The Eat for Endurance Podcast John Kelly on Nutrition, Barkley Marathons, and Balancing It All
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Mar 17, 2023 John Kelly, elite ultrarunner, engineer, and father of four, talks about fueling for extreme races and balancing family and work with big athletic goals. He shares favorite ultra foods, long-race fueling strategies, GI struggles and how tastes change under stress. Conversations cover altitude lessons, caffeine tactics, packing for Barkley-style efforts, and why he keeps returning to brutal, unpredictable challenges.
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Raced Through Possible Ulcer
- During a 64-hour Pennine Way FKT John likely ran with an ulcer and ate very little the latter half, yet still finished.
- Support crew (a doctor) suspected the ulcer from his symptoms but no scope was done to confirm.
Watch For Learned Food Aversions
- Beware conditioned food aversions: a single race illness can make your brain reject previously tolerated fuels.
- Rotate fuels and re-test gradually to avoid permanent aversions created by associative memory.
Hardrock Halted By Altitude Sickness
- At Hardrock John suffered severe altitude sickness, couldn't keep water down, and spent hours at an aid station vomiting before continuing.
- He later treated the race as a 100K, four hours of rest/puking, then a 70K comeback and still finished 10th.