Best Runners Diet and Food for Runners

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Your output is only as good as your input. That is why properly fueling your run with the best runners food and runners diet is critical to your performance. Eating healthy and purposefully are equally as important as your running training plan-they are not the gratifying moments of crushing a mile long uphill climb, or crossing a marathon finish line-but your journey to get to these monumental achievements will be much more effective, safe, and successful with the proper nutrition and fueling. And you do not have to spend tons of money, shop at elite stores, or drastically change your lifestyle, to achieve the best diet for runners. Your best runners food choices can be simple, straightforward, and realistic.

Disclosure: Below are some affiliate links-these are all products I highly recommend. I won’t make any recommendations on this page that I haven’t tested or personally used! Enjoy this guide to the best runners diet and foods for runners!

Table of Contents

The Cornerstones of a Runner’s Diet:

CARBS
PROTEINS
FRUITS / VEGGIES
HEALTHY FATS

And what do these categories look like in terms of ACTUAL FOOD EXAMPLES?

How Much Do You Need of Each?

It’s not just about WHAT foods you’re eating as a runner, but HOW MUCH? Take a look at this graphic to get an idea!

*Don’t forget – it’s important to get those healthy fats as well! While you should be able to get a lot of those fats while eating your allotment of protein, carbs, and fruits and veggies, remember to get healthy fats from olive oil, nuts and nut butters, avocados, etc.

READ MORE: Find out just why peanut butter is such an awesome runner fuel!

The Importance of a Runners Diet

The secret to the best runners diet is this. There is no real secret. Imagine asking someone what the best healthy diet is, and odds are the best healthy diet for any adult closely mimics the best diet for runners. That is what makes runner’s food plans so realistic and simple. They are foods that any health conscious adult should be striving to include in their meals, regardless of their activity level and training goals.

EVERY ADULT should strive for a balanced diet that includes lean proteins, healthy carbs, fruits and veggies, and healthy fats! It just happens to become that much more important as a runner. Not only does nutrition help runners improve in performance, endurance, and strength, but it also is one of the best things you can do as a runner to prevent those pesky common running injuries that around 50% of runners will experience.

The best food for runners should incorporate a healthy balance of all nutritional essentials: carbs, proteins, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats. As a runner, you should strive to incorporate as many of these categories into your runners diet each and every day, consistently.

Sorry, but that basically means that gorging on carbs, proteins, fruits and veggies the night before your big race is not enough. Don’t neglect to disperse those foods into your regular meals THROUGHOUT your training block. Just as with every other aspect of a successful running training plan, a runner’s diet must be implemented regularly, consistently, and intentionally.

***How can you help yourself stay regular, consistent, and intentional? Grab this handy weekly meal tracker!

And here is where it sometimes gets tricky. What exactly are healthy carbs? What proteins are the most beneficial to a runner’s diet? Which fruits and vegetables provide the most energy for runners? Again, the answers to these questions, as well as the food choices available, are simple, realistic, and straightforward. Implementing them into your rotating “menu” of meals takes practice and creativity, but it is a habit worth sticking with.

Here’s that helpful checklist again to get some inspiration:

Now let’s take a closer look at each category of the best foods for runners in a runner’s diet.

Carbs In a Runners Diet:

I’ll start with carbs, because for me, carbs are the most fun runner’s food to eat! They also require the most self control, because there are a lot of bad carb options out there. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ever eat that pepperoni pizza, but it does mean that you should include (mostly) a lot of other healthy options in the mix as well (hopefully more healthy carb options than unhealthy ones)!

Examples of Healthy Carbs:

Whole Wheat Bread
Beans / Legumes
Whole Wheat Pasta
Sweet Potatoes / Potatoes
Oats / Oatmeal
Cereals
Quinoa
Brown Rice
Peas
Couscous

As you can see, there are a lot of options to utilize when it comes to the best carbs for runners. For me personally, it’s all about making swaps and creative additions for my favorite meals.

Such as:

swapping whole wheat bread for white bread
swapping brown rice for white rice
swapping quinoa or couscous for white rice
adding beans or legumes to more soups and salads

Want more actual MEAL IDEAS that incorporate the best carbs for runners? Check out my intro guide – “Runners Diet: Nutrition and Fueling for Beginners” for more meal prep inspiration created just for runners!

Proteins In a Runners Diet:

Proteins are the building blocks that make up a healthy, active body, as well as a crucial component of the best diet for runners. Proteins will help keep your body strong, as it endures the stamina that is involved in a running regimen.

Why are proteins so vitally important to runners? When you run, you’re actually causing little damages and stresses to muscle tissues and fibers. What helps repair and rebuild these little damages? PROTEINS!

So essentially, proteins help you come back STRONGER after each run, when you use proteins in your runners diet both before and after a run. Because proteins help you come back stronger, they are VIP players for developing endurance, strength, and preventing injuries!

