HomeNutritionNutritionTHE 15 NUTRITION TIPS THAT WILL HELP YOU SUCCEED IN YOUR TRAIL RACE, by BAOUWTHE 15 NUTRITION TIPS THAT WILL HELP YOU SUCCEED IN YOUR TRAIL RACE, by BAOUW
THE 15 NUTRITION TIPS THAT WILL HELP YOU SUCCEED IN YOUR TRAIL RACE, by BAOUW
by Staff Member
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Nutrition is one of the keys to enjoying trail running and achieving your goals. Benoît Nave, one of the most renowned experts in sports nutrition and coach to many champions, including Xavier Thévenard, a three-time UTMB winner, shares 15 rare and precise tips here that you won’t hear anywhere else, enjoy without moderation!
If you want to succeed in your next trail run or ultra-trail, this is where to start!
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR DIET BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER YOUR TRAIL RUN
Trail nutrition tip No. 1: “Consider trail running an incentive to eat well”
“It is well known: happiness does not lie at the summit but along the path that leads there! The same applies to trail running. Happiness does not lie solely in winning the competition, but rather in completing a fulfilling race, experiencing as much enjoyment as possible, and achieving your goals on race day. Yet this feeling of fulfillment cannot be found without proper nutrition. Indeed, a good diet determines the proper functioning of the body, brain, legs, heart, emotions... My recommendation, therefore, is to make your desire to enjoy trail running one of your answers to ‘Why eat better?’”
Trail nutrition tip No. 2: “Seek a health-focused diet rather than a competitive diet”
“Before seeking the last few percentage points of performance—the famous marginal gains that allow champions to raise their arms at the finish line—I recommend that trail runners make sure they already have solid fundamentals. By that, I mean a healthy everyday diet made up of whole, unprocessed foods from organic, seasonal agriculture. Having a diet that keeps you healthy before turning to a competitive diet is already a guarantee of enjoyment and performance in trail running.”
Trail nutrition tip No. 3: “In trail running, the key organ is the gut »
“In trail running, as in most sports, we tend to focus on our heart, muscles, and head... while often neglecting the key organ: the intestine! Its role is crucial. It is the main interface for exchange with the outside environment. Everything passes through the intestine. As a result, the proper functioning of this organ determines the optimal activity of all the others. So how can we take care of it? Through the health-focused diet mentioned earlier, which protects against intestinal inflammation, the source of fatigue, digestive problems, and other injuries.”
Trail nutrition tip No. 4: “Adopt the principles of chrononutrition”
“To put it simply, chrononutrition means giving the body what it needs at the right time. It is therefore a matter of timing. This is especially important for promoting the secretion of the four neurotransmitters that form the pillars of an individual’s behavior. In this context, one chrononutrition rule seems absolutely fundamental to me: consume as much protein as possible in the morning, rather than carbohydrates. Hence my recommendation of a savory breakfast containing eggs, ham, sardines, or plant proteins, rather than the kind traditionally eaten in French culture, based on cereal and toast. Why? Because a lack of protein and an excess of carbohydrates block neurotransmitter secretion, leading to obsessive behaviors, a lack of motivation to exercise, and poor-quality sleep.”
Trail nutrition tip No. 5: “Adapt the timing of the meal that follows according to the type of trail run”
“Chrononutrition is based on the concept of metabolic windows, particularly the important one immediately following a workout. Respecting this window will determine proper absorption and optimal recovery from the session, with the aim of building lasting progress over time. In trail running, after an intense session, I recommend replenishing glycogen stores fairly quickly with carbohydrates such as rice, quinoa, or sweet potato, within the following hour. Conversely, if you are preparing for an ultratrail, with long, easy-endurance runs designed to develop your fat-burning capacity, I recommend slightly delaying the point at which you allow your body to replenish its stores, waiting at least 2 hours after the end of the workout before eating.”
Trail nutrition tip No. 6: “In trail running, reducing the risk of digestive problems takes preparation!”
“As explained previously, the intestine is, in my view, the key organ for trail running. In this context, the closer your goal gets, the more careful you need to be about strengthening it. To do so, I recommend a course of natural probiotics and L-glutamine during the 3 weeks preceding the event. Then, from J-5, I recommend eliminating all fruits and vegetables with tough fibers from your diet, favoring those with soft fibers instead. And eating them cooked rather than raw. You should therefore choose apples, pears, peaches, carrots, and zucchini, and temporarily avoid kiwis, leeks, onions, and cabbage. The goal? To avoid the particularly demanding effort required to digest these tough fibers and thereby give your intestine a period of rest. In short, reduce its excessive permeability and inflammation to give it the opportunity to function optimally on race day!”
