Fueling The Long Game: Top Nutrition Tips for Endurance Athletes

January 8, 2025 Matt Weik

Woman drinking an endurance supplement in a Crossfit gym.

Are you an endurance athlete looking to take your performance to new heights? If you’re not properly fueling, that will be nearly impossible.

As an endurance athlete, your nutritional demands are much different from the average person and other elite athletes.

We aim to provide you with actionable, research-backed tips to optimize endurance performance and recovery and understand how EndurElite is here to help you reach your goals.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to treat or diagnose any condition. You should speak with your doctor before starting any exercise program, changing your daily nutrition, or adding any supplements to your regimen.

Understanding the Nutrition Needs of Endurance Athletes

To help you perform at the highest level possible, we first need to unpack the nutritional needs of an endurance athlete.

The Science of Endurance Performance

Exercise intensity affects your body’s fuel needs. As you work harder, your muscles use more oxygen and burn through energy faster. This means you need more carbs to keep going. For long events like marathons, your body relies on stored glycogen.

You’ll need 4-6 grams of carbs per pound of body weight daily to refill these stores.

If your endurance activity lasts longer than 90 minutes, you will need extra fuel during the event to maintain optimal performance and not hit the wall before you cross the finish line.

Endurance events tap into two main energy systems: aerobic and anaerobic.

Your body uses the aerobic system for long, steady efforts. It burns oxygen to create energy from fats and carbs. This system powers you through marathons and long bike rides.

The anaerobic system kicks in for short, intense bursts. It makes energy without oxygen, but it can’t last long. You’ll use this system for sprints or hill climbs.

Most endurance sports use both systems, but the aerobic system does the heavy lifting. It provides energy for activities lasting from two minutes to several hours.

Ultra-endurance events push your body to its limits. You face hurdles in keeping your energy up, staying hydrated, and using fat for fuel.

Key Factors Impacting Nutrition for Endurance Athletes

Body weight plays a role in how much fuel an endurance athlete needs. Heavier athletes burn more calories. Your training schedule also affects your nutrient needs. More intense endurance exercises require more carbs and protein for energy and recovery.

Hot weather increases your fluid and electrolyte needs. You’ll sweat more and lose more sodium when it’s warm out.

Your body needs different fuel for different races. In a marathon, you might need 60-90 grams of carbs per hour. But in an ultra-event, you could burn up to 7,000 calories daily! For triathlons, you’ll need to think about nutrition during swim, bike, and run parts.

Salad ingredients spread out on a white table next to a phone.

Essential Macronutrients for Endurance Athletes

Your body needs all three macronutrients to help perform as an endurance athlete. Let’s look at each of them below.

Carbohydrates: The Fuel for Endurance

Carbohydrates are your body’s go-to fuel for endurance sports. Your body stores carbs as glycogen in muscles and the liver. More glycogen means you can perform longer and harder.

Sports drinks with 6-8% carbs help you stay energized in events over an hour. They keep your blood sugar steady and delay fatigue. Before physical activity, have a carb-rich meal to top off your energy stores.

After training, eat carbs to refill glycogen. This helps you recover and prep for your next session.

Carb-loading is key for endurance events. Here are tips to boost your glycogen stores:

Eat 3-6 grams of carbs per pound of body weight daily.
Start loading 3-4 days before your event.
Focus on pasta, rice, potatoes, and whole-grain breads.
Taper your training the week before to allow muscle refueling.
Expect a 1-3 pound weight gain from extra stored glycogen.
Stay hydrated while loading to help your body store carbs.
Include some lean protein with carb-rich meals.
Avoid high-fat foods that can slow digestion.
Snack on fruits, energy bars, or sports drinks between meals.
Test your loading plan during training, not on race day.

Endurance athletes need the right fuel to perform at their best. Some great sources of energy for long-distance events include:

Whole grains
Fruits
Energy gels
Sports drinks
Pasta
Sweet potatoes
Dried fruit
Bagels

Protein: Supporting Recovery and Muscle Repair

Protein plays a key role in fixing muscle damage from intense workouts. Your muscles take a beating during physical activity, and the tiny tears in your muscle fibers need to be repaired.

Eating protein after exercise helps repair these tears and supports recovery.

You should eat 0.5 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight daily. On hard training days, aim for the higher end of that range.

Endurance athletes should consider eating the following protein options:

Lean meats
Plant-based proteins
Dairy products
Eggs
Fish
Nuts and seeds
Protein supplements

Fats: Long-Distance Energy

Fatty acids play a key role in fueling your long endurance events. Your body burns fats slowly, which means steady energy for hours.

