💡 Fuel For Thought 9 athletes, 9 nutrition strategies, one proven system. Last week, I had an incredible time at the Backyard Ultra Satellite Championships, supporting runners and observing how athletes and their crews approached the challenge of keeping going for as long as possible. I also had the privilege of working directly with 9 athletes from around the world, and there's something about that experience worth highlighting. Nine athletes, competing in the same event, working with the...
8 days ago • 4 min read
💡 Fuel For Thought Nutrition lessons from the Backyard Ultra World Team Championship I'm currently in Wollongong supporting runners competing at the Backyard Ultra World Team Championship. It's been a privilege to support the athletes I work with directly, while also observing how differently runners approach the same challenge. One thing that particularly stands out is the team spirit and how competing for something greater than yourself can shape what athletes are capable of. From a...
15 days ago • 3 min read
💡 Fuel For Thought If I could give you just ONE nutrition recommendation... It would be this: Start now. After a huge weekend of marathons in Perth, Melbourne and Chicago, some athletes will be celebrating PBs, while others might be processing a disappointing race. If you're in that second group, remember: a disappointing race doesn't have to become a recurring story. My client Leanne knows this well. After two marathons derailed by gut issues, nausea and dehydration, including a DNF at...
22 days ago • 3 min read
💡 Fuel For Thought You don’t need more nutrition information. You need a better system. We’ve never had easier access to nutrition information. And yet, I’m seeing more athletes confused about what to eat, how much to fuel, and which advice to follow. A TikTok recipe here, an Instagram tip there, a podcast protocol and a few “innocent” questions to ChatGPT. Before long, you’ve built yourself a Frankenstein nutrition plan. Each piece sounds reasonable, but nobody has stopped to ask whether the...
29 days ago • 3 min read
💡 Fuel For Thought The skill behind a successful nutrition strategy Last week I messaged Michael, one of our Fuel To Thrive Academy graduates, after Colin from the Australian Satellite Champs Team mentioned they’d actually met through the Academy sessions. I loved hearing that. One thing I probably don’t talk about enough is the ripple effect these sessions can have. People come in to learn how to fuel themselves better, but along the way they also connect with other athletes, swap...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
💡 Fuel For Thought Your long run isn't the only session that deserves fuel I see this pattern all the time with marathon and ultra-runners. Sunday’s long run is carefully planned: breakfast beforehand, gels packed, fluids sorted, recovery meal ready. But Tuesday’s intervals happen after a coffee, Wednesday’s run gets squeezed in with little thought about food, and Thursday’s strength session happens somewhere between work and dinner. Many runners decide whether to fuel based mainly on how...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
💡 Fuel For Thought The runs you didn't train for 😬 You may have seen the footage from HYROX over the weekend. An athlete experienced a very public bowel accident during the race, continued competing and ultimately won. There has been plenty of debate about what she or the organisers should have done. That’s not what I want to focus on. We also don't know what actually caused the episode. She may have been unwell, or other factors we don't know about may have been involved. What it does...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
💡 Fuel For Thought The performance gap hiding in plain sight A client recently pointed out that I talk about low energy availability quite a lot in these newsletters. They’re right. And believe it or not, this is me trying not to talk about it all the time. The reality is that energy availability sits underneath almost everything we care about as endurance athletes. You can have the perfect recovery shake, the latest supplement and a meticulously calculated race-fuelling plan, but none of...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
💡 Fuel For Thought Nutrition lessons from Project 168 Wow! What an incredible experience. There are so many things I could unpack from Project 168, but as promised last, I’m going to stick to the nutrition lessons for now. When I first met Phil Gore, his nutrition strategy was fairly simple: meals every few hours, with snacks here and there depending on how he felt. His energy intake during racing was very low, and at the time his backyard ultra PB was 51 yards. Several years later, Phil has...
2 months ago • 5 min read