Learn to Feed Yourself

It’s often said that ultramarathons are more of an eating competition than a running contest, and that’s not far from the truth.

I estimate, conservatively, that on a multi-day ultra I burn through about 8700 calories of energy a day.  It may well be much more.  When making such high demands on your physical output, you have to carefully consider the calorie input necessary to continue your relentless forwards progress.  I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to eat 8700 worth of calories in a day, but it’s not easy!  8700 calories is equivalent to:

• 174 gala apples or

• 18 Big Macs or

• 7 full tubs of Ben & Jerry’s Icecream!

For the record, I don’t recommend any of these as a race nutrition strategy. Instead ultra-runners depend on two key strategies working in unison.

TRAIL FOOD - By eating regular small snacks, runners are able to top up their energy consistently without overwhelming the gut.  It might be gels, bars, jelly babies or liquid calories.  As a rule, runners are aiming to consume 60 to 80 grams of carbs (mostly sugar) an hour.

My Trail Food for the Spine Race 2024

CHECKPOINT MEALS - Multi day efforts requires more than sugary snacks.  Good, wholesome, filling, nutritious meals inclusive of fibre, protein and fat are essential to provide the body what it needs for sustained effort to the finish line.  The best checkpoint breakfast I ever had was Chicken Korma at 9am in the morning at Low Wray Farm on the Summer Spine Race.

A huge element of becoming a seasoned ultra runner is learning what your body needs, when it needs it, and how to provide it.

It’s a feast and you’re invited

Fuelling yourself for Long Distance Discipleship requires similarly detailed and effective nutrition strategies to avoid burning out.  What spiritual food will sustain us for a long journey of faith?  How often should we eat it?  When will tasty snacks be effective, and when do we need a proper solid meal? And perhaps most importantly, where will we source this food?

One of the great refrains of scripture is God’s invitation to his people to come to him and feast.  The psalmist invites us to “Taste and see that the Lord is Good”(Ps 34:8).  Isaiah points us to God’s lavish eternal banquet “a feast of rich food for all peoples” (Isaiah 25:6).  Jesus described himself as “living bread”, assuring all who eat that that will live forever (John 6.51).  He is also “living water” given to quench the thirst of all who desire it (John 7.37).  Through his last supper, Jesus invites us to eat his body and drink his blood to participate in his suffering and share in his resurrection life. We are invited to the communion table with the words “Feed on him in your hearts by faith and with thanksgiving”.  The Christian life is a celebration banquet to tantalise the tastebuds and we are invited to unashamedly feast on God’s goodness. 

Me practicing race nutrition

Peter writes:

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” 1 Peter 2:2-3

If you’ve heard the wail of a hungry baby, you know what this is about!  For Peter, it is not discipline that drives spiritual hunger, but instinct and desire.   Peter encourages us to come to God as the mother who alone can provide the bespoke spiritual sustenance that we require to grow to maturity as saved people.  I wonder if we have such longing to taste what God has for us?

Growing to Maturity

There is a natural progressing in learning to feed. First a baby learns to latch and finds sustenance in the mother’s milk alone.  Then baby is weaned and begins experimenting with various mushed goods.  Next the toddler takes matters into their own hands, literally, as they develop the dexterity to transfer food from plate to mouth. After learning to wield knife and fork, a child develops the skills to make a sandwich or a slice of toast.  Eventually the boy becomes a man as he turns raw ingredients into something resembling a meal that might sustain him through 24 ours of the day.

This maturity doesn’t happen overnight, but it must happen.  Nobody wants to be the 30 year old man dependant on mother for every meal.  It’s not good for her and it’s not good for him. 

Paul developed this analogy in his letter to the Corinthians where he can barely hide his frustration at their spiritual immaturity:

“Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ.  I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.” 1 Corinthians 3.1-2

If you came to my house for tea and I offered you blended broccoli and breast milk, you would not be best pleased. It’s not appropriate for an adult. Equipping ourselves for Faith Endurance means learning to eat full solid spiritual meals.  It means advancing beyond spiritual infancy.  The theological difficulties that we skimmed over in the early days of faith now present themselves as a challenge that we should embrace.  Instead of feeding off bible snacks, we are able to bite off big chunks. 

The writer of Hebrews puts it like this:

"Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." Heb 5:13-14

No doubt it’s easier for us to remain spiritual infants sipping on baby formula, but its not better.  You can’t sustain long distance discipleship on baby snacks.  A full, healthy, calorific and nutritious diet is necessary.

FEED ME!

One of the down sides of being a vicar is that when I meet Christians they proceed to grumble to me about their own church.   It’s not something I enjoy or encourage.  The most common phrase I hear is “I’m not being fed spiritually”. This statement betrays the fact that they have outsourced responsibility for their own spiritual wellbeing to a third party.  They have decided that it is someone else’s’ job to feed them spiritually. 

Babies need feeding, children need training, spiritual grownups feed themselves - and others. 

Spiritual Maturity in Practice

1)    Feed Yourself Continually

If we depend on one meal a week provided by others on Sundays, we will quickly become spiritually frail.  Maturity means seeking God in the midst of our normal everyday lives, drawing from his resources and following his guidance.  We are sustained continually by the presence of the Spirit of God through our prayer life and the daily reading of his word. This is our Spiritual trail food.

One good question to ask ourselves is: Where does my mind go when I have a moment to pause during the day?  Is it to the things of God whish provide nutrition to the soul?

2)    Feast Weekly

Maturity doesn’t mean independence. Jesus didn’t journey alone, so we can’t imagine that we are capable of doing so.  In fact, sharing a meal, feasting with others, throwing parties and enjoying banquets (both spiritual and actual) is one of the great joys of Christian life together.  You can’t sustain an ultra effort on snacks alone. 

Sundays are feast days!  We gather and receive a spiritual feast often prepared by someone else..  We feast on Christ together and get a much needed top up.  It’s the weekly aid station.  It’s a banquet which sets us up for the week ahead.

You can’t celebrate and eat out like that every day, that would be spiritually lazy.  But sharing a celebration meal with brothers and sisters on a Sunday forms a healthy part of your spiritual diet.

3)    Feed Others Generously

Growing to maturity means being in a position that we can feed those around us, caring for the needs of others.  It’s not about us having all the food to ourselves and becoming spiritually obese. If we consume, consume, consume but don’t do the work of sharing what God gives us, it would be like eating the 8700 calories but not doing the running! That’s not what the food is for!

We need an outlet.  We might call this mission.  This is the call on the life of each disciples as we seek spiritual renewal in the world.  It is the normal, everyday witness - in work or school or in the pub -of disciples who love Jesus and can’t help but show it in word and action.

As Nehemiah said:

 “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Nehemiah 8:10

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This post is part of a series of short blogs titled Faith Endurance, based on a sermon series preached at St Peter’s Morley in Spring 2024. If you enjoyed this, subscribe (above on the left) to get notifications each time a new blog is released.