Real Health Sports Nutrition

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Real Health Sports Nutrition

Nutrition coaching for endurance athletes
Run coach with CMF Running

06/09/2026

From hitting the wall at 23km during training runs to finishing 50km still feeling strong 🙌

All we made were a few simple tweaks to their fuelling and hydration, and this was the message I got after race day. Woo hoo!

EAT. PERFORM. RECOVER.

23/08/2026

Athlete spotlight - Brandon

Brandon’s Park Run progression from his first 26+ minutes effort in November 2024 to 19:21 in June 2026 is a good reminder that meaningful performance gains come from consistently showing up!

Currently having completed 87 total Park Runs and with 2x sub-19 5k (not Park Run) results under his belt, he’s a masterclass in following the process and a fantastic reminder of where dedication can take you.

Progress is not linear, but the bigger picture is the progression that comes from putting the work in over time.

Consistency beats perfection and leads to PBs 🤙

The Alexandra Park Run community is stoked to see Brandon’s progress, and we look forward to seeing him continuing to hit new PBs!

01/07/2026

What changes when your nutrition finally clicks?

This is what happens when you dial it in: consistency, clarity, confidence, and a simple, repeatable plan.

Training feels completely different - stacking days, weeks and months becomes possible; you have more consistent energy and better recovery; no more nausea or GI issues; no more over-thinking; less confusion.

This is what awaits when you finally dial in your fuelling.

EAT. PERFORM. RECOVER.

Not sure where to start? Head over to rhsn.co.nz and have a browse - starting from just $48 per month with an app subscription, right through to personalised nutrition coaching.

29/06/2026

For those who don’t know, my good friend Teresa and I recently developed Breaking Limits: BYU High-Performance Programme — fully integrated coaching specifically for backyard ultras.

Teresa is a well-loved and respected strength and running coach based here in Alexandra, and I use my experience as a sports nutritionist working with some of NZ’s best BYU athletes to share what I’ve learnt and use nutrition to to keep you lapping for longer.

The results from our first intake were pretty fricken exciting! All six athletes who completed the programme cracked 100km. One athlete even went from 7 laps last year to 22 laps this year — which is a fairly decent day out by anyone’s standards!

But it wasn’t just about the numbers: they arrived at the start line well-prepared, knew what they needed to do, had friendly faces there to welcome them and settle the nerves, and all came away with genuinely great race experiences (and immediately entered their next BYUs).

That’s what Breaking Limits is about: helping you get more out of yourself by covering all four pillars of BYU success in one place -

Nutrition
Training and strength
Mindset
Race planning

Our next intake starting 11th July is set for anyone targeting River Run BYU, Satellite World Champs and Arrowtown BYU. So, if you’re entered in one of these races and want to meet your full potential AND enjoy the experience, you honestly should take a look at Breaking Limits - rhsn.co.nz/breakinglimits

Regardless, check out "This is Bulls**t — The Story of the Alexandra Airport Carousel BYU", now out on YouTube! Warning: it may make entering a backyard ultra seem like a good idea.

22/06/2026

When is the right time to dial in your nutrition?

The best time is when your training load increases and you start caring about your health and performance.

Nutrition is part of training—not an afterthought. The more you eat, the more you can train, the better you can recover, and the better an athlete you'll become.

Start early enough to:
✅ Find foods and products your stomach tolerates
✅ Train your gut to handle more fuel and fluid
✅ Match your intake to the intensity and duration
✅ Work out your hydration and sodium needs
✅ Make adjustments without race-day consequences

Start with the basics:

EAT. Fuel before training.
PERFORM. Fuel your performance.
RECOVER. Fuel your recovery.

So, when should you dial in your nutrition?

Now—while you still have time to practise it.

You can start by checking out the RHSN app - eatperformrecover.mvt.so

EAT. PERFORM. RECOVER.

15/06/2026

We’ve got some movement on the Sweat Test Leaderboard!

A big week in Dunedin at the Caledonian, with 7 athletes tested during the regular Sole Session.

A few new names have cracked the leaderboard, a couple have been bumped off the bottom.

These athletes now know exactly:
✅ How much sweat they lose per hour
✅ How much sodium they lose in their sweat
✅ How many electrolytes they need to replace
✅ How to build a nutrition and hydration plan

Better hydration isn't just about drinking more water. It's about replacing the fluid AND sodium you lose in the given conditions. Get it right and you can maintain performance for longer without fatiguing, improve recovery, keep fuelling on track, and potentially reduce cramping risk.

If you don't know your numbers, you're guessing.

Sweat testing is now available in:
📍 Hawke's Bay with Kendall
📍 Alexandra with Hannah

Coming next:
Palmerston North
Wellington
Auckland

Get in touch if you'd like testing organised in your area, and we'll see what we can do.

