I ran 900kms: fueled by plants!
Elle Kuhta is a vegan endurance runner, who in late 2021, decided to run from Byron to Bondi: 900kms- fueled by plants! After the dust settled on her huge trip, I asked Elle to shed a light on her experience in the build up and along the way. These are her words.
I grew up eating meat. A lot of it.
Growing up in the Midwest of the U.S., meat was no doubt a staple in my diet. School lunch included deli meats, cheese, and yogurts. Dinners were an array of any chicken dish you can imagine, tacos with minced beef, or various slow cooked meats from the crock pot.
While I was consuming meat nearly every day, I never actually loved it all that much, especially the preparation of it. In 2015 without rhyme or reason (this was not an epiphany of any kind), I decided to cut meat out of my diet and see how long I could last. Weeks turned into months and not surprisingly, I found it easy to sustain and I didn’t miss meat.
By then I had started to train for my first marathon and on my long runs I listened to The Rich Roll Podcast. This is where I learned about how athletes were turning to plant-based diets for all the benefits that came with it – quicker recovery, more energy, better mental alertness, and not to mention, the environmental factors. To me it was a no brainer and I decided to cut the remaining animal products (eggs and dairy) out of my diet. It didn’t happen overnight, but I saw the positive effects within weeks, namely more energy when I woke up in the morning. I was very happy with how my first marathon played out and I knew that the diet was a factor to achieving my goal time. I have been vegan ever since.
Full disclosure, I am not a perfect vegan. I am “mostly vegan.”
I recognize that the words “vegan” and “plant-based” can sound like diet fads. I laugh when I see “vegan” thrown on bags of corn-chips, implying they are healthier because they are vegan. While corn chips are in my diet, I aim to consume as much plant-based food as possible—vegetables, fruits, rice, beans, nuts, and oils. Thank God for nut milks and coconut ice-cream.
When people ask me when I went vegan, I always preface the fact that I am “mostly vegan.” My diet has evolved over the last 6 years. While meat has stayed out of my diet (does taking a bite of sausage pizza at Franky’s count?), dairy and eggs have come and gone over the years. If someone has prepared a meal for me and it has cheese sprinkled on top, I welcome it with a ‘thank you for preparing this lovely meal for me.’ I classify my diet at 95% plant-based, or what I have coined, “mostly vegan.” For me, it is important to remain flexible in my diet and this allows me to sustain a plant-based diet.
The Coastathlon idea was born.
During the lockdown I found myself putting some serious kilometers on the paths and roads of the Eastern Suburbs in Sydney. While running the Hermitage Trail, the idea of the Coastathlon was born, a 900km solo ultrarun from Byron Bay to Bondi over the course of 30 days. This meant I would be running on average 35kms per day (3 rest days cooked in), across all terrains.
Having been my first-time training for an ultrarun, I recognised I needed help with a lot of things, nutrition being one of those. While I had dabbled in marathons, this was a whole different ballpark and I had so many questions. I reached out to Chappo (thanks to the Stronger Stride Podcast episode I had heard) and asked if he was willing to work with a novice vegan ultra-runner. He happily agreed to take me on and the following week I was prepared to meet Chappo with my growing list of apprentice questions that looked a bit like this:
What kinds of foods should I use to refuel and what should the nutrition breakdown be?
How often do I refuel?
How much water do I drink?
Am I eating enough during my training blocks – how do I prevent overtraining and undereating? (Or as Chappo taught me, REDS).
Never once did I question whether I can do this on a vegan diet – it was just making sure that I did it in the right way. It was a relief when Chappo analysed a 4-day food diary I had logged and confirmed that my diet was in fact checking the box of the nutrients and calories I needed to consume for this type of training (I was running ~100kms per week). I should note that I use supplements such as B12 and iron tablets daily.
I obtained answers to all my questions and began testing what worked and didn’t work during my training runs. I tested every gel you can imagine; I landed on Spring Energy Gels, a whole food gel with no artificial ingredients. However, rather than solely depend on gels and powders during my runs, I aimed to use whole foods as much as possible. Favorite whole food snacks that got packed in my vest included:
Vegemite and avocado sandwich
Boiled potatoes with salt
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
Dates and peanut butter
Dried apricots and nuts
Insert running 900kms over 30 days.
Fast forward a few months to November and I found myself at the “starting line,” the lighthouse at Bryon Bay. I had no idea what I was doing but day one went off without a hitch and I was 40 kilometers closer to Bondi. My crew and I quickly got in the groove; our typical schedule included waking up at 5:30am for breakfast, starting the run by 7am, re-grouping in the bus ideally 20kms in, and completing the run by 1pm or so. This routine was working and meant I could beat the heat and recover as much as possible.
My sole focus was putting one foot in front of the other and to plan the route each day (thank you Google Maps). My crew was responsible for everything else in the bus, including food. They did an incredible job whipping up a variety of vegan meals, especially at dinner where I found myself most hungry. While running, I found it hard to stomach calories, especially in the whole food fashioned like I had trained. So, I was thankful for my Spring Energy gels and Tailwind powder, which I bought last minute. Mangos also became a staple in the diet on the hot days. A typical day of eating looked something like this:
Brekkie:
1 cup water
Coffee with 1/3 cup almond milk
2 pieces sourdough, vegemite, 1/2 avocado
Paleo GF muesli, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup plain Coyo yogurt
Run (50km)
1.5L of water
1 x Tailwind scoop
1 x electrolyte tab (Nuun)
½ x PBJ Sandwich
2 x Spring Energy Gel
8 small boiled white potatoes + Salt
Post Run
1L Water
2x scoop of vanilla vegan protein power + 1.5 cups almond milk
Snack
1 Beer
1 small bag salt and vinegar chips
Dinner
2 servings organic pasta + vegan pesto + nutritional yeast
Dessert
Chai tea + ¼ cup almond milk
2 squares lindt dark chocolate
I made it to Bondi.
30 days later, and a lot of unexpected events, namely river crossings and monsoon like rain, and I had made it to the finish line in Bondi Beach (with Chappo running the final 25km with me!). With the support of great people, I finished injury free and feeling strong as ever. Byron to Bondi was the adventure of a lifetime and the hardest I have ever pushed my body both mentally and physically; and it was fueled by plants, well 95% of it.