When it comes to nutrition advice for endurance running, Scott Jurek and Geoff Roes aren’t bad people to go to. Jurek, a 7-time Western States 100 Mile Endurance Race winner, and Roes, Wasatch 100 course record holder, have tried and tested techniques to manage nutrition and optimise performance preparation for years. Here are some of their handy tips.

What Scott says

Increase your speed: 30 days out from a race, think about tempo sessions instead of increasing your weekly mileage.

Get social: Run a 5km or 10km race with a group of people who normally go faster than you do. The competition will mix up long runs and put you into a different race pace to the one you usually find comfortable.

Perk up: Increase caffeine intake a week before the race if you expect to be loading up around race day.

Hit the gym: Core, back and leg strength should supplement cardio. But around 2 weeks before race day, aim to maintain body composition instead of working on strength training.

Geoff’s tips

Do your tests: Figure out which fuel gives you a sustained amount of energy. Taste and chewability matter here.

Snacking: Insert 2-3 snacks per day between meals (nuts, fruits, seeds, vegetables, cheese).

Strength & Endurance: Around 3 months out from a race, go on long-runs, cross-train and strength train to help build aerobic base fitness.

Volume v. Pace: About six weeks out from a race, decrease volume and increase pace and effort. At 10 days out, rest and keep healthy instead of putting in serious distance or speed training.

Sleep: Make this a focus 2 weeks out from a race.

Simplicity:  Ensure that you have your race prepared 24 hours before the start line, then take that final period as a mental break before the gun goes off.

Find out more about Scott Jurek and his nutrition tips at scottjurek.com