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What an elite ultramarathoner eats in a day

The very long and calorie-dense list of foods Camille Herron consumes to fuel her training

Camille Herron is the 24-hour world record holder, and, most recently, the Black Canyon 100K champion. The Colorado-based athlete runs a lot (up to four hours a day) and has to fuel properly to sustain that huge training load.

RELATED: Why Camille Herron fuels ultras with Taco Bell

Herron says that her diet is similar to when she was racing marathons. The biggest difference is how hungry she becomes post-race. She also gives credit to her husband who’s the grocery shopper in the house.

“Because of him I don’t have to think about food so much,” she says. “We live down the street from the grocery store—which is convenient.”

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Breakfast

Breakfast for Herron is a slice of toast with butter and jam, coffee with sugar and coconut milk, and a banana. She says she tries to run within an hour or two of breakfast, but if her run starts late she’ll have an energy bar and a second cup of coffee before she heads out.

Morning run

Her morning run is usually her longest of the day, between 90 minutes and three hours.

“I only take in fuel if it’s a harder workout. My fuel would be two gels and some sports drink.” While Herron doesn’t fuel as much on training runs, she says she’s taking in calories every 30 minutes when she races.

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Post-run snack

Herron’s post-run snack is usually a smoothie or bowl of oatmeal within 30 minutes of finishing her run. If she has a smoothie it’ll include: mixed berries, spinach, a raw egg, orange juice, flax seed, wheat germ, chia seeds, ice cream and a pinch of salt.

If she opts for oatmeal, that’s made with brown sugar, walnuts, wheat germ, chia seeds and honey.

Lunch

Lunch is usually leftovers from the night before.

“For example, yesterday I had leftover spaghetti. Another thing I’ll have is bacon, potatoes and eggs. I eat potatoes almost everyday.”

Afternoon snacks

For an afternoon snack, Herron will have some trail mix or chocolate before taking a nap. Once she wakes up, she’ll have some toast with Nutella and get ready for run number two.

Evening run

Herron’s evening run is usually 50 minutes to an hour long. Right after, she’ll drink some chocolate soy milk while her husband prepares dinner.

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Dinner

Dinner for Herron is usually a meat with two vegetables and a starch like rice, pasta or potatoes. The runner says she’ll also have either a beer or a Coke (decaf) and whiskey. For dessert, she likes mochi ice cream.

Pre-race nutrition

When Herron is carb loading before a race, she focuses on simple carbohydrates.

“I’ll drink a lot of juice and soda with my meals and I’m more conscious of making my diet simple-carb heavy.”

Up next for the runner are the 50 mile U.S. Trail Championships on March 14, but first she’ll be closely watching this weekend’s U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. Her picks for the team are Leonard Korir, Galen Rupp and Jared Ward on the men’s side and Jordan Hasay, Sara Hall and Emily Sisson for the women.

RELATED: Camille Herron breaks her own world record (unofficially) at 24-Hour World Championships

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