“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face” – Mike Tyson

This quote couldn’t apply to ultrarunning more when it comes to fueling and nutrition. Oftentimes, when looking up race nutrition, you’ll find tips about what food should be eaten, when, how often, etc. While it’s good to have a baseline strategy, the truth is 9/10 it won’t work out that way. This is an important thing to accept before going into an ultra distance effort.

Planning for the chaos

At some point (often more than one) there will come a time when the plan isn’t working. While it can be easy to panic in these moments, it’s important to think ahead and while the plan may be long gone, it’s important to remain calm and be intentional as you work through the battle of nutrition. 

The easiest thing you can do is have more than one plan. For instance, I usually rely more on solid foods earlier, knowing that I will eventually have to start mixing in more liquid calories and sometimes switching entirely to liquid calories for periods of time. This looks different for everyone. Find out what works best for you and make that your plan A. Have a separate menu of things if plan A doesn’t work out and make that your plan B. I suggest having at least 2-3 full menus of caloric items to be able to alternate between. Obviously, the more options, the better. 

Use longer runs to practice nutrition

Much like you train your body, training your nutrition menus and finding what works for you will happen over time in your training plans as well. Mid and long distance runs are a good time to play around with your nutrition. Make it a point to try something new each one of these runs. The more data you have, the more you’ll be able to draw on during a bigger effort/race. 

This tip is a bit unorthodox, so take it with a grain of salt. One issue many folks have is diagnosing a problem during a race. Why am I feeling nauseous? Why am I feeling lethargic? Being unable to understand why a problem has occurred and how to solve it, can result in a DNF for many folks. 

As you become more experienced, you’ll naturally deal with many different things and be able to learn how to mitigate them. You can also use your training as a way to purposely train through different unideal conditions. For instance, I’ve purposely taken too much salt before and during a run to experience what it feels like so I have that data for more important races. It can be hard to diagnose a problem during an ultra, therefore, the more data you have, the higher chance you’ll have of solving problems as they happen. 

Proceed with caution if you purposely expose yourself to adverse conditions. Do not dehydrate yourself on a hot day or do something that may cause long-term damage. Be strategic, thoughtful, and smart if you plan on taking this approach. 

As the great Ann Traeson has said: “Those that succeed in ultras often aren’t the most talented runners, rather, they are the best problem solvers.” Problem solving is a skill and one that’s important to practice. 

When all else fails, try something new

There is a philosophy that talks about professor versus cowboy mentality. In this analogy, the professor puts their energy into planning, details, and trying to do everything right. They have all of their ducks in a row and have every detail accounted for. Their crux is not being able to deal with new things that come up. When the plan goes haywire, the professor becomes stressed and overwhelmed, frustrated by their inability to plan for this unexpected hindrance. The cowboy is the opposite. They rarely put in the effort to make a plan which can often make their life more difficult but when it comes time to perform, they do. They are unfazed by problems that arise and refuse to let anything get in their way. 

It’s important to have a bit of both. Planning and preparation can help you avoid many problems but there will always be new things you didn’t account for. That’s okay. It’s the beauty of this sport. You are always learning and will never have it all figured out. No one does. When things aren’t going your way, you must be willing to change the plan on-the-fly, try new things, and sometimes nothing will work and you must endure what you are dealing with.

For instance, one rule of thumb in ultras is you shouldn’t experiment during a race. What if you’ve tried everything else? While I wouldn’t recommend eating a new food at the first aid station, there comes a time where strategy goes out the window and you must be willing to throw stuff at the wall and try things. 

If everything is already going wrong and you’ve already exhausted your plan A, B, C, etc. then there’s no harm in trying something new. If it’s between that and a DNF, don’t be afraid to take a chance. It just may be the thing that works and keeps you going.

I recently ran the Sangre de Cristo 100-miler in Westcliffe, Colorado and right from the jump, my nutrition strategy was not working. The high carb gels and drink mix I normally rely on, wasn’t going down the way it normally does. I had to pivot immediately and not much more than halfway throughout the race, I lost the ability to eat anything significant. I went through my normal plan B, C, etc. and tried many other things that I and others thought of, but not much went down. I ate a little over 1,000 calories in the last 40 miles and my pace was severely limited to a moderate walk. I felt frustrated. I couldn’t figure anything out but in order to finish the race, I had to accept what was happening and move forward anyways. I had to adapt the cowboy mindset and not let this stop me from achieving my goal of finishing. This didn’t mean I gave up and stopped trying potential solutions. Rather, I stayed as mentally neutral as possible, continued thinking of new ideas but didn’t get too fret when they didn’t work. Whether I felt better or not, I was going to finish. I never did feel better but my mindset and acceptance carried me, slow step by slow step, to the finish. 

Final Note

Ultrarunning is a messy sport. The nutrition part of it is oftentimes a more challenging puzzle than the movement itself. All you can do is plan and prepare as much as you can before a big effort. However, when things don’t go to plan at all, understand it is part of the game and you possess the tools to navigate through each situation. Nutrition will never be as easy as you think it should be and will continue to challenge you in new ways, but if you spend as much effort trying to understand what works for you then, over time, you will add more tricks up your sleeve. 

TJ is a coach with Team RunRun, to learn more about him or to work with him, check out his coach profile.