Nutrition is fuel. It’s about eating a balanced diet that provides the energy and nutrients you need to be healthy and function optimally. Ultrarunning and other endurance sports demand high levels of energy, as your body is consistently moving and healing.
Jenaed Brodell from Nutrition&Co has a Bachelor’ in sports science as well as a medical science honours in nutrition and dietetics. Her success as a SENR dietician has been paramount in helping many complete their goals in sports.
“Running puts a lot of stress on the body; it is important for ultra runners to consume plentiful antioxidants in their diet. This helps fight off any oxidative stress on a cellular level that is caused by ultra-running.
“Foods that are high in antioxidants include blueberries and strawberries, broccoli, spinach, nuts and seeds, and red cabbage. Ultimately the more variety of fruit and vegetables in your diet, the better.”
Should I change my diet to match my sport?
We’ve heard it since childhood, but fruits and vegetables hold everything we need to keep our body moving. Brodell favours this and recommends at least three different colour vegetables per meal.
“I also highly recommend foods high in omega-3 fatty acids, which is an essential fat. Running can cause a lot of inflammation in the body therefore consuming a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids helps to reduce the inflammation. These foods include fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines as well as walnuts, flaxseeds and linseeds.”
Now obviously, it’s not favourable to be sitting down to a nice salmon dinner halfway through a 100-mile race; therefore, fast-acting carbohydrates are essential to fueling your body and keeping the tank moving.
Therefore, a prime option for many gels: “They are practical, they are a concentrated source of energy from glucose (carbohydrates) and contain 20-25g quick-release carbohydrate for a small concentration of ‘food’ therefore give us the boost we need.
“Most energy gels are based on maltodextrin, which directly provides glucose to your bloodstream and provides an easily absorbable form of carbohydrate.”
Brodell explains that gels work by using simple sugars that are absorbed into your bloodstream as glucose, giving you a spike in energy. It’s then absorbed by active muscles and organs to be utilised as a fuel source to give you the energy you need to fuel your run.
Gels are a common tool among long-distance runners, with the packets on gels recommending you take one every 20 minutes. However, many take their gels too late, and their digestive system is unable to take them as fast, as the blood supply is being used mostly for the leg muscles, heart and lungs.
Does Nutrition really influence performance?
While nutrition alone won’t increase your overall performance, Brodell insists that a good nutrition alongside a decent training plan can help you perform better in ultrarunning.
“Just like a car cannot get from A to B efficiently without petrol, an athlete cannot maximise their performance without the correct fuelling strategy ensuring there is plentiful glycogen (Carbohydrates) available when needed.”
Brodell explained that she sees many nutrition complaints come from abdominal discomfort prior to races: “This is especially common when the athlete’s main fuel source of choice is fructose (dried fruit/fruit juice/fruit) in high quantities.
“High concentrations of fructose can cause malabsorption and an upset stomach/cramping. Fructose is only absorbed at 30g/hr at most therefore, I would recommend having lower dosages of fructose and trying to increase your glucose sources, such as white breads/bagels/gels/carbohydrate drinks, as they are absorbed up to 90g/hr and better tolerated.”
Another complaint is eating enough calories to sustain themselves over long distances.
“Ultra runners need a lot of calories for training and races, therefor meeting these, especially through carbohydrates, can be tricky. My advice would be not to be afraid of liquid carbohydrates such as recovery drinks/milk/malt drinks/smoothies, as these are often less filling and make up the extra calories.
“Planning is also key; therefore, knowing how many calories you are having pre-training, during training, and post-race is important.”
So what is protein? Isn’t that more important?
Every single cell in the human body contains protein.
The basic structure of protein is a chain of amino acids. You need protein in your diet to help your body repair cells and make new ones. While important during the recovery stages, carbohydrates are the body’s primary fuel source and are essential when running long distances.
“Carb loading is simply a nutritional strategy to increase the glycogen stored in your body above its normal amount. The number of carbs you can eat ranges from 2.3–5.5 grams per pound (5–12 grams per kg) of body weight per day.
“It may be effective in events lasting more than 90 minutes, but it’s probably unnecessary for shorter durations. There are several specific carb-loading programs. The major differences between them are their durations and the amounts of exercise they include. All programs use a short-term high-carb diet while temporarily decreasing exercise.”
Post-race, nutrition is still paramount as your body begins to heal. Brodell explains that you should be focusing on fluids, carbohydrates, protein and rest.
“Ideally, within 30 minutes, you want to get a form of liquid carbohydrate that contains electrolytes and protein, such as milk/chocolate milk/recovery shake/smoothie, into your system; If you want a protein shake, it’s best to be had with milk and fruit because you want to be having more carbohydrates than protein after your race.
“You want to opt for a 3-4:1 ratio of carbs to protein. Generally, it’s 1.2g/kg carb + 0.5g/kg protein within 2 hours after your race. I would recommend getting a snack and fluids within 30 minutes and then a main meal within 2 hours thereafter. Examples include chocolate milk, granola and yoghurt and then a main meal that includes all macronutrients and veg within two hours afterwards.”
While not the be-all and end-all of succeeding in ultrarunning, established dieticians like Brodell believe that having a good nutrition plan can be fundamental to succeeding at a high level.
“Our carbohydrate reserves run out; therefore, if you do not top up with carbohydrates and repair with protein. It is likely you will have a poor recovery, your performance will decrease, and you will feel out of energy during your training and races.
“It is vital to practice race day strategies during training and ensure you are ‘training your gut’ with the higher carbohydrate ranges so your gut can get used to consuming glucose at an efficient rate.”
Jenaed Brodell is a dietician with Nutrition and Co. who has won the Nutrition & Dietetics consultancy company of the year for the London & South East England region in 2022 and 2023. They are a leading service for many universities, professional athletes and GP surgeries.
