Fueling Endurance - Nutrition for Runners, Cyclists & Triathletes

Starchy foods like pasta, rice and potatoes are an important part of the diet for most runners, cyclists, and triathletes. But in an era of pre-packaged meals and reheated leftovers, are we really getting in the carbs we think we are? Starch retrogradation is the process when cooked starchy foods cool down again. Does this reduce the availability of those carbs? And can it be reversed by reheating...

It's been one of the most popular supplements of the last few years. A lot of endurance athletes take collagen regularly, but what is it for, how should it be taken, and is there evidence it lives up to the claims? We’re joined by Assistant Prof. Jorn Trommelen, a protein researcher whose lab has done some of the most recent work in this area, to answer our questions.  Timestamps: 04:00 - Intro an...

If you’re planning an ultra-distance running or cycling event, there’s a good chance you’ll be relying on support crew to help get you through it. But what makes a great support crew when it comes to nutrition? How do you best prepare them to support you? And what does success look like? To find out, we're joined by ultrarunner, sport nutritionist, and experienced support crew member, Rachel White...

Wearable sweat sensors have entered the market promising easy, accurate, repeatable, and in some cases, real-time feedback on sweat fluid and sodium losses. But do the claims live up to the hype? In this episode, we’ll unpack who these devices might be relevant to, the options currently available on the market, how they work, and most importantly, are they accurate? Timestamps: 01:01 - Fueling End...

It's the end of 2025, and like each previous year we’re looking back and providing a brief summary of every question we’ve answered on the podcast in the past year, from “Are high carb diets a health concern for athletes?” to “Do I need a multivitamin?”, and “Can I trust AI with my sports nutrition questions?”. So if you’re new to the podcast and don’t have time to go through the whole back catalo...

In the past decade, we've gone from low carb to high carb. Are we now heading towards a new era of personalised carb? In this episode I speak to two experts about exactly what exogenous carbohydrate oxidation is, how the testing works, who might benefit from this type of testing, and how to interpret the results. Timestamps: 04:09 - Tim and Gareth's background and research 10:50 - What is exogenou...

It’s the fifth anniversary of the podcast! In this special episode, we’re joined by Paul Booth, who put together the nutrition plan for both the men’s and women’s winners of the 2025 Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, or UTMB. We’ll hear how lots of different topics from previous podcasts came together for these two world class athletes, how lab testing helped inform their nutrition strategies, and how it...

Juggling training, nutrition, and day-to-day life can be a challenge. But throw in the complexities of Type 1 Diabetes, and it’s a whole new ball game. In this special episode to coincide with World Diabetes Day, I'm joined by co-founder of Enhance-d and former head of research at Team Novo Nordisk, Sam Scott. Sam gives us a peek into the world of diabetes management for the endurance athlete. We’...

The gut microbiome is a term that's thrown around a lot. But what does it actually mean? Is there a particular gut microbiome that's more common in athletes? And should athletes be trying to shape their microbiome to benefit their health or performance?   Timestamps: 02:10 - What is the gut microbiome? 13:50 - What are short chain fatty acids, and what's their significance? 18:00 - How do you dete...

There’s been a lack of clear guidelines around how much sodium to take before, during and after exercise, to optimise health and performance. That created a vacuum, which anyone with a vested interest was more than happy to fill with suggestions. But we’re now getting to the stage where we can make some more specific, quantifiable recommendations about sodium for endurance athletes, before, during...

There seems to be two types of endurance athletes - those who are always getting sick when their training volume increases, and those who don’t. But why? In this episode we investigate the evidence around nutrition, the immune system, and illness in athletes, and come to a conclusion of what you can do to prevent getting sick during those hard training blocks, and bounce back quickly when illness...

Fish oil, or omega-3 supplements, are one of the most widely used supplement among the general population. But there's also been suggestions of specific benefits for athletes.  So what exactly are omega 3’s? What do they do in the body? What foods and supplements do they come from, and most importantly, do the benefits live up to the marketing hype when it comes to health and performance?   Studie...

