Fueling Endurance - Nutrition for Runners, Cyclists & Triathletes

Whether it's a fall off your bike and a broken collarbone, or a runner's dreaded stress fracture, it's clear that bone health is important for endurance athletes. But what's nutrition got to do with it? We're joined by Luuk Hilkens, a researcher at the HAN University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, who is doing his PhD with the Jumbo Visma Cycling Team, looking at nutrition and exercise strategies to improve bone health in elite athletes.   Luuk's recent research publications on this topic: Fragile bones of elite cyclists: to treat or not to treat? - Journal of Applied Physiology - March 2021 Low Bone Mineral Density and Associated Risk Factors in Elite Cyclists at Different Stages of a Professional Cycling Career - Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise - Jan 2022 Bone turnover following high-impact exercise is not modulated by collagen supplementation in young men: A randomized cross-over trial - Bone - Feb 2023  

How does nutrition change when transitioning from age-group to elite athlete? And does the perception of how the pros do nutrition compare to reality? We're joined by elite paratriathlete Jeremy Peacock who made this transition in the last few years, to hear how his approach to nutrition has changed as an elite athlete compared to his age-group days.

We all see pro athletes online, and get an insight into what they eat, how much they eat, and the products they use. But should we try to emulate the nutrition practices of the pros, or use the same products to get better ourselves? We're joined by A/Prof. Greg Cox, who worked for 20 years with Triathlon Australia, supporting many triathletes from their junior days through to the Olympic Games. This conversation follows on from part of a Masterclass that Greg and Alan ran for sports dietitians in late 2022, looking at nutrition for endurance athletes and the contrast between elite and non-elite athletes.

It's our 100th episode! So to celebrate we're deviating from the usual format to chat to Erchana Murray-Bartlett, who recently ran a marathon-a-day for 150 days straight. In doing so she broke the female world record for consecutive marathons run, covered 6330km from the northernmost tip of Australia back to her home town of Melbourne, and raised a heap money for the Wilderness Society. We chat to her about how she planned her nutrition for such an epic journey, how these plans stood up against the reality of her situation, and what she learnt along the way.   To support Erchana's fundraising efforts, check out her website: https://www.tiptotoe2022.com/ Instagram: @tip_to_toe_2022  Facebook: @ErchanaMurrayBartlett    

This episode introduces some simple but incredibly powerful add-ons to the weigh-before, weigh-after sweat rate testing process that will help you understand your results and what they mean, but most importantly, what to do with the results.

Elite distance runner Ellie Pashley returns discusses her experience with pre-exercise hyperhydration in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics, and how she monitors and manages her hydration on a day-to-day basis. 

We're back for 2023, and joined by Dr Chris Irwin (Griffith University). We discuss what being well hydrated before exercise actually means, how you can tell if you are well hydrated or not, and what to do if you're not. We also discuss the strategy of pre-exercise hyperhydration, and the results of a meta-analysis Chris and Alan are in the process of writing up for publication.

We're joined by Accredited Sports Dietitian Gaye Rutherford (Tasmanian Institute of Sport) from chilly Hobart, to discuss the concept of "outrunning a bad diet". We'll unpack this question, the mentality behind it, why it's probably not a healthy way to view exercise and food, and discuss how to reframe this question in a more positive manner.

It‘s the 2nd birthday of the podcast, and to celebrate we‘re summarising all of the previous year's topics in one jam-packed episode! From ”How do I balance eating for training quality and body fat loss?”, to ”How much carbs should I have during training and races?”, and ”How do I stop cramping?”, we‘ll provide 3-5 minute summaries of each of them to bring you up to speed on any you‘ve missed. Oh, and some announcements about the future of The Long Munch.

A legend in ultrarunning coaching in the US, author, podcaster and running coach Jason Koop joins us for our special Episode 50. We discuss the evolution of nutrition in trail and ultrarunning, and what’s transferred over from cycling and triathlon. Jason also gives us a sneak peak of what the elite guys are doing in terms of their approach to race day fuelling and hydration, what we can or can't learn from that, plus his recent work with Mina Guli and her Run Blue project. Plus plenty of great practical tips along the way.