{"id":162605,"date":"2020-09-21T12:28:04","date_gmt":"2020-09-21T19:28:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=162605"},"modified":"2020-09-21T12:28:04","modified_gmt":"2020-09-21T19:28:04","slug":"the-grocery-store-aid-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/run\/the-grocery-store-aid-station","title":{"rendered":"The Grocery Store Aid Station"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note: Please consult the <\/em>CDC<\/em><\/a>\u00a0or your state health department for information related to the COVID-19 pandemic. When spending time outdoors, please <\/em>recreate responsibly<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Among the many things the pandemic has impacted is this summer\u2019s trail race season, but it\u2019s birthed a bunch of homemade and virtual running events. Registered holistic nutritionist Sarah Cuff,<\/a> a runner herself who works with competitive recreational runners, says 60 percent of her 20 or so clients carried on with virtual racing, so if you\u2019ve still been training, you\u2019re not alone. Whether you\u2019re attempting a Fastest Known Time (FKT) of the Colorado Trail or tackling a 10K on your local trail network, you\u2019re going to need food, and in the time of COVID-19, you\u2019re most likely going to have to carry it with you.<\/p>\n

So how do you feed yourself when you\u2019re \u201cracing\u201d solo and aid stations are a thing of pre-pandemic times? What\u2019s the best real food that\u2019s small and dense enough to pack when you\u2019re out for a long time?<\/p>\n

Nutrition is highly personal, and everyone\u2019s gastrointestinal tract responds differently to mileage and meals. Just because dried fruit agrees with your friend, doesn\u2019t mean it will sit well in your stomach. But, as registered dietitian and running coach Claire Shorenstein<\/a> says, there\u2019s no better time to experiment than now, when official races are off the table. So, let\u2019s go grocery shopping.<\/p>\n

\"Runner<\/p>\n

10K or less<\/strong><\/h4>\n

As a baseline, both Shorenstein and Cuff say hydration<\/a> is the first, most important step to nutrition on any kind of run. If they\u2019re running for over an hour, they like going out with water and a sports drink with salt and electrolytes. Food-wise, as a general guideline, they say you should be eating 30 to 60 grams of carbs per hour if you\u2019re out for less than four hours. Eat in the 60- to 90-gram range for longer runs. That broadly breaks down to about 100 calories every 25 to 30 minutes. For shorter runs (generally under an hour and a half), you can usually rely on easy-to-digest sugar, like dried fruit\u2014Shorenstein likes dates\u2014or gummy candies and other small sweets. Cuff says she generally avoids processed foods, but when you\u2019re racing, they can be easier to digest because they\u2019re already processed, and if you\u2019re treating your \u201craces\u201d as special occasions you don\u2019t need to be as worried about health impacts. \u201cBecause your body is doing so much work, your digestive system isn\u2019t working like normal, so we want to give our bodies foods that are easy to digest,\u201d Cuff says. \u201cAs a holistic nutritionist, I\u2019m not going to tell you to eat gummy bears all the time, but there\u2019s a time and place for processed candy. We\u2019re taught sugar is evil, but that\u2019s not really true. As athletes, sugar is not necessarily a bad thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Food Ideas:<\/strong><\/p>\n