This question came from Victoria:
The message is:
At 61 years old, I recently finished the full Portland Marathon. I entered as a walker, but I was jogging quite a bit the first 10 miles. Then at the 12 miles mark, I got a horrible cramp in my right calf. I tried stretching, rubbing, etc. Nothing helped. I did the remaining 14 miles in limping pain. It was awful. At the finish line, I filled up on apples, bananas, oranges, milk, and cheese (only, as I eat gluten free). An hour later the pain was gone. Was it lack of some food or ? During the race, I only ate water with Ultima Replenisr in it, MCT oil, and a couple Purefit bars. In the 3 weeks after the race, I had some calf pain the first week and couldn’t run, but then when I added lots of deep calf stretches to my routine, no more pain even with running 4 miles at a time. I’m scared now about the next marathon, how can I not get another calf cramp?

My answer:
Hi Victoria,

This is not so terribly unusual. Your experience does suggest a nutritional deficit. For this reason, I am a strong advocate of nourishment for repair rather than nourishing for performance. Our bodies really need phytonutrients and other micronutrients on board in order to function normally. It is for this reason that I am a HUGE Juice Plus+ fan. This product is a blend of 26 fruit and vegetable powders in capsule form. They also make another product, Complete, a full amino acid, plant based protein powder that you can use to replenish during a marathon. I make a smoothy every day with strawberries, blue berries, raspberries, a banana, apple juice and skim milk. It is nourishing and delicious. I know many ultra-marathoners who use this product exclusively to replenish during a race and recover after. You can learn more about it at my Juice Plus website www.neiltakesjuiceplus.com. Please watch the video on the site to learn more.

Let me know if you need more information.

Neil