Training with low glycogen stores can boost how well you use fats, and it makes more mitochondria in your cells. These tiny powerhouses turn fats into usable energy. By tapping into fats, you save your limited carb stores for when you need a quick burst of speed.

Below are some great sources to fuel your long-distance efforts as an endurance athlete:

Nuts
Seeds
Avocados
Wild salmon
Olive oil

Man in biking gear with a helmet, drinking EdurElite hydrate supplement.

Hydration Strategies for Optimal Performance

Your hydration levels play a key role in your performance. Let’s look at the importance of hydration and why you should pay attention to electrolytes as an endurance athlete.

Importance of Fluid Replacement

Dehydration poses serious risks for endurance athletes. Your body loses water fast during intense, long workouts. This can lead to a drop in performance and even health issues.

Ironman triathlons showcase extreme water loss. Elite athletes can shed up to 12% of their body weight in water during a 12.3-hour race. Such fluid loss can cause cramping, dizziness, and even heat stroke.

To stay safe and perform optimally, you need a solid hydration plan. Drink water often, even before you feel thirsty. Use sports drinks to replace lost electrolytes.

Hydration is key for an endurance athlete. Your sweat rate and the weather affect how much you need to drink, so you need to think about your hydration strategies.

Measure your sweat rate. Weigh yourself before and after a workout to see how much fluid you lose.
Drink more in hot weather. You may need over 1,000ml per hour when it’s hot out.
Adjust for gender differences. Men sweat more (1.3 L/hour) than women (0.9 L/hour).
Replace sodium too. Men lose about 54 mmol/hour of sodium in sweat, and women about 39 mmol/hour.
Use sports drinks in long events. They help replace both fluids and electrolytes.
Drink 200-300ml per hour in cool weather. This is enough for most people in mild temps.
Check your urine color. Pale yellow means you’re well-hydrated.
Weigh yourself daily. A sudden drop can mean you’re not drinking enough.
Practice your plan in training. Find what works before race day.
Listen to your body. Drink when you feel thirsty.

Role of Electrolytes and Sodium Ingestion

Sodium plays a key role in your body’s water balance. As an endurance athlete, you lose sodium through sweat during long workouts. This loss can lead to dehydration and muscle cramps if not replaced.

Your body needs more than 1,500 mg of sodium daily as an endurance athlete. You may need at least 500 mg of sodium per hour during exercise.

Here are some best practices for adding electrolytes to your hydration plan:

Drink sports drinks (like our Hydrate Elite Drink Mix) to restore electrolyte balance and provide energy.
Aim for 6 to 12 ounces of fluid every 20 minutes during exercise.
Choose isotonic drinks for most workouts to replace what you lose in sweat.
Look for sports drinks with about 200 mg of sodium per 16-ounce serving.
Use electrolyte tablets in water for a customized hydration solution.
Sip on electrolyte drinks before, during, and after long training sessions.
Pick drinks with multiple electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and magnesium.
Adjust your intake based on how much you sweat and the weather.
Try different brands to find what works best for your body and taste buds.
Carry electrolyte products with you on long runs or rides for easy access.

Timing Is Everything: Nutrition Throughout the Day

To perform optimally as an endurance athlete, you need to think about your nutrition throughout the day. Let’s look at some key times you should be fueling your body.

Pre-Workout Nutrition

Pre-workout nutrition plays a key role in your endurance performance. Here’s what to eat before training or events to maximize glycogen stores:

Eat a meal rich in complex carbs 3-4 hours before your event. Choose foods like oatmeal, whole-grain pasta, or sweet potatoes.
Consume 0.5-2 grams of carbs per pound of body weight 1-4 hours pre-exercise.
Pair carbs with a small amount of lean protein. Good options include Greek yogurt, eggs, or chicken breast.
Drink 16-20 ounces of water 2-3 hours before your workout.
Have a small snack 30-60 minutes pre-exercise if needed. Try a banana, energy bar, or sports drink.
Avoid high-fat or high-fiber foods close to exercise time. These can cause stomach issues during your workout.
Stick to familiar foods you’ve tested in training. Race day isn’t the time to try new things.
Adjust your pre-workout meal based on the intensity and duration of your planned endurance activity. Longer events need more fuel.

