What will I find at the aid station?
It varies a great deal from one station to the next, and from race to race: some offer water only, others a partner brand's products, others a hot meal. The official rulebook states it station by station — it is the only reliable source, and it changes every edition.
The distinction that matters is not "is there an aid station" but "what exactly is there". A water-only station does not replace a product station: if you counted on reloading your carbs there, you set off on the next leg with nothing. Many runners discover that difference mid-race, when it was written plainly in the rulebook.
The second trap is the partner brand. Knowing that a station hands out a given brand is not enough — you still have to have tested it. Discovering an unfamiliar sports drink at kilometre 80, with a gut already under strain, is one of the most ordinary causes of a DNF. If the race brand is not yours, either try it in training or carry your own.
On a real race: Mont-Blanc — UTMB®
On Mont-Blanc — UTMB®, a runner with an Index of 600 spends 37h10 out on course and 1h54 in total standing at aid stations. That stopped time is not wasted: it is when flasks get refilled and solid food gets eaten. But you need to know, before you start, what each station actually offers.
| 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.
Before the race, note for each station: what is on offer, which brand is present, the cut-off time, and whether crew support is allowed. Above all, find the longest stretch without an aid station — that is the one to load up for, and it is rarely where you would expect. RAVIT publishes this survey for every documented race, with GPS coordinates for the crew points.
RAVIT applies this calculation to 2,778 races across 49 countries, with 6,547 aid stations whose contents are taken from the official rulebooks.