Fluids and food intake.

I've said it before but it bears repeating. Everyone is different as far as their food abd fluid intake is concerned. But some things remain the same.

For example; some people work better on more of a liquid diet (using electrolyte drinks, beverages such as Ensure or Sweet Dreams, and mixed fluids such as Mango Juice with Carbo- Plex, which is a type of starch). In the liquid diet one can suppliment the fluids with just a little solid food. Trying different things in training can show you what works best for you. In general, try for a mix of items whereby the bulk of the calories are from carbohydrates, with about 10% from protein and 20% from fats.

In terms of frequency, try to eat small portions on a regular basis, maybe every 30-60 minutes. It is not possible to take in as many calories as you will be burning per hour. A good goal total on calories is 300-400 per hour. To maintain this rate, it often works best to carry foods such as candy, cookies, pretzels, and gels in your pack, and then eat items such as fruit, sandwiches, and soup at the aid stations. Another popular food that will give you consistent energy and be well tolerated in your digestive track is potatoes, coated with salt.

Soups are good later in the event, when you have lost a lot of sodium and when your stomach will have more trouble handling sweet or starchy foods. The fats may help settle your stomach and the warmth is nice when you are running overnight at a 100 mile race.

The thing to remember is that what you eat and when does affect how you feel and do in a race. At the slower pace of longer ultras (50 or 100 miles or more) your stomach emptying rate is not lowered and you can go more to solid food as compared to liquids. For a 50k or shorter races, where more blood goes to muscles and less to your digestive system, you might do better using mostly liquids for caloric fuel.

One method to get a regular intake of food is to eat while you are walking, in addition to eating a bit at aid stations. When creating a nutrition plan for a race, decide what you will eat, and when, and plan your drop bags and crew stops to match the nutrition plan. I usually like to have several different items that I can go to at any time, in addition to the aid station foods.

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