I’ll admit that proteins are probably my own personal hardest category to consistently get enough of. The recommendation for the average adult is 0.8 grams per kg of bodyweight per day. However, people that exercise regularly are recommended to get closer to 1.4 to 2 grams per kg of bodyweight per day. You can read more about some of the science and studies behind these numbers here.

Staying on top of protein takes some initial dedication and creativity, but it is SO worth it in the long run. If you want to dive deeper into the importance of protein rich foods in a runners diet, as well as get percentage breakdowns, creative protein rich meal ideas, and recovery recommendations, check out this helpful resource:

And check out some of these best protein rich foods below:

Want this checklist as a handy PDF? Get your FREE DOWNLOAD here!

Fruits and Veggies In a Runners Diet:

A great way to inject beneficial vitamins. minerals, antioxidants, and nutrients into your runner’s diet, is with daily fruit and vegetable input. Always make an effort to include both a fruit and vegetable option in your meals.

Examples of Healthy Fruits and Vegetables:

Apples
Berries
Asparagus
Bananas
Broccoli
Oranges
Cauliflower
Spinach
Apricots
Carrots
Avocados
Kale
Zucchini
Tomatoes
Dates
Squash
Figs

Which Foods Should You AVOID on a Runners Diet?

It’s not always just about what you SHOULD eat on a runners diet, but what you should NOT eat. There are some foods that will make running more difficult, and here’s a few of the common culprits:

Spicy foods – some spicy foods can cause gastrointestinal upset, which is bad news for runners
Foods high in fiber – can cause bloating, gas, and camping. Fiber is good for runners, but know your limits, especially right before a big run.
Foods high in bad fats – much like spicy foods, foods high in unhealthy fats can upset your stomach on a run
Caffeine – caffeine acts as a stimulant, so tread cautiously. Many runners enjoy a cup of coffee before a run, but for some it can overstimulate. Learn how your body can handle caffeine.

What’s the Best Way to Stick to a Runners Diet?

The answer to that question is intentionality. Being intentional is a key to successfully implementing just about every step of a long term running routine.

Getting out there and running regularly has to be intentional. Taking rest days and cross training / strength training days has to be intentional. Making sure to include these healthy runner’s food options into each day has to be intentional. If you just wing it, or hope to just happen to make these food choices by coincidence, your rate of success is bound to go down.

As with any other running training component, I think the best way to stick to a plan is to plan it out. Start by making a rough schedule of what things you’d like to eat each week. Remember, it not about eliminating all unhealthy choices, because that is unrealistic. It is about looking for opportunities to include additional healthy choices to fuel your runs, or making a swap between a regular potato to a sweet potato instead, or regular pasta to whole grain pasta. Or tossing some berries, eggs, or almonds in your salad.

Here’s a quick example from my own first hand experience of learning to make creative swaps. I make this kale salad probably once a week. It’s got a lot of good things going on, and it includes a lot of simple swaps from a “regular” salad.

Ingredients:

Kale – swap for iceberg lettuce – higher in nutrients and protein
Edamame – high in protein
Brown Rice (or Wild Rice) – healthy carbs
Green Apples – swapping in for a “crunch” instead of croutons – for fruit and carbs
Grated Carrots – for veggies
Apple Cider Vinaigrette – for healthy fats

Kale salad with apple, carrot, rice, and edamame — *Kale salad with wild rice, green apple, edamame, and carrot*

You could also throw in a chopped hard boiled egg or nuts, for even more protein! You don’t have to completely reinvent your meal wheel, just look for small ways to get better nutrition into your diet. Start with what you like, and look for swaps and additions.

When it comes to meal prepping, write down a quick list for the day, the week, or the month, and include a few choices that you will intentionally make an effort to include in your meals.

So, does implementing a runner’s diet and choosing the best food for runners really make a difference in running performance?

Yes. It is gas for the running machine. It works just like the analogy of gas in a car. Ask anyone who has ever run 10+ miles after consistently fueling better with healthy carbs, healthy fats, and protein rich foods, versus empty meals, the difference it makes. For the majority of us out there, including myself, running is not easy. But you can make it easier and more satisfying. And choosing the right food for runners is a big step.

You will absolutely notice the energy and the sustained stamina that comes from supplying your body with the right fuel it needs. As you cruise along with your running routine, take note of which specific runners food choices “sit best” with your body. These are the ones that you want when planning your week before, day before, and morning of race day meals.

Finally, when implementing your food plan, remember why you run in the first place. For many runners, it is the spirit of determination, persistence, and grit. And that includes how you fuel as well.

Ready to take on a half marathon or full marathon race? A runner’s diet is just one part! Get the other parts of my running training plan!

16 Week Half Marathon Training Plan for Beginners

AND

16 Week Marathon Training Plan for Beginners

And there you have it, an intro to the best runner’s diet and foods for runners! Don’t forget to check out these additional resources to becoming a better runner!

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Best Runners Diet and Food for Runners