Stage Racing Recovery Guide: How to Survive Back-to-Back Days During Epic Weeks

Published: 9/17/2025

Tags: leadville, breck epic, stage racing, recovery, nutrition

I lined up for Leadville 100 knowing I’d signed myself up for six more days of racing at the Breck Epic starting the next morning. I felt surprisingly okay rolling through the Leadville finish — not thinking “oh sweet, I finished Leadville!” but rather “what the hell was I thinking planning to start a stage race tomorrow?”

Here’s how I got through my biggest week ever on the bike - 35 hours of racing in 7 days.

Leadville 100 MTB finish line with a full focus on recovery to start Breck Epic in the morning.

Evening Recovery Highlights

Eat whatever sounds good: Fries, pasta, rice, sandwiches, ice cream — if it appealed, I ate it. After Day 2 of Breck when I was at my lowest of lows, McDonald’s fries and a large Coke were my lifeline. The key was never going to bed underfed.
Hydrate like crazy: After racing I’d down a liter of electrolyte mix (1,000–1,500 mg sodium), then hit it two more times throughout the evening, with sparkling water in between.
Recovery Boots: Foam rolling when you’re wrecked feels like a bit of a chore, so I leaned on the Normatec boots ↗️ every night. They did the work while I ate or just zoned out watching the new Alien TV series.
Never skip protein: Skratch Recovery mix ↗️ was always available in the race tents, so I never skipped it and didn’t have to dip into my personal stash too much.

On-the-Bike Nutrition: Recovery Starts Early

I’ve got a bad habit of letting myself suffer near the end of races. Sometimes I think, “f*** it, I’m close to the finish — just push through.” The problem is that this usually backfires: I probably ride slower, feel like crap, and make the recovery job afterwards much harder.

Recovery isn’t just what happens after the finish — it starts while you’re still pedaling. Be nice to yourself while racing. Take care of your fueling and hydration needs for the entire duration of the race, not just until you’re ready to push to the finish. That mindset is even more critical when you’re stacking big days back-to-back in a stage race.

Target: 100g/hr carbs (probably averaged closer to 90). Punchy singletrack and big descents make it tough — you fuel when you can.
Strategy:
- Start with high-carb drink mix (1–2 bottles, sometimes a 2L pack - i.e. for Leadville and the Wheeler stage which has lots of hike-a-bike). Starting with a high-carb mix like Skratch High Carb ↗️ makes it easier to get the carbs in early when intensity is often higher.
- Shift to plain electrolytes + gels later in the day/week. Decoupling my carbs from the fluids allows me to really hit the hydration hard when I feel like I need to without overdoing carb intake.
- Grab real food at aid stations: PB&J halves, Skittle/bacon handups.
Caffeine: Espresso at breakfast, caffeine gel in the start corral, another 100mg gel ↗️ every ~1.5-2 hrs in addition to my other carb sources.
Hydration at altitude: Easier at Leadville (steady effort), harder at Breck (long tech sections where drinking wasn’t possible). When I got the chance, I’d often down a whole bottle and two gels at once just to catch up. I tried (and usually failed) to polish off all the fluids on me before each aid station.

Fueling & Hydration Products I Relied On

Skratch Super High-Carb Mix

My main fueling source for training and racing. Delivers 100g carbs per bottle, no stomach issues, and pairs great with PH 1500 tablets.

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Precision Fuel 30 Caffeine Energy Gel

A 30g carb + 100mg caffeine punch for race day surges and early wakeups. Easy to rip, easy to down, and a go-to when I need that extra gear.

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Neversecond C30 Energy Gel

A 30g carbohydrate endurance gel with a great flavor and added electrolytes for sustained fueling without gut issues.

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Precision Hydration PH 1500 Tablets

A no-nonsense sodium boost that pairs perfectly with high-carb mixes. Easy to travel with, race-tested, and essential for hydration strategy.

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Off-the-Bike Fueling

Post-race recovery tent: Coke(s) + big stack o’ sandwiches.
Go-to meals: Boiled/salted/olive oil potatoes, fried rice, chicken fingers, pasta, fries. The Philly chicken cheesesteak from La Bottega in Vail became a staple.
Hydration reset: After every stage I mixed 2x PH 1500 tabs ↗️ (they are 750mg each even though they’re named ‘1500’) into a liter of water and downed it as soon as possible. It was the simplest way to make sure I replaced what I’d sweated out and started the recovery clock immediately.

Skratch Recovery Drink Mix

Go-to recovery shake after hard workouts and races. Carb + protein in the right ratio, mixes fast, and actually tastes good when you're cooked.

Read my review →

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Recovery Tools & Habits

Normatec boots ↗️ : Took me from “no idea how I’m going to feel on the bike tomorrow” to “okay, maybe these legs will work after I get some sleep.”
Theragun Mini ↗️ : Key for specific spots - i.e. had some hamstring pain after long hike-a-bike days - (looking at you Stage 3 and 5!).
Sleep: Constant struggle for me at altitude. I napped daily and went to bed early, but real rest didn’t come until later in the week when I’d finally gained some acclimation.
Supplements: Kept it simple — just protein post-race. Despite doing my best to hydrate, if I felt a headache coming on, I’d try to stave it off early with Advil.

Hyperice Normatec Recovery Boots

Compression boots that help keep your legs fresh through big training blocks and back-to-back race days.

Read my review →

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Bike & Logistics

Daily routine: Wash, rotate fresh waxed chain (I brought three), top off sealant ↗️ if I found any sprayed on the bike.
Tires: Only major swap was between Leadville and Breck and I threw on the burlier 2.4 Ikons for some particularly rowdy descending on the Wheeler stage.
Support crew: My dad was huge — bike washes, chain swaps, meals. That let me shower, nap, and focus on racing and recovery.

Mental Game

Reset every morning: The hardest part wasn’t the racing — it was waking up early and convincing myself I could do it again. I had to trust the legs would show up once the gun went off, stay absorbed in that day’s race, and not get lost worrying about how many more days are left.
Day 2 evening low: I went deep, finished 10th, and felt wrecked. The weight of 4 more hard days felt particularly heavy. Fries + Coke and focusing only on recovery — hydrating, fueling, and prepping for the next stage — pulled me out of the spiral.
Lesson: Believe in yourself — showing up on the line each morning is harder than the racing itself.

What I’d Improve Upon

Sleep acclimation: I’d spend more time at altitude before race week to normalize sleep and avoid the long stretch of restless nights.
Hydration discipline: At Leadville I wasn’t quite disciplined enough in the cold towards the beginning, and at Breck I fell behind on one stage where bottles weren’t cutting it on the punchy singletrack. In hindsight, that was a perfect day for a pack.
Prioritize substantial food post-race: I snacked pretty hard right after stages, but I think I would’ve felt better (and maybe slept better) if I’d made a full meal my first priority before showering or collapsing on the couch.

Takeaways for Anyone Stacking Massive Days

Fuel and hydrate aggressively on the bike — the best recovery starts before you even finish - you’ll have less ground to make up in the evenings.
Keep evenings simple — eat, wash the bike, recovery boots on, more food and fluids, sleep, race. Repeat.
Lean on your support crew — whether it’s family, friends, or teammates, their help is what makes stacking big days possible.
Trust tomorrow — it’s pretty nuts how the body will just keep on going.
Have a plan — I leaned on fueling and recovery strategies I had planned out with my coach, Mike Durner, and sticking close to that plan made the difference when things got difficult.