We frequently spend our time picking apart what the professionals are doing and how they are doing it – but they make up a very small percentage of the athletes tackling the trail. While that information is interesting it’s also pretty clear that what applies to folks finishing in 20 hours might not be the same for folks further back in the field. To better examine this we decided to find runners who finished the recent 2024 UTMB World Series Final (all 107+ miles of it) in roughly 28 to 40 hours to learn how they fueled themselves while doing the big loop around the Mont Blanc.
28 Hours
Noor Van Der Veen from Arnhem, Holland finished in 27:57 – her UTMB index is 644 and she is in the W20-34 category. She wore a Rab Veil 6L vest to carry all of her stuff, which in this group of athletes is the smallest capacity vest we saw used. Helpful to many she made a schedule with splits for every aid station allowing her to calculate how much nutrition she had to carry between each crew-accessible aid station.
“I usually go for hot soup or broth with 2 or 3 pieces of bread, which I dip in the soup so I can eat them very quickly. The hot and salty soup plus the neutral taste of bread always makes my stomach feel better after all the sweet sports fuel. At night I also had a cup of tea with lots of sugar. During the hot afternoon, I took some watermelon at the aid stations. At Courmayeur, I had sushi with salty soy sauce. Also, at every crew-accessible aid station, I had a vanilla protein shake that I could easily drink within 30 seconds. One shake has 35 grams of carbs and 24 grams of protein (6.7 grams of BCAAs).
For this UTMB I experimented with many different kinds of brands and tastes to keep things interesting. I heavily rely on Precision Fuel gels, I took their big Flow packs of 90g of carbs, which I usually spread out over 2 or 3 fueling moments. I like SIS Beta Fuel Orange, the gels by Baouw and the Caramel Macchiato and Salted Caramel gels by GU. For higher caffeine gels I used Maurten. For chews I had Skratch, Santa Maria, Cliff Bloks, and Lemon + Mint by Precision Fuel. To settle the stomach I like to take baby food in pouches (usually something with oats My crew also carried cold soft drinks that were different from the ones offered by the race organization, like cold Orangina.”

Scott Cooper from Calgary, Alberta, Canada finished in 27:58 – he competes in M35-39 and has a UTMB index of 776. Scott ran with a Solomon ADV 12L running pack and a Compressport Free Belt to carry mandatory gear, nutrition, and hydration. He however did not get to see his crew until Champex-Lac and was thus mostly reliant on aid stations. Rumor has it that he was too fast for his crew and they missed him at the earlier check points – they however struggled to get there in time due to traffic, shuttles etc.
“I started with the Skratch High Carb product in both bottles then filled up with either water or Näak served on course. I drank both bottles between each checkpoint and then fully filled up. Getting in to checkpoints, I would immediately fill a bottle with Cola and chug this down before filling the bottles to continue along. I carried Spring Awesome Sauce (original recipe) and Clif Shot Salted Watermelon blocks as the core of my nutrition. Working around drop bags and support crew, I started with enough nutrition packed in my belt and vest to make it to Courmayeur around the halfway mark where I reloaded everything. I ate either an Awesome Sauce or half a pack of Shot Blocks every ~30min. At checkpoints, I would eat whatever looked appetizing at the time which included cheese, meats, bread, pretzels, watermelon, and soup. I also carried Snickers bars and typically always had one in my pack and would eat it as a bit of a treat after a long climb or when I was feeling low. When it was hotter and sunny I took a Salt Stick Electrolyte Cap every 2-4 hours. I also had Gravol Ginger Capsules every few hours to help with any nausea.”

32 Hours
Anna Ståhlkloo from Mora, Sweden finished in 32:43 winning the W45-49 age group – her UTMB index is 631. She started the race with 1080 calories in her Salomon Adv Skin 12L vest and also utilized a Salomon nutrition belt. Like many athletes Anna utilized a wide variety of sports nutrition products that she personally brought and products from along the course this included products from Näak gels and purees, Maurten drink mix and gels, bananas, and Gainomax Vanilla drink.
“My goal was to finish the race in 32-33 hours so I planned my energy with that as a base. I usually count calories per hour and not carbs, so I try to get to about 200 calories per hour.
In Courmayeur I had a cup of rice, drank some coca cola, and had another Gainomax Vanilla. In my vest my support added refill of water and the same combo of gels and puree from the same brands at a total of 1600 calorie, and from them on closer to 1000 calories but with the same brands. At every stop and water station along the way I refilled my bottles and had some cola. I only had sports drinks at the beginning of the race, for the rest I had water and cola. I ate approximately between 7500 and 8000 calories including drinks.”

Dusan Zadbrosky from Prague, Czech Republic finished in 32:36 – he competes in the M45-49 category with a UTMB index of 565. On race day Dusan had lunch around 2 PM, one of the hardest challenges of an evening start, and a croissant one hour before the race got underway. He planned to consume a Maurten 160 gel every 45 minutes and filled two 150mL Hydrapak soft flasks with the Maurten gel in his Compressport UltRun S Pack Evo 15L vest.
“In addition to the Maurten 160 gels, I had a cup of soup with pasta or rice at every aid station where available, and occasionally a small bite of cheese or watermelon. From Courmayeur to Champex-Lac, I didn’t feel particularly well, possibly due to the heat and altitude, so I avoided solid food and relied solely on gels and liquid nutrition. Once the sun set, I felt better, ate some cheese, had some soup, and kept pushing.
I drank Maurten 160 drink mix and, as it was mandatory to carry 2 liters of water this year, I left every crewed aid station with four 500ml Hydrapak soft flask bottles and I was supported by my family. At non-crewed aid stations, I replenished with Näak lime flavor drink mix. I drank water only if a sports drink wasn’t available. I had a cup of Coke at each aid station, and Red Bull from Champex-Lac onwards, totaling three 250ml cans. I spent a total of two hours at aid stations, using the restrooms and changing my clothes.”

