How Our Horseshoe Athletes Fuel Themselves

We’ve been pretty busy upgrading Horseshoe, adding even more fun activities for everyone from kids to professional athletes. But how do athletes get themselves fuelled up for training and competition? Well, we spoke to a few of the sportspeople who call Horseshoe home, and they gave us some terrific advice.

Laurie Graham, Cross Country Skiing Supervisor

Laurie, who’s in charge of cross-country, stays competitive year-round with mountain biking, road riding and cross-country skiing, putting in training four times a week.

Matt, our Grooming and Terrain Park Supervisor, mountain bikes and snowboards, for which he’s sponsored. He likes to put two or three hours of training in after building the park all day.

James, the Events Manager here at Horseshoe, is also a competitor in downhill mountain bike racing. He’s been racing for ten years, starting in U15 and is currently racing in the Elites category. But, as he’s a self-confessed “huge advocate of all things two wheels”, you might find him racing cross-country mountain bikes or road bikes around Horseshoe.

James Frost, Events Manager

Finally, Jonathan Reid, our General Manager, was a member of the Canadian World Junior Snowboard Team in 1995, a member of the Canadian National Snowboard Team from 1996 to 2000, and won a Canadian National Championship in 1996

How Do They Fuel Up?

As James notes, “On a 100km road ride, you can easily burn up to 3,000 calories, so you need to be prepared to eat and drink the appropriate amounts along the way to keep you going.”

So how do our athletes fuel up before and during training? 

Laurie likes to keep things simple, with oatmeal with banana for breakfast or chicken pasta with beans at other times of the day.

Matt Konings, Grooming & Terrtain Park Supervisor

Bananas are something of a recurring theme around here. Matt likes to make smoothies with bananas, strawberries and pineapple.

When James is out on a long ride, he makes sure he packs the odd Clif Bar, Gatorade, pretzels and chocolate covered almonds. Oh, and you guessed it—bananas.

And by the way: all of our athletes say you can’t underestimate the amount of water you need when training. Jonathan says water and other fluids are the most important thing to consider, so pack that H2O!

How Do They Recover?

How an athlete treats their body post-training and competition is pretty important too. As you might expect, none of the ones we spoke to spent their recovery time at fast-food restaurants.

Jonathan Reid, General Manager

Laurie keeps it very healthy with salad and quinoa, along with a variety of veggies.

Matt emphasizes a high nutrient balance. He really likes stir fry with added protein or mixed green salads with added spinach, kale, cheese, hard-boiled egg and either chicken or turkey.

James keeps recovery very simple: he likes coffee and fruit.

What’s the Best Thing—for an Athlete—They Serve at Horseshoe?

Horseshoe doesn’t just provide the facilities for sports training. As James puts it, “Horseshoe has a great selection of food available for athletes. Chef Dylan and the F&B team are very good to assist with any dietary restrictions or requests, so it makes it easier for serious athletes who want to keep to their diet plans and goals.”

James favourite thing is the Thai noodle bowl with shrimp. Matt prefers the chicken wrap at the Crazy Horse. Jonathan says everything’s good at Horseshoe, but if pressed, he’ll tell you that they make an excellent arugula and quinoa salad with chicken. And Laurie says you can’t beat a good steak.