Rick Miller, Clinical & Sports

Dietitian.

@Rick_M_RDiet

dietitian@complete-health-

wellbeing.co.uk

Simple Sports

Nutrition for

the Everyday

Runner

What’s in it for me?

Eating Well So I Can Run Better

Training versus Competing, What should I

eat?

Hydration for Maximum Performance

Carb-Loading - The When, The Why and The

How

Eating Well So I Can Run Better

Why Bother with Nutrition?

Nutrition plays a role at every

stage of your running:

• Lifestyle

• Training

• Competition

• Recovery

• General Health

Which diet do I follow?...

Wrong question.

Any nutrition plan you follow has to be

bespoke.

Top athletes can perform on a variety of

diets because it fits their needs but

everyone needs a base to start from.

A good place to start is the UK

government guidelines for healthy eatiing.

Build balanced meals, aim for a variety of

foods and then adapt this for your running

needs to improve performance.

Snacks?

Balance Portion

Base most of your meals on fresh whole

foods from each of the main food groups.

Mostly plants.

Don't obsess and take time to enjoy your

food, eat in company if possible. Food is

not just fuel.

Keep convenience foods, treats and

alcohol to a minimum.

Supplementation can be useful but is

often unnecessary if you diet quality is put

first.

Take every opportunity to be active, not

just in training.

Training Versus Competing?

• In terms of overall running performance

carbohydrates as a staple are best.

• Even just the taste of carbohydrate

makes people run faster!

• How much carbohydrate you need

depends on:

• how often (frequency)

• how tough (intensity)

• how much (volume.

• A starting point is 6-8g Carbohydrate for

every kg of bodyweight. Scale

downwards or upwards as needed.

taken from Miller, 2010

Hydration for Max Performance

Water is a basic component of every cell

(~60-70% total volume)

Hydration can be difficult to maintain as

thirst is mostly behavioural.

If you are thirsty you are already

dehydrated. Start drinking early.

Sweat Rate:

Fluid Needs (L) = (Weight before (kg) -

Weight After (kg)) x 1.5

'Sipping' every 15-20 minutes is good

practice initially. Considering an isotonic

sports drink for competition (even if you

spit it out)

Carb-loading

• Why? Loading your muscles with

glycogen (stored carbohydrate)

provides more fuel during the race.

• Who? Best performance in races

longer than 90 minutes. Women may

struggle to get the timing right.

• When? You can start loading as little

as 72 hours prior to a race. May want

to practice (gastro)

• What? You can eat any type of

carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables,

bread, rice, pasta, sweets, sports

drinks) to meet your needs.

How?

Adapted from Sherman et al. (1981)

Any Questions?