Ultramarathon Foods

I wrote this blog post a long time ago (2013) and have deciced to call is ‘Endurance Foods’ it was a brain dump of foods that i’ve used to get through ultramarathons over the last few years. What I find funny when reading this list now is that I don’t eat many of the foods here now, i have adapted my intake of food to one that is less random to a well planned and thought out nutrition goal for each race.

I’ll post another article explaining what I eat for long runs later this week but for the meantime here is my old list, do you have anything to add to this list or is there anything on here that doesn’t agree with your training/racing?

2013 Post – Ultramarathon Foods

I have been drawing up a list of everyday foods 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 are 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.

All of these foods contain high volumes of carbs, sugar, fat and protein. Some of them contain all of these items and some of them have a balanced mix.

You can and probably should incorporate energy drinks/sodium tablets into training/racing but these can be overprice. It is possible to make your own drinks and take care of your electrolyte needs by mixing half orange juice, half water with a small amount of salt.

Getting energy from real food is always better, not that some of the items on this list can even claim to be whole foods or even natural.

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!