Ultramarathon training and nutrition?

Question

Hi. I am running my first ultramarathon in December (The North Face Endurance Challenge outside of San Francisco). I am running the 50k event and am worried about bonking and cramping. How can I avoid these? What should I eat and drink? Also, the elevation gain is ~7000ft gain and ~7000 ft loss during the 31 miles. I am doing the SF marathon this Sunday as a training run.

I usually take nuun water and gu gel on long runs. Will this be sufficient or will I need more?

Answer 1

Theoretically, a 50K is not that much different from the marathon, so you could probably do pretty well with the same routine.

I know at the Chicago Lakefront 50k, they had extra snacks, like nuts, candies and even soda at the water stops. Those extra snacks helped me. I normally just use my goos during a marathon.

Some people are able to survive a marathon without goos even. I guess it would depend on what your body is used to.