This Sunday, August 16th, I'm running the Marlette Lake 50k and I come to the H&F board for advice.

This was sort of an impulse race registration. I've done a fair amount of hiking and trail running/hiking since moving out here last summer. And about 3 weeks ago I did a 20 mile run/hike along the route of this race, completely unaware that this race even existed. I discovered this race when I was studying the route that I took after that run. I was able to finish that 20 mile run in about 4.5 hours.

Because of that training run, I believe that I can finish the race somewhere around 7.5 hours, but I'm not setting any kind of time goal for a few reasons. 1) I know that I am going into this under-trained; I don't have the mileage base to really perform well, and 2) the course is difficult enough that I'm worried that pushing myself towards some arbitrary time goal would likely prevent me from finishing at all. So, my only goal is to finish.

My general plan is to walk the uphills and jog the downhills. That's what I did on that 20 miler and it worked out well. My main questions are in regards to nutrition. For that 20 mile run, I started with a camelback full of gatorade, and refilled it with water about half-way in. This race will have 5 aid stations, so I plan to carry the same camelback and refill it at each station. But I don't really know if I should be drinking gatorade or water, when or how much to eat, what to eat (real food, not just energy gels)?

I've been doing a bit of reading leading up to the race and the common recommendation is to take in ~250 calories per hour, mostly of simple carbs. That can be done pretty easily with just gels, but I don't really want to subsist on a diet of gels all day.

Anyway, any advice you guys can offer an ultra-rookie on nutrition, race planning/strategy, or whatever would be really helpful.

Edit: I should have put in a little more background. I'm definitely new to ultras and trail running, but I do have 5 marathons about about a dozen half marathons under my belt, so I basically know what I'm getting myself into. However, this will be pushing the limits for the amount of time spent on my feet, and I know I'm lacking on my nutrition knowledge. Those 2 factors are what concern me most.

Checkout tailwind nutrition. I've been using it on my long training runs and so far really like it. Do you have a hydration vest? Lots of ultra runners prefer those over camelbacks. But it's up to you.

This late in the game I would look at a past marathon and use that as a guide for nutrition. Trying a new product on raceday is asking for problems. But if you do go that route I would at least taste it before the day of.

I'm of the opinion that a 50k isn't much different than a marathon.

50K can be very different than a marathon, especially when you head off road. 5 miles could easily take 2+ hours.

I agree with not deviating too much from what I did at the marathons. But I'm worried that if I just drink water and eat gels, I'm going to get physically hungry and bonk after being out there for 6 hours instead of 3.5-4 hours for a marathon.

I don't have a hydration vest. For this I plan on just using the camelback and stuffing the pouch with gels and/or granola bars.

Hence comparing it to a trail marathon. Pikes peak marathon ~ similar to a 50k.

Sorry, you didn't specify trail marathon, so hence my comment.

It sounds like you'll have aid stations every 3 - 5 miles. Unless this is a constant uphill grinder burning lots of energy, I'd probably down a gel (120 cal) every 45 minutes and then munch on whatever food they have at the aid stations. Maybe a PB&J or banana. Start off with water or a caloric mix drink and then dilute with gatorade at subsequent aid stations. At that distance I'd be running with a hand bottle especially with that many aid stations.

Thanks, Dave. That sounds good to me.

Here's a course profile: http://www.strava.com/activities/146715370

The course has 2 big climbs, each followed by long downhill sections. From 20-25 mi is basically flat, and that's a section that I've run before. Then a small climb and a downhill finish for 4 miles.

I get what you mean with the hand bottle, but I hate carrying stuff in my hands when I'm running. I've been using this camelback for a while now, and I feel comfortable with it.

handheld is also nice for when you fall.

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handheld is also nice for when you fall.

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And easy to hold if you're crewing.

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The course has 2 big climbs, each followed by long downhill sections. From 20-25 mi is basically flat, and that's a section that I've run before. Then a small climb and a downhill finish for 4 miles.

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Maybe make that 2 gels per hour. That's a tad bit more elevation and profile than you're old haunting grounds.

My SPI Belt is going to be bursting at the seams with gels!

You may want to contact the organizer to see what gels they'll have at the aid stations. You may not have to carry that many.

15.5 miles in. 15:20 pace. At the top of the 2nd big climb.

Finished in 7:52. That's was brutal. Temps were above 80 for the afternoon and hiking those climbs in that heat was terrible. I was drinking all the water and Gatorade that I could but it never really quenched my thirst. I was just sweating it all out and it also tasted warm after about 5 minutes of being in the camelback.

I'll post more later, but for now I'm going to crush a Caniac combo and fall asleep on the couch watching baseball.

Congrats on the finish.

That route looks awesome. Congrats on the result. I can't wait to take a hiking trip out that way again.

congrats!