What the Best Ultrarunners Are Still Getting Wrong About Fueling and Hydration (Andy Blow Interview)

In this episode of the Singletrack Podcast, I sit down with Andy Blow, CEO and founder of Precision Fuel & Hydration, for a wide-ranging conversation about what athletes at all levels still get wrong about fueling and hydration in ultrarunning. 

A note up front: Precision Fuel & Hydration is a major partner of the Singletrack Podcast — a partnership we’re proud of and want to fully disclose. That said, this conversation isn’t contractually obligated. It’s the exact discussion I would want to have with Andy regardless, driven by a growing curiosity around nutrition, technology, and performance in endurance sports.

Andy brings a deep and unique background to the conversation, with a degree in Sports & Exercise Science from the University of Bath, experience working as a sports scientist with Formula 1 teams, and a role helping establish the Porsche Human Performance Centre before founding Precision Fuel & Hydration.

We explore both fundamentals and frontiers, including:

• Why many ultrarunners — including elite athletes — succeed despite gaps in nutrition knowledge
• Core hydration concepts like sweat rate, sweat sodium concentration, and blood volume contraction
• The danger of chasing marginal gains before mastering the basics
• Why real-time sweat tech still isn’t quite ready for prime time
•  “Ballpark accuracy” vs perfect precision in fueling and hydration
• Aid-station decision-making, guardrails, and crew strategy in ultra races
• The emerging challenges of fueling and hydrating for multi-day events

I learned a lot in this one, and hope you do too.

Partners:

• Norda - check out the 005: the lightest, fastest, most stable trail racing shoe ever made (https://nordarun.com/)
• Precision Fuel and Hydration - use code SINGLETRACK at checkout for 15% off your next order (https://www.precisionhydration.com/planner/?utm_source=partner&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=singletrack)
• Raide - Making equipment for efficient human-powered movement in the mountains (https://raideresearch.com/)
• Janji - premium trail running apparel (https://janji.com/)