A few days ago I listened to episode #124 of the Evokecast podcast, where they interviewed Paul Booth, a high-performance nutritionist who works with elite athletes like Tom Evans and Ruth Croft, winners of UTMB 2025.

Evokecast is a very solid podcast focused on endurance sports, especially trail running. I like it because they speak clearly, they bring real data, and they don’t stay on the surface. They talk about science, but more importantly, they translate it into practice.

And this episode was exactly that: a deep, honest breakdown of how a nutrition strategy is planned, trained, and executed for a 20-hour race—where getting fueling wrong can cost you months of work.

At this point, it’s no secret: nutrition is often the difference between finishing and dropping out.

During the episode, Paul Booth explained how he works side by side with coaches, analyzing power data, heart rate, perceived effort, and lab testing to adjust nutrition just like we adjust training load.

And one phrase he kept repeating really stuck with me:

“Nutrition is trainable.”

It sounds obvious, but in my experience as a coach, there is still a lot of work to do here. Most athletes don’t do this well yet. I still hear things like: “I can’t take gels, I just can’t stomach them.”

That’s exactly what this episode addresses: training, adaptation, and progression.

One of the most powerful ideas from the episode:

Elite athletes train their gut for months before race day.

Just like you do intervals to improve your VO₂max, you also need “digestive intervals”: sessions where you practice eating and drinking exactly what you plan to use in competition, at the same intensity.

Booth explained that Tom Evans was able to tolerate up to 100–110 grams of carbohydrates per hour during UTMB—without GI distress.

That didn’t happen by accident. It was built progressively, starting around 60 g/h, monitoring sensations, gas, discomfort, and adjusting the type of carbohydrate depending on the effort (liquid, gel, or solid).

And here’s the part I really want you to understand:

This applies to you too — even if you’re not Tom Evans and you’re not racing 170 km.

Training your digestive system allows you to use more energy without overload, stay stable, and avoid that familiar crash when your body runs out of fuel.

Another key takeaway

There is no such thing as a generic nutrition plan.

Every athlete has a context: pace, metabolic efficiency, climate, altitude, tolerance to sweetness, pacing strategy…

For example, Ruth Croft prefers more savory and natural foods in longer segments, while Tom Evans can sustain a high intake of gels and fluids.

Conclusion: what works for someone else probably won’t work for you.

And this made me think of many of my own athletes. Sometimes we believe that “2 gels per hour” solves everything, when in reality we need to test, adjust, and educate the body for different race scenarios.

Hydration directly impacts digestion

Booth also emphasized how hydration affects digestion.

When you get dehydrated, blood flow to the digestive system decreases, and food or gels stay longer in the stomach.

The result: discomfort, nausea, and performance loss.

That’s why nutrition training is not just about carbohydrate intake—it’s also about fluids and sodium strategy, especially in hot or humid conditions.

And honestly, this is something I still see very little of in amateur runners.

What this confirms (and what I always say in The Journey 100)

Don’t just train miles. Train how you fuel those miles.

You don’t need to be a pro to apply this.

Here are three practical things you can start doing right away:

• Train your nutrition. Don’t wait until race day. Use your long runs to practice what, how much, and when you eat.

• Progressively increase your carbs per hour. Start around 30 g/h and build up to what your stomach can tolerate.

• Practice hydration with your fueling. If you use gels, take them with water. If you use carb drinks, adjust electrolytes to avoid excessive sweetness or gut overload.

🚀 In summary

The Evokecast episode with Paul Booth reinforced something I say all the time:

Nutrition is not an accessory. It’s part of your training.

And if you learn how to master it, your races will change completely.

If you want to learn how to integrate this into your own plan—and build a personalized strategy for training, strength, and nutrition—inside The Journey 100 we help you do it with structure and purpose.

Because the science is there.

What matters is how you apply it.

If you want to listen to the full episode, here’s the direct link to the podcast:

Leer este artículo en Español: Lo que aprendimos del episodio #124 de Evokecast