Diet & Hydration
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The best diet for running cross country consists of a ratio of protein, fat, carbohydrates, and iron. This mix enables a runner’s body to operate at peak performance.
Iron: Diet should include iron rich foods. Iron helps produce red blood cells and carry oxygen throughout the body. This is essential to keep your endurance. Iron rich foods include: meat, poultry, fish, leafy green vegetables, beans, whole wheat bread, baked potatoes, raw carrots, lettuce, and peas.
Carbohydrates: The main source of energy in 800m to 10,000m races. You will have more endurance with ample amounts of carbohydrates stored in your body. A diet that includes bread, cereal, pasta, bagels (cinnamon raisin, preferably), pancakes, waffles, white rice, nuts (almonds, peanuts, and sunflower seeds), and various snacks (popcorn, potato chips, and tortilla chips) is ideal for long distance runners.
Protein: Meat, eggs, and low-fat dairy products are a good source of protein. Studies show that 15% of your calories should come from protein sources. Protein is essential for muscle repair and recovery. Fruits highest in protein include: bananas, raisins, cherries, and grapes.
Fats: Don’t fear the fats! If you run for one hour or more, your body will turn to fats for most of its energy. XC runners must train their bodies to efficiently utilize fat for energy. To do this, you must consume good fats - polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats. These are found in olive oil, fish, and vegetable oil. Avoid bad fats, like trans fats and fatty red meat.
Morning Races: Breakfast: cereal and milk, toast w/ jelly, pancakes w/syrup, and/ or a small amount of bacon and butter. NO BAGELS IN THE MORNING UNLESS EATEN THREE HOURS BEFORE RACE TIME. It takes approximately 3 hours to digest a bagel. They’re great for after a race, but not before.
Afternoon Races: Pasta (digests easily)
Remember the types of foods that you ate prior to a race in which you did well - stick to them.
IT HAS BEEN PROVEN (CORNELL UNIVERSITY STUDY) THAT RAISINS ARE A GREAT SOURCE OF ENERGY BEFORE A RACE. CHOCOLATE MILK IS ONE OF THE BEST SOURCES OF ENERGY FOR RECOVERY.
Iron: Diet should include iron rich foods. Iron helps produce red blood cells and carry oxygen throughout the body. This is essential to keep your endurance. Iron rich foods include: meat, poultry, fish, leafy green vegetables, beans, whole wheat bread, baked potatoes, raw carrots, lettuce, and peas.
Carbohydrates: The main source of energy in 800m to 10,000m races. You will have more endurance with ample amounts of carbohydrates stored in your body. A diet that includes bread, cereal, pasta, bagels (cinnamon raisin, preferably), pancakes, waffles, white rice, nuts (almonds, peanuts, and sunflower seeds), and various snacks (popcorn, potato chips, and tortilla chips) is ideal for long distance runners.
Protein: Meat, eggs, and low-fat dairy products are a good source of protein. Studies show that 15% of your calories should come from protein sources. Protein is essential for muscle repair and recovery. Fruits highest in protein include: bananas, raisins, cherries, and grapes.
Fats: Don’t fear the fats! If you run for one hour or more, your body will turn to fats for most of its energy. XC runners must train their bodies to efficiently utilize fat for energy. To do this, you must consume good fats - polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats. These are found in olive oil, fish, and vegetable oil. Avoid bad fats, like trans fats and fatty red meat.
Morning Races: Breakfast: cereal and milk, toast w/ jelly, pancakes w/syrup, and/ or a small amount of bacon and butter. NO BAGELS IN THE MORNING UNLESS EATEN THREE HOURS BEFORE RACE TIME. It takes approximately 3 hours to digest a bagel. They’re great for after a race, but not before.
Afternoon Races: Pasta (digests easily)
Remember the types of foods that you ate prior to a race in which you did well - stick to them.
IT HAS BEEN PROVEN (CORNELL UNIVERSITY STUDY) THAT RAISINS ARE A GREAT SOURCE OF ENERGY BEFORE A RACE. CHOCOLATE MILK IS ONE OF THE BEST SOURCES OF ENERGY FOR RECOVERY.
Iron
It is important to understand the effects of a lot of running on iron/ferritin levels. The body will use up ferritin (iron reserves) first before drawing from the actual iron levels. Low ferritin levels can also be a sourse of problems. You may want to consider having blood drawn during your runners annual physical to check their iron and ferritin levels. Preferrably early in the summer conditioning, so that there is time to deal with any levels that are low, prior to the start of the actual season. Please do not supplement without a doctors supervision, as high iron levels can be very dangerous and improper supplementation can lead to bowel problems. Click to read more
Hydration
The runners will perform best if they hydrate daily. They should take a water bottle to school and drink throughout the day. Sports drinks are ok, but best saved for before and after a race, otherwise to much sugar is consumed. Runners should be sure to hydrate in the morning, prior to a race, to replace fluids lost while sleeping, but it best to stop drinking 2 hours prior races.
The daily water requirement is different for each runner, depending upon how much they sweat. To find out how much water you need to drink to stay hydrated, weigh yourself before and after a workout. For every pound you lose while training, drink sixteen ounces of water. Runners should drink until their urine is light yellow, not clear, not dark. In most cases, this equates to approximately 75%-100% of their weight in ounces each day and even more when the weather is extremely hot. If the runner weighs 100 pounds, they should be drinking at least 75-100 ounces of water each day.
Drinking too much plain water can dilute the sodium levels in the blood, causing hyponatremia. Symptoms of hyponatremia are naseau, muscle cramps, disorientation, slurred speach. Proper sodium/electrolyte levels are needed, in order for the body to actually absorb the water that the runner is drinking. Therefore, it is also important to replace electrolytes after runs.
The daily water requirement is different for each runner, depending upon how much they sweat. To find out how much water you need to drink to stay hydrated, weigh yourself before and after a workout. For every pound you lose while training, drink sixteen ounces of water. Runners should drink until their urine is light yellow, not clear, not dark. In most cases, this equates to approximately 75%-100% of their weight in ounces each day and even more when the weather is extremely hot. If the runner weighs 100 pounds, they should be drinking at least 75-100 ounces of water each day.
Drinking too much plain water can dilute the sodium levels in the blood, causing hyponatremia. Symptoms of hyponatremia are naseau, muscle cramps, disorientation, slurred speach. Proper sodium/electrolyte levels are needed, in order for the body to actually absorb the water that the runner is drinking. Therefore, it is also important to replace electrolytes after runs.
