The Eat for Endurance Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Winter Sports Nutrition: A Discussion with Sports Dietitian Kylee Van Horn Jan 12, 2023

Show notes

Happy New Year everyone and welcome to episode 56 of the Eat for Endurance Podcast. Today, we're tackling the topic of Winter Sports Nutrition, featuring Kylee Van Horn, RDN. Kylee is a sports dietitian based in the mountains of Colorado, regularly works with winter athletes in her private practice, FlyNutrition, and is a runner and winter athlete herself.
Although I used to ski when I was young, I haven’t done much more than sled down a small city hill in recent memory, so I invited Kylee on the show to discuss the many unique nutrition challenges that winter athletes face, and to share her expertise on how to fuel smartly and adequately in these conditions.

We had a great chat filled with tons of useful information and winter fueling tips, including:

What happens to your body in extreme cold or at high altitude, and how does this affect your nutrition and hydration needs?
What types of strategies can you utilize in these environments, to stay well-fueled and hydrated?
Logistical issues that make eating and drinking more difficult relating to winter sporting gear (e.g. trying to fuel while using poles)
Differences that arise from one winter sport to the next
Why remaining well-fueled and hydrated is so important to performance AND safety when in the mountains
And much more!

If you engage in winter sports or want to in the future, get ready to take some notes!

Thanks again Kylee for your time and for enlightening us with so many practical winter fueling ideas.
Links & Resources:

Kylee’s Website: https://www.flynutrition.org/
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Announcements:

Please subscribe to and rate/review the show if you have a minute!
If you can afford to donate a few bucks to help support the show financially, please visit my Patreon page
You can also support me by visiting my Amazon storefront
Have nutrition questions, a guest or topic request, or any other feedback? Email me - claire@eatforendurance.com.
Music Credit: Joseph McDade
Disclaimer – all information provided is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is in no way meant to replace individual medical and nutrition recommendations. If you'd like to work with me for individualized nutrition support, please reach out!

Want to get in touch? Send Claire a message!

Support the show

Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram and Facebook (@eatforendurance).

Mt. Tam 50k Race Recap Nov 16, 2022

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 55 of the Eat for Endurance Podcast! Today I have a short recap for you on my Mt Tam 50k trail race this past Saturday, November 12th. It was a gorgeous, challenging course that went through Mt. Tamalpais State Park, Muir Woods National Monument, and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. We had absolutely perfect weather, and although it was a tough run, I had such a joyful experience (minus stubbing my toe so hard on a root I thought it was broken and nearly face planting countless times in the last ten miles, but that’s all part of the Type 2 fun, isn’t it?!).

Inside Trail Racing put this event on (the same group that organized the Rodeo Valley 50k that I did in August), and they did a great job, once again. We had actually signed up for this one last year, but DNS because the timing ended up being bad with our move. Grateful we finally made it to the start (and finish) - I already want to do this event next year!
My recap will give you ALLLLL the details, including my nutrition (what went really well, and what I’m still tweaking). In the meantime, here’s the short version.
We left Santa Cruz around 4:30am for the long drive up North. The day before, my stomach was feeling super off and I’m frustrated to report that it also carried over into race morning. I’m still not sure what went wrong - I practiced various strategies in training and had switched things up since my last 50k, but my body was still not happy with what I was eating. My only guess is that I had been trying to increase my total carb intake to be closer to recommended guidelines and my body still wasn’t into it. So the 2+ hour ride was not a fun one for me, esp with that 30-min crazy, super windy road down to Stinson Beach!
I was convinced that my stomach would be a mess for this race but somehow, everything went away just before the race started. I had zero GI issues and felt super strong the rest of the day! So grateful.
The course was really hard, which is exactly what I expected given the elevation profile and my sub-par training (I only got up to about 3.5 hours on the trails, and had taken some weeks off due to illness). But I paced myself well and chatted with some new trail buddies along the way to help the miles go by quickly. I ended up finishing the 50k with 6800 ft of climbing in 6:54 and won 3rd in my age group, and am feeling great about that all things considered. I didn't get lost and I didn't fall - so all in all, a successful day!
Recovery has been going pretty well! Low appetite has been an issue (not helped by sick kiddos and lack of sleep) but I’ve managed to get consistent meals and snacks in. I was super sore for a couple days of course, but got some nice gentle walks in and a short run in on Wednesday. Planning to take it super easy the next couple of weeks and then we shall see what’s next.
Give the episode a listen for all the other details! And stay tuned for more athlete and RD interviews.
Announcements:

Please show your support by leaving a rating and/or review on Apple Podcasts
Music Credit: Joseph McDade
Photo Credit: Let’s Wander Photography
Have nutrition questions, a guest or topic request, or any other feedback? Email me - eatforendurance@gmail.com.
Disclaimer – all information provided is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is in no way meant to replace individual medical and nutrition recommendations

Want to get in touch? Send Claire a message!

