eating during a 100 by karl king

Lots of good advice so far from people who have experience....

300 calories/hour is great if you can do that and maintain good digestion. Some folks have a hard time with that amount and have to eat less. These are things you can't figure out in a 20 mile training run. There's no way to predict how your stomach will feel at 70 miles. Keep an open mind and be prepared to change your game plan if needed. No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.

Do try to get in some protein/amino acids. If you don't, your brain will get loaded with serotonin and your will to go on will be compromised.

As noted by others, try to get a little fat in now and then to keep the pH of your digestive track stable. If you go with nothing but sugar, your guts will get acid and you won't get your digestion back until hours after you are done with the race ( or the race is done with you ).

Don't be surprised if food/drink you loved at 20 miles turns your stomach at 80 miles. The long miles in a hundred leads to a buildup of adenosine in your blood ( breakdown product of adenosine tri phosphate ). Adenosine will alter your flavor perception.

Be careful not to overdrink during the cool evening hours. I think a lot of folks get stuck in a rut with fluids and don't cut back at night. To keep your calorie intake steady, you might want to mix your sports drink more concentrated at night. Less fluid, same calories.

I've gotten lots of reports from people who had stomach problems late in a 100 where they were able to keep going by just drinking water and taking S! Caps ( and walking for a while ). It sounds ill-advised to restrict calories, but I've heard this story so many times that I feel it should be mentioned.

Expect digestive problems late in the run. Then when it happens it won't be such a confusing surprise. Don't freak out - just keep going, even if you have to slow your pace. People do make remarkable recoveries at times, so have patience. Sometimes I think women do well in 100s because they have more patience and less testosterone than men.

Karl King