Mountain running is great. It is a different world from the road: climbs, descents, scenery and nature. And that meal afterwards in the village café? One of the highlights. But how does it fit a good diet for trail runners?
That meal is more than a sandwich. It helps replace what your body has used during a trail session and is part of post-workout recovery.
What is the best diet for a runner?
We already know the best diet is the one that suits you. There is no list of 30 meals every trail runner must eat.
Imagine how boring that would be. You know us: at INDYA we love a challenge.
Your nutrition is as unique as you are. Anyone claiming otherwise is selling you a story worthy of 17 Golden Globe nominations.
Whatever sport you do, choose a sports diet that fits your body and individual needs. Nutrition theory is general, but you are specific. Your tastes, training and metabolism are specific.
After three hours in the mountains, your needs and mine will differ. The good news? If your everyday diet supports your training, you can recover better without relying so heavily on one particular recovery meal.
The effects of trail running on your body
Trail running is demanding endurance exercise. Training can take hours, especially if Wikiloc lets you down. For ultra-trail events, appropriate nutrition is essential for performance.
Before bounding around the mountains, understand what happens in your body when you train.
Carbohydrates are a major energy source during training
Your muscles use glucose to produce ATP. Digestible dietary carbohydrates provide glucose, some of which is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles. Muscle glycogen can then supply energy when needed.
As exercise intensity rises, oxygen use and carbohydrate demand generally increase. Glycogen stores can run down faster, particularly without adequate carbohydrate beforehand. A good pre-workout breakfast can help you start fuelled.
And, of course, pay attention to your heart-rate monitor.
After a long trail run, you can feel empty. Good recovery means replacing what you have used.
Elevation changes put your muscles to work
To varying degrees, your muscles will work hard. Hamstrings and glutes help propel you uphill, together with the soleus and muscles around the shin.
On descents, the quadriceps help support and brake you, with the calves assisting and abdominals stabilising the trunk. Poles also load the upper body, including shoulders, trapezius and lower back.
Climbing burns, but descending can be particularly demanding. Eccentric contractions on the way down can cause more soreness and muscle damage than concentric contractions, especially when unfamiliar.
Inflammation can be a response to tissue damage. Inflammation is part of the body’s repair response. Exercise also increases reactive oxygen species, which have signalling roles but can contribute to oxidative stress when excessive. Appropriate nutrition during sports injuries supports recovery.
You sweat in the mountains, whether at 600 m or 1200 m
Body temperature can rise within minutes. Working muscles release heat, and sweating helps regulate temperature through evaporation.
The original article describes sweat losses of 1–4 L per hour of exercise; rates vary greatly and the upper end is exceptional. Those white salty marks on your shirt reflect losses of electrolytes, mainly sodium and chloride, with smaller amounts of potassium, magnesium and calcium.
After running, you need to replace and repair: used carbohydrate, stressed muscle and lost fluid.
5 keys to a trail runner’s recovery diet
The “metabolic window” refers to the importance of nutrition in the hours after exercise. But do not panic or try to eat everything at once.
Keep calm. Full recovery takes hours and sometimes days. If your next session is more than 12 hours away, you usually have more flexibility with timing.
For recovery after a trail run, consider these 5 Rs.
Rehydration
Start simply: have a drink. The amount depends on your losses. A commonly used guide for rehydration is around 1.5 L per kilogram of body mass lost, spread over recovery and adjusted to your circumstances.
If you have lost two kilos, that guide would suggest about 3 L of fluid over time, with food and electrolytes as appropriate. Full recovery of fluid balance can take time; the original article cites 24–48 hours. Do not force this volume or drink it all at once.
If you are not training again within 24 hours, water alongside meals containing sodium and other electrolytes may be sufficient. If you have two sessions close together, sports drinks can be useful.
What about beer? The big question.
Yes, beer is approximately 94% water. It contains some sodium, though little, and small amounts of magnesium, chloride, vitamins and other electrolytes.
But it also contains alcohol, which can have a diuretic effect and does not make beer a suitable recovery drink.
A beer after a trail run may sound appealing, but do not rely on it to rehydrate: prioritise appropriate non-alcoholic fluids.
Refuelling
A good post-workout meal prepares you for the next session. To refill the tank, include carbohydrate-rich foods.
Even if you feel like your local Kilian Jornet, recovery still needs a plan. When rapid glycogen restoration is needed, a commonly used early-recovery target is 1–1.2 g of carbohydrate per kilogram per hour. For someone weighing 75 kg, that means 75–90 g per hour during that initial period, rather than indefinitely or for every runner.
How can you do that? Here are some options:
- At home: macaroni with tomato and courgette sauce.
- Quick option: a plant-drink smoothie with banana, strawberries and honey (also potentially useful before a race if you tolerate it well).
- At the café: a Spanish potato omelette sandwich.
- Gourmet option: quinoa salad with raisins and green apple.
Repair
To help muscles recover, we need protein. The amount depends on your route and individual needs.
To combine protein with the carbohydrates above, try:
- At home: macaroni with tomato, courgette and minced meat.
- Quick option: a smoothie with whipped fresh cheese, banana, strawberries and honey.
- At the café: a potato omelette and Serrano ham sandwich.
- Gourmet option: quinoa salad with a poached egg, Serrano ham shavings, apple and raisins.
Recovery
How about accompanying your sandwich with foods that support normal inflammatory regulation?
Nuts, vegetable oils (olive, sunflower) and oily fish provide different unsaturated fats. Oily fish and some nuts supply omega-3 fatty acids, which play a role in inflammatory regulation. Their profiles differ; sunflower oil is mainly an omega-6 source. A homemade nut-based energy bar can be useful.
Then there is fruit, or a fresh juice containing antioxidants. Ordinary orange and mandarin juice contains antioxidant compounds too, as does gazpacho, a savoury vegetable blend.
Do not become obsessed with antioxidants: high doses of antioxidant supplements may interfere with training adaptations. In most cases, include foods rich in vitamins and minerals rather than megadosing.
You now know more about a diet for trail runners, but we will keep repeating: these suggestions do not fit every body in the same way.
You are unique, for better and worse. Want to improve sports performance?
Focus on what your own body needs. A sports nutritionist can help create a highly personalised eating plan for you.
Can we help? Take a look at our plans.
