Trail run nutrition (Read 107 times)

hello...  I'm doing a 50km trail walk/run next month... My first big event (yes I know, I sure pick outrageous goals 😳😳) .... so could be out anywhere up to 25 hours. At the checkpoints they have food, eg quiche etc, I've been told, but as I'm slow there might not be much left for me!! I was wanting to get some ideas on what would be a good nutrition plan pre race, and during

So I was thinking of having some of the cliff bars might in my bags at the checkpoints, at least be a 'food group' in case I get in and the foods all gone. I can also carry one with me to nibble if I get hungry

I can't eat too much before a run so I was thinking of maybe a banana possibly on toast if I can stomach that pre run

Maybe some nuts, red frogs, etc in my backpack for every

Also I've been told to have a small packet of salted chips at the checkpoints, will help with muscle cramps?

I'm going to have a small water bottle with concentrated Electrolytes in it to sip, then will have my bladder with water

Any other tips... Apart from telling me I'm crazy 😂😂

Have you been training for this run? If so what is your longest run to date and what did you eat then?  What type of terrain will this be on?

Once you get into this distance there are a lot of variables.  Everyone is different in what they can eat, what they like to eat, how much they can or cannot eat etc.  The time to flesh that out is when you are doing some long runs for training.

If you do training runs of 20 miles on a handful of gels you may be able to get through a 50k with double the amount as you need for a 20 mile.

Right now your question is almost too open ended to answer because we don't have enough details. Head out for a long run this next weekend, carry a variety of foods with you and see what works best.  If the event is at the end of the month try to get in several long runs to experiment.

And which 50k would this be that allows racers stay out for 25 hours?

I wanted to ask this but didn't feel qualified.

 

Don't be silly.  We all know you are saving your two cents for a question involving sleep or fueling at a fixed time 72 hour race.

Fair point--I've at least started a trail 50k ... and, 25 hours later had still not finished it. So, in a way, I'm the most qualified person to discuss this topic.

Whereas I'm pretty sure a fixed time 72 hour race is a thing you just made up.

Anyway, for a self supported nutrition you would need something like 180-200 calories per hour, that's more or less a Clif per hour, and for the whole race it would thus be 25.

At 5g of fiber per bar, more than a 1-2 bars during the race will lead to a lot of discomfort. The typical ultra advice is the opposite, try to consume calories with little or not fiber attached. This would include sports drink, gels, pretzels, saltines, etc. Shot Blox and other energy chews are also handy. Quiche sounds like pretty good fare for really long races (8+ hours), where ingesting fat and protein becomes more important than straight carbs.

To the original poster, if you are going to be spending more than 8 hours on a 50K, that also implies spending a long time between aid stations. Make sure you are able to carry enough water or sports drink in between aid stations, and stop for a few minutes to drink a few cups of fluid at each one.