100 mile training advice #5 Nutrition for ultra running

#5 Fuelling for ultras

It's usually only a matter of time before an ultra runner gets to learn about fuelling... One long march to the finish whilst being unable to stomach any fluids or sugars or anything at all for that matter, it can wipe out energy levels in no time and before you know it half the field has passed you and there's nothing you can do about it... I generally don't get many issues in this department as I stick to a couple of sources of calories and it works for me... I did manage to run the first 8 hours or so of Trans Grancanaria without taking in any calories, I was drinking 'Pepsi Max' on the checkpoints thinking it was the same as Coca Cola, loaded with sugars BUT it's actually the sugar free version! Doh! I suspected something was up whilst I was barely able to run or focus and kept going dizzy up hills. After investing some time in getting calories in me I ran the later stages totally fine.

I think the main risks with fuelling are

1 relying on one source of calories then getting sick of it, eg setting out with just gels for 24 hours worth of running and being unable to even look at a gel after 6 hours.

2 trying some food or powder or potion that you have never tried before and it throwing you off

3 not taking in enough calories or fluids early on and then being in a giant energy deficit and unable to maintain any kind of pace

4 perhaps not so drastic but worth noting, fuelling inconsistently and just having a bit of a roller coaster in terms of energy levels.

Which brings me to my top tips...

1 - Practice the foods or drinks you plan to race with, try them in a training run and see how you feel.

2 - When it's very hot (talking 30 -40 plus degrees C) I might consume about 1 l per hour of fluids, you might need more or less so listen to your body, depending on size and acclimatisation, try to practice in conditions similar to what you'll race in

3 - Always have a bit of a back up or emergency calories, if you run low on food or water, maybe a section takes you a long time between checkpoints or you get lost or something and miss a checkpoint, being tired and thirsty and not having anything is a grim feeling.

4 - There aren't any magic foods or diets or pills that will make up for a lack of training, sure eating a healthy balanced diet is going to put you in good stead, but going on a crash diet for 2 weeks to try and compensate for not getting the miles in will probably do more harm than good.

5 - Carbohydrate loading... Could almost be a section on its own, carb loading is where you increase the amount of carbs in your diet for 2-3 days leading up to a race to ensure your glycogen stores are topped up and you're ready for a long race. It doesn't involve gorging on junk food for 10 days before your next 10k and it definitely doesn't mean you need to eat your bodyweight in donuts every time you want to go for a run.

There are other considerations but these should definitely get you started. If you are having issues with your stomach in races or long runs, what you're eating might be playing a part. Worth looking into in more detail if that's you!

Buller Gorge Road Marathon - New Zealand 2016 1st

Before I planned my trip to Nz I had basically shortlisted all the races that sounded worth a run, this one made it on the shortlist although I didn't really research much further than date, distance and location at that point. By chance I got chatting to a German triathlete a few days before the race who was travelling up for it. I made a quick email to the organiser and got a late entry and also managed to organise a trip to visit friends in the north of the South Island at the same time. It was a mere 7 hour drive from Wanaka to Westport the night before the race, registration was easy it was pretty quiet. I then found out that I was in a road marathon not a trail and realised I had no running shoes that were reaaally fit to wear and definitely not road shoes....

Being a late entry it wasn't really in my plan to race a marathon that weekend so opted for a steady 3 hour pace and started out pretty much last. We were bussed out to the start ready for an early start I hadn't seen a map of the course beforehand but basically we started on a road in a gorge (very scenic!!) and ran 8km inland, then hit Berlin Cafe and turned around before running 34km back to the finish in Westport.

I set out near the back, a pretty gentle first 10km in about 46 mins and had chatted to a few runners aiming for varying times from 3.15 to 3.45 even. I'd not eaten breakfast beforehand and was just running on water. Interesting how the body can adapt... Just 5 years ago running sub 4 hours was a big ask but do able. Now I'm pretty happy running sub 3 without too much effort on the road but I reached the half way point in around 1.34 according to the timing guy stood with a stopwatch shouting our times.

I'd moved through a good chunk of the field but had to make a quick portaloo stop before getting back to the run. I remember seeing some serious looking types and one particular wearing red shorts and a yellow vest who stood out purely for the bright colours. It wasn't long after halfway before I saw him up ahead. There was some sort of relay happening on the day along with a walk on the same course so looking on the longer straights into the distance it wasn't easy to tell who was doing what until I caught and passed a guy who was really enthusiastic and said I was now 3rd only 3 mins behind the lead! I was quite surprised as there is often some very competitive times around the course. The other part of me also thought that quite possibly that wasn't an accurate bit of information....

The amount of times someone either race crew, competitor or even innocent bystander has told me 'Ohhh yeah next guy is miles ahead' when they're about 1 minute ahead or even 'yeah well done, last mile' then ten minutes later someone else shouts '2 miles to the finish' Turns out shortly after the lead car that would drive us into town came up and said I was around 2 mins behind with just over 10km to go. I picked the pace up and caught sight of the leader between the various other walkers and relay people.

Putting in a sub 40 minute 10k at the end was enough to pass the leader around 2km from the finish as you hit the long bridge into town and I finished up almost 1 minute clear in a perfectly timed 2.59 and some seconds.

There is a big marquee and entertainment on throughout the afternoon, I hung around for about 6 hours to wait for the prize giving which was very generous and also received a very large trophy for the overall win. Definitely worth a look if you're after a challenging road marathon, there were a few undulations, probably quite hilly compared to your average road marathon although after recent training I'm moving strong in the mountains it felt pretty fast to run on the road and not gravel or trail for a change.

Lakeland 100 Part 2

Hi Guys!

Part 2 is essentially a few notes I jotted about what went well and what could be improved on... There were no real disasters for me, the few legs from Blencathra to Dalemain I was unfamiliar with and time was lost here.

What worked well for me?

• Lots of running long distances in hilly places this year (back to back 3-8 hour runs at weekends in the Lakes, Snowdonia, Peak District) weekly elevation between 3000m and 8000m in peak training weeks - I love being out in the hills
• Short fast races during the Summer evenings (5-10k)
• Gear that I use I've trained with and practiced with many times
• Completed the event based on feelings. Ran what felt comfortable, drank when thirst, ate when hungry
• The majority of the course I knew I saved lots of time compared to the night section which I didn't really know well.
• Effective conditioning with run specific exercises (I created exercises to simulate the forces and motions of running) 
• Good nutrition to aid recovery from training 

What can I improve?

• Reduce the gear carried, I had much more stuff than I would have ever needed (even if the weather had been bad)
• A recce on the unfamiliar sections would have saved significant time during the night
• Avoid running 80 mile race the weekend before (wasn't sure how the legs would react thus the steady pace)
• Train specifically for a race (entered last minute so didn't do any specific training thus the race week before) 
• Perhaps having a little more food could have helped? energy levels were consistent throughout but would normally feel a bit more zippy up hills than I did on one or 2 during the middle, maybe a result of point 3...
• Pay a bit of attention to timings. I had assumed leaders would be hours ahead and chose to just keep going as I was until Ambleside someone informed me of the gap to the podium. I felt a bit too energetic towards the end which suggests I didn't push as hard as I could.

I've ended up on the list for next years Lakeland 100 so it appears that I'll be there. How exciting!