family life, work, sport, or just being able to think clearly. What is helping you grow and repair? That’s protein - meat, beans, fish, dairy, dairy alternatives (check labels), pulses, eggs. Every cell in our body is replaced regularly, and protein is essential for this throughout life. Then there's fruit and vegetables - they provide us with vitamins, minerals, and fibre to keep our bowels healthy. If you can get those key components in place, you’re building a solid foundation. Try not to label foods as 'good' or 'bad' - that mindset tends to demonise foods and makes us want them more. Finally, hydration plays a huge part - it affects cognition, skin health, and bowel health!
Thank you so much to Lucy for sharing her expertise on racing nutrition. You can keep up with her triathlon journey through her Instagram.