In This Article You’ll Learn

• How to build your first fueling plan
• How many carbs to target
• When to eat and drink
• How to choose your fuel
• How to adjust your plan during training
• How to be ready for race day

You’ve prepped and prepped for your upcoming trail race or ultramarathon. You’ve logged countless miles. You’ve spent hours strength training. You’ve studied the course. You’ve watched YouTube videos of previous races. You feel ready.

Except for one thing.

You still don’t have a nutrition and hydration plan.

Sure, you’ve practiced eating and drinking during your long runs, but it’s been more of a “grab something when I remember” approach than an actual strategy. Sound familiar?

The good news is that you’re not alone. Most first-time trail and ultra runners spend months training their legs but only a few minutes thinking about how they’ll fuel their race.

Let’s change that.

By the end of this article, you’ll have a simple fueling plan you can practice, adjust, and trust on race day.

Step 1: Know your race. How long will you be running? What will the weather be like? How many aid stations are there and how far apart are they? Am I carrying all my nutrition ort relying on aid stations? Write those answers down:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The second step is what is your Carbohydrate goal for the run?

Expected Race Time	Carb Goal
Under 2 hours	30–45 g/hr
2–4 hours	45–60 g/hr
4+ hours	60–90+ g/hr

These are only starting points for you to consider. Everyone has different needs you may need more or less carbs per hour than the next person.

Write that down:

____________ grams/Hour

Next is what source of fuel do you want to use?

Examples:

Sports drink

Gels

Chews

Bananas

Potatoes

PB&J

Most runners end up using a variety of these items and mix and match them as the race continues.

What is your primary Fuel:

______________________________

What is your backup Fuel:

______________________________

Aid Station Foods you’ll look for. Remember, this list doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s simply your starting point.:

_______________________________

Now Let’s build your hour:

60 g/hour

30 minutes → Gel (30 g)

60 minutes → Chews (30 g)

or

20 min → Sports drink

40 min → Banana

60 min → Chews

The goal isn’t to copy this example.

The goal is to build one that works for you.

Now build your aid station strategy off of what you decided earlier. Are you relying on the aid station or simply supplementing.

Come into the aid station with a plan. 5 minutes before you get to the aid station you should be doing a self check. What is my body craving? What am I low on that I am carrying? I tell all my athletes aid station stops should be under 3 minutes every time. This forces you to decide on something and keeps you focused. Walk in with a plan—but don’t ignore what your body is telling you. If potatoes suddenly sound amazing, there’s probably a reason.

Hydration strategy is simple as well because you’ve already answered the big questions. now simplify it. How much do I need to carry between refills? What electrolytes do I need? Do I have a backup plan?

Now put all of that together and practice on your long runs. Mimic what you will be doing for the race. If it’s a 10 mile loop practice a 10 mile loop or out and back to see what you go through and how you feel after each loop. Log everything you use and don’t use. If you have a hard time remembering to eat or drink at certain times use a timer. Garmin and Coros both have timer options for eating that will run simultaneously as your run tracking. Every long run gives you feedback. If you’re low on energy you may need to add more carbs. If you’re cramping you need more water or electrolytes. If you’re bloated you need to adjust your fluid intake. Take notes and make a small change each long run. It’s all about practicing and figuring out what works. Trail and Ultras are a constant puzzle that needs to be solved.

This is my personal Nutrition, and hydration strategy that I execute almost every race. It does vary with temperature and distance.

Before the race I eat overnight oats a few hours before then a pop tart 30 minutes ahead of the race. During the race I aim for 80-85 grams of Carbs. I utilize Formula 369 with an electrolyte that has 30 carbs per scoop and 280 grams of Sodium, Precision chews that are 30 carbs, Clif Blocks that have 24 Carbs. I drink 1 scoop of 369 every hour and on the other hour mark I eat a chew then I supplement with aid station food which I only need to get around 20 carbs from. If it is a hotter day I will up my Sodium/electrolytes. I drink 500 ml of water per hour during moderate temperatures. Every aid station I take something usually fruit. When its a really long effort I will take salt pills later in the race to help.

Common Mistakes

• Copying someone else’s plan
• Never practicing
• Carrying too much
• Carrying too little
• Forgetting a backup
• Not adjusting for weather

Your fueling plan doesn’t need to be perfect. It needs to be practiced. Your first plan probably won’t be your final plan, and that’s okay. Every experienced trail and ultrarunner has adjusted their fueling strategy over time. That’s how confidence is built. Not by finding the perfect plan…But by building one.

Practice.

Take notes.

Adjust.

Repeat.

Remember…

We are all an experiment of one.

Build the strategy that works for your body.

That’s the one that will carry you to the finish line.

Congratulations!

You’ve now completed the Black Sheep Running Beginner Trail Nutrition Series.

You know:

How many carbohydrates to eat

When to eat

What to eat

How to hydrate

How to build your own fueling plan

Now it’s time to put it into practice.

Next up in the Black Sheep Running Learning Center: Strength Training for Trail and Ultra Runners.