Step 1
Pick your race
Your fuel amounts
What to take in
Please treat these numbers as estimates. They are a rough starting point to give you a sense of scale — not a prescription, and not a test you pass or fail. Everyone is different: body size, pace, heat, how much you sweat, and what your stomach will tolerate all move these numbers up or down.
Use them to build a plan, test that plan in training, and adjust from what actually works for you. Eat a little, often. If one hour goes light, just get back on track the next one.
For a full racing strategy built around you — fueling, hydration, and backup plans for when things go sideways — we recommend working with Extra Point Ultra to develop it with a coach. Book a free intro call.
Step 2
Pick the foods you'll use
Tap the foods and drinks you actually like. Pick 2 to 4 you can rotate — eating the same sweet gel for hours is how stomachs quit. Every card shows what's in one serving.
Don't see your food? Add it here
Type in what's on its label, once. It joins the list above so you can pick it like any other food.
Step 3
Your amounts, in real food
Your packing list
The whole race on one short list — what to buy, pack, or hand to your crew. No hour-by-hour schedule to follow.
Pick a distance and a few foods above, and your list will show up here.
Test it first
Try these exact foods on your long runs before race day — same foods, same amounts. Nothing new on race day. Change one thing at a time, and give your stomach a few weeks of practice: real gut training takes about 6–10 weeks.
If your stomach turns
Don't force solid food. Sip water or a weak drink mix for a while, then come back small and simple: ginger chews, banana, crackers, broth, plain noodles. Rotate sweet, salty, and plain from the start so sweet food doesn't wear out its welcome.
About caffeine
Caffeine is optional — a pick-me-up, not fuel. Save it for late in the race or overnight, use small amounts, and count everything: some gels, drink mixes, and a can of Coke (about 34 mg) all add up. If you don't normally drink caffeine, start with just 25–50 mg and test it in training first.
Train with what’s on course
Practice with the fuel your race will serve
Before race day, check what fuel will actually be on course at your race — the aid-station list or athlete guide usually names it. Then train with those exact products and flavors, so nothing on race day is new to your stomach. Never Second is the on-course fuel at a growing number of trail races, including the Destination Trails events (Arizona Monster 300, Tahoe 200, Bigfoot 200, and Moab 240) — but every race is different, so confirm yours rather than assuming.
If your race serves something else, train with that instead. The principle matters more than the brand: the fuel you practice with should be the fuel you race with.
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Want a coach's eyes on your plan?
The numbers are the easy part. The coaching is knowing what you can actually stomach late in a race, building fueling practice into training months out, and having a backup plan ready when the first plan falls apart. That's what Extra Point Ultra coaching does — 1-on-1, built around your life, your races, and the foods you actually like.
Book a free intro call extrapointultra.com
Free, zero-obligation call to check fit before anyone pays anything. Bring this plan — we'll go through it together.
Where these numbers come from — and their limits
Food values are typical label values per serving (checked October 2026; Never Second C30 and C90 values rechecked November 2026 against the manufacturer’s published nutrition — C90 is a drink mix, not a gel, at 90 g carbs, 360 calories, and 200 mg sodium per sachet); flavors and recipes change, so check your actual package — especially sodium and caffeine. The per-hour ranges are simple starting points drawn from published guidance: Jeukendrup et al. 2014 (about 60 g of carbs per hour for events of 2–3 hours, up to ~90 g per hour for gut-trained runners using multiple transportable carbohydrates — with the often-dropped note to adjust down when effort is low); the ISSN ultra-marathon position stand (Tiller et al. 2019), which recommends 30–50 g of carbs per hour for single-stage ultras; ACSM fluid guidance (about 400–800 ml per hour, drink to thirst) and ACSM sodium guidance (about 300–600 mg per hour); and backyard and ultra coach reports, including world-record holder Phil Gore’s plan of about 45 g carbs, 200–250 calories, and 300–500 mg sodium per hour. The base ranges follow that published guidance — carbs 45–75 g per hour for the longer distances, sodium capped at 800 mg per hour and fluid capped at 800 ml per hour — but the sweat-type and temperature adjustments deliberately move the ranges outside those published bands at the extremes, below them for light sweaters in cool conditions and above the ACSM sodium band for heavy, salty sweaters in the heat, which is exactly why you must test everything in training. In studies, runners in long ultras typically manage only 20–40 g of carbs per hour: the stomach, not the textbook, is usually the limit. Sweat losses vary about 4× between people, which is why temperature and sweat type move the sodium and fluid numbers. This planner is education, not medical advice; test everything in training.
Sources: Jeukendrup 2014 (PubMed) · ISSN Ultra Position Stand · Intense At Fit — Backyard Ultra Nutrition · Miles Together — BYU Hydration & Nutrition · UltraSignup Trailhead — Underfueling Ultras