Nutrition for Running

If "You are what you eat", then do you also "Run what you eat?" We don't know, but we do know everything from our general health to not bonking during a race is nutritionally influenced. So we asked three excellent runners with very different backgrounds to share what they do … and don't do.

It's no accident all three are Masters - would you ask a teenager for advice on what to eat? These people have studied the science, experimented during years of racing, settled on what works for them … and are now sharing it with you.

LISA GOLDSMITH

Bio (abbreviated):

Lisa is a healthy and happy runner known for her consistency and success, who also has a strong triathlon and cycling background.

1984-1989 - USTS (Triathlon):

• National Amateur Champion in '88
• National Championship - 9th in '89
• Short Course Nat'l Champs - 5th in '89

1989-1993 - Full time road racing cyclist:

• 2 x Tour De France Feminin
• 5 x US National Team

1994-present - Running:

• 14 marathons (2:50:12PR) 2 wins, 2nd place Masters Boston '07
• 6 Pikes Peak Ascents (2:42:44PR), 2 wins, 2 2nd's)
• 2 x Imogene Pass winner (2:41PR)
• 3 x Mt. Evans winner (2:12PR)
• 2 x US World Mountain Running Team ('06 Team gold)

General Nutrition

• I start every day with 2 ounces of a liquid mineral/Aloe Vera juice combination.
• I always have protein in whatever I consume in the mornings - ie: If I have toast it has almond butter or an egg on it. If I have a smoothie it has protein powder; if I have oatmeal it has some yogurt or nuts in it ...
• I probably never go longer than 3 hours without having eaten something.
• Every day I am certain to have some mono-unsaturated fat (olive oil/fish/omega oil).
• In general I stay away from highly processed food, foods with added sugar, and any thing that says 'hydrogenated", while gravitating to "organic".

Race Day

I tend towards high caloric intake the day before the race. Race morning I have only a shake with (lately) "Sustain Energy" or "Perpetuem" and a banana. Ideally I will have this 2-3 hours before the race. If it is a hot day I will also drink coconut water (very high in electrolytes). I also will have a gel 15 minutes before the start of a race of 1/2 marathon or longer. In a race longer than 1/2 marathon I will carry gels for every hour, or more.

Additional Tips

I am nutritionally motivated, foremost in regards to my general health. Sooo, over the years I have learned about nutrition in relation to what my body needs for longevity and frankly, just feeling GOOD. It is difficult and unwise for me to tell anyone what I think they should do; I am not a nutritionist. In a sense we are all "experiments of one."

So I guess my main tip is: PAY ATTENTION to how your body feels following what you do, and change it if you feel you can improve! I read a lot, study, and talk with pros (for instance, my sister is a nutritionist.)

Oh and one last comment: don't fall for Ibuprofen as a "vitamin!" I am excluding cases of trauma, but for general aches and feelings of joint or muscular pain, you are doing a disservice to your body's natural responses and inhibiting enzymatic activity that is important for all of our body functions. An excess of anti-inflammatory drugs will show at some point to be detrimental to the body. There are very natural (dietary) ways to keep inflammation at bay! OK, I'll list a few: Omega 3 & 6 oils (vegetable oils, fish, flaxseed, beans,) vitamins B6, C, Niacin, E, magnesium, zinc, and calcium, and black currant seed oil.

To our health and longevity in running!!!

CHARLES CORFIELD

Bio:

Charles warrants his own Wikipedia entry:

A mathematician, computer programmer, and founder of several startup companies in Silicon Valley, most notably Frame Technology Corp. in 1986, which was acquired by Adobe Systems in 1995. He is also a mountain climber, having summitted Mount Everest (1999 on his 4th trip) and conducted studies of the effects of high altitude on human physiology. Charles is also an ultrarunner. In 2007, he placed third at the Leadville Trail 100, which is one of the hardest runs in the country, with a time of 19 hours and 42 minutes, in his first ever 100-mile run.

