Kouros's training and nutrition

Kouros, who currently holds 154 world records, including 12, 24, and 48 hours, six days, 11 days, and 100 miles to 1,000 miles. When Kouros set his 24-hour record of 303 kilometers, he averaged a 7:26 mile, with a sub-three-hour marathon split.

He tries to do most of his quality work on the track but never runs more than 12 kilometers per workout, typically doing 6 x 2k, 2 x 6k, or 3 x 4k and sometimes, when it is particularly hot, only running 6k total. He doesn’t do any weight training and basically uses his races as his long runs. Indeed, very long runs.

During a six-day race from Sydney to Melbourne, Kouros’ intake was monitored and described in the Lore of Running. He was said to have managed to take in 15,000 calories the first day, 12,000 the next, and 7,000 the third day. During the Phidippides run that traced the Athenian messenger’s route from Athens to Sparta (and back) for a total of 300 miles, Kouros consumed half of his calories as Greek sweets, eating every 20 minutes, and enjoying baklava, fresh creamy custard, and honey cookies. He says he doesn’t eat too much fat, using mostly carbohydrates and only loses weight in races if he wants to, even gaining weight in some.

source: Running Times