TrainingPeaks just launched a new set of data fields that promise to give insights into carbohydrate and fat use during exercise - even predicted amounts for planned sessions if enough data is provided. So where did this come from? What is it telling us? How should I use this information? And is it unique, or are there other ways to achieve the same thing?   Studies/Websites mentioned: TrainingPea...

If you’ve ridden a bike or run more than an hour or so in your life, you’ve probably considered the composition of what you’re drinking during those efforts. But what actually makes a good sports drink? Is it taste, carbs, electrolytes, osmolality, colouring, or all of the above? And is there actually an optimal drink mix that we should be looking for? Or is that a well spun marketing myth?   Fuel...

Multivitamins. About half of endurance athletes use them. There’s often an assumption that if you’re doing a lot of training, then you need a multivitamin. Or at least you should take one just in case. But is that actually true? Do runners, cyclists and triathletes actually need a multivitamin? And if so, how do you choose? And what should you look for?   AIS Sports Supplement Framework: https://w...

We’ve all experienced that cool mint sensation from toothpaste, mouthwash, or mint flavoured foods before. So when you’re racing in a hot environment, can this cooling sensation change how hot you feel, or even help you perform better? And is there any downside to this? Or like a lot of things in science, is it maybe not that simple?   Podcast Guest: Dr Erica Gavel-Pinos - University of Alberta, C...

Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming many people's go-to for answers to their sports nutrition questions. It has a knack of taking your question, exactly as you asked it, and providing what seems like the perfectly relevant answer. But is AI really providing the answers you’re looking for? Is it telling the truth? And if not, how can you tell?    Fueling Endurance eBook | T -12 Race Nutriti...

Imagine being able to predict what your sweat rate is going to be at any given running pace or power output, in different weather conditions, with reasonable accuracy. Well, now you can. In this episode Prof Ollie Jay (Thermal Ergonomic Laboratory, University of Sydney), one of the brains behind this new tool, joins us to discuss how it all came together, how accurate it is, and how to best use it...

One of the most common bits advice you see for runners, cyclists, and triathletes is to avoid gluten, either on a daily basis, or in the days leading up to competition. So where does this advice come from? Is it effective? And most importantly, is there a better approach?   Fueling Endurance eBook | T -12 Race Nutrition Course | Practitioner Resources The Fueling Endurance eBook contains answers t...

When we think of injury prevention for runners, cyclists and triathletes we tend to focus on non-nutrition factors - training loads, shoes, biomechanics, stretching, foam rolling, strength and conditioning, and so on. But what about nutrition - does it have a role to play too? We're joined by sports dietitian and ultra-runner Erin Colebatch, whose current research seeks to answer this question.  ...

For the last few years the diabetes drug Ozempic has taken the weight loss world by storm. In this episode we’re looking at this class of weight loss drugs as they apply to runners, cyclists and triathletes. We know plenty of non-professional endurance athletes have tried, are using, or are thinking about taking these medications. So what exactly are they? Are they effective? What are the risks an...

You’ve probably heard of periodised training before, and maybe even periodised nutrition. But what does it actually mean? In this episode I explain what periodised nutrition means for endurance athletes, how it’s changed over the years, whether it's important or not, and the key points to get you started.   Fueling Endurance eBook | T -12 Race Nutrition Course | Practitioner Resources The Fueling...

On today’s episode we’re dissecting how sports nutrition evolves over time. The diets, the foods, the supplements, and the attitudes to health, body composition and performance. How and why does this stuff change over time, and can that tell us anything about the future? As much as we’d like to think things are always evolving for the better based on new scientific research and insights, that’s de...

We’ve often talked about the benefits of carbohydrate for runners, cyclists and triathletes, but for many people there’s an underlying concern - does eating all those carbs increase the risk of developing diabetes or heart disease? It’s certainly a common message that’s pushed online in some circles, but is this really the case? In this episode I speak to diabetes researcher and clinical dietitian...

It's the 4th birthday of the podcast! And like each previous year, we’re going to look back and provide a brief summary of every question we’ve answered on the podcast in the past year, from “How do I work out my calorie needs for training?” to “Does pickle juice actually work?”, and “What do I do when my race nutrition plan falls apart?”. So if you’re new to the podcast and don’t have time to go...