Resident nutritionist? 8 hour Team race feeding questions

[pscook]

I am entering an eight hour team race on the 18th with at least one other member, and am looking for nutrition advice to keep us alive. Not worried about "competitively healthy" as we just want to have fun and survive. So, here are my questions-

What meals to eat in advance, and how many days before?

What to eat the morning of, knowing that the race starts at 8AM?

What to eat during the rider exchange/breaks? (Assuming one hour stints with equal rest, repeat as necessary.)

Plain water or electrolyte in the hydration bladder?

What to eat at the end of the race? (Recovery type food, not just the beer.)

Here are my qualifiers- I'm not in perfect shape, but I do okay. I know that exceptional performance requires exceptional training (including diet), but I'm built for comfort, not for speed, and I train appropriately (cardio for endurance). I just want to make sure that our fun is not eclipsed by the discomfort of a poor diet leading up to and including the day of event. It's a ten mile loop, not exactly the place to easily pull off and answer nature's call, if you catch my drift.