Hi folks,

Got a quick question. In reguards to running and since I don't eat meat, what would you guys think is an optimal calorie count per day? I had been told at my age, that 2700 calories is optimal, but that was quoted for a meat eater. Right now I'm doing about 5-7 miles 5 days a week. I drink a ton of water and eat a pretty varied diet, but I'm wondering if anyone knows. Also, I am training for a marathon also, so I want to make sure I don't flake out come the 20 mile marker because I haven't been eating enough :)

Thanks in advance...

chou

I would be inclined to think that the number of calories you need should be the same whether or not you eat meat. Could you give some more specific info...especially age, height and weight? Also your calorie needs go up if you are more muscularly built.

In general, I'd say 2000 + enough calories to compensate about 100 calories/mile. But again, this depends on age and all that other stuff :)

Okay, I see what you're saying. I'm 29, 5'9.5", 187lbs. I'm doing about a 2300 calorie diet right now. But I'm running a marathon in October, so I just want to make sure I build up correctly, food wise, anyway :)

Let me guess,

*rubs magic ball*

You are running Chicago?

Great to see another veg*n runner/marathoner; I recently ran the Phoenix Rock and Roll and I'm gearing up for the Marine Corp in a few months. As for the calorie intake, using online calculators for basal metabolic rate, you need about 1650 calories to maintain vital functions. Add to that about 500-600 calories for daily activity if you are relatively sedentary (ie desk job, not moving around much). Now add the calories burned running which in your case would be 500-700 (it is roughly 100 calories a mile, probably more in your case since you're heavier). Therefore for any given day you ought to be eating at least 2700 calories to maintain and more if you are more active, run more, or integrate other types of excercise (circuit training/weightlifting, biking, swimming, etc.). Your body will let you know if you aren't fueling it properly as those longer runs, especially runs in excess of 10 or so miles will really suffer if you are getting proper nutrition. As for the marathon itself, it would be advisable to eat something beforehand which is high in carbs (ie a couple bagels, bananas, energy bars, etc) though don't try anything new on race day or you'll be paying for it later. Also a lot of people like to carry gels for a carb boost during the later portions of the race; you might want to experiment with this on some of your longer prep runs to get a feel for if/how much you might use. Good luck with the running.

I ran the Portland Marathon last October and am gearing up to run it again this year. In my experience, I had to play with caloric intake even though I had estimates from calculators. Those long workouts can really take it out of you, to the point I had to eat more for several days in order to feel normal - not just eating enough to make up for what I burned on the day I ran long, itself. In your training you'll get an idea of what you feel like when you do 20 miles, and you'll know if you ate enough to perform well. Ideally, you've got more than one 20 miler on your schedule, and even 15-18 milers should help you grasp whether you're eating enough. See what works best for you. That's one thing training is for.

Woo, okay thanks. That makes a lot of sense. 2700 calories seems about right. Actually I'm not running Chicago, but the Twin Cities marathon in Minneapolis. It'll be my first one, so I'm way excited though. Thanks for the advice.

Ahh Twin Cities. I think there are a few people on here training for Chicago, thats why I thought it might be that one. :)

Have fun training! Good luck. :hi:

Ahh Twin Cities. I think there are a few people on here training for Chicago, thats why I thought it might be that one. :)

Have fun training! Good luck. :hi:

Curious, when is the Chicago marathon? I bet it coencides with the Twin Cities...perhaps next year then. I want to run the New York, but don't know if I can afford all that.

Chicago is in October and in order to run New York, you need to enter a lottery. They have a cap on the number of people they can have there and a crap load of people that want to run it. I'm thinking that I want to do it one year too. That picture of all the runners over the broklyn bridge is amazing.

Yeah a friend of mine works for ING who sponsers the New York Marathon. I was trying to get him to find out how to join the ING team since they send a team every year. But I don't think it'll happen really. But who knows, perhaps one day.

I know nothing about running and such, but I wanted to brag about my friend who just qualified for the Ironman!!

I'm so proud of her!