Written by Leah Yingling
From 2022 to 2024, I had the best seasons of my ultrarunning career, highlighted by three consecutive top-ten finishes at the Western States Endurance Run and a top-ten finish at UTMB in 2023. I continued to improve, yet my progress was increasingly matched, if not outpaced, by the rest of the women's field. As more women pursue the sport professionally, the standard of competition continues to rise, with higher training volumes and more deliberate approaches to fueling and hydration.
In the summer of 2025, I welcomed my son, Monte. After stepping away from competition to start a family, I set my sights on returning to UTMB in 2026, gradually rebuilding my training around that goal. Balancing motherhood, a full-time career, and the highest training volume of my career required a more intentional approach to preparation. By the time I returned to UTMB in August 2026, I had a far more comprehensive fueling strategy than in 2023, and plenty still to learn about executing it over the course of 100 miles.
UTMB 2023: What I Hadn't Planned For
In 2023, I arrived at UTMB less than ten weeks after racing Western States. My training was relatively unremarkable, focused less on building additional fitness and more on arriving in Chamonix healthy and rested. My fueling strategy was similarly straightforward: approximately 80 grams of carbohydrate per hour, almost exclusively from gels. I hadn't planned for solid food, and hydration was hardly a consideration beyond carrying water between aid stations.
By Courmayeur, roughly halfway through the race, I was starving. Gels no longer felt substantial, and little at the aid stations appealed to me. I spent much of the next 30 to 40 miles hungry, gradually falling behind on eating and drinking. I held onto a top-ten finish but faded in the latter stages of the race. Looking back, I'd focused on how much carbohydrate to consume without considering how I'd sustain that intake over nearly 24 hours, or what I'd do when my original plan stopped working.
Fueling the Return
For much of my career, I'd approached nutrition through the lens of training and racing. As I returned to running while breastfeeding, I struggled to consume enough to support both. Around four to six months postpartum, I noticed I was losing weight more quickly than intended and began working with a sports nutritionist.
Preparing for UTMB meant paying closer attention to the details of my daily routine. I packed nutrition the night before early morning workouts, experimented with higher carbohydrate intakes, and made a conscious effort to eat a combination of protein and carbohydrates after running. A weekly iced vanilla latte and a kouign-amann from my favorite cafe became one small part of that routine. I also underwent sweat testing for the first time to help inform my hydration strategy.
Training the Gut & Testing the Plan
My first race as Monte’s mom was the Nine Trails 35-miler in March, seven months postpartum. While I came away with the win, I struggled to stay on top of hydration and electrolytes during a crewless race. My carbohydrate intake was consistent, but managing fluids and sodium without crew support proved more challenging.
In the months that followed, I used long runs and workouts to experiment with carbohydrate intakes as high as 120–150 grams per hour, well above what I intended to consume on race day. I also began incorporating more liquid nutrition, particularly on sustained climbs where I was using poles and found drinking easier than managing gels.
By Speedgoat 50K in July, my last training race before UTMB, I felt like I'd found the right balance. During the race, I consumed approximately 100 grams of carbohydrate and 750 mL of fluid per hour, alternating between liquid nutrition on longer climbs and gels elsewhere. I finished third with a controlled effort, feeling strong throughout and confident I could return to training the following week. It was one of the few times I'd finished a 50K feeling like I'd managed my effort and nutrition exactly as I would over 100 miles.
UTMB 2026: Putting the Plan into Practice
I arrived at the UTMB start line in August with more confidence in my nutrition strategy than I'd had at any previous 100-miler. My plan was to consume approximately 90 grams of carbohydrate and 750 mL of fluid per hour, relying primarily on liquid nutrition and gels.
After a nearly flawless first nine hours, I underestimated my water needs over a long stretch between aid stations but continued targeting the same carb goals. With limited access to water, I developed bloating and nausea that made it difficult to take in any nutrition. The combination of concentrated carbohydrates and inadequate hydration was my very own recipe for disaster.
The experience reinforced the importance of planning hydration and carbohydrate intake together. It's one thing to know how much fuel you need each hour; it's another to account for the water available to consume it comfortably, particularly over long stretches without refill opportunities. When my original strategy became difficult to tolerate, I slowed down, reduced my carbohydrate intake, and found alternatives.
Despite fading as a result of my nutrition challenges, I managed to hold things together over the remaining miles, ultimately finishing more than two hours faster than I had in 2023 and just outside the women's top ten. It wasn't a perfect race, but it was a performance that seemed so far out of reach just one year earlier.
The Work Continues
In 2023, I learned the limitations of racing 100 miles without a comprehensive nutrition strategy. Three years later, I learned that even the most carefully rehearsed plan has its shortcomings.
Between those two races, I became a mother, returned to competition, and found new ways to be intentional with my preparation. While much about my life changed, my love for getting the most out of myself has remained the same.
For athletes building toward their own 100-mile goals, my advice is to give nutrition the same attention you give your training. Practice your fueling strategy, understand your hydration needs, and have alternatives when things don't go according to plan. Because they rarely do.
