In this Q&A episode, I answer questions that have been submitted by listeners.

Today's questions include:

• I'm a high school runner with a super early lunch period at 10:15am and I'm having trouble figuring out how to eat leading up to a 3:30pm practice. Do you have any tips or advice?
• Can you share your opinion on energy drinks?
• I'm a new college graduate running 95 miles per week, do you have any advice for how to get into a better fueling routine without the structure of school? Also, should I be eating less or feeling less hungry on my shorter easy run days?
• I’m trying to walk onto my university’s cross country team next year and I know you mentioned you went through a similar process. Do you have any tips?

If you're interested in making a donation to enter to win the Race Day Package giveaway, you can make a donation HERE.

Thanks so much to everyone who has submitted questions so far! If you would like to submit a question for a future Q&A episode, you can do so on my website HERE or email me at [email protected].

This episode is an interview with professional runner, Emily Infeld. Emily grew up in Ohio, where she found her love of running through weekend races with her dad. She went on to run collegiately for Georgetown, where she was a 14x All-American and an NCAA indoor 3k champ. Emily signed a contract with Nike right out of college and joined Bowerman Track Club, where she trained for the majority of her career. Emily was the 2015 Bronze Medalist in the 10k at the World Championships in Bejing, and she went on to become an Olympian in 2016 in the 10k. Emily recently signed with Brooks, and at 35, won her first ever US title at the USATF championships in the 10k, qualifying her for the World Championships that will take place in Tokyo beginning 9/13.

In this episode, we talk about:

• How a slow introduction to the sport allowed Emily to avoid injury and burnout, and to decide to run at the collegiate level
• What is was like running for a college coach who encouraged longevity in the sport and how that environment taught Emily to balance life outside of running
• How body comments lead to some under fueling that resulted in back to back bone stress injuries, and what she learned throughout that experience
• What it felt like to win her first US title, and how special that moment was to her
• How she uses ChatGPT to track her carb intake to make sure she's eating the amount of carbs she needs to best support her training
• Why it's so important to her to be surrounded by a network of people who love and support her, and how this has led her to be the happiest and healthiest she's ever been

If you would like to keep up with Emily, you can find her on Instagram or TikTok @emilyinfeld. If you'd like to cheer for her at the upcoming World Championships, she will be competing in the women's 10k in the evening session on day 1 9/13.

This week's episode is a Q&A where I answer questions submitted by listeners. The questions I answer in this episode include:

• My hemoglobin A1C came back as high in my most recent blood test and my doctor suggested I cut back on carbs and sugar. As a long time runner, can you help put this advice into context? I want to ensure I'm fueled but not negatively impacting my blood sugar.
• I'm a high school runner currently dealing with a bone stress injury and also trying to get my period back. Do you have any advice for how to fuel and cross train for this?
• I'm a division 1 college athlete currently studying abroad and preparing food for myself for the first time. I'm noticing that I'm struggling more with my relationship with food since I have to think more about what I'm eating and preparing, and also have noticed my body shifting. It's also hard because I have non athlete roommates that I compare my food intake to. Do you have any advice on how to navigate this?
• As a high school cross country coach, what advice would you give to the parents of high school runners to help them stay healthy, have fun with the sport, and fuel themselves well?

If you would like to submit a question for the next Q&A episode, you can do so on my website at www.fuelingforward.com under the podcast tab, or you can email me at [email protected].

If you would like to make a donation to help support my fundraising efforts for TrackGirlz as I prepare for the NYCM, you can do so HERE. Every $50 donated = 1 entry to win a race day support package that includes a pair of Hettas shoes, a t-shirt, a race day fueling strategy session with me, and more goodies from brands who believe in supporting women in sport.

This is the first ever live recorded episode of The Fueling Forward Podcast! In partnership with Hettas, I had the opportunity to travel to Geneva, OH to be a part of the Women's Decathlon World Championships weekend. I got to talk with the event founder, Lauren Kuntz, who was a D3 All-American in the pole vault while at MIT. After coaching while in grad school at Harvard, Kuntz became frustrated that she wasn't allowed to compete in the 10 event decathlon that included the pole vault because it was reserved for the men. Lauren became an advocate for allowing women into events such as the decathlon and double decathlon, which led her to create the World Championship event. Lauren is working to show that women are just as capable as men at competing in the 10 event decathlon, and belong in all spaces of the sport. You can learn more about the event HERE.

In addition to hearing Lauren's amazing story, you'll hear some track side interviews from some of the athletes competing in the event. Special thanks to the following athletes (in order that they appear):

• Amanda Pasko
• Katie Straus
• Delaney Straus
• Caitlin Fertig
• Rebecca de la Torre
• Kendra Leger
• Kiara Harrod**
• Raphaelle Rolnin**
• Anaik Precision**

** these athletes completed interviews but due to audio issues were not able to be included in the final episode.

Today's episode is a Q&A where I answer questions that have been submitted by listeners. The questions I answer in this episode include:

• I'm a college coach and my athletes just started double threshold days. What should fueling and refueling look like around these sessions, and should they be taking in carbs/electrolytes during?
• I'm a high school runner with a big appetite, and I find myself comparing how much I'm eating to friends and family and feeling bad about eating more than them. Do you have any tips on how to deal with food comparison?
• Do you have any advice on how to take gels? I've never eaten anything while running before and I'm not sure where to start.
• I have dealt with chronically low ferritin for years despite supplementation. My ferritin recently increased from 20 to 23 after 3 months, and I was hoping it would increase faster than that. Is this typical? Should I try to get an iron infusion?

