Race Day Fuelling Guide

70K Ultra • 50K Ultra • Braveheart 10K
10 October 2026 | Stirling

The William Wallace Running Festival isn't your average road race. The 50K and 70K take runners on long journeys around Stirling, combining runnable sections with climbing, trails and changing terrain.

That means getting your fuelling right isn't simply about carrying a few gels. You need a plan that keeps carbohydrate, fluid and sodium coming in consistently from the opening miles to the finish.

The biggest rule?

Start fuelling early. Don't wait until you're hungry, tired or struggling.

THE DAY BEFORE

You don't need to completely change your diet or eat an enormous meal the night before.

Instead, make carbohydrate the focus of your normal meals throughout the day. Rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, oats, cereal and other familiar carbohydrate-rich foods are all good options.

Keep things familiar, drink regularly throughout the day, and avoid experimenting with foods your stomach isn't used to.

For the 50K and particularly the 70K, arriving at the start with your carbohydrate stores topped up is part of your race-day strategy.

RACE MORNING

Aim to have your main pre-race meal around 2–4 hours before the start.

Keep it familiar, carbohydrate-rich and relatively easy to digest.

Good options include:

• Porridge with banana and honey
  
• Bagel or toast with jam
  
• Rice pudding
  
• Banana alongside your usual breakfast
  
• A combination of these depending on your appetite

If you regularly drink coffee before training, race morning isn't the time to suddenly stop. Equally, don't introduce caffeine if you don't normally use it.

In the final hour before the race, a small carbohydrate top-up can also be useful.

70K WILLIAM WALLACE ULTRA

This is a long day out and consistency matters more than trying to catch up later.

A good starting target for many runners is:

60–90g carbohydrate per hour

You don't have to hit 90g/h. Your target should reflect what you've practised in training and know you can tolerate.

For example, you might aim for:

60g/h: one 60g carbohydrate drink each hour

75g/h: 60g from your drink + additional carbohydrate from gels/chews/food

90g/h: 60g from your drink + a 30g gel or chew each hour

If you're expecting to be running for 8 hours, even averaging 70g/h means consuming around 560g of carbohydrate across the race.

That's why planning ahead matters.

Don't carry your entire race in your vest

The 70K has aid stations around the course, so think about your race in sections.

Work out what you need between aid stations, plus a sensible reserve.

Your bottles can provide your base fuelling, while gels, chews or familiar solid foods give you flexibility.

This also means that if you don't fancy one particular fuel later in the race, you have another option available.

50K WILLIAM WALLACE ULTRA

The same principles apply to the 50K.

For most runners, we'd again look towards approximately:

60–90g carbohydrate per hour

The faster you expect to complete the race, the more important it becomes to have fuel that's easy to consume while moving.

A simple strategy could be:

Bottle/flask = base carbohydrate intake
Gel/chews = additional carbs and easy top-ups
Aid stations = refill, reset and supplement

If your target is 60g/h and you're running for six hours, that's roughly 360g carbohydrate over the race.

Plan that before race morning rather than relying entirely on what you feel like eating once you're out there.

HYDRATION

There's no single amount everyone should drink.

Your requirements will depend on your sweat rate, pace, clothing and the weather on 10 October.

The aim is to drink according to your needs rather than forcing down excessive fluid.

For the ultras, carrying soft flasks makes it easy to drink little and often between aid stations.

And remember:

Carbohydrate, fluid and sodium are three separate things to consider.

A carbohydrate drink can contribute to all three, but don't assume that because you're taking plenty of carbs you're automatically meeting your hydration or sodium needs.

SODIUM & ELECTROLYTES

How much sodium you lose through sweat varies considerably between runners.

Your requirements will also change depending on conditions. A cool October morning in Stirling could create very different demands from an unexpectedly warm race day.

If your drink already contains sodium, count that towards your overall intake.

Additional electrolyte capsules can then provide a simple way of adjusting sodium intake without having to increase carbohydrate intake at the same time.

The important thing is to use a strategy you've tested in training, rather than chasing a generic sodium number on race day.

DON'T FORGET THE TERRAIN

The William Wallace ultras aren't flat road races.

The 70K in particular heads into the Campsie Fells and climbs around Lewis Hill before later taking runners towards Bridge of Allan, Cockburn Reservoir and the Ochils.

Use the terrain to your advantage.

Climbing? Eat. Descending? Run.

Longer climbs and easier sections can be good opportunities to get fuel in while your pace is naturally lower.

Don't repeatedly tell yourself you'll eat "after this section".

That's how 20 minutes becomes an hour.

A SIMPLE ULTRA FUELLING SYSTEM

Rather than making your strategy complicated, give everything a job.

Carbohydrate drink
Your consistent base fuel.

Gels / chews
Easy carbohydrate top-ups.

Solid food
Variety later in longer races if you've trained with it.

Electrolyte capsules
Allow sodium to be adjusted independently.

Aid stations
Refill, restock and keep moving.

A simple plan that's easy to remember is usually better than a perfect plan that's impossible to follow.

BRAVEHEART 10K

The Braveheart 10K is a completely different fuelling challenge.

For most runners, you won't need to consume carbohydrate during the race itself.

Instead, focus on arriving properly fuelled.

Eat your normal carbohydrate-rich pre-race meal around 2–4 hours beforehand and stay normally hydrated.

If you've practised it previously, you could take a small carbohydrate source shortly before the start.

Once you're racing, concentrate on running.

THE GOLDEN RULES

1. Start fuelled.
What you eat before the race matters.

2. Fuel early.
For the ultras, start taking carbohydrate from the beginning.

3. Aim for consistency.
Think in grams of carbohydrate per hour rather than simply counting gels.

4. Use the aid stations strategically.
Plan what you'll need between each one.

5. Separate carbs, hydration and sodium.
They're related, but they're not the same thing.

6. Practise beforehand.
Race day shouldn't be the first time you've tried your fuelling strategy.

7. Have a backup.
Carry slightly more fuel than your perfect calculation says you'll need.

HIGHLAND FUEL NUTRITION × WILLIAM WALLACE RUNNING FESTIVAL

Highland Fuel Nutrition will be at the William Wallace Running Festival helping runners get their race-day fuelling right.

Our approach is simple: understand how much carbohydrate you need, build a strategy around the race, and use whichever products work best for you.

FUEL UP AT REGISTRATION

Highland Fuel Nutrition will be at registration before race day, so if you need to pick up fuel, replace something you've forgotten or simply want to talk through your race-day plan, come and see us.

We'll have a wide selection of endurance nutrition available, including:

• Highland Fuel Nutrition BareFuel – with plenty of pouches and single-serve sachets available
  
• Precision Fuel & Hydration – including PF 30 Gels and PF 90 Flow Gel
  
• Cadence Nutrition – Gels and solids
  
• SiS – Gels 
  
• Hammer Nutrition – Gels 

We'll have options covering carbohydrate drinks, gels and other race-day fuel, so whether you're racing the 70K, 50K or Braveheart 10K, you'll be able to pick up what you need.

We're not there to tell you that there's only one way to fuel an ultra. Use what works for you. Our aim is to help you build a simple strategy around the amount of carbohydrate, fluid and sodium you need.

If you're unsure how much to carry, how many carbs per hour to target, or how to combine drinks and gels, come and have a chat with us at registration.

We'll help you work it out before you hit the start line.