From his own (highly sandbagged) Bio:

• I have been running since high school, where I displayed limited native talent. However, I've been interested in the physiology of sport and using it move myself up from the middle of the pack. I've acquired a nickname of "Mr. Two", since I now get a lot of second places in ultramarathons.
• I make my living in technology through participating in start-ups, spin-outs, buy-outs, and the like. My day job is running SandCherry, a software company in Boulder. You can find my finger prints on technology products that touch your daily lives, such as Adobe FrameMaker and Acrobat, VoIP phone calls (e.g. Skype), calling cards, and cell-phone activation services.
• Read more.

General Nutrition

My bottom line is that there is much wisdom in the (very) old observation: "Eat lots of fruit & veggies and stay lean."

"Eating hair does not cure baldness" - Most dietary supplement and fads marketed to athletes play up plausible sounding pseudo-science to tout their benefits - How many times have you seen a pitch, such as: "Baldness is due to hair deficiency. Hair-o-scam is a patented extract of hair proteins and amino acids which promote follicular growth"? In practice we know very little about the journey that starts in your mouth, when you eat something, and what cells do with the results. The next time you hear about a fantastic new supplement, see if it is supported by a rigorous clinical study.

"Construction slows when materials, crews, or site-access are missing" - To stay on top of training your body's repair processes you need a continual stream of materials and good access to your tissues. If you run short of a key component the job will be delayed. Since we don't know what all the key components are, your best bet is to eat a lot of different things. I eat a lot of "complex" foods - veggies, fruit, nuts, seeds - not just the well known carbs, proteins, and oils. I suspect that when athletes complain of "over training", their bodies have gotten behind on repair, and that it's due to a shortage of critical materials, which means they have a poor diet relative to their needs. The construction "crews" are your immune system, and they get to work sites via your blood system (and other routes). And if you want happy, productive construction crews, keep them well fed - which takes us back to a diet with lots of variety. You can ignore all the supplements which claim to "support your immune system" - nobody knows what the hell that means.

"Soylent Green is not good for you" - If you are what you eat, then eating recycled humans (per the old Sci-Fi story) should be fine. But for reasons that are only partially understood, processed foods and supplements do not appear to be as effective as the native versions. This may be because we actually make better use of micro-nutrients in complex combinations than isolated components. For example, both Vitamins A and E are really whole spectrums of related active compounds. Moreover, there are thousands of compounds in every plant and we've only studied a small fraction of them. Each year we identify more "active" compounds, which invariably leads to a new pill. Your best bet is eat to eat a wide variety of foods and let your body pick and choose what it wants or needs.

Race Nutrition

• Pre-race I'll have a small snack, e.g. oatmeal + milk powder + water
• During the race I take H20 from the aid stations, and eat my own mix (see below)
• I carry a baggy with electrolyte capsules and take as needed
• After the race: yoghurt or sour cream + dried fruit (easy to transport)

Rocket Fuel Recipe

(This is Charles's homemade energy drink, which he says gives you more of what you need than any brand product, and at ¼ the price).

• 50g protein (whey or soy)
• 300g maltodextrin
• 400g amylopectin
• 2-3 Succeed electrolyte capsules
• 2 Rolaids (Ca + Mg)
• 3 cups H20

Flavoring suggestions: sugar-free Kool-Aid, cocoa, coffee, mushroom soup, rum, etc. Put all the ingredients in a mixer and turn it on (or use warm water). Pour into flasks for storage. Add the flavor of the day when decanting into race squeeze-bottles or squeeze-tubes.



MATT CARPENTER

Bio (highly abbreviated):

Matt is unquestionably one of the best mountain runners in history. Here are brief snippets.

