I get asked all the time what I eat on the trails during my training and and
races. So in this video, I'm going to run through my fuelling strategies for
everything from a 2-3 hour trail run to a multi-day race.
If you’re new to the channel, my name is Jeff Pelletier and I’m a trail runner and
filmmaker based in Vancouver, Canada. And let me start by saying that I am not a nutritionist,
I am not a sports physiologist, and I have no formal education that would make me in
any way qualified to give nutritional advice. But I do have over a decade of personal
experience both on the road and on the trails. And I’ve been lucky to have trained extensively
under the guidance of a team at a sports physiology lab were I would regularly test
for a number of metrics and get professional advice on my fuelling. Like my friend Adam
Campbell once said, as athletes we’re all just out there collecting data on
ourselves and some of us are just luck my to have collected more data than others.
But nutrition is also very personal thing. What works for me may not work for you. I’m
also very lucky in that I pretty much have an iron stomach so I can eat almost anything without issue
which I know is definitely not the case for many people. The other thing to remember is
that sports nutrition is something that is constantly evolving. I mean there was a time
not too long ago when people were quite literally dying from over hydration at road
marathons because we hadn’t yet learned about the importance of electrolytes.
Okay, so let me start with a bit of science. I used to get my VO2max tested pretty regularly,
along with both my carbohydrate and fat utilization rate. We burn a blend of stored
carbohydrate and fat for fuel all the time. We can train our bodies to burn fat more effectively,
but carbohydrates really are the limiting energy source during harder races or training sessions.
On average, we have around 2,000 calories worth of glycogen stored in our muscles and liver,
and on average use about 100 calories per mile when running at marathon effort,
which is why during a marathon many runners hit the wall after around 20 miles.
I was taught that we should aim to replace about 60% of the carbohydrate that we burn in training.
It's normally best to use liquids or gels a they tend to cause fewer gastrointestinal
problems than solid food. But for sessions that are longer than 3 hours,
most people find that they need a little solid food as well.
The main challenge when fuelling while on the run is that there is a limit to how much carbohydrate
we can digest during exercise. I've read estimates for the average person of anywhere between about
150-300 calories, depending on the intensity of exercise. This would be the equivalent of
one and a half to three gel packs an hour, which is right around what many of the product
manufacturers recommend. During a marathon effort, athletes can burn as much as 1,000 calories,
but for longer efforts it's going to be much less, maybe half or even a third of that.
And at lower intensity, we can also absorb more carbohydrate. Obviously, the bigger the gap
between calories burned and calories taken in, the sooner we're going to have to stop or slow down.
Whereas if we're able to consumer closer to the same number of calories we're burning,
we can stay in motion for much longer. This is one of the things that really separates
a race like a marathon from something like a 100 miler. 100 milers really are
more of eating contest than anything else. You’re not going to win an ultra just by eating more,
but you can definitely sabotage your race by not eating enough or by eating too much
or too much of the wrong thing. It's a really difficult balance to get right.
This stuff can get pretty complicated, so I try to keep it simple when planning my nutrition
and focus primarily on carbs as fuel. Having said that,
for multi day efforts you absolutely need to consider other micro and macro nutrients,
including fats and protein. And I will talk about this towards the end of this video.
Something else to note is the importance of drinking water
to ensure that carbohydrates are properly digested and absorbed.
And lastly, we need to be taking in enough electrolytes to in turn balance out our
water intake. As I mentioned earlier, it can actually be dangerous to drink too much water
because you’re effectively watering down the sodium levels in your blood which can lead to
hyponatremia. I like to think of it less about replacing the salt you're losing through sweat
and more about ensuring you’re taking in enough salt to balance out the water you’re
drinking which itself is meant to replace your sweat. Sodium is the primary concern here although
other electrolytes are important as well such as potassium for recovery, but to a lesser degree.
So with all that out of the way, let’s talk about what I might actually eat on the run.
For short runs, say under 90 minutes, I usually won’t eat or drink anything.
But I might carry a gel or a bar just in case I end up feeling really low on energy, or in case
for some reason my run ends up going long. If it's really hot, I will carry a little bit of water,
or possibly even just an empty flask and filter so I can pull water en route if I feel the need.
For runs over 90 minutes and up to 3-4 hours. I’ll carry around 250 calories per hour
from a combination of bars, gels and chews. I like to supplement my run food with things like
these fruit bars and candy from the grocery store as well, just to mix it up. I’ll then
usually carry two flasks of water, at least one with a filter so that I can refill as necessary,
assuming there will be water sources en route. I'll link to a video in the description below that
talks about why I prefer to use flasks instead of a bladder in you're interested in learning more.
It’s important to eat early and eat often. So if I know I’m going to be out for two or three hours,
I’ll start eating about 30 minutes into my run and will keep eating every 30 minutes
or so. I'm not waiting until the 90 minute mark to begin replacing those carbohydrates,
because at that point it can be difficult to get out of the caloric deficit I might find myself in.
When I’m going to be on feet for more than 4 or 5 hours, I’ll start to rely more on real,
solid foods, for two reasons. The first is that, well, I just start to get hungry.
But in most cases I’m also going at a slower pace the longer I’m on feet and will be taking more
breaks. This means my body can more easily digest these solid foods. So when peak bagging I might
bring a sandwich or a wrap to eat when I reach the summit, along with snacks like trail mix,
and maybe even a small flask of whiskey to pass around while we take in the views.
In terms of electrolytes, I’ll typically alway carry a baggie full of these salt tablets. On a
cooler day, I might pop one or two of these if I happen to think about it. But if it’s really hot
and I’m drinking a lot of water, I’ll make a concentrated effort to take up to two
of these an hour with water. You can also get electrolyte drink mix tables like Nuun
but I just find salt caps much easier to measure and deal with. Keep in mind though
as well that most run food like gels themselves have a fair bit of sodium, with some like these
having extra sodium which may eliminate the need to supplement with salt pills at all.
