Aravaipa Racing Team member Colleen Lingley is no stranger to long efforts. Colleen has completed numerous ultramarathons and trail races, including two 100-Mile finishes. She’s also a registered dietitian in Flagstaff so she certainly knows her stuff when it comes to race fueling…
With Colleen being such an expert, we couldn’t think of a more knowledgable person in our running community to provide some guidance around race preparation and in-race nutrition.
Here’s Colleen’s most valuable race nutrition tips:
Many of us have heard not to try anything new on race day, and in this case, the topic is fuel. Backing up to the week leading up to the race, fueling is also important.
1. Seven days prior to race day: If you’re shooting for a PR, studies have shown that we can increase nitric oxide in our blood vessels by drinking 16oz red beet root juice (the freeze-dried powders are also effective) or eating 7oz of red beet root per day (raw, roasted, etc). Increased nitric oxide dilates our vessels and delivers more oxygen to our pumping muscles, meaning we can run fast for longer. Doing this daily the 7 days prior to the marathon will cumulatively increase the nitric oxide.
Not a fan of beets? Two cups raw spinach (or 1 cup cooked) has the same amount of nitrates as the beets to convert to nitric oxide. One word of caution: be sure not to consume alcohol or use mouthwash within 1 hour prior to eating beets and spinach, as the alcohol kills the bacteria in the mouth that help convert those nitrates we ate into nitric oxide.
2. Three days prior to race day, limiting fiber can help prevent runner’s diarrhea. We’re talking LOW fiber, 10-15g per day. During a race, blood flow is shunted away from the stomach and intestines to those hard-working muscles. You can look up fiber content of foods here: https://www.nutrition.gov/topics/whats-food/fiber
3. Race morning, eating breakfast at least 3 hours prior to the race (I know it’s early, but 4 hours prior is even better) ensures that nutrients are digested and in place when that gun goes off and you need them. A simple meal of oatmeal or overnight oats, banana, or a bagel can typically be choked down, despite race day nerves.
4. Be sure to consume any coffee (this goes for decaf, too!) 2 hours or more before the race, else risk having GI emergencies during the event. Studies have shown that even decaf coffee has the same effect on our bowels (about 30% of us have increased colon contractions after drinking regular or decaf). In contrast, studies on black tea consumption showed no increase in colon contractions and diarrhea.
5. During the event, use your tried-and-true fuels, the fuels you used on those long runs and had success with. For top performance (and keeping mood swings and negative thoughts at bay), take in 200-400 calories per hour during a flat or downhill marathon. In a race with a lot of climbing, this calorie level per hour can nearly double. If the race is an all-out effort for you, and consuming gels or solid food is nearly impossible with your breathing, try liquid calories using highly branched cyclic dextrin powder mixed in water. Brands include UCAN (Energy Powder), Skratch (Superfuel), or True Nutrition (Highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin).
Last tip – smile and have a blast!
There’s a lot more than goes into these races than just mental fortitude. Completing a full race at your full potential , especially at marathons or longer events is a balance of a lot of things, most importantly nutrition!
Thank you Colleen for these valuable racing tips!