Support the show

Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram and Facebook (@eatforendurance).

Changing the Narrative on Fueling in Endurance Sport: A Research-Based Discussion with Kelly Pritchett PhD, RDN, CSSD and Pro-Runner and Scientist Keely Henninger Nov 10, 2022

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 54 of the Eat for Endurance Podcast, featuring Dr. Kelly Pritchett PhD, RDN, CSSD and Keely Henninger.

Kelly is a Sports Dietitian, Professor in nutrition and exercise science at Central Washington University, and an endurance runner. In Episode 36, she came on my show to discuss current research on a variety of nutrition topics, and she returns today to speak about two of her own studies, one that was published this year, and another that is in the works, in collaboration with Keely. Both studies examine the link between underfueling, exercise dependence, body dissatisfaction and performance among endurance runners.
Keely Henninger is an elite runner with Altra, a scientist, and one of the podcasts hosts of Trail Society. Keely has been on the trail and ultra racing scene for may years, and holds a number of race wins and other accomplishments, including being a member of Team USA, holding the USA 50-mile national champion title, two wins at Lake Sonoma 50, and a top 10 finish at Western States. Keely joins us for this episode to discuss a research study that she has been conducting with Kelly, and she also shares some of her own nutrition journey as a high-performing athlete.
I had a great discussion with these two amazing women on changing the narrative around fueling in endurance sport. We covered the importance of weight and body composition to performance, the appropriateness of weight periodization in recreational runners, the prevalence of underfueling in endurance athletes, and so much more.
Thank you Kelly and Keely for your time and for the important work you are both doing to improve our sport!
Without further ado, please enjoy my discussion with Kelly Pritchett and Keely Henninger on their recent research on fueling in the endurance athlete population.
Links & Resources:

Here is the link to the first research study that we discuss (aka “The Olympic Trial Study”)
Follow Keely on Instagram and Twitter (@runwidkeel)
Follow Kelly on Instagram and Twitter (@KPritchettRD)

Other Announcements:

Please show your support by leaving a rating and/or review on iTunes
Music Credit: Joseph McDade
Have nutrition questions, a guest or topic request, or any other feedback? Email me - eatforendurance@gmail.com.
Disclaimer – all information provided is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is in no way meant to replace individual medical and nutrition recommendations.

Want to get in touch? Send Claire a message!

Support the show

Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram and Facebook (@eatforendurance).

Mike Wardian Returns: Nutrition strategies and stories from running 3,234 miles across America Sep 22, 2022

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 53 of the Eat for Endurance Podcast! I am so excited to have Mike Wardian back on the show to chat about his transcon run, which he completed this past July.
I did an Athlete Nutrition Profile on Mike in April 2020, right after he won the Quarantine Backyard Ultra with 262 miles in 63 hours. If you would like to learn more about Mike’s nutrition story as a plant-based athlete (he eats eggs and honey, but otherwise follows a vegan diet), check out Episode 26.
Mike always is a joy to talk to, so full of passion and positivity, and of course he is an unbelievable athlete too. He wears so many hats it’s hard to keep track of it all - he is a professional runner, mostly focusing on ultra endurance events but you can find him doing pretty much every distance, and he also does CrossFit, plays pickle ball, cycles, rows, keeps a beehive (or at least tries!), and goes after all kinds of fun, random world records, all while working and spending time with his wife and two teenage sons. He only sleeps four hours a night, but it’s still mind-boggling how he is able to accomplish everything that he does!

If you’re not familiar with his Running Home project, Mike ran 3,234 miles over 61 days, from May 1st to July 1st, across 13 states, from San Francisco City Hall to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, while raising over 100,000 dollars for World Vision’s global clean water initiatives. I wanted to dig into all the details of how he fueled himself across the country, and of course, discuss some of the fun and crazy things that happened along the way.
Thank you Mike for spending time with me on the podcast once again, and for continuing to inspire us all with your running accomplishments as well as your wonderful attitude towards life.
Also - the audio was a bit choppy for some reason at certain points in the show. My apologies - working to fix that for next time, and hopefully doesn't take away too much from the show!
Links & Resources:

Website: http://mikewardian.com
Follow on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
Mike is still raising money for World Vision USA - link to donate here.

