Real Health Sports Nutrition, Alexandra (2026)

12/04/2026

A lot of athletes assume fatigue and fuelling issues are a fitness or gut problem.

But often, it’s just dehydration.

When hydration isn’t dialled:
• heart rate drifts up
• pace drops off
• fuelling becomes harder to tolerate
• GI issues and nausea show up

And it’s not just about drinking more water. It’s about replacing both fluid and sodium in the right amounts for you.

Dialling this in can completely change how a session or a race feels.

RHSN now offers sweat testing and hydration planning for endurance athletes.
If you want to stop guessing your hydration and build a plan that actually works in training and racing:
👉 Visit rhsn.co.nz/sweattesting to see testing locations and book your test

12/04/2026

Hydration isn’t just drinking water.

When you sweat, you lose both fluid and sodium. And if you only replace the water, your body can’t hold onto it properly — which means you stay dehydrated, even if you’re drinking plenty.

This is where things start to fall apart:
• heart rate drifts up
• effort feels higher than it should
• fuelling becomes harder to tolerate
• performance drops off late

Hydration isn’t just about how much you drink.
It’s about replacing what you’re actually losing — both fluid and sodium — in the right amounts.

Dialling this in makes a huge difference to how you feel and perform across a session or race.

RHSN now offers sweat testing and hydration planning for endurance athletes.
If you want to stop guessing your hydration and build a plan that actually works in training and racing:
👉 Visit rhsn.co.nz/sweattesting to see testing locations and book your test.

11/04/2026

Most athletes underestimate how much they actually sweat.

Not just a little bit — by a lot.

It’s common to see sweat losses anywhere from 0.5 to 2 litres per hour, depending on the conditions and intensity. And along with that comes a significant amount of sodium loss.

Dialling your hydration is one of the biggest performance levers you can pull. Get it right and you’ll notice:
• lower perceived effort
• lower, more stable heart rate
• better fuelling tolerance
• stronger performance late in sessions

RHSN now offers sweat testing and hydration planning for endurance athletes. If you want to stop guessing your hydration and build a plan that actually works in training and racing:
👉 Visit rhsn.co.nz to see testing locations and book your test

05/04/2026

Do you actually eat with purpose, to match the purpose of your training?

Most athletes are structured with their running — sessions have intent, weeks are planned, load and recovery are thought out.

But nutrition often doesn’t follow the same logic. It often ends up being whatever you’re used to, whatever’s convenient, or copied from what someone else is doing… without really knowing if it matches what the session actually demands.

That’s usually where things start to unravel.

Your nutrition directly affects how each session feels, how well you recover, and how consistent your training actually is.

If your legs feel different week to week, certain sessions inexplicably feel harder than they should, or recovery is dragging — it’s often a fuelling issue.

Different sessions require different fuelling. Different periods of your training require different nutrition strategies. And what works for someone else won’t necessarily work for you.

So if your nutrition is a bit random, your performance will be too.

EAT. PERFORM. RECOVER.

If that hits a bit close to home, have a read 👇

Photo: Diego Belli

23/03/2026

What an unreal day! Tough course, epic people - I can see why people keep coming back year after year.

I managed to take the 100k win outright in 14:38, which was about 20 mins quicker than planned.

Big thanks to Hazel Harrison for the tip to actually take a minute at the Loop 1–2 transition to cool properly. Amber Kirkman and loaded me up with ice and cold water, and it paid off big time — I felt strong up Death Climb and ended up grabbing the CR! I moved into the overall lead just before Leaning Rock (~60km) and from there it was just about staying on top of things.

The thing I’m most stoked about is how well I executed my race plan. All the preparation paid off.
The coaching from Chris Lucas / was spot on — all the leg strength work meant they didn’t wobble once and never let me down. And having a properly dialled nutrition + hydration plan meant I could keep fuelling and moving all day.

Recent sweat testing had me at ~900ml/hr, and after sodium testing I discovered I needed to double my intake to 2000mg/L (turns out I’m a very sweaty salty girl!) and with the heat on the day I made it an absolute priority to stay on top of fluids and electrolytes the whole way. I’ve never drank so much or had so many salt tabs (1 every 20 mins, about 40 in total), but it 100% was the reason I could fuel all day and still smash out 5 minute kms right til the finish.

