Feeding Strategies of a Female Athlete During an Ultraendurance Running Event
Abstract
The aim of this case study was to describe the race nutrition practices of a female runner who completed her first 100-km off-road ultraendurance running event in 12 hr 48 min 55 s. Food and fluid intake during the race provided 10,890 kJ (736 kJ/hr) and 6,150 ml (415 ml/hr) of fluid. Hourly reported carbohydrate intake was 44 g, with 34% provided by sports drink. Hourly carbohydrate intake increased in the second half (53 g/hr) compared with the first half (34 g/h) of the race, as the athlete did not have access to individualized food and fluid choices at the early checkpoints and felt satiated in the early stages of the race after consuming a prerace breakfast. Mean sodium intake was 500 mg/hr (52 mmol/L), with a homemade savory broth and sports drink (Gatorade Endurance) being the major contributors. The athlete consumed a variety of foods of varying textures and tastes with no complaints of gastrointestinal discomfort. Despite thinking she would consume sweet foods exclusively, as she had done in training, the athlete preferred savory foods and fluids at checkpoints during the latter stages of the race. This case study highlights the importance of the sports nutrition team in educating athletes about race-day nutrition strategies and devising a simple yet effective system to allow them to manipulate their race-day food and fluid intake to meet their nutritional goals.
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There are several reports of runners complaining of the unpalatability of sweet foods, particularly energy gels and sports drinks, both in the heat and in ultra-marathons >60 miles contested in thermoneutral environments.
“There are several reports of runners complaining of the unpalatability of sweet foods, particularly energy gels and sports drinks, both in the heat [114] and in ultra-marathons > 60 miles contested in thermoneutral environments [115, 116].”
From International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: nutritional considerations for single-stage ultra-marathon training and racing (2019) · cites this paper as [116]
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- Authors
- Moran, S. T., Dziedzic, C. E., & Cox, G. R.
- ORCID
- Cox, Gregory R.
- Venue
- International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism
- Publisher
- Human Kinetics
- Published
- 2011-08
- Volume
- 21
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 347-351
- ISSN
- 1526-484X (ISSN-L)
- 1543-2742
- OpenAlex
- W2159750521
- Cited by
- 25
- References
- 13
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 0.46
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Muscle metabolism and nutrition
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Thermoregulation and physiological responses
- Keywords
- female athletes, carbohydrate intake, sports drinks, fluid intake, sodium intake
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Energy Intake, Female, Humans, Nutritional Physiological Phenomena, Nutritional Requirements, Physical Endurance, Running, Sports, Guidelines as Topic, Athletes
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