Following the Badwater race online, I clicked around on their site until I ended up in their linked Store, of course (Zombie Runner). I saw there a few odd items; it is an estore for hardcore BA ultrarunners after all…
I was wondering what stuff would be different to the regular running store and kept clicking around. In their Nutrition section, they have the usual gels, bars, chews, sports drinks, ginger candies and chews, which are very common in ultras though I can’t stand their flavor… and popcorn. Weird, right?
But, I have my own air popper, and I pretty much eat popcorn once or twice every day… so, not so strange really, but what is the connection there?
I googled popcorn and runners, and not only I found a million recipes for popcorn from sites like The Runner’s Kitchen, but there are also a lot of races with a popcorn title (Popcorn Road Ride, Popcorn Panic 5M, etc.). And we do get microwave popcorn in our race goodies sometimes too.
Anyway, popcorn is great for you (unless you put a lot of sticky sugary stuff on it of course!!!). From this article:
Choosing complex carbohydrates is easy, as all complex carbohydrates are good for you. A runner’s daily diet should focus on complex carbohydrate that include a variety of fruits, dark green and orange vegetables, legumes and whole grain foods. The Department of Health and Human Services recommends making at least one-half of your grain choices “whole.” To determine if a healthy-seeming store-bought item is actually a whole complex carbohydrate, look for the first food listed on the ingredient list to be a complex carbohydrate such as whole wheat, brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, oatmeal, whole rye, bulgur, sorghum, whole grain barley, popcorn, millet or wild rice.
I am so naive, all this time I was eating it because I thought it was something delicious!
You can just leave it in this corner please. Unfortunately, I got a popper that melts yummy stuff on top with the same hot air that it pops the popcorn (hello nutella and butter and dulce de leche!). I try not to use that as much.I got into salty popcorn so I got the extra virgin olive oil spray and add salt and spices and pepper and stuff, which is great in the summer to replenish all the salty crap you sweat out in the runs! On the other hand, I can’t even stand the microwave or movie theather crap anymore. No. So, there’s something there, right? Snack Happiness

Popcorn and Runners