Long Term Training Principle #5 of 6: Eat well

Here at South Bank Runners we want all our members to keep doing what they love and make running part of their life’s. To help ensure all our members stay running head coach Chris Hand has laid out his long term training principles to keep you running injury free. 

Follow along for the whole Six part series on successful training.

Missed the first principles? Read those first here:

LTTP #1: Consistency
LTTP #2: Be Patient
LTTP #3: Warm up and cool down
LTTP #4: Don’t get injured


Welcome to Principle #5 - just one more principle to go and you will be a running rock star!

Principle #5: Eat well

Now that you are lean mean running machine it’s time to make sure you are using top quality fuel for that engine. I am not a nutritionist but I do have an IG account called @run4theburgers so that means you should 100% trust me with your dietary advice! 

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With 513,000,000 results on google for “Running Diet” its no wonder people get confused when it comes to running and food. I would recommend you stop endlessly searching for the ultimate advice when it comes to food and running and stick with the basics.

Simply apply common sense and eat a well balanced diet. That means lots of grains, fruits, vegetables and lean meats. Check out the Healthy Eating plate for a simple break down.

Don’t be scared of carbs, as a runner carbs are now your best friend. They are the difference between feeling like you are completely drained or full of energy. Carbs are converted to Glycogen which is used directly as fuel by your muscles and what you need to ensure you can run consistently day in and day out. Carbs can even be simple sugars, as you run more you will burn these off quickly and it’s better to eat a bit of junk than to bonk during a run.

Just remember, everything in moderation. A few lollies after a run is OK, a whole bag - maybe not so much. Always have healthy whole food snacks on hand like fruit and nuts to avoid post run binge sessions. 

I wouldn’t advise against eating anything on a day to day basis but there are definitely Foods to avoid before a run... from many personal horrific, too vulgar to share experiences:

  • Red meat

    I am the #1 advocate of a tasty burger filled with perfectly cooked medium-rare beef, but believe me - save it for the post run treat. Beef has a tendency to sit in your stomach until it all suddenly wants to come out…10 minutes into your run and 30 minutes away from a restroom.

  • Dairy

    Ice cream, cheese, milk are all a big no no before any kind of exercise…  Even if you are not a lactard, lactose itself is a difficult sugar for the body to break down and is best avoided before a run.

  • Beetroot juice

    You can read up on all the supposedly amazing benefits on beetroot juice but unless you want to have a mild heart attack after a toilet stop, then best to skip it...

  • Anything you normally wouldn’t have

    Don’t suddenly decide to try washing down a whole grain salmon bagel with a cup of pickle juice because you read an article the night before the run, just eat what you normally would to avoid an upset stomach. 

And most importantly, make sure you are getting enough iron in your diet. Iron is a major component of hemoglobin, the transport agent for oxygen in the blood. It is also present in muscles in the form of myoglobin. For transport of oxygen to function properly, an adequate level of iron must be available. I know… that’s a lot of new words and science is hard, but in layman’s terms:

Lots of iron = happy muscles, happy runner.
Not enough iron = Muscles no work, runner no work.

The body absorbs about 25 percent of the iron in beef, poultry and fish, but only a small fraction (about 3 to 15 percent) of the iron from grains, vegetables and supplements. Iron deficiency can impact anyone, not just childbearing aged vegetarian woman! If you are man, woman or non-binary and you consistently feel flat, it’s more than likely time to see a doctor and check those iron levels.



In summary, I can’t give you exact dietary advice as everyone is different and every runner will have different needs (and also I eat way too many burgers to give any one any advice). What I will say is diet is incredibly important for runners and one of the biggest improvement gains to be tapped into if you can get it right. Forget the next $500 Nike shoes promising a paltry 4% gain, the right diet could boost performance by as much as 50%* (I totally made that up).

A quick recap, my Top 5 tips on food and running:

  1. Eat everything in moderation

  2. Maintain a well balanced diet

  3. Eat all the carbs before, during and after running

  4. Avoid red meat, dairy, anything new before going for a run

  5. Eat a high iron diet - or supplement if you have to (Iron cookies anyone?)

Good luck and eat well!

The next post is out LAST principle and will take a look the non-running side of running… Confused? You won’t be tomorrow.

I hope you are finding these principles helpful and I wish you all the best in your future running!

Chris Hand,

Head Coach and President,
South Bank Runners.

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