Fueling Endurance - Nutrition for Runners, Cyclists & Triathletes

Fresh from a PhD studying nutrition for recovery optimisation, Bella shares with us the recent expansion through her research from the 3R's to the 5R's of recovery, what that means for the average runner, cyclist and triathlete, and when some R's are more important than others.

We're joined by Leah Kirchmann, a pro cyclist racing with Team DSM in the Women's World Tour. We chat post-stage nutrient goals, logistical challenges, Leah's ride snacks, whether nutrition should be different for amateurs vs pros, and what can happen when you get it wrong.

James Moran works as a dietitian with INEOS Grenadiers and Uno-X Pro Cycling Teams. Just back from an altitude training camp in Tenerife, we chat to James about nutrition for stage racing, the differences from one-day events, how the INEOS Grenadiers team does it, and what we can learn for amateur level stage racing.

We're joined by Ironman triathlete Kevin Fergusson, a 4 time age group world champion who was also awarded Legend of the Sport by Triathlon Australia. Kev shares what he's learnt about nutrition for Ironman racing over the years, and his greatest achievement in the sport.

We're joined by Kate Penglase, a 2 time Australian champ and twice podium finisher at World Championships in 24 hr solo mountain biking. Kate gives an insight into her nutrition for 24hr racing, how she started out, and how and why her race plan has evolved over time. We also answer a listener question around dietary fibre for athletes.

A past winner of Ultra-Trail Australia and top 5 at Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc, Kellie shares her experience and tips for stepping up to ultra-distance running events, including what she did in her first ultra race, what she's learnt over the years, and what she sees in the athletes she coaches.

An in-house episode answering the question that gave rise to the entire podcast. If you're stepping up from marathon to ultras, 70.3 to Ironman, 6hr to 24hr MTB, or planning a bloody long bike ride, this episode is for you. When to prepare, how to prepare, do's and don'ts, and practical tips and suggestions galore.

Professional triathlete and coach Nathan Shearer joins us to discusses how beer fits into his Ironman training schedule, and how his prior sporting background exposed him to a lot more alcohol than the typical endurance athlete. We also wrap up the two episodes on beer and summarise its effect on post-exercise recovery, whether it's "a beer" or "getting on the beers".

A lecturer, researcher and sports dietitian, Ben has studied the effects of beer on post-exercise recovery. We discuss the R's of recovery (like a pirate!), including the all important (R)elaxation, and the effect beer may or may not have on these.

We're joined by ultra-runner Ben Duffus, recent winner of the Six Foot Track Marathon. Ben has faced some unusual challenges over the last few years, but used sweat sodium testing, in combination with a bunch of other measures, to complete the picture and figure out what was going wrong.

A lecturer & researcher at Monash University, practitioner with Triathlon Australia & in private practice. Alan investigated sweat testing and sodium needs of athletes during his PhD. What does sweat testing do, how accurate is it, and most importantly, how do you use the results of the test?

Fresh off the podium at the Australian XCO Championships, mountain biker Karen Hill joins us to discuss the recent changes she's made to her carb loading strategy. Imagine carb loading effectively with no gut upset, and still feeling hungry at the end of the day! An episode full of practical tips and tricks. 

An exercise physiologist, lecturer, researcher & cycling coach, José has travelled the world. Whilst working in Norway he completed a study summarising ~50 years of research on carbohydrate loading and the carb requirements of athletes into one comprehensive research paper. We discuss this research, the situations where carb loading may beneficial, and some of the practical considerations for doin...

Ellie Pashley has represented Australia in the 10,000 m & half marathon at World Champs. She's also finished top 10 at the 2019 New York Marathon, and currently aiming to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic team in the marathon. Ellie discusses her battles with iron deficiency, her experiences with supplementation and iron infusions, and her approach to supplementation for altitude training.

Pete's both a researcher at the University of Western Australia and a physiologist at the Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS). We discuss recent advances in our understanding of iron deficiency in athletes, when to supplement, and the safest and most effective way to do so.

An incredible story from Spanish pro triathlete Eneko Llanos. After several years struggling to finish Ironman races, Eneko was finally able to determine the cause of his gut problems, put the appropriate strategies in place, and got back to the top of his game. We discuss this, how trial and error didn't work for him, and what's involved in assessing it properly.

A very common and frustrating issue, especially for runners and long-course triathletes. We're doing this one in-house given it's Steph's area of expertise. We unpack the actual causes of gut issues during exercise, why trial and error rarely works, how to figure out the cause, and what to do about it.

Our athlete perspective this week with Chris Ord who wears many hats - an outdoor/adventure journalist, founder & original publisher of Trail Run Magazine (Aus/NZ), race director, adventure running tour guide, and trail runner in his own right. We also finish with an easy guide for assessing the credibility of scientific information, to help your BS detection skills.

At the heart of many of our podcast topics/questions is confusion, misconceptions and misinformation. We chat to Dr Tim Crowe about why there are so many mixed messages in nutrition science, the role of the media and social media, and tips for developing a good BS detector. Tim's also a marathon runner, so we chatted about his own experience and what he learnt from experience that science couldn't...

Our combined athlete perspective episode for the last two topics. Marathon runner and dual Olympian Jess Stenson joins us to discuss the evolution of her preparation for hot races, from the 2013 Moscow World Champs, to the 2016 Rio Olympics, the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games & the follow up Gold Coast marathon a few months later.

The 2nd half of our chat with Prof. Ollie Jay (University of Sydney). We cover myths, facts and sucessfully used cooling strategies from professional sport, whether you should drink or pour water over yourself, the difference between actual cooling & the perception of feeling cooler, and heat acclimation.

Is it genetics? Body fat? Or completely random? Prof. Ollie Jay (University of Sydney) joins us in a fascinating discussion about how our bodies figure out how much sweat to produce during exercise, why it varies so much between people, as well as from day-to-day within the same person. A bit technical in parts, with an easy-to-digest summary at the end.

Australian distance runner Julian Spence joins us to talk about his experience running the marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Doha in 2019, a hot race run in the middle of the night. We chat about his approach to hydration for the event, watching fellow competitors need medical assistance in the women's race a few nights prior, and what it's like training on a treadmill next door to...

Dr Lewis James (Loughborough University, UK) joins us to discuss what has often times been a highly controversial topic. Lewis is a senior lecturer at Loughborough and has conducted some of the world's only blinded hydration and performance studies. An awesome discussion about the controversies and difficulties in hydration research, why there hasn't been more studies in the area, and some practic...

In our athlete perspective episode, pro triathlete Emma Jeffcoat joins us to discuss her journey as it relates to matching her nutrition to her training demands. We also chat to Emma about her goals for next year's rescheduled Tokyo Olympics, and her love of Biscoff!