I often get asked what I eat as a vegan during an ultra marathon race. I just finished the Promise Land 50K – the third race in the Beast Series. If you’re curious what I ate, read on …

The evening before the race

I eat a whole food plant-based diet and I don’t change my diet in the buildup to a race (don’t worry, I get enough protein). However, like many runners, I’m superstitious and like to eat the same meal for dinner before a race. For Promise Land, Lindsey made me a big Tupperware full of pasta with tomatoes, beets, mushrooms, and greens. I don’t have a picture but it looked a lot like this:

https://instagram.com/p/Bgqu7xaHMZx/

Breakfast before the race

I woke up at 4 am, 90 minutes before race start, and ate half a peanut butter and banana sandwich with Ezekiel bread plus a small banana and a Macro Greens juice.

About an hour before the start of the race I began sipping on a bottle of Skratch hydration mix (I’ll often drink water too). Then about 20 minutes before the start I ate one Huma gel.

During the race

About 45 minutes after the start I ate two Medjool dates and ate roughly every 30 minutes after that. I had another two dates, two Cliff Organic pouches, and three Huma gels. I also grabbed some banana pieces and watermelon slices at a few of the aid stations. I drank water and Tailwind from the aid stations. Overall, I probably took in about 1000 calories during the race. This mix of solid fruit, gels, and either Skratch or Tailwind is standard for all my 50K and 50-mile races.

Post race

The veggie burgers at the finish had egg in them (why?? Hey Morningstar, I’m talking to you!) so I ate the other half of my sandwich, some fruit, nuts, and some chips. And lots of water. I may have also had a beer. We snacked on Lindsey’s amazing no-bake vegan cookies on the drive home.

When I got home, I had this awesome meal for dinner. It’s hard to beat plant-based burgers as a post-race meal!

https://instagram.com/p/BiIvUyrhyJK/

What does the week after a race look like? After Terrapin and Promise Land, I’ve been experimenting with a fasting mimicking diet- you can read more about that here.

My tips for successful plant-powered ultra marathon nutrition and hydration:

• Experiment with different foods and hydration on your long training runs.
• Have a selection of sweet and savory foods to select from for specific race conditions and how you’re feeling.
• Have a go-to pre-race dinner and breakfast that you know will not mess with your gut.
• Know which typical aid station foods work and don’t work. Don’t be tempted by the crap that looks good on race day but you know could mess up your race.