Thanks so much to everyone who has submitted a question! If you would like to submit a question for the next Q&A episode, so you can do so on my website HERE.

This episode is an interview with professional runner for Saucony, Grayson Murphy. Grayson grew up playing soccer, and even went on to play soccer in college. When she decided college soccer wasn't for her, she walked on to her college's track/xc team. Grayson went from having no experience with running and running 1 mile at a time to becoming a 5x D1 All-American at the University of Utah. Grayson signed a professional contract soon after college, and has competed in a wide variety of events. She finished 6th in the steeplechase at the 2021 Olympic Trials, is a 5x US mountain running champ, and 2x World mountain running champ. Grayson is also the owner and founder of Wild Strides Paper Co., which sells training logs and stationary for runners and recently started offering coaching.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What it was like to switch sports while in college and walk on to a team to compete in a sport she had never done before
• Her transition from collegiate to professional running, and how Grayson has found to love trail and mountain running
• How the process of learning how to fuel during runs has been a crucial to her success as a trail and mountain runner
• Grayson's struggle with health issues and having to advocate for herself to ultimately get her recent diagnosis of Crohn's Disease
• Why it's important to Grayson to have life outside of running, and how founding her business Wild Strides Paper Co. allows her to have balance

If you're interested in keeping up with Grayson, you can find her on Instagram @racin_grayson or on her blog HERE. Don't forget to check out Wild Strides Paper Co. for some super cute training logs and stationary!

This episode is an interview with professional runner for Saucony, Grayson Murphy. Grayson grew up playing soccer, and even went on to play soccer in college. When she decided college soccer wasn't for her, she walked on to her college's track/xc team. Grayson went from having no experience with running and running 1 mile at a time to becoming a 5x D1 All-American at the University of Utah. Grayson signed a professional contract soon after college, and has competed in a wide variety of events. She finished 6th in the steeplechase at the 2021 Olympic Trials, is a 5x US mountain running champ, and 2x World mountain running champ. Grayson is also the owner and founder of Wild Strides Paper Co., which sells training logs and stationary for runners and recently started offering coaching.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What it was like to switch sports while in college and walk on to a team to compete in a sport she had never done before
• Her transition from collegiate to professional running, and how Grayson has found to love trail and mountain running
• How the process of learning how to fuel during runs has been a crucial to her success as a trail and mountain runner
• Grayson's struggle with health issues and having to advocate for herself to ultimately get her recent diagnosis of Crohn's Disease
• Why it's important to Grayson to have life outside of running, and how founding her business Wild Strides Paper Co. allows her to have balance

If you're interested in keeping up with Grayson, you can find her on Instagram @racin_grayson or on her blog HERE. Don't forget to check out Wild Strides Paper Co. for some super cute training logs and stationary!

In today's Q&A episode, we cover some really great questions including:

• Do you have any advice on how to navigate fueling in the off season? I have a fear of gaining weight and losing fitness, and it's making me really anxious.
• I was just diagnosed with a bone stress injury in my femur, and I heard that caffeine can lead to bone loss through blocking absorption of calcium and other minerals. I've upped my intake over the last year, do you think this could have contributed to the bone injury?
• I always find myself bingeing on something at night, even after a delicious dinner. Do you have any tips for how to avoid bingeing every night?
• Is race weight an important thing? If so, how can you figure out your race weight and get there in a healthy way?

Thanks so much to everyone who has submitted questions so far! If you would like to submit a question for the next Q&A episode, you can do so on my website HERE or you can email me at [email protected].

This episode is an interview with strength and conditioning specialist, Chris Lee. Chris was a D3 collegiate swimmer while at Montclair State, and after college he moved to Boulder, Colorado to pursue competitive triathlon. After getting his CSCS certification, Chris founded Kinesis Integrated. Kinesis Integrated provides personalized, science-backed strength training for endurance athletes, and they offer both in-person and app-based support. He recently created the Kinesis app, which integrates data from your watch to create a personalized and dynamic strength training program for you and your personal goals!

In this episode, we talk about:

• How growing up with health issues that prevented him from being as active as he wanted made Chris interested in human movement
• Getting into swimming as a way to strengthen his lungs and body, and how that led him to the sport of triathlon
• What is means to be a certified strength and conditioning specialist and how he applies his knowledge to meet the unique needs of endurance athletes
• Why strength training is so critical for endurance athletes, and why being strong is an asset rather than something to avoid
• How Chris has seen fueling impact performance in endurance athletes and why it's something he encourages all athletes to focus on

Links from the episode:

• Kinesis Integrated
• Kinesis App

Today's episode is a Q&A where I answer questions that were submitted to me by listeners.

Questions answered in this episode include:

• I'm a high school xc athlete who had a disappointing track season, I found of my ferritin was a 3 and I'm a plant based athlete. What can I do to help improve my iron?
• What are your thoughts on syncing your fueling to your menstrual cycle, specifically to help with PMS symptoms?
• I'm a high school xc coach struggling to get athletes and parents to buy into the importance of nutrition. What can I do to help these athlete, specifically the girls, with their fueling?
• What can you to do help prevent urgent bathroom stops on runs?

The links mentioned in today's episode include:

• Free monthly newsletter: subscribe HERE
• Weekly newsletter, Sunday Brunch Club, subscribe HERE and get a free 2 week trial!
• Donate to help Katie Rainsberger with her research efforts HERE
• Project RED-S resources: https://red-s.com/

If you would like to submit a question to be answered on air during the next Q&A episode, you can do so on my website HERE or you can email me at [email protected].