Practical Fueling for Endurance Athletes

Endurance requires more than physical training. You need to fuel your body to optimize your training and be at your best on event day. Practical Fueling for Endurance Athletes delivers the practical, science-based information and strategies you need for long-term health and superior performance in your sport.

Kylee Van Horn—registered dietitian, endurance athlete, and coach—will help you navigate the challenges of endurance sports with the following:

• Essential nutrition concepts that aren’t directed at weight loss
• The smart use of supplements
• Strategies for developing your ideal personal nutrition plan
• Unique nutrient needs of female athletes, including during pregnancy and menopause
• Plant-based fueling
• Special dietary needs
• Planning meals and snacks

You’ll learn to design, test, and implement sport-specific nutrient intake for before, during, and after your workout or event to ensure your body has the right amount of energy at the right time.

Throughout, you will find checklists, charts, and 28 easy-to-make recipes to help you take in adequate and appropriate nutrients for your unique needs. Get inspiration from the stories and strategies shared by endurance athletes such as Camille Herron, Sage Canaday, Nicole Mericle, and many others, showcasing how their nutrition plans fueled their success.

No matter what endurance sport you train for—running, cycling, swimming, skiing, rowing, obstacle course racing, or something else—Practical Fueling for Endurance Athletes will equip you to reach your next personal best!

Audience

Endurance athletes as well as the sport coaches, strength and conditioning coaches, personal trainers, and nutrition professionals who work with them.

Recipe Finder
Foreword by Zoë Rom

Part I. Essentials of Endurance Sports Nutrition
Chapter 1. Eating to Train and Compete
Chapter 2. Smart Use of Supplements
Chapter 3. Designing Your Adaptable Fueling Plan
Chapter 4. Considerations for the Female Athlete
Chapter 5. Plant-Based Athlete Fueling
Chapter 6. Special Dietary Needs
Chapter 7. Planning Meals and Snacks

Part II. Nutrient Timing Strategies
Chapter 8. Preworkout and Prerace Fueling
Chapter 9. Nutrition Needs During Your Workout or Race
Chapter 10. Postworkout and Postrace Recovery

Kylee Van Horn, RDN, is a registered dietitian nutritionist and founder of Flynutrition LLC, a virtual sports nutrition private practice that exclusively serves the endurance athlete population. With a mission of separating facts from fads, Van Horn provides practical guidance for endurance athletes to direct them to a sustainable approach to fueling their activities for long-term health and performance.

Van Horn writes a monthly nutrition column published in Outside Run Magazine and has written for FasterSkier and Gnarly Sports Nutrition. She is quoted frequently in articles for Outside Magazine and speaks regularly to athletes and professionals on topics related to endurance sports nutrition for running, skiing, climbing, triathlon, obstacle course racing, and mountaineering. She is the cohost of the podcast Your Diet Sucks, which seeks to provide thoughtful conversations—backed by science—around controversial topics in the diet and fitness space. She has also been featured on numerous podcasts, including The Running Explained Podcast, The Strength Running Podcast, Consummate Athlete, Bodies in Motion, and Off the Couch.

A competitive endurance athlete since the age of 10, Van Horn is certified as a USATF Level 1 Running Coach and has worked in endurance event production since 2009 (for World Triathlon and local races). She studied veterinary medicine and biology at the University of Richmond, where she ran Division I cross country and track and field and graduated with her BA degree in 2008. She received her BS degree in human nutrition from Metropolitan State University of Denver in 2013 and completed her dietetic internship at the University of Northern Colorado in 2018. When she's not talking about nutrition, Van Horn is on her home trails near Aspen, Colorado, with her ultra-endurance athlete husband, Sean, and their three Australian shepherds.

“Kylee Van Horn’s brilliance is a secret weapon for some of the best athletes on the planet. The fueling revolution is spurring many of the breakthroughs and records we are seeing in running and cycling. Kylee brings the revolution to everyone.”
—David Roche and Megan Roche, Coaches of Elite Trail and Track Athletes and Authors of The Happy Runner

“A must read, Practical Fueling for Endurance Athletes presents a positive and healthy relationship with food and fueling that is much needed for success in sport and life.”
—Amelia Boone, Four-Time Obstacle Racing World Champion

How should I fuel for endurance events?
Hunger, fullness, and the psychological side of eating
Use the endurance- sports nutrition hierarchy to eat and compete