Race nutrition is tricky for ultra-runners. What is the right amount of food? How often should you eat? Which foods will upset your stomach? These are all important questions and it often takes trial and error to find the best solution. When I first started running, I mistakenly thought that I needed to replace all of the calories that I burned during a race. I have since learned that it’s impossible to replenish all of your calories – you need to rely on your body’s energy stores for fuel. Although race nutrition is important, I’ve found that I don’t need nearly as much food as I thought.
On May 8th, Mike McKnight (Instagram @dirtymike_89) seemingly did the impossible by running 100 miles without any solid or liquid food – he only drank water with electrolytes. McKnight finished in an impressive 18h37m. Mike credits a fat adapted diet for this amazing feat. One of my favourite runners Jeff Browning (Instagram @gobroncobilly), coaches McKnight. Browning admits in a recent Instagram post that he thought this was impossible when Mike came to him with the project. Browning knows a thing or two about ultra-running – he’s won 31 races and at 48 years old, he placed 9th at the Western States 100 with a time of 15h55m.
My friend and Canadian 48hr / 72hr record holder, Marylou Corino (Instagram @romanaccia13) amazingly ran 15 hours without any solid food during her 2018 attempt of the Badwater 135. Marylou didn’t do this on purpose – she had serious digestive problems because of the oppressive Death Valley heat. Fortunately, Mary Lou’s crew located a nearby McDonald’s and Mary Lou found that she could eat pancakes and hashbrowns. Getting past the stomach problems – Marylou powered through to a strong finish of 41h28m.
It’s easy to overthink your race nutrition – I’ve made detailed eating plans for races, only to scrap them half way through. Mike and Mary Lou’s examples show us that you don’t need to panic if your race nutrition goes off script. Even the slimmest athletes have thousands of calories to burn from body fat. Lately, I have been limiting the food that I eat while training. I’ve done two, four hour runs without any calories and have had good experiences. I’m attempting to train my body to efficiently burn body fat when I run and I’m looking forward to seeing the benefits during my next race.