Organiser gets mouthful' from trailwalkers

Mumbai: The recently concluded 100-km Oxfam Trailwalk in Lonavala was a great expedition with 183 registered teams raising more than Rs 1.39 crore and approximately Rs 11.45 lakh from Mumbai for social causes.

While the walk was extremely enriching, the same couldn’t be said about the food. Most participants were left with a bitter aftertaste — quite literally — thanks to the ‘unpalatable’ food — served by nutrition and wellness company Truweight.

One of the participants of the walk wrote on a social media platform, “The trail markings were very good and well laid such that chances of getting lost were minimal. This was one of big concerns we had, but then arrows, orange ribbons and the radium helped us throughout. It was awesome to have the cheerful check-in and checkout teams who were cheering even at 1 pm. For a Trailwalker it is a feel good factor.”

A participant who didn’t wish to be named said, “The food was pathetic and unpalatable. We were totally dependent on the organisers for this, so they should have paid more attention to this aspect.” Chintan Singh, another disgruntled walker was more forthcoming when she said, “They provided three meals over the two days. On the first day, the lunch was too less. They had given 1 tbsp of rice, 1 tsp of yoghurt and even lesser pickle with half a slice of a cucumber. And I am not exaggerating.”

It was the second day that made things worse. “The breakfast was over and they made us wait for 45 minutes to make a fresh batch. Next, when we received our lunch packets, we found that the rice was spoilt,” she added. Chintan and her team of five finished the 10 checkpoints Trailwalker safely but one of her friends had to suffer since she had a spoon of the rotten food.

Another Mumbai participant who didn’t wish to be named said, “The food was quite sub-standard — both in terms of quality and quantity. When I read about the food arrangements with Truweight, I felt that one of the most important aspects would have been taken care off well with a professional touch. After a gruelling trail, one looks forward to carb-loading to pump oneself up for the next checkpoint. I felt that could have been managed far better.”

Truweight company manager Feroz Sharif said, “Our food quality is of standard quality. We are in the field since many years and have not received any complaints till date. Also, the particular event mentioned, we have not received any complaints on the quality of food from the participants.”

Diet for 100-km walk:
Kanchan Patwardhan, a nutritionist said while walking long trails, one must take care of hydration. The best way to get it is adding lemon, salt and sugar to water, if one doesn’t want supplements. During lunch one must try to have a balanced diet, with plain rice, vegetables like sweet potatoes and even a little of chicken or egg. like bananas or apples and nuts like cashews, walnuts and almonds and dates are also good while walking. It will provide the essential micro-nutrients and calories to the body without making it heavy.