Minimal suffering… which feels slightly illegal at Northburn 😅

EAT. PERFORM. RECOVER.

20/03/2026

Bit of a shoutout to coach Chris Lucas ( / ) as I look down the barrel of Northburn 100k this weekend!

This block’s been proper work! I potentially started my run up a bit short, but Chris kept it nice and simple for me: build the load, keep it consistent, and make sure I actually absorb it instead of just digging a hole. Mentally, that’s made a big difference, because it felt like I was training properly, not just hard!

I’m heading into NB 100k feeling strong and in control (which is surprising given the race briefing we were just given! 6000m+ of vert and nowhere to hide 🫣).

“Where suffering is the prize, and everyone’s a winner” — what am I doing 🤯 😅

EAT. PERFORM. RECOVER.

16/03/2026

Pre-race tune-up with the brilliant Helene from HL Movement & Massage! 🙌

She’s been helping keep my body moving for something like 3 years now — through training blocks, niggles, recovery, and now a pre-race massage ahead of Northburn100 this weekend. I’ve always found regular massage to be instrumental in keeping me on track and moving well during training (and helpful in managing my poor desk posture and tight shoulders!).

Helene is INCREDIBLY knowledgeable about how the body works and is CONSTANTLY building on her skills to help people move and feel better. I swear, she knows more about my body than I do! It’s so reassuring to be able to let her get to work and then feel the improvements 100% of the time.

Very lucky to have her in my crew 🤗 and Alexandra is lucky to have such an expert in Helene!

08/03/2026

One of the biggest performance mistakes endurance athletes make has nothing to do with energy intake.

It’s hydration. Or, more specifically: not giving hydration the same priority as energy intake.

Most athletes spend a lot of time thinking about carbs, gels, and food — which is great.

But hydration often becomes an afterthought… even though it has a huge impact on performance, digestion, heart rate, and how hard training actually feels.

And hydration isn’t just about drinking water. It’s about understanding sodium, fluid balance, sweat losses, and how conditions change what your body actually needs.

Here’s the kicker: most electrolyte products don’t contain nearly enough sodium.

Full article at https://www.rhsn.co.nz/post/the-1-nutrition-mistake-i-see-every-week

EAT. PERFORM. RECOVER. 💧

07/03/2026

Big adventures require more than just fitness.
They require resilience, preparation, and the confidence to keep moving when things get tough.

I'm stoked to introduce Sia Svendsen as an RHSN affiliated coach.

Sia works with runners, multisport athletes and adventure racers who are drawn to long days in the mountains and ambitious endurance challenges. As an experienced endurance athlete herself, she understands the realities of preparing for ultras, multi-day races and demanding trail events.

Her coaching takes a holistic approach to movement and performance. Training is not just about kilometres or split times. It is about building a capable body, a resilient mindset and a sustainable relationship with sport. Strength, mobility, recovery and enjoyment are all part of the picture.

It is also clear how much her athletes value working with her. Sia creates a supportive and inclusive environment where athletes feel encouraged, capable and excited about their goals.

That approach pairs naturally with how I support athletes at RHSN. My work is grounded in evidence-based nutrition with a focus on strategies that improve performance while supporting long term health. When fuelling supports the training load, athletes can train consistently, recover well and stay in the sport for years to come.

If you are coached by Sia, you are preparing with someone who looks at the whole athlete.

Move well. Fuel well. Go further.

EAT. PERFORM. RECOVER.

06/03/2026

Big scary goals are better with the right support around you!
Introducing Gordon Pal (Your Running Pal) as an RHSN affiliated coach.

Gordon coaches runners who want more than just a training plan. From Backyard Ultras and 100 mile races to long days in the hills with friends, he understands what it takes to prepare for meaningful endurance challenges.

His approach is structured, but human. Clear goals. Long term progression. Regular plans that fit real life. Honest conversations when things need adjusting.

That aligns closely with how RHSN works, because ambitious goals require more than motivation; they require fuelling that supports adaptation, recovery that protects health, energy availability that allows you to train consistently, and a plan that allows you to achieve the mission.

Built for the long run.

EAT. PERFORM. RECOVER.

Real Health Sports Nutrition

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