Other Announcements:

Please show your support by leaving a rating and/or review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts
Music Credit: Joseph McDade
Have nutrition questions, a guest or topic request, or any other feedback? Email me - eatforendurance@gmail.com.
Disclaimer – all information provided is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is in no way meant to replace individual medical and nutrition recommendations.

Want to get in touch? Send Claire a message!

Support the show

Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram and Facebook (@eatforendurance).

Hydration Science and Strategies with Andy Blow of Precision Fuel and Hydration Aug 25, 2022

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 52 of the Eat for Endurance Podcast! I am really excited about my guest today - sports scientist Andy Blow. In his younger days, Andy was an elite-level triathlete, finishing in the top-10 of Ironman and 70.3 races, as well as winning an Xterra World title. He also previously worked as the Team Sports Scientist for the Benetton and Renault Formula 1 teams, and remains an adviser to the Porsche Human Performance Center at Silverstone, home of the British Grand Prix.
Andy’s struggles with sports nutrition in his own race experiences ultimately led him to set up his company, Precision Fuel and Hydration, which specializes in helping athletes discover their unique hydration needs and create individualized fueling and hydration strategies for training and competitions.
I absolutely loved the discussion that we had today. It’s a long one, because I got Andy to indulge my endless curiosity about the world of Formula 1, so if you’re at all interested in that, you’re in for a treat. He also is an expert in hydration, and we spent a lot of time delving into this huge, important topic. Andy has been on many other shows going through these concepts in detail, but hydration is such a key topic that so many athletes find confusing that I thought it would be worth sharing once again on my platform as well.
In full disclosure, I received free sports nutrition samples from Andy’s team in advance of this recording, and I will be receiving a free sweat sodium test (as part of my client work, I always like to test out products/services), but I have not received any payment from his company.
I hope you get some good takeaways from our chat, and if you are hungry for more on this topic, I strongly encourage you to check out Precision Fuel & Hydration’s website and especially their knowledge hub, which is packed with great info.

Without further ado, please enjoy my conversation with Andy Blow about all things hydration as well as Formula 1 sports nutrition.

Links & Resources:

Other Announcements:

Please subscribe to and rate/review the show if you have a minute!
Music Credit: Joseph McDade

Want to get in touch? Send Claire a message!

Support the show

Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram and Facebook (@eatforendurance).

Rodeo Valley 50k Race Recap Aug 16, 2022

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 51 of the Eat for Endurance Podcast! Today I have a short recap for you on my recent Rodeo Valley 50k race, a beautiful and challenging course in the Marin Headlands that I ran on August 6th. It was my first ultra in over 7 years, as well as my first ultra running all by myself (instead of with my husband). It felt so good to run my own race and prove to myself that I can still do long trail stuff after having kids!
Inside Trail Racing put this event on, and they did a fantastic job. I’ve already signed up for another one of their races - Mt. Tam 50k on November 12th! Super excited, especially since this course is even harder (6800 ft of gain for Mt Tam vs 5800 ft at Rodeo Valley).
Listen to the episode for the full run down, but I’ll give you the short version here. We left Santa Cruz around 3:45am for the long drive up north. Unfortunately my stomach was feeling a bit off in the morning (which carried over into the race) - not sure why, but will investigate and tweak a few things during this next training cycle!
I ran super strong through 30k, which ends at the start/finish and then you have to run the first loop all over again to close out the 50k. Had to stop for the bathroom at most of the aid stations which was a bummer, but felt good enough that I could stick to my nutrition/hydration plan and run at a good pace. The climbs and descents were pretty brutal but it made for a great challenge, and once the fog finally cleared later in the race, the views were breathtaking.
The last 20k is when the fatigue started to set in, and my stomach started to bother me again. I tried to jump over a small hole in the middle of the trail (which I do all the time) and went down hard on my knees, scraping and bruising them badly on dirt and rocks. I immediately threw myself a pity party but I was also all alone with miles to go until the next aid station. So with blood all over my legs, I brushed myself off and kept going. The pain eventually faded (temporarily, of course), I got my pace back, and pushed myself those last ten miles to a strong finish!
Seeing Eric waiting for me as I ran down the final hill was amazing. I even placed second in my age group! I was pretty stoked about that part, well, until I found out there were only two people in my age group. That’s okay though, I still won an awesome coaster award!
Recovery has been going pretty well, and I’m easing back into low-key training after taking it super easy for a week. It’s nice to have another big goal, and I’m excited to experiment with my nutrition strategy to see if I can avoid the pitfalls of this past event!
Links & Resources:

Trail runs by Inside Trail Racing (including Rodeo Valley and Mt Tam)
Follow Inside Trail Racing on Instagram and Facebook

Other Announcements:

Please show your support by leaving a rating and/or review on Apple Podcasts
Music Credit: Joseph McDade
Photo Credit: Let’s Wander Photography
Have nutrition questions, a guest or topic request, or any other feedback? Email me - eatforendurance@gmail.com.
Disclaimer – all information provided is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is in no way meant to replace individual medical and nutrition recommendations

Want to get in touch? Send Claire a message!

