So you want to run far? Some feedback to help you enjoy the distance.

This article is inspired by what I wish I could have read when starting my journey into longer distances. With hosting the LSD runs and seeing how little people are fueling at all for these runs I think the feedback I have from running in the heat over the past couple years can help you actually enjoy the longer sessions. 

This turned into a bit of story time, enjoy.

 

A little backstory to make you laugh, connect with and hopefully learn from my mistakes. 2 years ago I decided to run 35 km for my 35th birthday. This was before run club was born and I had run 10 km in Bali a couple of times. I was so naive, but confident I could do hard things.

I prepared by simply packing what I thought I needed. (Not the right things) I woke up at 3 am to eat an overnight oats, went back to bed for an hour and left around 4:30. I had a camelbak with 1.5 litres of water and some random gels I had never tried before. I sort of understood I needed to drink and fuel every 5 km or so. I sucked back a horrific tasting gel and it was almost immediate that I knew my stomach was saying “ oh, helll nahhhh.” 

I was puking and pooping on the side of the rice field. Once that was done I told myself “ okay, running a long way is meant to be hard, I can do hard things.” After this gel situation my stomach was closed for business. I could barely drink water and trying to ingest anything was a no go. I ran a few more kilometres and just kept going at whatever pace I could handle. I pushed past the turn to my house, being stubborn. It was getting hot and my friend Jonas said he would join me for the last half of the run. I made it to his house around km 20 and his reaction confirmed that the way I felt ( dead ) was also how I looked. So I called my wife and she came to pick me up. 

LESSON : running far requires you to train your stomach as much as your legs and mind. 

Fast forward 1 year. 36 for 36. 

I discovered tailwind, I did a 12 week marathon program with Runna and figured if I was going for 36 I might as well just do the marathon distance. With each week having an increased distance my respect and confidence for these distances grew significantly. I was grateful for friends I had met through run club coming along to push me through these training runs. Tailwind worked on these so I was confident to use them for the big day. 

Woke up at 3 - ate an overnight oats - went back to bed and left around 4:00 again. 

Thought my headlamp was charging all night. Not the case.  I had an official running vest, some better shoes and expensive shorts so I was invested. I had the goal of being around half way once I got to Run Club. 

I ran in the dark for nearly two hours, felt good. Just before sunrise I was running through a rice field track and had to jump an unexpected river. The landing was soft mud. My left shoe got sucked off my foot, so I had to stand on one leg and act quickly to get my shoe back before it was donated to the fields. Funny situation, but made me take it less seriously, which was nice.  I was drinking 1 tailwind pack per hour in 500 ml of water, which gives you 40 G of carbs and some electrolytes. This fueling thing can get extremely nerdy if you want to do it right. This is the easiest way I have found to make your plan. More on this strategy later.

I arrived at run club late so I refilled my bottles and kept moving. It was Mika’s 40th birthday and he was on the same program. He had already puked and was ready to go home by the time I was at 30 something KM. I left again for a final loop of the road. I hit an incredible wall maybe 3 km later. He drove by on a gojek and I must have looked defeated. He got off the bike, bought me a coke and said “ lets do this! “

What a legend. We shuffled along and he said one thing that motivated me to keep moving . “ think about how proud your wife and kid are going to be when you finish “ 

4 and half hours after starting we landed back at run club to balloons and cheers from people that waited around way to long. I was so grateful. The power of community in this situation gave me so much pride and hope for what run club could be. 

LESSON : Don’t let others experience tell you where you will hit a wall, or set yourself an outrageous goal for your first marathon ( or half, 10 km, whatever ) just set a goal to finish and have fun.

Each long run teaches me and really shows my weakness’. They are hard, they are rewarding. I take the approach of no failure , just feedback. Since these two situations I have run a couple 30 km trail races. Which I learned about the importance of salt for not cramping and not just eating whatever is at the aid stations ( unless you have tried them on long runs previously )

I then entered a 50 km race with the wonderful knowledge and resource of Precision F&H. I followed their exact suggestion. I think I ate 17 gels, 4 scoops of tailwind and 7 or 8 salt tabs. That’s it. I never bonked, had a cramp and my recovery was super fast. It was insane how good I felt. Minus losing half my toenails I was super happy with the experience.

LESSON: Enjoy the places you get to run, keep at a running pace if you can, walk when needed but just do your best to keep moving. ( I think it might be illegal to walk in a sanctioned marathon , but in trail running you can do whatever you want. )

Here is a protocol for Tokyo marathon from our friend Gustav. I believe he ran a PB with a time of 2:41. This is very in depth. Hope you can respect the effort taken to achieve such a lofty goal. 

So let me wrap up with what I know now . Please note I’m not a nutritionist or coach or doctor. I simply deep dive, watch videos, read articles and try things out. I will link some things you might find helpful. but here are some things to consider. 

• Carbs are your friend, especially in trail running when your brain has a lot more to process then your typical road race. 
• From what I understand your body wants to burn carbs ( which at the end of the day are sugars ) 
• Aim for your body weight in KG in Grams of carbs per hour when excercising for more than 1 hour. Try it out on a long run. Consume less on your first half and more the second half. See how you feel. 
• You can drink carbs mixed into water ( tailwind, precision , Coca Cola )
• Or you can eat carbs ( gels ,gummies , candies )
• Salt is also your friend if where you are running is HOT - I used 750 mg of salt / 500 ml of water every hour for 8 hours on the 50 km
• Even if you’re not hungry you should eat or get a gel in you every 20 minutes or so. 
• Carb loading in the days previous is very important. Don’t think just eating 5 spaghettis the night before is smart. 
• Some athletes prefer real food while running. I don’t have much experience with that besides banana’s and dates. But chewing and that food bouncing around never worked well for me. 
• Protein is for recovery, eating it directly before or during your run won’t benefit you much. 
• The first 30 minutes after your run is important to get liquids, creatine, protein and some more carbs in your system to aid in your recovery.

Here are some simple fueling tips to help you enjoy the next LSD with us.

• Eat some carbs in the days leading up
• Consider upping your water consumption thru the week
• Get a reasonable sleep
• Wake up at 5 
• Eat a slice of toast with butter and honey
• Or a Banana 
• I usually drink 2 scoops of tailwind at least 30 minutes before I start running
• Bring at least 500ml of water with you - I put two more scoops in a soft flask and sip on that over the first hour - if your pace is slower I’d say bring 1 x 500 ml flask with 2 scoops of tailwind per hour.
• If drinking carbs isn’t your thing - Eat a banana before you leave home - have a double espresso or a caffeinated gel 15 minutes before running - and take a 40 g gel every half an hour. 
• Drink a coconut water when you finish and then some eggs or whatever protein you prefer. 

There are more homemade solutions to getting these requirements which you can research and try for yourself. Either way, grab a running belt and a soft flask and you will have space to hold your phone and be able to re fuel without stopping. 

Have fun and send us a DM if you have any questions. Happy to help. Thanks for your time. Hope to run together soon!