Fuelling a Solo Winner: Daragh’s World’s Toughest Row Victory 🏆

“If you are serious about your results, you need a serious partner for your nutrition. Working with True Food was one of the best decisions I made along the journey to winning the WTR solo 2025 and I can't recommend them highly enough.” Daragh MacLoughlin, 2026

Daragh crosses the line in Antigua, and pops a flare to begin the celebrations!

When it comes to extreme endurance, preparation doesn’t stop at training. Nutrition can make or break a race – especially when you’re alone in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

We’re incredibly proud to have supported Daragh, competing as @thejasper_solo, who has just been crowned 🏆 Winner of the Solo Class 🏆 at the World’s Toughest Row, representing Ireland 🇮🇪.

Daragh crossed the finish line in Antigua after rowing an eye-watering 3,000 miles from La Gomera, finishing in an astonishing time of:

🏁 39 days, 20 hours and 16 minutes

An extraordinary performance in one of the most demanding endurance events on the planet.

The Challenge: Rowing the Atlantic Solo

The World’s Toughest Row is exactly what it says on the tin.

💥 43 teams
💥 114 rowers
💥 20 nations

For solo athletes like Daragh, the demands are relentless:

• Rowing for up to 18+ hours per day

• Severe sleep deprivation

• Huge energy expenditure

• Limited cooking facilities

• Constant exposure to heat, salt, and motion

In this environment, nutrition isn’t about perfection – it’s about consistency, tolerance, and energy availability.

We organised a thorough and personalised daily nutrition plan, hitting all the race requirements

Our Role: Nutrition for Survival, Performance, and Recovery

We worked closely with Daragh to build a nutrition strategy that was:

• High energy (to meet extreme daily calorie demands)

• Practical (easy to prepare and consume at sea)

• Gut-friendly (under constant stress)

• Flexible (to adapt to fatigue, heat, and rough conditions)

The focus wasn’t just on calories, but on:

• Carbohydrate availability to fuel long rowing blocks

• Adequate protein to support muscle repair and resilience

• Electrolytes and fluids to manage hydration in intense heat

• Convenient formats that could be eaten even when exhausted

In races like this, athletes don’t “race on one day” – they survive, adapt, and perform every single day for weeks.

Daragh executed his nutrition plan with discipline and flexibility, which was a huge contributor to his ability to keep moving, recover, and ultimately win.

A Winning Result

Crossing the finish line after nearly 40 days alone at sea is an achievement few people on the planet can truly comprehend.

Winning the Solo Class at the World’s Toughest Row puts Daragh among an elite group of endurance athletes – and we’re proud to have played a part in that journey.

Huge congratulations, Daragh 🎉

Daragh joins a small elite group of Irishmen to have finished the row