Apart from training for the race day, Ultramarathon Nutrition Guide is as essential and important as training. Ultramarathon nutrition itself is considered training for the mind and for the stomach, because you are preparing yourself for the levels of calories, carbs, protein, fats and fluids intake from training day 1, in order to complete the ultramarathon.

Ultramarathons are exciting and full of adrenaline experiences. They are a test for the body and mind, because you go through a whole experience and journey from the first day of training (6-12 months before the race) till the race day.

The nutrition isn’t only limited for the day of the race, but also throughout the whole training process as well as after the race. So we can consider that there are 4 different stages for the ultramarathon nutrition plan.

The most important part for the ultramarathon nutrition plan is the preparation stage. This stage includes all the Ultramarathon nutrition meals, intakes, experimenting, and trials throughout the training interval in order to find the best nutrition plan that fits you and follow through with it till race day.

Stage 1: Ultramarathon Nutrition during training time

 

The energy and macronutrients

You should start by searching online or getting recommendations from doctors about the calories intake per day based on your gender, age, metabolism level, height and any other conditions that you might be facing in order to know how to base your plan.

The next step is to meet the daily calories demanded by eating the necessary ultramarathon nutrition meals to create the energy needed to support you through your training and the race. Also, keep track of the food and calories in order to reach the optimum ultramarathon nutrition plan and to know when there is a deficit or surplus in the calories intake or in a specific food division that needs to be changed.

Energy maximization and fuel creation

In order to store and have the right amount of fuel needed during the training and the race, you need to have glycogen stores for the muscles in order to help the training process. Since Ultramarathons are intensive prolonged runs and require intensive prolonged trainings they should be fuelled from glycogen, which means your ultramarathon nutrition meal plan should include it.

You can create glycogen stores from Carbohydrates intake, or if you are following a more ketogenic diet you will increase your fat intake but the fat takes a longer time to be transformed into energy. There were not many studies that proves that ketogenic diet will be extremely efficient since some people lose weight during the ketogenic diet.

During your carbohydrates or fat intake, you shouldn’t be extremely loading on any of them. Yes, you will need more than usual in your ultramarathon nutrition plan in order to fuel for your race, but you shouldn’t be overloading because this might cause stomach distortion and discomfort.

Protein and muscle damage

Ultramarathon nutrition plan is really essential and be considered as well as taken into consideration during your training process as well as the race day in order to avoid any kind of muscle contraction, inflammation or any kind of potential damage which would ruin your chances during the races or even the option of entering the race.

Protein consumption is a very important part of the ultramarathon nutrition plan. Protein is directly related to muscle recovery, it is recommended to take 1.6kg/day up to 2kg/day to have the optimum muscle recovery.

You should eat the protein that is included in the ultramarathon nutrition plan throughout the day in a more divided time frames instead of eating the whole needed protein intake during 1 or 2 meals per day.

Sometimes runners can’t meet the right amount of calories intake during the day, so you can eat protein and increase its intake more than usual if you can’t or not able to reach or meet the energy needs.  There are some supplements to take in if you want to reach the needed amount of protein per day. The supplements include protein powders, which are taken when you cant meet the amount of protein you need during the day, so u take the available substitute that is protein powder.

Hydration needs

During your training process you lose a huge amount of fluids after each run per day, so your nutrition plan should include and take in consideration the fluids intake. You can understand or figure out the amount of fluids loss by weighing yourself before the run and after the run, in order to see the difference and know how much fluid should you include or add during your day.

Fluids intake is as essential as food intake and that’s why they are included in the ultramarathon nutrition plan, so you should regularly drink fluids in small amounts until you reach more than what you lost during the run, its also recommended that you eat a savoury foods after the run due to the amount of fluids loss and in order to increase your minerals and sodium level.

It is better to let your thirst guide you. It means that when you feel thirsty or when your body signals to you that there is some sort of dehydration you should start drinking and taking your needed amounts of fluids.

 A very good indicator if you are taking enough fluids during the day is the colour of your urine. If it’s a pale-yellow colour this means you are taking a good amount of fluids that your body needs, but if it was a darker colour, this is a good indicator that you should increase your fluid intake and that your body is entering a stage of dehydration.

Stage 2: Pre-race breakfast

as we mentioned that carbohydrates are an extremely important element in the ultramarathon nutrition plan, because it is the main source of energy and fuel for most runners. So it is no surprise that it should be included in your pre-race breakfast and take part of the ultramarathon nutrition breakfast.

Carbohydrates are stored in the liver and your body consumed them during the night for fuel, so your breakfast should be carb-rich in order to replace the used energy.

The type of carbohydrates that you would consume depends on your preferences, and we recommend whatever the type of carbs you will be consuming, they should total to around 100 gm. Also, the Timing of your breakfast meal should be at the same time as your every day breakfast in order to not mess with your body’s eating clock. And it should be 3 to 4 hours before the race starts.

We recommend a low fiber an dairy intake during breakfast in order to not face any kind of stomach discomfort or indigestion fatigue. You should eat familiar foods and not try any new foods before the race in order to not face any problems during the race.

Things to eat during the pre-race ultramarathon nutrition breakfast

Eat:

• Bread (any kind of bread or bagels), peanut butter, banana, fruit juice without pupl or a sports drink such as a protein shake for the pre-race .
• Rice, pasta, vegetables rich in starch, lean meat, fruits high in carbs
• Around 700 ml of fluids to be drank almost 3 hours before the race.

Not Eat:

• Deep fried foods, High saturated fats that could be found in processed meats or red meat.
• Avoid coffee because it is considered as a diuretic drink, and avoid dairy products as they could affect runners with gastrointestinal problems.
• Decrease fat consumption because the body takes a lot more energy in order to digest it so you would feel tired early.

Stage 3: ultramarathon nutrition during the race

During the race you will need a lot of energy, and you can create this energy by consuming food and fluids and reach your optimum performance. Don’t e the system of your food and fluids intake that you used to have during your training period and strictly don’t change the products or try a new product during the race DO NOT RISK IT!

 Foods to eat:

• Banana
• Energy Gel
• Energy Bars
• Gummies and jelly beans
• Chews and lollies
• Sandwiches (peanut butter)
• Muffins and cookies
• Water, salty drinks and vitamin waters

Stage 4: Ultramarathon nutrition after the race

When you finally completed the race, you should eat a high in carb snack right after it and after the course of 2 to 3 hours you can enjoy a large balanced meal. The ultramarathon nutrition after race guide should include some of the fluids, high carbs, protein and moderating fats to re-energise your bodys needs to replace all what’s lost and burned during the race.

You could enjoy a meal of chicken wrap and chees with salad, a homemade pizza with vegetables and cheese, chicken stir-fry with rice or noodles or even a milkshake to reward yourself.