How A Top Ultra-Runner Trains, Fuels, & Recovers For 100-Mile Races

"Massage and relaxation after every training session are absolutely essential for me," she says.

In ultra-endurance running, where small stresses accumulate over months of training, recovery is what allows the work to actually take hold. Xiang talks about recovery not as something that fixes today’s fatigue, but as something that helps her “extend her athletic career,” a phrasing that reflects how far ahead she’s thinking. Not in workouts or weeks, but in years.

In that sense, recovery isn’t the opposite of training for her. It’s what makes continued training possible.

Credit: Fuzhao Xiang x mbg creative

The mental framework that carries her through 100 miles

In ultra-trail running, mental strength matters more than physical capacity. And when the hardest moments of a race arrive, her internal dialogue shifts outward. She reminds herself of what she represents, not just as an athlete, but as part of a wider movement.

"I remind myself that I represent female runners and am an inspiration to others," she says. "As an elite runner from China, I also want to give more visibility and awareness to the growing trail-running culture in China."

That sense of purpose becomes a stabilizing force, shifting focus away from individual suffering toward something larger than the race itself.

She also draws from the people in her corner: sponsors, family, friends. "Their support and encouragement give me the motivation to keep going." In a sport that looks, from the outside, like solitude, Xiang's mindset makes endurance feel like a collective act.

Her definition of success reflects the same long-view thinking. For someone competing at this level, it's notably unanchored from results. "Success can mean learning valuable lessons from a race, gaining experience, or simply enjoying the course with friends," she says.

As an elite runner from China, I also want to give more visibility and awareness to the growing trail-running culture in China.

Fuzhao Xiang

How she fuels for extreme

Xiang’s approach to fueling is grounded in simplicity and repeatability. Off the course, her diet stays steady. Fruits like blueberries and avocados, vegetables, and lean protein form the core of what she eats day to day.

Race day is where the focus shifts, and her fueling becomes purely functional. She relies on fruit-flavored energy gels and noodles, and she sticks to a consistent rhythm of replenishing energy every hour. In longer efforts or harsher conditions, like overnight sections or extreme heat and cold, she makes targeted adjustments with caffeine or electrolytes.

Most people overcomplicate nutrition. Xiang has done the opposite; she’s stripped it back to what's reliable and repeatable. Whether you're running ultras or not, the goal isn't a perfect diet; it's a dependable one. Something you can come back to again and again without thinking twice.

The takeaway

Off the trail, Xiang climbs, cycles, and makes time for friends—a life that, by design, contains more than performance. When asked how she stays connected to why she started running, her answer is uncomplicated:

"It's about always staying passionate and never forgetting why I started. I have always loved moving through the mountains." That connection to terrain, rather than to outcome, is the throughline of her entire story.

In ultra-running, the story often gets told in miles. For Xiang, it's told in repetition, in recovery, and in the decision to keep showing up—until consistency becomes something close to mastery.