My game-changing LONG-RUN nutrition advice

This is the game-changing advice that helped me in my long training runs and my ultramarathons. Seriously, learning this was as important as learning how to train.
To see more from Julie, you can find her here: / ultra.running.nutrition
And for my current training plan, have a watch of this video here: • Writing my 100k mounta...

[@hamishmaxa6509]

I don't think it's limit of calories, but limit of access to calories in the body. Even very lean runners have a lot of calories stored as fat. Admittedly I only ran marathon distance. But my weekly long run was 22 miles and with about 650m total elevation gain. This run fitted well with Lydiard's explanation of his long run route. Lots of climbing first half to deplete ready stores of glycogen. Then downhill finish to engage faster twitch muscle fibers as well and train them to scavenge for whatever fuel they could find. Every training cycle the first 3-4 long runs I did were pretty grim. Then the training adaptation would show itself. Never took fuel on any training run or race and always felt I could have gone further. I think for a lot of runners its exploring the training adaptation that can come from staying in aerobic/low aerobic effort and the body being forced to become more efficient at using fat as ready glycogen is used up.

[@johnnykilo4967]

I heard Julie on a podcast last year and she completely changed the way I look at nutrition while on the move. She’s amazing.

[@ChrisBranch]

She's great! So knowledgeable, and she conveys it in an easy to understand way ☺️

[@johnnykilo4967]

@@ChrisBranch 💯! And also, thanks to you for introducing me to the book Training for the Uphill Athlete. Gold!!!

[@trishthorne9044]

Omg thank you so so much for this content…I’m also training for my very first 50k ultra and I realise now I had NO idea about how to fuel properly. I have a five hour training run tomorrow and I’m so excited to get out there and for once, be totally prepared! Thanks again….lifesaver!

[@ChrisBranch]

Amazing! Best of luck with your first ultra 😊🙏

[@mikehockley2075]

Love your channel Chris. This advice was exactly what I've been searching for recently so very timely! Thank you. Keep the great content coming!

[@ChrisBranch]

I'm so pleased it helped! And yes, lots more content in the pipeline. Happy training ☺️🙏

[@liamallport3361]

Always helpful content Chris. Appreciate all the research you do for us rookies

[@ChrisBranch]

Thanks so much! And I'm so pleased it's helping 😊🙏

[@alexandertonge640]

Another top quality video Chris. Nice one. I’m taking on my first ultra this year and I’m finding your channel a really useful source of information 👍

[@ChrisBranch]

Amazing! I wish you the best with your training for your first ultra 😊🙏

[@bev9708]

WOWW!!! This is fascinating!! Many moons ago I studied nutrition at university, and since I did my first marathon I've genuinely worked hard on learning as much as I can about running nutrition, yet this was an eye-opener for me too!!! THANK YOU so much to Julie and to you Chris for asking her these great questions!!! Not so long ago I read about some rather interesting research conducted with mice that indicates that eating late at night could possibly help running endurance... it's certainly to early to draw conclusions but I wonder what Julie thinks!! I'm not on instagram but I just googled Julie and found her online course and some podcasts interviewing her, so THANKS Chris!!

[@ChrisBranch]

Thanks so much Bev! I'm so pleased it helped ☺️🙏

[@l200jjk]

I found your channel about 4 months ago. You have been an absolute gold mine of information on ultra running and nutrition. This one was especially good. I've got my first 55k booked for 4 months time. Thanks Chris, keep up the good work.

[@ChrisBranch]

Thank you so much, that means a lot. I'm so pleased to have helped 🙏 And best of luck training for your ultra! 😊

[@rokrun]

Good one! Julie is awesome!

[@AaronTrillo]

Hey Chris, I am also getting into Ultras this year and this video was GOLD. I started a new playlist with good KZbin UltraRunning advice videos and this made the cut. Thank you.

[@ChrisBranch]

I'm so pleased it helped! And best of luck with your training 😊🙏

[@user-ej7hw3ob6x]

Absolutely amazing as usual!

[@ChrisBranch]

Thanks so much! I'm glad it helped 😊🙏

[@TomMorgan1066]

Thank you Chris and Julie very interesting

[@Noelie1990]

Hi Chris! Thank you for making such great content. I hope you can do a video about daily nutrition (though out the day, so not during running) in the future. I’m really interested in your take on that. Thanks again and keep going!