Support the show

Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram and Facebook (@eatforendurance).

Athlete Nutrition Profile - Legendary Ultrarunner, Professor, and Race Director, Dr. David Horton Aug 11, 2022

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 50 of the Eat for Endurance Podcast! Today we have a real legend in the endurance world - Dr. David Horton. You may already know of “Horty” if you are well versed in your ultra running history, or if you happen to have run one of the many many races he has directed. Or maybe you’ve heard of something called “Horton miles,” one his signature quotes, like “It never always gets worse,” or read about him in Scott Jurek’s book, “North.”
If not, David is a Professor of Health Sciences at Liberty University, the Race Director of Hellgate 100k and Promiseland 50k, and an accomplished ultra runner (now ultra endurance cyclist after knee replacement surgery). He started ultra running in the late 1970s, and since then has competed in over 160 ultras with 40 wins, including in the iconic JFK 50 and Hardrock 100 mile runs. David also is one of 15 finishers of the infamous Barkleys Marathon. He set speed records on the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Coast Trail, and ran one of the fastest times across America. He has spread his passion for running and endurance sports to so many of his students and other athletes over his 43 years of teaching, and I give him credit for inspiring me to enter my first 50 miler (JFK 50) right after we met back in 2015.
We had a very impromptu but great conversation that spanned a variety of topics - nutrition of course being first and foremost but we got into plenty of other stuff that I think you’ll enjoy. He has a wonderful sense of humor, is known for speaking his mind, and was really fun to have on the show.
So without further ado, please enjoy my conversation with ultrarunner, professor, and Race Director, Dr. David Horton.

Links & Resources:

David Horton, Liberty University
Follow on Facebook

Other Announcements:

Please show your support by leaving a rating and/or review on Apple Podcasts (or wherever you listen)
Music Credit: Joseph McDade
Have nutrition questions, a guest or topic request, or any other feedback? Email me - eatforendurance@gmail.com.
Disclaimer – all information provided is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is in no way meant to replace individual medical and nutrition recommendations

Want to get in touch? Send Claire a message!

Support the show

Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram and Facebook (@eatforendurance).

Ask Me Anything #4 Aug 04, 2022

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 49 of the Eat for Endurance Podcast, and my fourth Ask Me Anything episode! It’s been well over a year since I’ve done one of these (yikes!) so this was long overdue.

Thank you to everyone who submitted questions. We covered a variety of topics, including:

Counting macros vs eating intuitively for athletes
Fueling workouts for a Type 2 Diabetic runner
The risks/consequences of fasted running
Maintenance fueling (e.g. when volume reduces after a training cycle)
Fueling for early morning runs
Nutrition for teens
Best electrolyte beverages
Eating to prepare for a long run
Sodium in foods vs sports drinks
Fueling for running while pregnant or postpartum

Many of these topics were quite large (i.e. deserved their own episodes) so I wasn't able to fully answer them all, but hopefully my responses were helpful! Please see below for links to a prior episode and a chart that I mentioned in the show, to further answer the relevant questions.
If you have any follow up or new questions for future Ask Me Anything episodes, please to do not hesitate to get in touch. I promise I won't wait so long this time to answer them!

Links & Resources related to these questions:

Episode 7 - Fueling Young Athletes with Lauren Antonucci
Helpful chart comparing various electrolyte drinks, developed by Eleat Sports Nutrition
Stay tuned for an upcoming interview on hydration/electrolytes with Andy Blow from Precision Hydration
Recent Perfect Stride PT blog post, covering some of the above topics: "Nutrition for Endurance Athletes: Q&A with Claire Shorenstein"

Announcements:

Please help me grow the show by SUBSCRIBING if you're enjoying these episodes, and rate/review if you have a minute!
If you can afford to donate a few bucks to help support the show financially, please visit my Patreon page
You can also support me by visiting my Amazon storefront
Have nutrition questions, a guest or topic request, or any other feedback? Email me - claire@eatforendurance.com.
Music Credit: Joseph McDade
Disclaimer – all information provided is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is in no way meant to replace individual medical and nutrition recommendations. If you'd like to work with me for individualized nutrition support, please reach out!