Balanced pre-workout meals fuel your body for peak athletic performance. Here are some examples to power your endurance training:

Whole grain toast with almond butter and banana slices
Greek yogurt parfait with berries and granola
Oatmeal with milk, chia seeds, and sliced apples
Turkey and avocado sandwich on whole wheat bread
Smoothie made with spinach, banana, protein powder, and milk
Brown rice bowl with grilled chicken and mixed vegetables
Whole grain pasta with lean ground turkey and tomato sauce
Scrambled eggs with whole grain toast and fruit
Quinoa salad with chickpeas, feta cheese, and olive oil dressing
Sweet potato with cottage cheese and cinnamon

During Exercise: Staying Fueled

As an endurance athlete, simply focusing on your pre-workout nutrition isn’t going to cut it. You will also need to think about what you can leverage to stay fueled during long training sessions.

Below are some of the best foods and supplements to keep you going:

Energy gels
Sports drinks
Bananas
Energy bars
Dried fruits
Caffeine supplements
Electrolyte supplements
Nut butter packets

Post-Workout Recovery Nutrition

Post-workout nutrition is critical for an endurance athlete.

Eat carbs and protein soon after you finish. This helps refill your energy stores and support muscle repair. Aim for a 3:1 ratio of carbs to protein.

Below are some of the best carb and protein combos to refuel after your workout:

Chocolate milk
Greek yogurt with berries
Peanut butter on whole wheat toast
Tuna on crackers
Banana with almond butter
Turkey and cheese sandwich
Protein smoothie
Hard-boiled eggs with fruit

Supplements for Endurance Athletes

While supplements are not the end-all-be-all and proper nutrition is key, they can be helpful to an endurance athlete.

Recommended Supplements for Performance

Supplements can boost your endurance and EndurElite offers products with key ingredients to help improve your athletic performance.

Our products are for elite athletes who push their limits in long-distance events.

Key ingredients boost your athletic performance and can help you push harder and last longer, such as:

BCAAs
Caffeine
Electrolytes
Beta-alanine
Creatine
Sodium
Carbohydrates
Antioxidants

Addressing Unique Challenges

Supplements play a key role in boosting endurance. Protein and BCAAs can boost recovery, support your immune system, and help you adapt to tough conditions.

Heat and air pollutants can tax your body during training and races. Antioxidants like vitamins C and E can protect your cells from pollution damage, while electrolyte supplements help you stay hydrated in the heat.

Special Considerations for Endurance Events

There are a few factors that an endurance athlete needs to take into consideration with endurance events. Let’s unpack some of these special considerations.

Ultra-Endurance Events

Ultra-endurance events push your body to its limits. These races last over 4-5 hours and demand smart fueling.

Long events need smart fuel plans. As an endurance athlete, you must balance energy and fluids to perform well.

Eat 60-90 grams of carbs per hour to keep energy up
Drink 200-300 ml of fluid every hour in cool weather
Increase fluid intake to over 1,000 ml per hour in hot conditions
Take in 200-1,500 mg of sodium hourly based on sweat rate
Mix carb sources like gels, bars, and sports drinks to avoid stomach issues
Consume small amounts often rather than large portions at once
Test your fuel plan during training to find what works best
Adjust intake based on effort level and course terrain
Pack extra supplies in case you need more than planned
Listen to your body and don’t force feed if you feel full

Training and Environmental Factors

Your training and food needs change with ambient temperatures and workout plans.

Baseline exercise testing shows how your body works during workouts. These tests help plan your food.

Your training load affects how much fuel you need. Hard workouts burn more calories, so you must eat more on brutal training days.

Hot weather changes how your body uses food and water. You sweat more in the heat. This means you need more fluids and electrolytes.

Harsh weather can hurt your performance. Smart eating helps you fight back. Hot days need more fluids and salt. Cold days need more calories. High altitudes need more iron and antioxidants.

Closing Thoughts: Nutrition as a Game-Changer for Endurance Athletes

Personalized nutrition strategies are essential for an endurance athlete striving to optimize their training, performance, and recovery.

EndurElite supplements make it easier to meet these unique demands, fueling your body with the right nutrients at the right time.

Explore our line of supplements and discover how they can help you achieve your endurance goals and elevate your athletic performance to the next level.

Resources

Author:

Matt Weik, BS, CSCS, CPT, CSN, owns Weik Fitness. He is a globally recognized and prolific writer. With a passion for creating health and fitness content, Matt’s work has been featured on thousands of websites, over 100 magazines, and authored over a dozen published books.