[@ChrisBranch]

A few people have asked this, so yes, I will get to it :)

[@georgelane6350]

One trick I have recently started using is to eat quite a bit immediately before starting a really long run (like 5-15 minutes before). That way all of the digestion starts as soon as you start running. Because body is digesting food right from the start of the run your digestive system never slows down. It also means you don't have to chew while running (which I find really hard). I have a 100km event coming up where the first 5km is flat easy running, so I'm planning to use this trick so I don't have to break rhythm early on.

[@ChrisBranch]

I do this too! I actually see it as part of my training, to condition myself to run with a more full tummy. Best of luck training for your 100k 😊🙏

[@kevinwood8021]

Chris, Im 63 and training for a 50K ultra. This content is so useful. Thank you 😊

[@ChrisBranch]

Love it! I wish you the very best in your training. Is it your first ultra?

[@kevinwood8021]

@@ChrisBranch apologies yes it is only a 50km one, with under 500m of ascent 🤞

[@simonalcroft7897]

Must eat every hour 60g carbs 5g protein 400ml fluid w/ 250/300mg sodium

[@piaruns7928]

😁 I can so relate! On my first 56k Ultra I just had water and one Powerbar (180 calories). I finished but the last 20 k were beyond horrible. Not gonna make this mistake again. Like your channel and your subtle humor, btw. 👍

[@ChrisBranch]

Thanks so much! I really appreciate that, and I can't imagine how horrible that final 20k were in that race 🤦‍♂️😂 We live and learn 😊🙏 Best of luck with your training 💪

[@dukepnukem]

I ran 100k, only ate some peanut butter during the run. I didn't need to eat every hour

[@conradburdekin722]

That was SO helpful thank you 👍👍😊

[@ChrisBranch]

I'm so pleased it helped ☺️🙏

[@conradburdekin722]

@@ChrisBranch I’m doing my first ever 100k in May aged 47 so this will absolutely be at the forefront of my mind

[@JamesAlberts]

Great video! Love the camera angle for your Zoom!

[@ChrisBranch]

Haha thanks James, I liked that too 😂 (Maybe this is an excuse to buy a second camera for my talking-head segments 🤔 I'll go tell my wife that I need a new camera and see what she says 🤦‍♂️😂)

[@JamesAlberts]

Sounds like double work for your editor! 👀

[@ChrisBranch]

@@JamesAlberts haha, wifey said no, so don't worry 😂

[@chrismelikian]

Next time ask Julie some examples of carb/protein that work well for most people please? :-) great interview though and very informative. Thanks! 👍

[@ChrisBranch]

If you're on Instagram, she posts lots of examples on her page there 👍

[@oray.gungor.]

my strategy after 4 hours: every hour - 2 saltsticks, 5g-10 BCAA, no chewing required 50-60g carbs.

[@michaeldipasquale4794]

Awesome!

[@ChrisBranch]

Thank you 😊🙏

[@quercus21]

Chris, this was very interesting. I have a question and wondered if you have any thoughts. I have my first two ultras this year. I’ve been using tailwind during training and think it’s great. But as it’s caffeinated, I am wondering how that will play out as my longest run so far has been 4 hours. Would you recommend going for a version without caffeine?

[@ChrisBranch]

I have both, and yes, it depends what time of day I'm running as to which I'll have. In training, I don't have caffeine in the afternoon because I don't want to disturb my sleep (and, therefore, my recovery), but in races I might actually use caffeine later in the day to help me as night draws in. Tailwind is my go-to as well, and I like Cola flavour for caffeine, and berry or lemon for caffeine-free ☺️🙏

[@quercus21]

Thanks Chris. There is a good podcast called (Trail runner nation) just recently talking about fuelling ep 659. Anyway the caffeine thing is something I won’t have trained for until I run for longer than 10+ hours so thanks for your input.

[@quercus21]

@@ChrisBranchWould you take both caff and un-caff on an ultra?

[@ChrisBranch]

@@quercus21 yep. I buy the sachets and keep them in my bag to top up at aid stations 👍

[@quercus21]

@@ChrisBranch Nice! I’ll try that out. 👍🏼

[@TomMorgan1066]

Out of interest Chris, on your next ultra how do you plan to take 5-10g protein per hour? What product(s) will you use?