When it comes to races, it again will be relative to my estimated time on feet
and effort. For something like a 50k, I’ll generally rely solely on blocks,
bars and gels. For a 50 miler or 100k, I’ll incorporate solid foods from aid
stations like chips and watermelon. Believe it or not I once ran a 100k on nothing but
gels for ten hours straight, but I think I’m smart enough not to try that again.
At the 100 mile distance, you can bet I’m eating a lot more solid food,
especially any hot foods they might be serving at night like soup, quesadillas, or perogies.
It’s at this distance as I’ve said that the race begins to shift more into an eating contest
and you absolutely need to be getting those calories in early and as often as you can
handle. There's a real psychological element to these longer races as well, especially
when running throughout the night, and that where warm comfort foods become so important.
One thing to keep in mind though is that any solid food you eat in the last couple of hours
of a race, you're not really going to digest in time to get the benefit from anyway. So it might
make sense to switch back to things like gels towards the end of a race if you can stomach it.
Multi day races like 200 milers are a whole other can of worms, and this is where we need to
consider a more balanced diet. I really learned about the importance of getting enough protein
during my first big race, the 205 mile Tor Des Geants in the Italian alps which
took me 4 and a half days to complete. I was trying to avoid eating meat,
and so my options for protein were fairly limited to some cheese, yogurt and a few hard boiled eggs,
along with an otherwise carbohydrate-based diet. After the race I ended up with really
bad swelling in my legs and feet. I also had a lot of sweating in the first few nights that
followed as my body tried to rid itself of all this water retention. What I learned was
that protein plays an important role in water balance by attracting water from the tissue
back into the capillaries, so a lack of protein is what leads to this excess water retention.
So on my next big race, the Swisspeaks 360k, I made sure to get in a lot more
protein. I had nowhere near the same amount of water retention after the race
which allowed me to get mobile again much sooner which in turn really sped up my recovery.
Variety is also increasingly important the longer the race. You just don't know what you're going to
be craving, or more importantly, what kind of food you just won't be able to stomach.
During TOR Des Geants, after days of pasta and fairly bland tasting foods, all I wanted was
something really sweet like a gel, believe it or not. So set yourself up for success and give
your future self as many options to choose from as possible by putting some different
foods in your drop bags or by having your crew if you have one provide options during a race.
Now as I said, your body doesn't use purely carbohydrate to fuel,
and you can train your body to better use fat as fuel. But it does require some carbohydrate
for your body to use your fat stores and for this metabolic function to occur.
Most people have around the equivalent of 60,000 calories in reserve, which sounds
like a lot. But consider this. Years ago, I did a self-supported, 7 day staged race years ago called
the Grand to Grand ultra where I had to carry all of my own gear and food for the entire week.
I was required to carry a minimum of 14,000 calories for the week including breakfast,
any Run food for the day, and dinners. So I did exactly that, eating the equivalent of only
14,500 calories for the entire week while running between 40-80 kms per day at a fairly fast pace.
By the end of the week, I was skin and bones and likely would have burned through
most of my body fat reserves. And lemme tell you, it wasn't an experience I’d like to repeat. All I
could think about that entire week was food. And in retrospect, I may have been able to
perform better by carrying an extra 1,000 or so calories per day, despite the extra weight.
There’s one other thing I’ve yet to mention and that’s
caffeine. Whether you’re a coffee drinker or someone who rarely takes in caffeine regularly,
the benefits of caffeine cannot be understated. Studies have shown that it can significantly
reduce perceived effort. It’s basically like legal doping so you’re going to be at a disadvantage
from a competitive standpoint if you don’t take in any caffeine during a race. I personally like to
use it not only to help me stay awake at night during 100 mile plus races, but also just to
help with my mood when I hit a really low point. I can pop a caffeine pill or take a caffeinated gel
and within a half hour or so go from being cranky to Chatty Cathy,
talking up a storm with anyone who will listen. My buddy Adam likes to joke that he knows the
caffeine has kicked in when I start to sing during our fastpacking adventures. But you do
need to be careful with caffeine because it is a diuretic and it can give you serious GI distress.
So be sure to experiment with it during training before trying it during a race. And be mindful
of gels and other products that might also have caffeine to make sure you’re not overdoing it.
I also want to just mention the use of powders like Tailwind, which
may contain both carbohydrates and electrolytes, the primary benefit of which is that they can be
easier to digest for some. I've experimented with these in the past for both training and races,
but I find they just over complicate my fuelling strategy because it ties
my intake of calories directly to my water consumption. What this means is that if I
get behind on my fluids, I'll also be behind on my caloric intake. Inversely, if I find I'm more
thirsty than anticipated, I could either end up consuming more carbohydrates than I'd planned,
and may even end up trying to limit how much I drink in order to ration my calories. I just
find it so much easier to treat my water as water, and to get my fuel from gels and more solid foods.
But I think the use of powders in water is okay, provided you're treating them as a supplement
and sort of as bonus calories, and not relying on liquid calories as your primary source.
Remember that the first thing to go is your brain when you're low on fuel.
The brain is just 2% of your total body weight, but it accounts for up to 20% of its energy use.
But when you're low on calories, your body diverts most of this energy to your larger muscle groups.
So if you ever find yourself lost or having trouble on the trail, the first thing you
should do is to stop and eat. I like to say that can eat your way out of almost anything.
So I hope that was helpful for you. I’d love to hear about how you approach your nutrition
and hydration during training and races, so tell me about it in the comments below.
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