Enhance your performance, energy, and recovery with our guide to nutrition for runners

You've probably heard the saying: you are what you eat – and this couldn't be truer. What we eat gives us energy, can impact our mood (hanger is a real thing!), helps with relaxation and sleep, balances our digestive system, and of course, promotes a fantastic workout. Good nutrition for runners is essential to finding the right balance of energy and recovery. It's important to honestly assess what you need in a day, including eating enough good calories, not skipping meals, and trying to plan so you don't (always) reach for the processed meals when you can’t be bothered to cook (nobody's perfect!).

Related Post: 3 Easy Protein Pasta Recipes

To learn more about the required nutrition for runners, I interviewed Lauren, a registered dietitian and the owner/director of Nutrition Energy, a nutrition counseling practice that is based in NYC. Lauren is also a runner and Ironman Triathlete and specialized in helping endurance athletes meet their nutritional needs.

How to Balance Carbs, Protein, and Fat

RS: What is a healthy balance of carbs, fat, and proteins as nutrition for runners? Can you explain why carbs are so important to energy?

Lauren: As you might imagine, I would say, all three macronutrients are integral to our lives and running performance.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are our main energy source for both our brain and muscles, and you'll likely notice the difference if you (accidentally or purposefully) drastically increase or decrease your total carbohydrate intake while training. Your body stores carbohydrates as glycogen and when your body uses up your glycogen stores on the run, you'll feel an energy crash.

Without adequate total carbohydrates (which should aim to be AT LEAST 3-5 grams of carbohydrate/kg of your body weight) you will be selling yourself short in terms of performance potential, energy, and recovery. High-end performance (speed workouts, races, interval, and fartlek workouts) burn carbs at a higher rate than slower, easier workouts, so you'll want to bookend those key sessions with carbs.

Grains, vegetables, fruits can all have carbs to fuel your runs. Anything from bagels to pancakes, bananas, whole grain toast, rice, crackers, pasta, or potatoes will work here - so choose what you like and what works best for your gut.

Many runners I work with need to eat 3-4 "servings" of carbohydrates per meal and even per snack. 1 serving is equal to 1 small fruit, 1 slice of bread (yes, bread!), 1/2 cup of cooked beans, grain, etc., or ~ 1 handful of crackers/pretzels. While this may initially sound like a lot, that is only because popular culture has wrongly demonized carbs -and it is hurting our brains and our performance. Embrace your need (and dare I say love) for carbohydrates and watch as 2022 becomes your most energetic and best running year yet.

Protein

Protein is integral to muscle building, muscle recovery/repair, hormone production, and much more. As an active runner, you'll want to include a good source of protein in your diet 3 to 4 times a day. You can't just eat all your protein at one meal and get the same benefit; your muscles need the building blocks of protein (amino acids) several times a day to continue to rebuild and repair.

Think of it like putting gas in a car - you can't fuel up once and expect to drive straight through from NY to CA. This doesn't work with protein either. So, make sure you include 2 eggs, or 3-4 oz of lean protein of choice (this could be chicken, fish, bison, turkey, beef, tofu, tempeh), or Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, or 1 cup of beans and grains 3-4 times a day.

Fats

Fats not only taste great but are integral to hormone production, recovery, and decreasing inflammation, plus the enjoyment of our meals and satiety. You have likely heard some fats referred to as "good fats" or "healthy fats" and others as "bad fats". While I resist labeling foods as good or bad, some work more magic than others, so as a runner pounding the pavement, you'll want to ensure that a good percentage of your fats are tasty foods such as walnuts, pistachios, almonds, seeds, olive oil, hummus, tahini, guacamole/avocado, olives, and the like.

Including some fat in all meals (sautéing vs steaming veggies, using olive oil rather than fat-free dressing on salads, etc), and snacks (using real peanut butter on your banana or bread or crackers rather than the reduced-fat or powdered kinds), will actually help your body absorb the fat-soluble vitamins in your foods and again lead to more enjoyment of your meals and feeling full long after you eat. This will also help prevent the mid-afternoon or post-dinner scavenging or continual snacking I see in so many long distance runners who are not meeting their needs during their busy day.

Vegetarian and Vegan Nutrition for Runners

RS: Great – and what about us vegetarian or vegan runners? In January, there are many people challenging themselves to commit to "Vegan-uary." What should vegetarian/vegan runners and athletes eat for protein?

