Should you eat savoury food during a trail race?

On efforts beyond 4 to 6 hours, alternating sweet and savoury helps maintain appetite and energy intake. Savoury food also brings sodium, useful when sweat losses are high.

How many carbs per hour in an ultra-trail?

A common benchmark is 40 to 60 g/h in ultras, sometimes more for well-trained athletes. The limit is usually digestive: a steady, tolerated intake beats an ambitious target abandoned at hour 6.

How do you avoid sweet-food aversion during a race?

Vary textures and flavours from the start (gels, bars, purées, savoury), introduce savoury before you're sick of sugar, and use aid stations for substantial foods you've tested in training.

Running8 min

Trail nutrition: managing sweet, savoury and hydration

Trail nutrition isn't just your marathon strategy transplanted onto singletrack. Intensity swings constantly between hiked climbs and technical descents, durations stretch past 4, 8 or 12 hours, and aid stations serve real food. Three challenges dominate: keeping carbs coming in steadily despite the terrain, managing the sweet fatigue that sets in on long efforts, and adapting hydration and sodium to conditions that shift with altitude and weather. This guide gives practical benchmarks for each.

During the effort: sweet, savoury, hydration

During the effort, a common benchmark is 40 to 80 g of carbs per hour depending on duration and intensity — often lower at the top end than a marathon, because digestion is under more strain on rough terrain. Hiked climbs are the best moments for solid food (bars, purées, banana): the gut copes better when intensity drops. Beyond 4 to 6 hours, alternate sweet and savoury — broth, salted potatoes, crackers or cheese at aid stations — to counter the sweet fatigue that kills appetite. For hydration, drink steadily rather than in big gulps, and include sodium (electrolyte drink, tested capsules or salty food), especially in heat or if you sweat heavily.

Before: breakfast and the pack

Before a trail race, the early start and lower opening intensity allow a slightly more substantial breakfast, eaten 2.5 to 3 hours out. Study the roadbook: distance between aid stations, climbing per section, and what the organisers say will be on the tables. Your carrying plan (soft flasks, gel and bar count) should be built on those real distances, not averages.

After the ultra: recovering over 48 h

After a long trail race, recovery starts with rehydration plus sodium, then carbs and protein once appetite returns — sometimes an hour or two after an ultra, which is normal. Over the following days, complete and regular meals matter more than any single product: an ultra digs an energy deficit that takes days to refill.

Common trail mistakes

Running a 100% gel strategy on an effort longer than 6 hours
Discovering aid-station food you've never tested mid-race
Drinking only plain water for hours with no sodium
Forgetting to eat on technical sections where the terrain absorbs all your attention
Ignoring sweet fatigue until you can't swallow anything at all

Practical checklist

Carbs/hour plan set for your expected duration (40 to 80 g/h)
Sweet/savoury mix planned from 4 to 6 hours onward
Carrying capacity computed on real distances between aid stations
Sodium available (drink, capsules or salty food)
Alarm or reminder to eat every 30 to 40 minutes

FAQ

Running8 min

How to avoid GI issues during a race

GI issues are common in endurance. The key is to test your strategy progressively before race day.

Read the guide

Hydration7 min

Running hydration: water, sodium and electrolytes

Hydration isn't just drinking more: duration, heat and your sweat rate all matter.