Fueling & hydration
How to Build a Backyard Ultra Fueling Plan
Build a practical race-day fueling plan around familiar foods, a repeatable hourly routine, and what you learn in training simulations.
On a Backyard Ultra, fueling is not one big decision. It is a series of small, repeatable choices made before the start, during a yard, and in the short reset before the next bell. Here is a way to build and test a plan that fits you.
Start with the race and with you
Before choosing foods or setting targets, collect the details that shape your day: the course, expected conditions, where supplies will be available, what your event permits, and whether you will have crew. Then think about your own experience. What can you eat while running? What feels manageable after several hours? What has caused problems in previous long sessions?
A plan should fit the runner who will use it. Backyard Ultras can continue for very different lengths of time, and temperature, terrain, effort, appetite, and personal needs can change as the event goes on. Rather than copying another runner’s menu, use their ideas as options to test.
Build around the race you entered and the foods you already know.
Choose familiar foods you can actually use
List the foods and drinks you already tolerate during long training sessions. Include a mix of options you find appealing, easy to prepare, and simple to access at the start area. Runners often appreciate having different flavours and textures available, especially when the same choice stops sounding good after repeated loops.
Think about practical details as well as nutrition: packaging you can open with tired hands, food that is ready when you return, and portions that suit the way you like to eat. A theoretically perfect option is not useful if it is hard to face or takes too long to prepare.
Keep a backup choice for when your first option no longer appeals. That does not mean planning an elaborate buffet. A small, familiar alternative can make your setup more flexible without making it harder to manage.
Give fueling a place in the hourly routine
The repeating start can help you organise decisions. Decide when you intend to eat and drink in relation to the loop and the next bell—for example, what you prefer to have on course, what you can manage just after finishing, and what you need before starting again. The exact rhythm is personal; the useful part is having a routine you can remember.
Write down the plan for one hour in plain language. Avoid a complicated schedule that depends on perfect timing. A short checklist—what to carry, what to have at the start area, and what to prepare for the next loop—can be easier to follow when tired.
Leave room to adapt. A plan is a guide for making decisions, not a rule that overrides how you feel or what the conditions require.
Make the next good choice easy to see when you return to the start.
Plan fluids around conditions and access
Think through where water and other drinks will be available, what you can carry, and how conditions could affect your choices. Hot weather, cooler nights, a sheltered or exposed course, and your own needs may all change what feels workable. Test bottles, cups, and refill routines before race day.
Avoid assuming that one fixed amount suits every runner or every hour. Hydration needs vary, and forcing a preset volume can create its own problems. Use your training experience and the event’s practical setup to make a plan; if you have a health condition, take medication that affects fluid balance, or have recurring concerns, ask a qualified healthcare professional for individual guidance.
Make the setup easy for you and your crew
Arrange your food, drinks, clothing, and small supplies so you can find them quickly. Keep the next choice visible and separate ready-to-use items from backups. If you have a crew, agree what they will prepare, what you want them to ask, and how you will communicate if your plan changes.
Practise the same setup in a training simulation. If you will be self-supported, organise and restock it yourself. Check your event rules before planning crew support or course assistance; what is allowed during a yard can differ from what is allowed between yards.
A simple setup saves decisions when the hour is already moving quickly.
Test the plan in training simulations
Use simulations to try the foods, timing, packaging, and reset routine you are considering. Start with a manageable session that fits your training and recovery. You do not need to run a full race-distance rehearsal to learn whether a snack is easy to eat or a bottle is awkward to refill.
Change one or two things at a time so you can tell what helped. Keep notes on what you planned, what you actually ate and drank, what you enjoyed, and anything that felt difficult. Also record the context—such as temperature, route, and session length—so you do not mistake one unusual day for a universal rule.
If something repeatedly causes discomfort or you have a history of nutrition or gastrointestinal issues, get individual advice rather than trying to solve it by making increasingly large changes on your own.
Review, adjust, and keep the plan flexible
After each rehearsal, look for the practical lesson. Did you return with the next food ready? Was the schedule too complicated? Did a flavour stop appealing? Did you have enough time to refill and prepare before the bell? Use these observations to make the next version clearer.
Keep a main option and a backup, and decide in advance which adjustments you might make if the weather or your appetite changes. The aim is not to predict every hour perfectly. It is to arrive with a routine you have practised and enough flexibility to respond to the day.
YardFuel can help you plan what you intend to take, log what actually happens across yards, and compare a simulation with your target race. That turns each rehearsal into useful information for the next version of your plan.
Plan it, test it, and refine it from what actually happened.