Did you finally sign up for that 5k or first marathon? Have you just started a new training plan that requires a big uptick in physical activity?
One of the first challenges a new runner faces is simply: how much do I need to eat to fuel my runs?
And it’s a question many of us get completely wrong. Too many calories, or too little… either outcome can serious hinder your training plan. How many calories does a runner need to eat?
As you add training to your fitness regimen and daily routine, it’s important that your nutrition matches your fitness and weight management goals. Fueling your body properly is the leading factor in the way your body maintains weight, regulates metabolism, and provides energy to your body systems for healthy functioning.
As a high-cardio sport, runners burn through calories at different rates. This changes from runner to runner depending on your basal metabolic rate, the intensity of your workouts, your weight, and body composition.
For example, people who weigh more burn more calories as their muscle fibers require more energy to move.
Let’s look at how calories work in tandem with running goals, and we’ll help you figure out how many calories per day you need to consume to hit peak fitness.
The Basics: How Do Calories Work?
Calories are simply an indicator of the energy released when your body digests and absorbs food.
Foods that are higher in calories have the potential to give your body more energy. Excess calories that are not burned through physical activity are stored in your body as body fat.
It’s a simple equation:
- Too many calories = Excess weight
- Not enough calories = Lose weight fast
There are dozens of resources available that can help you figure out how many calories you should eat per day. To compute an ideal calorie count goal, you add factors like your activity level, current weight, and weight loss goals.
This is a general number – referring to your primary care physician or physical trainer may be a more personal way for you to figure out what your caloric intake should look like each day.
Calorie Math
Figuring out your calorie count is as simple as the relationship between caloric input and output within your body expressed as an inequality. This doesn’t fully encapsulate why you may be losing or gaining weight, but it is a good starting point in understanding how your caloric intake impacts your fitness goals.
If your calories in exceed your calories out = Gain Weight
If your calories out exceed your calories in = Lose Weight
If your calories in meet your calories out = Maintain Weight
You will gain weight when you consume more calories than you burn in a day. You will lose weight when you consume fewer calories than you burn in a day. You will maintain weight when your caloric inputs and outputs for the day are equal.
Whether you gain or lose weight is not solely dependent upon how many calories you eat vs. burn during your training runs each day.
Other things that impact your body include your basal (resting) metabolic rate and the types of foods you eat (are they high in fat, or are they lean protein sources?). Even your stress level can impact how your body gains weight and stores fat. Some factors like genetics and cultural background can impact your weight fluctuations.
How Exercise Affects Your Calorie Requirements
Despite your weight and fitness goals, calories are absolutely necessary to fuel your body for day-to-day activities, especially running. If you aren’t ingesting enough food or enough “fuel foods,” your performance will suffer, and so will your post-run recovery.
Adequate nutrition is pivotal for seeing gains and tracking progress, not to mention your long-term health and nutrition. If you eat too many calories, you will probably notice weight gain, which can also decrease your running performance and cardiovascular health.
Knowing and (generally) keeping an eye on how many calories you eat each day and how your body feels after certain meals is a great way to take hold of your fitness goals.
When setting the “magic number” of calories you should take in each day, we must consider other factors like BMR, weight and fitness goals, and how much training you’ll be doing.
BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)
This number reflects how many calories you burn simply existing, doing your day-to-day routine, excluding intentional physical exercise. Bodily functions like breathing and your heartbeat use calories to keep your body working properly.
Your age, weight, and sex primarily impact this. BMR decreases with age due to muscle loss.
The weight of a runner varies person-to-person. People that are larger or have more muscle mass have a higher BMR. Males typically have a higher BMR than females because of lean body mass and composition.
The American Council on Exercise estimates that your basal metabolic rate represents 60-75% of the calories you burn in a day.
You can calculate your BMR with online calculators or the Mifflin-St Jeor formula.
What Are Your Weight Goals?
Whether you are hoping to gain weight, lose weight, or maintain your current weight, there are ways that you can control your weight to a degree.