36 Hours
Serena Eley from Seattle, WA finished in 36:46 – she competes in W40-44 with a UTMB index of 552. Before the start she had a banana, approximately 100 calories of nuts, and watered down Powerade. She utilized the Salomon Adv Skin 12L vest to carry a variety of sports nutrition including packets of Tailwind, S-caps and Nuun tablets, gels and chews. At each crew-accessible aid station she added two packets of Tailwind and peanut butter sandwiches to her pack. The crew also supplied her with potato flakes for mashed potatoes at two aid stations. She said that an error was eating too many pieces of watermelon at La Fouly – while tasty they didn’t provide enough energy to get up the next climb.
“I have a gluten allergy, so I needed to depend more on my own food than aid station food. Throughout the race, I took some salami from a few aid stations and an oat bar from one. Otherwise, I consumed watermelon at one aid station and drank Coke at a few aid stations. I refilled two water bottles with water, and added a pack of Tailwind that I carried to one bottle and a Nuun tablet to the other.
My goal was to consume far more liquid calories (Tailwind) than I had in previous races. I did a very good job of doing this and felt far more energetic from mile 70 onward than I had in my last two 100 milers. Additionally, I had a plan to consume a peanut butter sandwich or nuts if I was starting to get very hungry in between aid stations.”

Vincent Dufau from Côté de Saint Pied de Port, France finished in 35:51 – he competes in the M35-39 division with a UTMB index of 551. Like many others, Vincent Dufau used a Salomon Adv Skin 12L bag with two 500mL flasks. His goal was to get in roughly 62 grams of carbohydrates every hour and he almost exclusively used products from Decathlon to get there. He also added ham, sausage, or rice for some savory alternatives at various aid stations. He also utilized crew support to resupply him with gels and ISO drink mix at aid stations where it was allowed.
“I started the race with 6 flasks and had one flask of pure water, and one flask of ISO in front of the vest. The other flasks in the back of the bag I filled each with a Decathlon Peach ISO powder, but I didn’t fill with water until later. This way, when one in front is empty, I exchange it with the last one, and I put water in it at the next refill. I have implemented a strategy that works well on my training outings at 60g carbohydrates/hour up to 10 hours of training for 60km.
During the race my plan worked for 10 hours and then I started to suffer from the altitude, difficulty breathing, stomach aches, and found it hard to eat solid foods. So I had to adapt. I went to just one 22g gel every 2 hours but still tried to drink 20g/h of ISO drinks. For savory food I drank soup at each refreshment point.”

40 Hours
Elena Vera Kay from Mallorca, Spain finished in 42:48:23 – she is in the W50-54 division with a UTMB index of 505. She is one of the most experienced athletes with spoke with having completed UTMB and TDS three times each. Elena Vera Kay used a Salomon Adv Skin 12L vest, and in addition to two 500mL flasks she also had an empty bottle of Perrier in the back to satisfy the required 2 liter capacity of the hot weather kit. Outside of her sports nutrition, she carried five tablets of extended-release caffeine to take every 8 hours, and 12 tables of electrolytes to use every 3 hours.
“I eat a lot and very quickly, whatever I find at the refreshment stations. I don’t have assistance and I don’t even leave a life bag in Courmayeur. I’m a slow runner, but very fast at the refreshment stations. For example, I was only 2 minutes and 47 seconds in Courmayeur. Where others spend half an hour or more. I entered Courmayeur in position 1784 and left at 1428, that means I gained 356 positions in that aid station.
Since I know the course very well and I know where there are water springs, I often refilled my flasks before and after the aid stations to avoid queues and be more efficient and avoid carrying unnecessary water. At the aid stations I also ate a bit of almost everything. I filled one of the flasks with soup, mixed it with a little water to cool it down, and I drank it while snacking on crackers, cheese, ham, chocolate cookies. When I finished the soup, I cleaned the container and refilled it with sparkling water.”

Giorgio Truccone from Collegno, Italy finished in 39:09 – He competes in the M55-59 division with a UTMB index of 539. Roughly three hours before the start he and ate a couple eggs and a slice of pizza. Into his Raidlight 18L pack, he had two containers of Näak Ultra Energy drink, and 4 Näak waffles. Unlike many runners Giorgio did not bring a crew but he did have a drop bag at Courmayeur. Along the way he also ate cheese, pasta, broth, chocolate, watermelon, salami, and biscuits.
“My nutritional strategy for the UTMB was quite simple – refuel regularly at the refreshment points and take a Näak Waffle every time I had slowed down, and in a water bottle always have a little Näak ultra energy drink even if diluted and watered down. I had already tried these products at the Gran Trail Courmayeur in July and I had found them to be good.
At Courmayeur I was quite tired and I ate rice with broth and cheese and before leaving the life base, I had an Ultra Energy Waffle. In Vallorcine I had broth with rice and salt and chocolate and a biscuit. And then only water and Pepsi soda until Chamonix.”

So are the pros just like the rest of us? The athletes we spoke with most certainly showcased a delicious smorgasbord of strategies. From Noor’s hot soup and sushi to Scott’s speedy Coke chugging and Anna’s calorie-counting prowess, our featured runners reveal that while elite athletes might steal the spotlight, the rest of the pack has a few tasty tricks up their sleeves. We’ll definitely be implementing a few of these snacking strategies at our next races.