CTS night-ultra guidance favors conditions over fixed fueling targets

CTS Pro Ultrarunning Coach Cliff Pittman’s article How to Prepare for Running at Night in an Ultramarathon was updated October 22, 2026. Its nutrition message is to respond to changing conditions without abandoning the fueling plan rehearsed in training.

Pittman advises reducing fluid and sodium replacement when cooler temperatures and slower movement mean less sweating. For carbohydrate, he recommends staying close to the rehearsed plan while allowing appetite and gut tolerance to guide adjustments.

That distinction is the useful part. Nighttime hydration and carbohydrate intake do not need to change together simply because daylight has gone.

Conditions Come First

The trigger in Pittman’s hydration advice is a change in conditions. Cooler temperatures and slower movement are expected to reduce sweating. His recommendation follows that expected change rather than treating darkness itself as a reason to reduce intake.

Fluid and sodium

Pittman’s guidance asks athletes to reconsider whether their daytime replacement approach still fits a cooler and slower part of the race. Carrying an earlier plan forward unchanged is not the same as responding to the conditions currently being encountered.

This is a condition-based adjustment rather than a separate nighttime nutrition system. The practical question is whether the circumstances behind the original replacement plan still apply. A change in the clock is less important than a change in the conditions that informed the plan.

That distinction also provides a useful lens for thinking about fluid balance rather than maximum volume. The aim is an appropriate response to the race rather than treating more replacement as the objective.

Carbohydrate stays familiar

Pittman takes a different approach to carbohydrate. His starting point is the intake rehearsed in training. Pace and conditions remain relevant, but appetite and gut tolerance help guide adjustments rather than a blanket instruction to eat less at night.

The distinction matters because a decision about fluid does not automatically settle a decision about fuel. In this guidance, reduced expected sweating supports reconsidering fluid and sodium replacement. Carbohydrate remains anchored to a tested plan and the athlete’s ability to tolerate it.

This is flexibility with a reference point. Staying close to a rehearsed approach is different from insisting that every intake decision remain unchanged regardless of how the race develops.

Evidence In Context

The article places its nutrition advice within a broader discussion of nighttime running and reduced alertness. It reports that a 2018 study tested 92 runners during a 168-kilometer mountain ultramarathon. Sleepiness and cognitive performance worsened during the race, with the worst readings in the early morning.

That finding helps explain why Pittman discusses planning for the overnight portion as more than a pacing problem. His article connects the physical demands of racing with the challenge of making decisions while feeling less alert.

The article also cites a 2022 meta-analysis. It reports that endurance tasks drawn from 20 studies showed an average performance decrease of about 5.5 percent after sleep loss. Those tasks were shorter than an ultramarathon, so the figure is rough context rather than a forecast for an individual ultra runner.

The evidence has a clear boundary. This is coaching guidance rather than a trial testing a nighttime nutrition protocol. The article provides no fixed carbohydrate or fluid or sodium targets and gives no measurement method for calculating reductions. Its cited sleep research does not establish a nutrition prescription.

The source also offers no age-specific fueling recommendation for athletes aged 35 to 65. The useful contribution is therefore a framework for interpreting changing race conditions rather than a newly established intake formula.

For Veteran Runners

For endurance athletes over 35, the practical value lies in keeping preparation central while allowing the race to change. Pittman’s approach does not ask an experienced runner to replace a familiar system with an entirely new overnight strategy. It asks that runner to distinguish what should remain anchored from what deserves reassessment.

Rehearse the transition

Pittman recommends rehearsing race-relevant nighttime conditions in training, including planned fueling. That places preparation ahead of improvisation. The overnight approach becomes something that has been tried rather than a fresh idea introduced during the event.

A useful planning question follows directly from that recommendation: has the intended fueling approach been rehearsed in the conditions the athlete expects to encounter? This keeps attention on familiarity and tolerance rather than on finding a more ambitious target shortly before race day.

For a veteran athlete, that is a practical way to preserve ambition without making novelty the goal. The preparation can remain demanding and purposeful while the nutrition plan stays grounded in what has already been rehearsed.

Let effort lead

Pittman also advises expecting a slower nighttime pace and running by effort rather than trying to maintain daytime splits. That recommendation belongs alongside the fueling discussion because pace is one of the conditions he considers when describing overnight nutrition needs.

The planning implication is to allow pace and nutrition decisions to reflect the same race circumstances. A slower segment does not have to become a contest to reproduce daytime splits. Equally, it does not automatically require abandoning the carbohydrate approach practiced beforehand.

For ambitious older runners, this separates competitive intent from attachment to a particular split. The goal can remain a strong race while the way that effort is expressed changes with the overnight conditions.

Anticipate morning lows

Pittman recommends preparing for the early-morning low rather than treating it as a surprise. In particular, he cautions against interpreting how a runner feels around 3:00 a.m. as a definitive verdict on race performance or the likelihood of finishing.

That is a useful distinction between an expected difficult period and a conclusion about the entire event. In the context of his advice, preparation means anticipating that the overnight experience may feel different from the daytime race.

It also keeps the nutrition message in proportion. The plan is not to answer every difficult moment with a new fueling strategy. It is to retain the rehearsed reference point while considering conditions and tolerance.

This emphasis fits Reendure’s focus on performance today and continued participation for years to come. Our broader coverage of fueling and hydration serves that same purpose: making nutrition decisions clearer without making every new recommendation a reason to rebuild a working approach.

Where fluid or sodium decisions depend on an athlete’s personal health needs, a qualified sports dietitian or clinician is the appropriate source of individualized guidance.

Keep It Rehearsed

Pittman’s updated guidance supports a measured approach to nighttime ultramarathon nutrition. Reassess fluid and sodium replacement when cooler conditions and slower movement reduce expected sweating. Keep carbohydrate close to the rehearsed plan and let appetite and gut tolerance inform adjustments.

For veteran runners, the takeaway is not a new overnight target. It is a clearer decision process: prepare for nighttime conditions, judge pace by effort and adapt the relevant parts of an established plan without replacing the whole system.

Sources

1. How to Prepare for Running at Night in an Ultramarathon - CTS