Trail Runner Grayson Murphy Shares How She Fuels for Races – runnersworld.com

Grayson Murphy didn’t have the most linear path to competitive running during her college years. When she entered Sweet Briar College as a freshman in 2013, she was actually a soccer player. But in 2014, she transferred to Santa Clara University, where she was able to walk-on to the track and cross-country teams. That’s when she decided she wanted to pursue running more seriously, so in 2016, she transferred to the University of Utah to run competitively.

After graduating, she trained with Hoka One One Northern Arizona (NAZ) Elite in Flagstaff, Arizona, for a year. Now sponsored by Saucony, she currently trains in her home state of Utah under the Idaho Distance Project.

While all of this moving around might seem counterintuitive, for Murphy, it proved to be the right choice. Back in November, she won both the World Mountain Running Championships—a 14K trail race in Villa La Angostura, Argentina—and the XTERRA Trail Run World Championships—a 21K trail race in Oahu, Hawaii.

With her training hovering around 70 miles per week, fueling is crucial. And Murphy knows her stuff—aside from being an elite runner, she’s also a certified nutrition coach. Here, she describes what she typically eats and drinks for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.

There’s Always Room for a Second Breakfast

I basically always eat some sort of oatmeal with a nut butter and banana. Before a workout, run, or race, it just sits really well with me. It seems to be the perfect combo to get me through without being overly full.

I never really fuel during my runs or races—right now I top out at about an hour-and-a-half, so it’s not long enough for me to feel the need to eat anything. I definitely plan to get into longer races in the future, so I am sure that I will have to begin to figure out midrun fueling, but for now, the oatmeal works great.

After a workout I usually make eggs—I love eggs—and have a second breakfast. I will mix in whatever veggies I have in the fridge with eggs and extra egg whites, and then I have avocado toast. I also put Trader Joe’s Everything Bagel seasoning on literally everything. I can’t get enough of it.

One-Pot Dinners Are the Best Kinds of Dinners

I like cooking dinner, both for me and my boyfriend. I try to make one-pot dinners, mostly because they are easier to clean up, but they are also easy to experiment with.

I usually use a grain like rice or quinoa, a meat, and veggies. Just by mixing up the ingredients you can get completely different meals—and it’s easy, healthy, and filling.

I also couldn’t live without olive oil. I use it basically every meal to cook almost everything. I don’t know what I would do without it.

Savory Snacks Over Sweet Ones

I don’t really like sweet things that much, but I definitely crave salt. My go to treat is probably chips, but I honestly like anything salty. I also like to have a glass of wine every now and then.

I don’t believe in restricting foods unless it has to do with an allergy, so I don’t really think about food in terms of things I can or can’t have at certain part of my training cycle. I eat everything in moderation, so if I want some chips, I’m going to eat some.

Postrace Potatoes

Since I don’t restrict the foods I eat, there is nothing that I really crave after a race. Mostly I am focused on refueling and making sure that I am eating enough to recover fully. Right after a race I will head right for snacks and just try to get in as much food as I can.

My stomach tends to get upset after hard efforts, so I generally want something bland. Potatoes have become my go-to. They don’t have a lot of flavor, and the simple carbs help me to recover really well.

Sometimes I will have a sandwich or eggs as well—it depends on the time of day and how I am feeling.

Investing in Nutrition

I always ate healthy growing up—I got that from my mom. So I was already invested in the idea, but then I began to get more interested in it. Ultimately, I ended up taking some classes, and now I can help other athletes to make sure they are fueling properly.

I am definitely more cognizant of what I eat now, but I also still tend to give advice better than I follow it. Helping other people with nutrition makes me realize when I am neglecting my own.

The nutrition rule I try to live by is that balance is everything, and to make sure that you are getting enough. As endurance athletes, it is often more a problem of not eating and fueling enough rather than getting too much.

Don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s easy to put too much pressure on eating something that isn’t what you would consider healthy, but it won’t hurt you. Again, balance is key.