Want to get in touch? Send Claire a message!

Support the show

Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram and Facebook (@eatforendurance).

My Nutrition Story - Sports Dietitian and Recreational Runner, Claire Shorenstein Mar 24, 2022

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 48 of the Eat for Endurance Podcast, featuring…yours truly! Somewhat spontaneously, I decided to do something different in this episode - spend some solo time with my mic and ask myself all the usual questions I throw at my guests!
I’m obviously not an elite athlete, so if you’re here for the big names and the RD interviews, feel free to skip this one. But if you’re curious to learn more about me and my own (very windy) nutrition/life story, then give it a listen. You’ll learn a lot about me that you didn’t know - and perhaps something will resonate with you.
I usually do a ton of prep for my interviews, but this one was completely unplanned and from the heart. It really was a “let’s do this in a single take and see what comes out of my mouth” situation! I hit record, talked until I had nothing left to say, hit stop, and now am publishing it with only a little sound editing. I rambled at times - and like many of my guests, I strayed from nutrition many times too. I shared parts of my past (and present) that I haven’t fully shared publicly before - not that I was trying to hide anything, but I had only shared bits and pieces. Probably because social media has just become less and less appealing to me, and podcasting feels more natural and conducive to opening up.
Just to give a sense of some of the things that I discuss:

Growing up in Santa Cruz, as a fairly unathletic kid
Discovering running through my high school XC team at age 15
Food & body image struggles in high school and beyond
My musical background / identity, which I pretty much left behind at age 22 (I have a Masters in Oboe Performance)
Struggles with anxiety, depression, disordered eating, and a very unhealthy relationship with exercise as a young adult
Solo travel in South America at age 25 - to try to break free of the above
Falling back in love with running (and discovering distance running) while living in London
Going back to grad school (NYU) for nutrition at age 30 to become an RD
My sports nutrition strategies for marathons and ultras - both what I used to do (which is embarrassing) and what I do now (much better)
Pregnancy and motherhood - how that changed everything
Postpartum anxiety and depression
Everyday nutrition and performance nutrition (fav products)
Where things stand now & what's on the horizon

I'm not going to lie - it feels a little scary to hit publish on this one, but I want to put it out there. If anything resonates and you'd like to reach out, you know where to find me! As always, thanks for the support.

Announcements:

Please show your support by leaving a rating and/or review on iTunes or wherever you listen to podcasts
Music Credit: Joseph McDade
Have nutrition questions, a guest or topic request, or any other feedback? Email me - eatforendurance@gmail.com.
Disclaimer – all information provided is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is in no way meant to replace individual medical and nutrition recommendations

Want to get in touch? Send Claire a message!

Support the show

Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram and Facebook (@eatforendurance).

Fueling Epic Rides: Ultra Endurance Cycling with Lael Wilcox Mar 03, 2022

Show notes

Welcome to Episode 47 of the Eat for Endurance Podcast, featuring one of the greatest ultra-endurance cyclists of all time, Lael Wilcox!

Lael has been redefining what's possible on two wheels since she started racing in 2014. After years of bike touring around the world, she quickly became a dominant force in ultra-distance cycling. Her achievements are nothing short of jaw-dropping:

2015 – Smashed the Women’s record in the Tour Divide (2,745 miles), despite battling bronchitis.
2015 (again!) – Rode the entire Tour Divide solo right after finishing—just to prove she could go even faster.
2016 – Overall winner of the Trans Am Bike Race (4,200 miles across the U.S.).
2017 & 2020 – Rode 4,500 miles across Alaska, her home state.
2018 – Second overall in the Navad 1000 (1,000 km with nearly 100,000 feet of climbing in the Swiss Alps).
2019 – Second overall in the Silk Road Mountain Race (1,800 km through Kyrgyzstan).
And countless other incredible endurance feats.

The logistics of planning and executing nutrition for these self-supported, solo races is just mind-blowing. In this episode, Lael shares her approach to fueling and recovering from these grueling adventures, plus plenty of fun and inspiring stories along the way.

What We Cover in This Episode:

Lael’s transition from XC, marathon, and ultra running to cycling
Her food and travel adventures while bike touring the world
How she fuels for ultra-endurance bike racing—before, during, and after events
Her strategies for recovery and everyday nutrition between races
The story behind GRIT (Girls Riding Into Tomorrow), her bike mentorship program for young women
And so much more

Lael is my first ultra-endurance cyclist on the podcast, and I had an absolute blast talking with her. Whether you’re a cyclist or not, you’ll be inspired by her energy, passion, and approach to fueling adventure.

Links & Resources: