What goes in the crew bag?
Only what covers the leg to the next crew point, plus a safety margin — and nothing more. An overstuffed bag costs you time at the stop, exactly when you are least able to make decisions.
A crew bag is not packed per race but per interval. Between two points where crew support is allowed there is a duration, and that duration sets the quantities: carbohydrate, fluid, sodium. Packing "for the race" means carrying to the first stop what you will need at the fourth, and rummaging through an overfull bag at every stop.
The other mistake is confusing aid station with crew point. A station can offer food without allowing your crew in — and the reverse exists too. Turning up at a forbidden crew point risks disqualification, and many rulebooks are explicit on this. The list of authorised points is published by the organiser; it has to be read, not guessed.
On a real race: Mont-Blanc — UTMB®
On Mont-Blanc — UTMB®, a runner with an Index of 600 runs for 37h10 and takes in 2,230 g of carbohydrate, 26 L of fluid and 18,583 mg of sodium in total. Spread across the authorised crew points only, that gives very uneven amounts: the night legs, slower, ask far more than the opening kilometres.
| UTMB® Index | Estimated time | Carbs | Fluid | Sodium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | 43h01 | 2,581 g | 30.1 L | 21,508 mg |
| 600 | 37h10 | 2,230 g | 26 L | 18,583 mg |
| 800 | 24h36 | 1,476 g | 17.2 L | 12,300 mg |
Temps repris des passages réels des coureurs de chaque tranche de cote sur les éditions précédentes, arrêts aux ravitaillements compris. Besoins calculés à 60 g/h de glucides, 700 mL/h de liquide et 500 mg/h de sodium, par temps tempéré.
Pack one bag per authorised point, labelled, with the estimated arrival time and GPS coordinates for your crew. Always add about 20 % margin: an hour lost on a leg is paid in carbohydrate. And plan a savoury option — after twelve hours, sweet goes down less and less well.
RAVIT applies this calculation to 2,778 races across 49 countries, with 6,547 aid stations whose contents are taken from the official rulebooks.