Route Fuel Blog
Guides and tips for endurance athletes
Practical advice on training, fueling, and racing.
Training
What A Hundred Miles Teaches You That A Good Week Never Will
Training for an ultra and racing one compress the slow lessons of a whole life into a single season. Here is what the long build, the bad patch at kilometre 70, and the walk to the finish actually teach you.
Training
The Sport That Fixes What It Breaks: Ultra Running and Mental Health
Ultra running asks a lot of your mind before it gives anything back. Here is what the research and the experience of long-distance runners say about why so many of us keep coming back to the start line.
Race Nutrition
Fat Burns Slowly. Carbs Burn Fast. Your Race Depends on Knowing the Difference.
Your body is always burning a mix of fat and carbohydrate. The ratio shifts with intensity, and understanding that shift is the difference between a fuel plan that works and one that falls apart when it matters most.
Training
Your Brain Gives Up Before Your Legs Do
Central nervous system fatigue is not about fitness. It is about the signals your brain sends when it decides the cost of continuing is too high. Here is what is actually happening, and what you can do about it.
Race Nutrition
Why Your Body's Own Fuel Runs Out and What to Do Before It Does
Your body stores enough glycogen to take you so far. After that, what you consume is all you have. Here is how endogenous and exogenous carbohydrate use works in practice during an ultramarathon.
Race Nutrition
The DNF You Could Have Prevented: The Mental Cost of a Fuelling Failure
A DNF stays with you. But most race withdrawals caused by bonking, cramping, or gut issues are not inevitable. They are the cost of not having a plan.
Race Nutrition
The Difference Between Finishing and Bonking at Kilometre 60
Most race blow-ups are not fitness failures. They are fuelling failures. Here is what goes wrong and what you should have done instead.
Race Nutrition
The Aid Station Strategy Most Trail Runners Get Wrong
Most runners treat aid stations as pit stops. The fastest athletes treat them as fuel decisions made weeks before race day. Here is how to plan yours.
Race nutrition
Why Carbs Matter and How Ratios Change Everything
Carbohydrates are the primary fuel for endurance racing. But not all carbs work the same way, and the ratio you use can be the difference between a strong finish and a very long walk.
Race day
Why Your Support Crew Can Make or Break Your Race
A well-prepped crew is one of the most underrated performance advantages in endurance sport. Here is what separates a crew that helps you thrive from one that costs you time and energy.
General training tips
The Training Mistake Most Endurance Athletes Make
More miles won't fix everything. Here's what most endurance athletes overlook and why addressing it changes how you train and race.