How to Fuel for a 24-Hour Endurance Event
A 24-hour race is a long conversation between effort, food, hydration and decision-making. Your legs matter, but so does your ability to keep taking in useful energy when the course is dark, your appetite has faded and every aid station looks familiar. The goal is steady output rather than heroic eating early.
Fueling needs to be practical enough for real conditions. An Australian trail race may begin in cool dawn air, turn hot by midday and finish with a cold night in the Blue Mountains or Victorian high country. A plan that works in a controlled training session can unravel when heat, sleep deprivation and repetitive food choices arrive together.
Build Your Fuel Plan Before Race Day
Start with a target for carbohydrate rather than relying on hunger. Many athletes can work towards roughly 60–90 grams of carbohydrate per hour during a 24-hour event, though the right amount depends on body size, intensity, gut tolerance and previous training. A lower starting range is sensible if you have mostly used sports drinks and occasional gels.
Practise this intake during long runs, brick sessions and overnight training. Test the actual products you expect to use: gels, chews, rice cakes, sandwiches, bananas, soft drink or savoury snacks. Australian supermarkets make it easy to assemble a varied race menu, while specialist shops and race expos often stock concentrated products. Do not leave your nutrition choices until packet pickup.
Break the race into manageable blocks, such as four hours or one lap. Carry a small menu for each block and make a note of what is available at aid stations. This prevents decision fatigue at 2 am and gives you permission to change foods when your stomach needs a different texture or flavour.
Combine Carbohydrate, Fluids and Salt
Carbohydrate supplies the most direct energy for running, but fluid and sodium help determine whether that energy can be used comfortably. Drink according to thirst and conditions rather than forcing a fixed volume. In a hot Western Australian or Queensland race, fluid needs may rise sharply; on a cool Tasmanian night, overdrinking can be a bigger risk than mild thirst.
Sodium losses vary widely, so avoid treating electrolyte capsules as a universal solution. Use the nutrition information on your drink mix, consider how salty your sweat is and account for the weather. A sports drink can provide both fluid and carbohydrate, while water is useful alongside solid food or concentrated gels. The best plan is flexible enough to respond to heat, pace and stomach comfort.
| Fuel option | Useful role | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Sports drink | Regular carbohydrate and fluid | Can become tiring when used exclusively |
| Gels | Compact energy during running | Needs water for some products; flavour fatigue |
| Bananas or rice cakes | Familiar, softer food | Availability and handling in hot weather |
| Sandwiches or wraps | Savoury variety during long hours | Dry texture if you are underhydrated |
| Lollies or cola | Quick carbohydrate late in the race | Low nutritional variety and energy spikes |
| Broth or noodles | Warm, salty food overnight | May be difficult to digest while moving fast |
Use endurance notes to keep a record of what worked across long sessions. Write down temperature, duration, approximate carbohydrate, fluid, sodium and stomach symptoms. The pattern across several efforts is more useful than one perfect day.
Match Food to the Race Rhythm
Early in the event, eat before you feel hungry. A small amount every 20–30 minutes is often easier than waiting for a full meal-sized opportunity. Set a watch reminder if necessary, then reduce or pause the alarm when the plan becomes automatic. Running smoothly through the first six hours is a chance to protect your future self.
As the hours pass, change texture and taste before nausea becomes severe. Sweet gels may work early, then give way to a small potato, a vegemite sandwich, pretzels, noodles or broth. If you are walking hills, use that slower section to chew something substantial. Aid stations at Australian ultras may offer a mixture of race-provided food and runner supplies, but availability can vary between events, so carry a reliable baseline.
Overnight, warm and familiar options often become more appealing. Caffeine can help alertness, but use it deliberately and account for your normal tolerance. A coffee at midnight may be useful for some runners, while a strong dose late in the event can increase jitters or upset an already sensitive stomach. Keep the main focus on carbohydrate and tolerable food, not stimulants.
Simple Checks That Prevent Mistakes
A useful race plan should be simple enough to follow while tired. Put quantities in drop bags, label them by time or lap and tell your support crew what to offer first. If your event is in a place such as the Glass House Mountains, the You Yangs or the Blue Mountains, rehearse carrying and collecting food on terrain that resembles the course.
Use these checks before the start:
- Pack at least two reliable carbohydrate options.
- Include one savoury food and one soft, easy-to-swallow option.
- Mark caffeine products separately from ordinary fuel.
- Carry a backup drink or gel for delays between aid stations.
Watch for these signs during the event:
- A sudden drop in pace with no clear muscular cause.
- Irritability, poor decisions or unusual difficulty concentrating.
- Sloshing, repeated vomiting or an inability to drink comfortably.
- Dark urine combined with dizziness, weakness or confusion.
A missed snack is easy to correct; a long period of under-fueling takes more time to repair. If your stomach is unsettled, reduce intensity, switch to small sips and tiny bites, and avoid trying to catch up with a large dose. Serious confusion, collapse, persistent vomiting or suspected heat illness requires medical attention rather than a nutrition experiment.
Treat Fueling as an Endurance Skill
The strongest strategy is the one you can repeat under pressure. Training the gut means gradually increasing carbohydrate intake while running, learning how much water different products need and discovering which foods remain appealing after ten or fifteen hours. It also means practising the decisions around food: when to stop, what to change and how to restart after a difficult patch.
Review the event without judging the plan by the finish time alone. Record when you stopped eating, what caused it, which foods remained welcome and whether your fluid strategy matched the weather. A hot Melbourne day, a humid coastal course and a dry inland race will all create different demands. Your notes should help you build a range of responses rather than a rigid script.
The key memory to carry forward is simple: begin fueling early, take in carbohydrate consistently, drink to conditions and keep changing flavours before your stomach rebels. In a 24-hour event, durable energy comes from many small, sensible choices repeated through the night.