Lauren: For all our vegetarian or vegan runners, the same rules apply to you in terms of needing protein 4 times a day. You will simply choose plant-based sources: beans, lentils, tofu, tempeh, nuts, nut butter, seeds, etc. (and don't forget high-protein dairy or eggs or fish if you include them in your diet).

The important point is to ensure that whatever eating habits you decide on, you don't accidentally miss the mark on any key macronutrients due to a well-intended omission. And as we age, we need more total protein post workouts and overall, so it becomes even more imperative to ensure that you are meeting your needs - whether or not you are including meat or dairy in your diet.

I have worked with hundreds of vegetarian and vegan runners over the years, from recreational to professional, and I am here to tell you that it 100% can be done in many ways-just like training for a half or full marathon can be accomplished with many different training plans, but it will require some intention and planning.

Hydration for Runners

Runstreet: Good to know. Any hydration tips for runners? Are there guidelines for how much water to drink?

Lauren: In terms of hydration, this topic is one that runners often neglect during the cold weather months-and to their detriment, so I always address this with my runners during the wintertime. Even if it is not currently hot and humid where you live and train (I am in NYC, and it was 28 degrees when I headed out for my run this morning!), you still need to hydrate. Plus, if you overdress and end up sweating underneath all your protective layers, you may be sweating just as much as you do when running in shorts and a tank top in June.

Related Post: Running Hydration Guide

Hydration Tips for Runners

Here are my top hydration tips to remember:

Aim for half your body weight in fluid ounces each day. These fluids can include water (of course), + coffee, tea, seltzer, soup…basically anything your drink or sip that does not contain alcohol.
Next, consider how much and how long you are sweating. For each hour of exercise, you will need anywhere from an additional 12-24+ oz of fluid (water, electrolyte drink, or sports drink). Since we lose minerals like potassium and magnesium through sweat, it's important to replenish these nutrients with electrolytes.
For runs longer than 1 hour, prioritize getting in electrolytes (mostly for the sodium lost in sweat). Good choices can include products like Nuun tabs -which simply get dropped into your water bottle and dissolve to add flavor and sodium to your pre, during, or post-run beverage. Flavor and sodium enhance our drive (desire) to drink, so if you know you are not hydrating adequately with plain water, electrolyte tabs may be your ticket to better hydration more easily. *Note: you do not want to add these to all of your fluids all day, as even runners can end up exceeding their intake need for sodium, but one/day pre, during, or post-run can help you maintain your hydration status when you sweat.
For runs 90 minutes or longer, you need to take in carbohydrates for fuel. Sports drinks, chews, and energy gels are the first lines here, but anything you can carry, ingest and digest will work! I have runners who do well eating salted mini potatoes (Yes, I am serious here!), crackers, or granola bars on long runs. Now is the time to practice and experiment so you will have a solid plan for training and racing season.

Finally, Lauren left us with a few more tips to chew over when considering nutrition for runners:

Think you might be falling short on meeting your protein needs? If so, count up the number of servings of protein you eat each day and make sure you are reaching 4 servings/day.

Find yourself feeling like a bottomless pit mid-afternoon or after dinner? Check-in with yourself (or keep a food log for a few days) to see if you might be accidentally skimping on breakfast or lunch or are not including enough fat with earlier meals.

Continually tired and thirsty? Might you be falling short on total carbohydrate intake or fluids-or both?

Lauren leaves with a final thought: with a bit of understanding paired with intention, you can shift your thinking about food and take in great nutrition for runners. What you eat should leave you feeling energized, strong, and ready to tackle the day and work out. Try to avoid thinking of food as less is always better or a good vs bad mindset so you can continue – or start - running on the right foot.

Need a training plan to help you crush your running goals? Head to the Runstreet Training Center for running plans for all distances - from 5K to the marathon. Follow @Runstreet on Instagram for more training tips. Happy running - and eating - to you!

Lauren is a Registered Dietitian and the Owner/Director of Nutrition Energy, a nutrition counseling practice based in NYC - seeing clients in person and virtually. Lauren has been a Board Certified Sports Dietitian for over 15 years and a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist and is the author of the book High-Performance Nutrition for Masters Athlete. You can reach Lauren at www.nutritionenergy.com.

Marissa Del Mistro is a writer, editor, and always on the hunt for the perfect workout. Marissa absolutely loves trail running, dancing, and cycling. When she’s not writing, Marissa loves cooking, podcasts, traveling and exploring her home in the beautiful unceded Coast Salish Territory of the Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ nations.

Nutrition for Runners Guide from a Dietitian