KNOW YOUR SWEAT.
KNOW YOUR PLAN.
KNOW YOUR PERFORMANCE.

01/06/2026

Sweat testing available around the country!

No more guessing how much fluid or sodium you’re losing - sweat testing tells you what’s actually going on so you can match your fluid and electrolyte replacement to your losses. (This is what “dialled” looks like).

RHSN is now offering sweat testing in:

📍 Central Otago with Hannah
📍 Hawke’s Bay with Kendall
📍 COMING SOON: Palmerston North + Wellington

Your sweat rate and sodium loss can vary heaps from the person next to you — which means copying someone else’s hydration plan is about as useful as borrowing their shoes. See how you compare!

Sweat testing gives you the numbers you need to build a proper hydration and electrolyte plan for training and race day.

Book your test now — link in bio.

KNOW YOUR SWEAT.

24/05/2026

Join Ian Evans, Katie Wright, Kieran Philip and myself at The Gate in Cromwell for a Runners Q&A evening! Spot prizes on offer thanks to . See you there!

21/05/2026

RUNNER CELEBRATIONS
We’re celebrating the best part of the Carousel — YOU — with a series of posts sharing some of the great stories and achievements from out on the trail. Next up, Brion Matthews — the assist, new PB of 55 laps, and officially heading to Hawkes Bay represent NZ at the Satellite Championships later this year.

Brion came into this year’s Carousel Backyard Ultra with two goals: run a new PB and claw his way back onto the NZ Satellite Champs team. Missions accomplished! "The Carousel course looked to be a good spot to run big laps. The course was harder than anticipated, having a front loading of steep terrain, but the loop paid out in terms of enjoyment and views (many times over)." He ran for NZ two years ago in Otematata where he set his previous PB of 48 in a hard-to-watch grind, battling nausea and GI issues, but with the bar being ever lifted he'd been knocked off the bottom of the leaderboard - until now.

Brion said the race played out almost exactly how he’d hoped, and he puts a huge amount of that down to finally taking nutrition seriously. "Without a doubt it was largely down to working hard on nutrition with Real Health Sports Nutrition. We went through things with a fine-tooth comb and I listened for once. It's the first BYU where the body limited me and not the gut."

He also loved the people side of the event. Although usually more of a solitary runner, he said feeding off the energy of other runners out on course became one of the highlights of the weekend. "Also, my kids helped crew with my partner Fliss (and did an awesome job). It was nice to come back each lap to one of them."

"BYU is the perfect format to test limits (whatever those limits are). You're back to safety every hour and the reset helps break the distance down." His advice to anyone considering a BYU is to ask the veterans for advice - "they're usually happy to help - I've received tonnes of advice over the few races I've done."

Massive congratulations Brion. A huge PB, a NZ team spot, and a whopping run from one of the humblest guys in the sport. Maybe splash out for a new running shirt without holes in it!

17/05/2026

RUNNER CELEBRATIONS
We’re celebrating the best part of the Carousel — YOU — with a series of posts sharing some of the great stories and achievements from out on the trail. Next up, one of our local favourites, Paul Stables, aged 58, from Clyde.

Paul has put together a huge 12 months of running. Earlier this year he won both the 1500m and 3000m at the NZ Masters Games, is breathing down the neck of a sub-18 minute 5km, and at this year’s Carousel ran further than he ever has before - 27 laps/180.9kms.

What makes it even cooler is that coming into the race, Paul genuinely didn’t think he’d get much past 16 laps due to GI issues that had caused problems in previous BYUs. Originally his plan was to help fellow local runners Mike and Cory get through to 24. But about a week before the race, something shifted mentally. He decided to focus on having his own “Big Day Out”, set himself a proper goal, and see what happened.

Turns out what happened was that b*** went and beat Hannah's PB by one lap!

Paul says a big part of the breakthrough came from learning from previous attempts — being more organised, more dialled with nutrition and hydration, and sticking to a run/walk strategy that worked for his natural running speed. Once those pieces were sorted, he could just focus on enjoying the laps and staying steady through the long hours.

And true to Paul form, even while he was deep in his own battle, he was still lifting up the people around him. That’s probably why so many locals turned out to cheer him through his final lap, bringing him home to the sound of Paul Kelly’s “How to Make Gravy” — his favourite song, and honestly one of the great moments from the weekend.

When asked about his favourite thing about the event, Paul’s answer was simple: "Running a Backyard in my backyard! The support from the locals was just the best."

His advice for anyone thinking about giving a BYU a crack? "Get your nutrition sorted, an Army marches on its stomach. And surround yourself with good people, having a great support group is the best way to get through the inevitable Dark Times."

Massive congratulations Paul. Well-earned bragging rights.

Address

Alexandra

Telephone

+64221879661

Website

http://rhsn.co.nz/

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