• Legendary VO2 Max: 90.2 (at 6,200'; sea level test was 94.9 but number was so high they didn't believe it)
• 15 time winner on Pikes Peak (6 Ascents, 9 Marathons) and course record holder of both.
• Won both in 2001 and 2007 (the Double)
• 8 time winner of the Vail Hill Climb and course record holder
• 7 time winner of the Barr Trail Mountain Race and record holder
• 6 time winner of the Imogene Pass Run and course record holder
• 5 time winner of the Everest SkyMarathon Tibet (4 at 14,350', 1 at 17,060') and course record holder
• 5 time winner of the Aspen SkyMarathon and course record holder
• 5 time winner of the Triple Crown of Running Series
• 4 time winner of the Aspen America's Uphill Snowshoe Race and course record holder
• 3 time winner of the Mount Washington Hill Climb; only American to go under 1 hour (twice) and only American with a top 10 time (3)
• 3 time winner of the Teva Mt Games 10K (2 x as USA 10K Trail Championships race)
• 2 time winner of the Skyrunning series
• Winner of the Mt Evans Ascent and course record holder
• Winner of the Leadville Trail 100 mile and course record holder
• Winner of the Lake City 50 mile and course record holder
• Winner of the Mt. Taylor Winter Quadrathlon and former course record holder
• US Men's Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier and finisher

General Nutrition

• I do a lot of training so I eat like every day is a race day, which means I have pretty much the same thing every day.
• As a result of 1&2 I tend to view food as not much more than fuel. Basically, a car would not do so well if you mixed up its fuel everyday and I don't do so well with a lot of variety either.
• Breakfast - I start out with a mixture of Cheerios/Raisin Bran with full fat milk. I tried non fat milk but I just get too light and started having issues.
• Every 3 or 4th day I have oatmeal as this is my preferred race day breakfast so I like to make sure I am used to it.
• Every other day or so I have a multivitamin "just in case." I take a woman's MV as the men's don't have enough iron. We kill blood cells just from the pounding of our feet; add to that the altitudes I like to run at and iron is something I don't want to run low on and risk anemia.
• Lunch - usually right after my late morning run I have a couple of toasted P&J's with a banana cut up on them. Again, I tried going with something with less fat than peanut butter but had weight issues.
• Dinner - Big time Pasta eater. Nothing fancy. Just some sauce from a jar thrown on top or the traditional Kraft Mac & Cheese - the whole family size box. In either case every other day or so I add in either chicken or tuna.
• Once in a while I throw in some veggies. Pretty simple stuff. Variety to me means perhaps a different shaped pasta. In fact, when I was living in Vail a bunch of runners got me a statue of a spaghetti plate with a fork in at as I am known for not eating much else.
• Snack - I snack on yogurt and/or fruit all day long
• Running - I drink Gatorade Endurance Formula pretty much every run taking 3 sips/gulps every 10 minutes. For longer runs I add in gels working up to 300 calories an hour as the race draws near.

Race Day

Race Week - Almost the same thing but I tend to cut back on the spag sauce and go even more bland, if that is possible.

Pre-Race - I keep it simple with oatmeal and a PowerBar for longer races of 2 hours or more. For shorter races that are at least an hour long I just eat a piece of toast, jelly (no peanut butter) and a banana along with half a PowerBar.

Race - see "Running" above, or "Leadville" below

Formula for epic Leadville 100 Course Record

I worked out a mix of Gatorade Endurance formula and gels (mixed together in water) where I could take 3 one ounce+ sips/gulps every 10 minutes, for 30 + calories, which is 200 calories per hour. This was supplemented with a 360 calorie Exceed Boost Energy drink at several of the major stations where I met my wife and daughter, to take my average calorie count to 300 an hour which is what I trained for.

I had planned on taking in a bit more water during the day (a more diluted 4 sips so still 30 + calories) but it was cool during the whole race so I used the above formula. However, during the high altitude section over Hope Pass I felt I was not absorbing all that I was taking in so I did the out/back road stretch to Winfield on plain water to let my stomach catch up a little. I went back to the formula going back over Hope Pass but did just a 1/2 Boost instead of a planned full before heading up the pass and another 1/2 instead of a full after it at Twin Lakes. Thus I ended up drinking 5 Exceeds instead of 6 which for the most part was the only deviation from the plan during the entire 15 hours, 42 minutes and 59 seconds.

The actual total race calorie count was 5,040 or 320 calories an hour which confirmed my suspicion that I was taking in a tad more than I was used to. This was due to the fact that although the plan was to carry just what would be needed to reduce weight between stations (Fish Hatchery to May Queen = 24 sips) I did take a little extra and ended up drinking it.