If you are hoping to lose weight, eating in a way that creates a caloric deficit can help you reach your weight loss goals. Balancing your caloric intake and output is important if you want to maintain your current weight. A caloric surplus is a way to help you gain weight if that is your personal goal.
Amount of Training Planned and Daily Activity Level
Depending on the number of miles you plan to log per week, and the other training you may be doing to supplement your running regimen, the number of calories you should aim to eat daily will change.
In addition to your training, your daily activity level impacts how you burn calories.
This could include activities, and basic tasks like daily step count, whether you sit at a desk all day or not, chasing after pets or children. Life, basically.
See more: Which sport burns the most calories?
How Many Calories Should A Runner Eat?
So… let’s run some numbers!
Most 60 to 90-minute running-specific exercises expend between 19 to 21 calories per pound of body weight that a runner has.
If training plans call for runs or strenuous activity that will take 90 to 120 minutes per day, 22 to 24 calories per pound of body weight should be consumed to maintain weight.
In general, if you want to lose weight, 250 to 500 calories per day is a healthy caloric deficit that can be accomplished through exercise and diet control. For bulking (increasing muscle mass without increasing fat storage), 350 to 500 calories daily is a healthy caloric surplus.
It’s impossible to provide an all-encompassing answer that will apply to everyone when considering how many calories you should eat in a day, so we will break this down into smaller demographic groups.
For A Male Long Distance Runner
| Weight | Lose Weight | Maintain Weight | Gain Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 180 lbs | 3100 – 3350 | 3600 | 3950 – 4100 |
The male runner looking to train for a marathon will probably log 35 to 60 miles weekly. This is a typical spread for marathon training plans. Long training runs are considered distances from 5 to 25 miles, sometimes even beyond that.
For simplicity’s sake, we will consider that the runner weighs 180 pounds. Healthy weight ranges are impacted by height, body composition, and even ethnicity – so this number is variable dependent on each runner’s biology. You can calculate your caloric intake needs online.
If a male long-distance runner hopes to lose weight, consuming approximately 3,100 to 3,350 calories per day would be an appropriate number.
- 20 calories x 180 lbs bodyweight = 3,600 calories daily – (250 to 500 caloric deficit) = 3,100 to 3,350 calories per day).
This is for runners working out roughly 45 to 60 minutes daily.
If a male long-distance runner wants to maintain their current weight, around 3,600 calories per day should be consumed (20 calories x 180 lbs bodyweight).
If a male long-distance runner wants to gain weight, approximately 3,950 to 4,100 calories per day may be a good number to aim for.
- 20 calories x 180 lbs bodyweight = 3,600 calories daily + (350 to 500 caloric surplus) = 3,950 – 4,100 calories per day.
For A Female Long Distance Runner
| Weight | Lose Weight | Maintain Weight | Gain Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 150 lbs | 2350 – 2600 | 2800 | 3200 – 3350 |
Female long-distance runners training for a marathon or other long-distance races will likely log 35 to 60 miles weekly. Long training runs are considered any distance between 5 and 25 miles, sometimes even beyond that in the case of elite marathon runners.
For simplicity’s sake, we will consider that the runner weighs 150 pounds. Healthy weight ranges are impacted by height, body composition, and even ethnicity – so this number is variable dependent on each runner’s biology. You can calculate your caloric intake needs online or consult your physical or physical trainer.
If a female long-distance runner wants to lose weight, consuming approximately 2,350 to 2,600 calories per day would be an appropriate number.
- 19 calories x 150 lbs bodyweight = 2,850 calories daily – (250 to 500 caloric deficit) = 2,350 to 2,600 calories per day.
This is for runners working out roughly 45 to 60 minutes daily.
If a female long-distance runner wants to maintain their current weight, around 2,800 calories per day should be consumed (19 calories x 150 lbs bodyweight = 2,850 calories daily).
If a female long-distance runner wants to gain weight, approximately 3,200 to 3,350 calories per day may be a good number to aim for.
- 19 calories x 150 lbs bodyweight = 2,850 calories daily + (350 to 500 caloric surplus) = 3,200 to 3,350 calories per day.