Trail nutrition tip N°7: “Before the race, choose from this list of easy-to-digest foods”
“In addition to the previous advice, I would direct trail runners toward foods that are extremely easy to digest before the race. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, quinoa, and buckwheat for carbohydrates, while avoiding gluten-rich foods such as pasta. Eggs, fish, and white meat for protein. As well as cooked vegetables and fruit rather than raw ones!”
Trail nutrition tip N°8: “Ensuring proper carbohydrate loading”
“As the deadline approaches, you need to be increasingly vigilant about ensuring adequate carbohydrate loading. Proper carbohydrate loading means replenishing glycogen stores sufficiently, but also doing so during the optimal metabolic window. For your final key training sessions—whether your last long run, your last high-intensity session, or your pre-race shakeout—I therefore recommend eating your meal between 30 minutes and 1 hour after taking off your trail shoes.”
Trail nutrition tip N°9: “The ideal dinner menu on the eve of a trail race”
“It is complex to plan a pre-race meal in the sense that I encourage adapting it to each person’s level of perceived stress. The feeling of having a knotted stomach varies from runner to runner. For those who can manage it, the ideal is a plate of rice accompanied by white meat or two eggs, 3 hours before the start. For others, whose appetite has completely disappeared or who experience minor digestive problems related to anxiety, I recommend eating the same thing, as much as possible, 4 or 5 hours beforehand, and supplementing with an organic energy bar 30 to 45 minutes before setting off.”
Trail nutrition tip No. 10: “Creating a nutrition plan for race day”
“All my athletes create a nutrition plan for race day and try to stick to it. The aim is to establish a framework within which they can adapt or even improvise calmly, depending on the weather conditions or how the race unfolds. The advantage of this nutrition plan? Staying focused on your sensations, in your bubble, without the mental burden of figuring out how to fuel yourself at any given moment, because everything was defined beforehand and all that remains is to follow or adapt it!”
Trail nutrition tip No. 11 “What makes a good trail nutrition plan?”
“A good trail nutrition plan is a framework that helps maintain an optimal, steady energy level throughout the race. The first rule is to adapt it to the type of effort. In ultra-trail, I recommend consuming around 35 to 40 grams of carbohydrates per hour, supplemented by an additional portion of fat. Start with our energy bars, as solid foods are easier to chew and digest during the first few hours of the event. For shorter formats, such as maratrail races, as the intensity increases, I recommend consuming only carbohydrates, amounting to 50 grams per hour. In particular, through our energy fruit purées particularly well suited to these efforts.”
Trail nutrition tip No. 12: “Mineral water, the best drink for trail running”
“I’m not a fan of energy drinks, which very often prevent the nutrients provided by bars or fruit purées from being absorbed optimally and eventually lead, after several hours of running, to a feeling of nausea. For me, the best drink for trail running is mineral water! Quite simply. Ideally sparkling and rich in minerals such as sodium. Drink it in small sips at regular intervals. Two or three sips every 10 to 15 minutes.”
Trail nutrition tip No. 13 “Knowing how to manage hypoglycemia to get back on track”
“Despite meticulous preparation and a nutrition plan followed to the letter, hypoglycemia is a possibility that can occur. The sport’s famous glorious uncertainty. If you suffer a sudden drop in energy during a race, don’t worry: your trail race isn’t over! As with the weather, sunshine follows rain! By managing this hypoglycemia intelligently, it’s possible to ‘come back.’ My advice? Identify this little crisis; don’t panic; slow your pace for a few minutes; eat a firstenergy compote, which is useful in this regard because it allows the carbohydrates to be absorbed quickly; drink in small sips; then consume a second compote a few minutes later... By following this protocol, the sensations will return very quickly and you’ll be able to get back to your cruising pace.”
Trail nutrition tip No. 14: “If you start getting a stomachache during a race, you should...”
“Beyond hypoglycemia, another kind of ‘crisis’ regularly occurs in trail running: an upset stomach! Who has never experienced digestive problems during a race? No one! If you feel an upset stomach starting, I recommend fueling yourself with very small sips of energy compote or very small bites of an energy bar, at fairly regular intervals. Keep what you’ve just swallowed in your mouth for a few moments so that saliva can help facilitate digestion.”
Trail nutrition tip No. 15: “In trail running, ban energy gels”
“Following on from the previous tip, I strongly recommend avoiding energy gels, which are now very popular in trail-running packs. Indeed, the added sugars they contain and their entirely chemical composition cause reactive hypoglycemia and short-term digestive problems, as well as genuine long-term health issues. It’s better to choose healthy, organic, natural energy purées instead!” »
THE FINAL WORD:
“By following these 15 tips, there’s a very good chance you’ll get the most enjoyment possible and achieve your goals in your next race!”