[@ChrisBranch]

It's becomes relatively easy when you start having solid food. Oats, for example, have about 10g of protein per hundred, and if there are seeds or nut butters mixed in, then that covers the fats. I make my own little energy balls, but I also take packaged things like Trek bars and things like that. The way I think of it, is the Tailwind powders and gels cover pure carbs and electrolytes (I also take salt tablets as well), and then solid food covers the other macros. Julie has lots of examples on her Insta page if you want to see what it looks like in practice 😊🙏

[@TomMorgan1066]

Thanks Chris very helpful love your videos. I don't do Insta and cannot find Julie anywhere else so may have to sign up😢

[@floridaaaaa]

Can you get someone on that is on the low carb ultra running diet? Old school nutritionists still pushing the high carb and gels approach are causing a growing number of prediabetic runners.

[@ChrisBranch]

I'm definitely up for hearing about this different approach. Personally, I tried keto for a while and it just didn't work for me, hence landing on this approach. I don't eat high carb normally, but it does work for me _during_ my long runs 👍

[@GTE_Channel]

I do a combination of both. I cycle on keto/LCHF style and periods with some more carbs. I run any easy run up to 30k fasted, without issues. For real performance you need carbs on race day, I eat more carbs the night before and in th morning. During events I use mostly Generation Ucan wich is the best of both worlds for me: it keeps your body in fatburning state while having slightly raised bloodsugar to keep the brain happy. This reduces the needs for carbs during the events and therefore avoids bonking.

[@floridaaaaa]

@@GTE_Channel thanks, I’ll look into that. Might be that during intense exercise, contraction mediated glucose uptake (without insulin) might be enough to avoid the spikes. Good point about wanting to keep blood glucose up to avoid bonking and not referring to it as muscle glycogen..seems there is some confusion there in the general community. Meaning the amount of glucose needed is minimal instead of numerous gels.

[@hopoutside]

@@ChrisBranchpersonally, i do low carb on days when not exercising (1 day/wk and 1/2 weeks), and when doing long runs I generally follow what’s outlined in the video. First hour liquid carb + electrolyte, 2nd hr is liquid carb, 3rd hour i’ll have baby food (6+ month consistency + a gel), 4th hr is 1/2 cup mash potatoes + gel, and small cup of soup at hour 4. Rinse and repeat hrs 3 & 4 until final two hours, where i start to introduce sugar (tailwind) and caffeine gels. I round out all of the above within a given hour using salt tabs, snacks, and chips/preztels to get the macros dialed out. “Just enough carbs” is what i shoot for as a baseline. If i’m not running, back to < 100 carbs/day for down days.

[@ChrisBranch]

@@hopoutside this sounds perfect 👌

[@dmytrochan7402]

some say that too many carbohydrates also cause stomach problems ...

[@ChrisBranch]

You can definitely overdo it , but these numbers should be a good place to start experimenting from 👍

[@stigcc]

Josh Perry did 54 days of hiking (50 miles per day), eating only carbohydrates (12,000 calories each day). M&Ms were main snack lol. And nuts, so fat as well.

[@ikarian3612]

Carbs aren't just fuel, they also facilitate sodium and water absorbtion

[@nickc5682]

hey! How do you find your base-line?

[@ChrisBranch]

Ah, your baseline as in what you are currently doing, and then you can build up and tweak from there 👍

[@brettzehner2695]

how do we get 60 carbs per hour? even high carb scratch is only 100 carbs with seven scoops. how is this affordable?

[@qthed]

For a 24-hour run this sounds like quite some work 24 granola Bars or what ever stays in your stomach do not seem enough 😬

[@JackBauerDev]

Every hour! I do 40mins

[@jortm4075]

with that voice, you should make a meditation app!

[@ChrisBranch]

Haha you're not the first to say that 😂 I need to get a side-hustle 😊🙏

[@silvermanrunning]

I try to get in 100 calories every mile.

[@ChrisBranch]

This is a good approach, it would just depend on the terrain. I did a mountain race last weekend where two consecutive miles took me over 40-minutes each because the terrain was so savage! I needed much more than a hundred calories for those. Obviously that's an extreme example, but we need to take terrain, pace and weather conditions into account too. Happy training 😊🙏