skinny runner

[norry]

hi all

i am seriously thinking of joining you for which seems a great race. i seem to be doing ok in the training terms, but do have a concern as this would be my first ultra.

as above i am a skinny runner and have noticed how important nutrition and hydration is on such challenges, the thing is am not a big eater and feel i am always running on my muscles, can anyone give me some info on the nutrition side of things as what to eat before, during, and after the race, or anything that can help me bulk up.

many thanks

norry

[Tim]

Jan 21, 2009 13:04:47 GMT norry said:

hi all

i am seriously thinking of joining you for which seems a great race. i seem to be doing ok in the training terms, but do have a concern as this would be my first ultra.

as above i am a skinny runner and have noticed how important nutrition and hydration is on such challenges, the thing is am not a big eater and feel i am always running on my muscles, can anyone give me some info on the nutrition side of things as what to eat before, during, and after the race, or anything that can help me bulk up.

many thanks

norry

I think some definition of "skinny" would be handy, i.e. weight/height/BMI/general build before anyone can really offer advice.

Generally though, you have to have a very low body fat before you might run into problems with having "insufficient reserves" to run an ultra.

It might potentially be a bit harder to run on your reserves if you're exceedingly thin but you *will* need to eat and drink to complete an ultra and you should start finding out what works for you on your long runs, even if you might not really *need* to eat for a less than race distance training run.

Inevitably though, you can never entirely replicate race conditions in training and you will have to accept that every ultra race will also be "training" where you'll learn a bit more about what you can and can't eat and drink.

If you've not done a long trail ultra before you'll love it!

[norry]

thanks Tim
well am about 5, 8in and way 81/2- 9st and don't think there's an once of body fat on me lol,
i have been trying to add some weight, but with training and the little i eat, although i eat healthy i cant seem to gain some extra, and was more looking for the right kind of things i could maybe try adding to my diet. also is energy bars and gels are these the things i should be looking at for the race, am maybe being stupid and probably just worried that am not giving my body what it needs in a challenge such as the fling

thanks again

[daviehall]

Norry, At 9st you are on the lower limit of normal bmi and at 8 and a 1/2 just underweight. If you are really worried about that I would look for some bulking up but as some of the best runners I know are even skinnier and less BMI than you I wouldn't worry too much. You should be careful that you don't lose more though, by ensuring that you eat sufficient calories to fuel your runs. If you can't eat more, try drinking more in the form of supplemental drinks, sports drinks and, if you are used to alcohol, guinness rather than spirits. If you're not a drinker try full milk to add some more fat. Full milk, as opposed to skimmed or semi skimmed, will also have the added bonus of better nail health. That, you will find, is important to ultrarunners who normally have a few nails hanging off or missing! Learning to eat when running is important, but a difficult habit to get into. Try eating and drinking whilst walking up hills - it's ok to walk uphills when ultra running.

Good Luck

[georger]

All good info above.

Guinness is both a Carbo loading drink and a recovery drink Happy Days.

I know that not everyone agrees But I think that Carbo loading is very important and stick with it for most ultras but if you struggle to Carbo load perhaps take a look at Preload from Allsports.

[roger walters]

learn to graze, eat in between meals.

I find when the mileage goes up I eat all the time

Roger

[Drama Queen]

You are fine mate. I saw the weights of some of the people in last years WHW and you are fine. Just eat proper food at regular intervals and you will be fine.