s6e3 Fueling for Spring Races With Holly Samuel
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Nutrition often makes the difference between showing up and performing at your best come race day. In this episode of The Running Explained Podcast, Coach Elisabeth sits down with sports dietitian Holley Samuel — founder of Holley Fueled Nutrition and a trusted expert in athletic fueling — to unpack practical strategies runners can use this spring to optimize what they eat and how they fuel before, during, and after long runs.
Holley brings both clinical training and real-world endurance sport experience to this conversation. Her work centers on helping runners feel confident in their fueling approach and avoid common pitfalls that lead to fatigue, gastrointestinal distress, or stalled progress.
Why Fueling Matters
One of the biggest themes Holley covers is how fueling isn’t just “extra calories” — it’s the engine that powers your training adaptations and performance. When your body has adequate carbohydrates, fluid, and electrolytes, you can train longer, recover better, and stay stronger deeper into your races. Holley emphasizes that inadequate fueling is a common cause of low energy availability and plateaued performance in runners.
Training Runs: Practice What You Race With
Fueling isn’t something to figure out the night before race day. Holley walks listeners through why long runs are the ideal time to dial in your strategy. She suggests:
Practicing fuel timing early in training so your gut adapts to what you will use on race day.
Using easily digestible carbohydrate sources, such as gels, chews, sports drink, or carbohydrate blends that mix glucose with fructose to maximize uptake and minimize stomach upset.
Spacing carbohydrate intake consistently — for example, small doses every 30-45 minutes — to maintain blood glucose and delay fatigue.
Training your gut, just like your legs and lungs, so it becomes more tolerant of fuel taken during higher-effort segments.These practices help make fueling second nature when mileage and intensity are highest.
Race Week and Race Day Fueling
Holley transitions from training to race week, outlining a simple plan runners can follow:
Carbohydrate availability matters. In the days leading into a marathon or half marathon, paying attention to glycogen stores through carbohydrate-focused meals supports sustained energy during your race.
Don’t skip fuel before hard or long workouts. Even if you’re not racing soon, eating enough before training ensures you hit key sessions with adequate energy rather than running them on empty.
Pre-run and pre-race meals should be familiar and easy to digest. Holley cautions against experimenting with new foods or large meals too close to start time.
Every runner’s tolerance is different, so knowing what works best for you through trial during training is key.
Fueling Myths and Missteps
Holley also touches on common misconceptions — like minimizing carbohydrates to “lean out” or skipping fueling because it feels easier in short runs — that can actually undermine training quality and race performance. She underscores that balanced, planned fueling supports both performance and overall health, and is not something to be sacrificed in pursuit of arbitrary body goals.
Chapters
00:00 Today's Guest Holley Samuel
05:09 The Importance of Nutrition in Training
15:36 Understanding Low Energy Availability
23:26 The Role of Professionals in Nutrition Guidance
32:38 Challenging the Skinny Equals Fast Narrative
35:14 The Importance of Proper Fueling
40:38 Redefining Success in Athletics
42:56 Pre-Run Nutrition Strategies
53:48 Fueling for Longer Runs
58:55 Rapid Fire Insights and Advice
Key Takeaways for Runners
This episode gives runners concrete, actionable guidance they can apply immediately:
Start fueling practices early in your training cycle.
Train your gut to tolerate race fuels well before race week.
Choose carbohydrate sources you tolerate on long runs.
Make race week nutrition predictable and familiar.
Ignore “one-size-fits-all” rules and figure out what works for your body and race distance.
Whether you’re gearing up for your first spring half marathon or chasing a new personal best in the marathon, Holley’s insights strip away noise and place emphasis on consistency, personalization, and evidence-based fueling — making this episode a must-listen for runners serious about performance.
Holley Samuel is the founder and owner of Holley Fueled Nutrition, a sports nutrition practice team of dietitians dedicated to helping runners learn how to fuel their bodies. She is a sports dietitian, certified personal trainer, runner, and lives in New Hampshire with her husband, son, and chocolate lab. Fueling people to perform at their highest level in sport and in life is her passion.
Website - https://holleyfuelednutrition.com/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/holleyfuelednutrition/
Connect with Amanda and Nick:
Instagram:
Amanda - @amanda_katzz
Nick - @nklastava
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About Your Hosts
Amanda Katz is a full-time fitness professional; a certified personal trainer, RRCA certified run coach and serves as a group fitness instructor specializing in indoor cycling, treadmill running and total body conditioning formats at Equinox in New York City. She’s a marathoner, lover of distance running and lifting heavy. Her philosophy is based on the notion that all bodies deserve a fitness experience without guilt or shame. She approaches her craft with humor, real talk and ultimately, wants her clients feeling strong and more capable in their bodies through movement.
Nick Klastava is CEO of Running Explained and started running back in 1996 and has been competitively running for 26 years now with a brief break in his 20’s. His spark for running came back in High School, being a part of a team and finding a sport that brought out the best in himself. He ran competitively in college for Monmouth University in New Jersey after college he took 8 years off from running and thought he was done forever. After moving to Maryland in 2010, Nick found his spark again with running and found a new outlook on running with less pressure and less emphasis on the numbers and broke all of his college PR's by age 38.
Nick lives just outside Baltimore, Maryland, and his favorite thing about coaching is to unconditionally support runners and their journeys.
With Coach Amanda Katz & Nick Klastava, you’re getting more than just two coaches! You’re getting mentors who understand the pressures, challenges and ups and downs of navigating running and life. They’ve been in your shoes, struggled with comparison and perfectionism, but grew through the noise to help you find a sustainable, enjoyable path to becoming your best; mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Through Running Explained, We offer training plans, online courses, and 1:1 coaching designed to help runners achieve their goals while avoiding the common pitfalls of overtraining, under-fueling, and burnout. Whether you’re training for your first half marathon or chasing a new PR, her guidance will help you train smarter, race stronger, and love the journey.
📲 Learn more at RunningExplained.com
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