I have been drawing up a list of Ultramarathon foods. These are things that I like to eat when running long distances.
There is quite a bit of information out there on this subject but I personally find it confusing and a little over the top for someone who just wants to enjoy their running and get to the finish in one piece.
I’ve gathered this from my own experiences and from feedback from other runners. It is in no way a list collated by experts just people who have experience of going long and eating what they like and need to keep on going.
There are some elite ultra-runners who prefer a plant powered diet and that seems to serve them well, people like Scott Jurek and Rich Roll also the Paleo Diet is said to work wonders for endurance and health.
Then there is people like Dean Karnazes who has been known to eat a large pizza during long runs, at the end of the day it’s whatever works for you.
The important elements in these foods is that the all contain high amounts of carbs, sugar, fat and protein. Some of them contain all of these items and some of them contain individual parts.
You can and probably should incorporate energy drinks as well and sodium tablets into training/racing but these can be overpriced and you are able to make your own by mixing half orange juice, half water and some table salt.
For me however, getting energy from real food is always better, not that some of the items on this list can even claim to be real whole foods!
Please feel free to add your favourites in the comments below and also note that these are in no particular order.
1. Jelly Babies
2. Muffins
3. Cookies
4. Haribo
5. Flapjacks
6. Rice Pudding
7. Yoghurt
8. Cereal Bar
9. Pop Tarts
10. Baked Potato
11. Jam Sandwich
12. Bananas
13. Macaroon Bars
14. Carrot Cake
15. Fig Rolls
16. Dried Fruit
17. Snack a Jacks
18. Jaffa Cakes
19. Swiss Roll
20. Hot Cross Buns
21. Tree Nuts
22. Potato Salad
23. Hot Dogs
24. Sausage Roll
25. Oranges
26. Baked Beans
27. Nectarines
28. Cous Cous
29. Porridge
30. Tea Cakes
31. Soreen or any Malt Loaf
32. Rice Crispie Squares
33. Salt and Vinegar Crisps (I don’t think flavour is important)
34. Cold Tuna Pasta (Whole-wheat is best)
35. Honey Sandwich (Brown Bread at least)
36. Nutella Sandwich
37. Granola Bar
38. Walnut Cake
39. Figs
40. Fresh Beetroot
41. Fresh Grapes
42. Fresh Blueberries
43. Pot Noodle
44. Custard
45. Turkish Delight
46. Chocolate
47. Watermelon
48. Beef Jerky
49. Lentil Soup (Or any other)
50. Skittles
and finally…the best of the lot
51. Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich!
Love the list Mark! Glad to see fig rolls on there but intrigued by the custard.
I would also add:
52. Apricots, dates and other dried fruits
53. Milk shakes (either fancy recovery ones or just those delightfully nasty Yazoo/Frijj jobbies)
54. Lamb samosas (this was a one off but oh-so-good!)
You should try this one, Mark:
55. Peanut butter and Nutella on wholemeal toast
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Reblogged this on Arrancat's Blog and commented:
Food is always my biggest interest during any expedition, and the Pacific Ocean row is going to be hugely important food wise, especially since we’ll be eating the same stuff day in and day out for 6months!
i use scott jurek’s xocolatl energy ball things. and hershey’s chocolate milk for recovery.