Let me tell you about the time I puked all over the race course

Welcome to the GO FOR A RUN, the newsletter that guarantees you’ll be ready for the race.

Coming off my first marathon in 2018, I decided to push the distance and run my first ultra-marathon a year later.

It was a 50km (31 mile) trail race.

I had never run that far, but I knew I was going to burn a lot of calories.

So, soon after the race started, I began pounding energy gels.

I was inhaling them like Snoop Dogg smokes spliffs.

But, boy oh boy, did that back fire.

Big time.

10 miles in I couldn’t remember how many gels I had sucked down between breathes.

I wasn’t sure if I had overdone it.

But my body quickly told me.

At mile 15, I stared feeling sick.

Like real sick.

My running ground to a halt.

And then, with my friend looking on and supporting me, I puked all over the place.

It wasn’t pretty (although my friend stayed with me and I managed to complete the race).

The Importance of Food

When you train for a big race, you’re going to do LSD.

No, not that LSD!

I mean Long Slow Distance. This is your weekly long slow run.

Your long run builds your base and prepares you for the race, but it’s also an opportunity to practice your race day nutrition.

Instead of leaving your nutrition to chance, every week practice testing foods and drinks that you enjoy, and seeing how it makes you feel.

Then, when race day comes around, you’ll have a structured routine you can follow.

You can literally put a timer on your watch to remind yourself to eat and drink.

When you do this, you save a ton of mental energy, and the potential embarrassment of throwing up all over the place.

Figuring out your race day nutrition is one of the hardest problems to solve.

There are many variables to account for.

Your best bet is experimentation on your long run and then sticking with what works.

And don’t forget the number 1 rule: don’t try something new on race day.

Jeremy “pukes all over the race course” Singh