For A Male Short Distance Runner
| Weight | Lose Weight | Maintain Weight | Gain Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 180 lbs | 2500 – 2800 | 2800 – 3100 | 3100 – 3400 |
Male short-distance runners can expect to burn just under 300 calories during a 3-mile run at a 10-minute pace. Short-distance runs are considered any distance below 5 miles during a training session.
We will consider that the male runner weighs 180 pounds. Healthy weight ranges are impacted by height, body composition, and even ethnicity – so this number is variable dependent on each runner’s biology. You can calculate your caloric intake needs online.
Men who lead a sedentary life should eat between 2,500 to 2,800 calories daily to maintain their current weight. This number changes based on body type, so completing a survey online can help you identify just how much you need to eat in a day, depending on your activity level and weight goals.
With this considered:
Men who hope to lose weight by running and diet should consume between 2,500 to 2,800 calories per day. This considers the average daily caloric intake and subtracts 300 calories burned during a standard 3-mile short-distance run.
Men that hope to maintain their current weight by controlling their exercise and diet should aim to eat between 2,800 to 3,100 calories per day. This considers the average daily caloric intake and adds 300 calories that are burned during a standard 3-mile short-distance run.
Men who hope to gain weight should consume between 3,100 to 3,400 calories per day. This considers the average daily caloric intake and adds an additional 300 calories above what is burned during a standard 3-mile short-distance run.
For A Female Short Distance Runner
| Weight | Lose Weight | Maintain Weight | Gain Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 150 lbs | 2000 – 2300 | 2300 – 2600 | 2600 – 2900 |
Female short-distance runners can expect to burn just under 300 calories during a 3-mile run at a 10-minute pace. Short-distance runs are considered any distance below 5 miles during a training session.
We will consider that the female runner weighs 150 pounds. Healthy weight ranges are impacted by height, body composition, and even ethnicity.
Women who lead a sedentary life should eat between 2,000 to 2,300 calories per day to maintain their current weight.
With this in consideration:
Women that hope to lose weight through their running program and diet should eat between 2,000 to 2,300 calories per day. This considers the average caloric intake suggestion and subtracts 300 calories burned during a standard 3-mile short-distance run.
Women that hope to maintain their current weight by controlling their exercise and diet should aim to eat between 2,300 to 2,600 calories per day. This considers the average caloric intake suggestion and adds 300 calories that are burned during a standard 3-mile short-distance run.
Women who want to gain weight should aim to consume 2,600 to 2,900 calories per day. This considers the average caloric intake suggestion and adds an additional 300 calories above what is burned during a standard 3-mile short-distance run.
What Kinds of Fuel Foods to Include in Your Diet
Food is fuel.
Nourishing your body properly will set you up well in propelling your runs, sustaining your energy, and aiding your body in recovery post-training. It’s important, especially for long-distance runners, to take an inventory of what you’re eating and consider if it’s adequately fueling you to meet your running goals.
See our guide to the ultimate runner’s diet for a good place to start.
Running on an empty stomach will result in sluggish workouts and can even contribute to the possibility of more frequent injuries. Fueling yourself properly will help you go further and faster on whatever race day you are training for.
Above all, do not neglect to fuel your body altogether. Generally, a 100 to 300-calorie snack is a good way to give you the energy to finish a shorter training run without bogging you down.
Some of our favorite pre-run snacks are listed below:
- Bananas
- Hard-boiled eggs paired with juice
- Oats
- Dried fruit
- Lean proteins
- Rice cake topped with hummus
- Pretzels paired with peanut butter
If you are logging a longer training run, you will inevitably need to fuel your body mid-run, so that you are not running on empty. Along with sports gels and bars from sports brands, snacks like honey packets, apple sauce, dried fruit, and bananas may give you the boost you need to finish your miles with strength still in the tank.
It is also important to feed your tired muscles post-run. This helps prevent energy crashes and will help rebuild your recovering muscles after their hard work. Chocolate milk, loaded oatmeal, grilled chicken and vegetables, and whey protein drinks are good options if you are looking to nourish your post-workout body.
