Badwater 135 Tony Portera

Part 1 with Tony Portera was fun. In part 2 the fun continues and we get to learn much more. We learn about Tony’s nutrition, fueling strategy, the wonderful people he’s worked and trained with, and in the end a rapid fire question round. Be sure to listen. Thanks!
Nutrition outside running
  • Follow NSNG (No Sugars, No Grains) lifestyle.
  • Eat when hungry.
  • Typical day:
    • Wake up, have a coffee with HWC (heavy whipping cream)
    • Might have BPC (Bulletproof Coffee) if have a 20 mile run.
    • Had a Fat Shake before the call consisting of  kale, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, chia seeds, and a scoop of coconut oil.
    • Sometimes an afternoon snack of cheese and salami. Maybe a salad.
    • Dinner would consist of steak, fish, or chicken and salad. Maybe some berries.
    • Almonds or sunflower seeds.
During running:
Still a struggle. On a fat-adapted lifestyle and fueling strategy, Tony can run 20 miles without eating anything, so unless 20+ mile training runs are a regular thing, there isn’t a lot of opportunity to practice fueling on the run.
Typically things to fuel with:
  • Vespa
  • PocketFuel
  • Justin’s Nut butters
  • Salami
  • Cheese
  • Pickles
  • Olives
  • Coconut oil
In his most recent Jackpot 100 performance, while employing a High Fat, Low Carbohydrate fueling strategy:
For 80 miles:
  • PocketFuel
  • Salami
  • Nuun for electrolytes
  • No bonk. No rush of sugar.
For miles 80 through 90s infused more carbs into system:
  • A few gels on limited bases
  • Pizza later in the race.
Result: It went well and Tony finished 3rd place overall. His personal best for a 100 mile race, and just under 19 hrs (18:58).
“Everybody is different. Experimenting is good.”
Some recommended fuels to try include:
  • Justins Nut Butters
  • PocketFuel
  • Generation UCAN Superstarch
  • Vespa
  • BRL Sport Nutrition Trifuel and Invigor8
“Adapting in ultra running is very important. Running an ultramarathon is all about goal adaptation.”
Fear the chair. Fear the van…Don’t get in the f*cken van!
“There’s nothing wrong with not finishing. Some of the greatest runners have DNF’d one point or another. Absolutely nothing wrong.”

Tony’s wrap up and special thanks:

  • The whole ultra community
  • Lisa Smith-Batchen
  • Ray Zahab
  • Zach Bitter
  • Vinnie Tortorich
  • Jamie Donaldson

All the people he trains with regularly including:

  • Aaron Heath
  • Elena Makovskaya
  • David Isaac
  • Van Cortlandt Track Club

All the race directors including:

  • Mario Lacerda
  • Chris Kostman
  • Blake Norwood

Included in this year’s Badwater crew:

  • Vinnie Tortorich
  • Serena Scott Thoms
  • Jason Obirek

Catch Tony Portera If You Can:


Visit www.vinnietortorich.com to learn about Vinnie Tortorich’s NSNG Lifestyle.

Visit www.glutenfreeanna.com for great healthy gluten-free recipes.

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  • Luzius Stone/Fire In The Sky,
  • Jimmy Buffett/A Pirate Looks At 40