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Emily Hawgood is always running—and not just on some of the most challenging ultramarathon trails in the world (she recently won the Salmon Falls 50K in Pilot Hill, California)—but she’s also always dashing through an airport to catch her next flight or even zipping about her kitchen, whipping up meals between showers, weightlifting, and recovery sessions.
As one of the world’s top female ultrarunners, who now lives most of the year in Roseville, California, Hawgood grew up on her family’s farm in rural Beatrice, Zimbabwe, among fields of potatoes, corn (“My family called it mealies,” she says), lush gardens, and cows. She lived a simple, farm-to-table life, enjoying fresh foods her family grew, milk from the cows, and fish caught from the nearby waters. The nearest city was about an hour drive, so Hawgood’s mother would take a single monthly trip to get necessities. But, for the most part, the family thrived off their own resources.
“[The food] was all fresh, but back home, everything is pretty plain,” says Hawgood, a three-time top-10 finisher of the Western States 100, which includes back-to-back fifth-place finishes in 2022 and 2023. “We don’t add a lot of spices. I really enjoyed growing up where I did. My brother and I had a favorite cow we were convinced produced the best milk.”
Hawgood was an athletic child, playing tennis, swimming, field hockey, track and field, and cross country. It wasn’t unheard of for her to be barefoot for most of those sports, too.
Her family dinners “weren’t too crazy”—stir frys with roast chicken, baked potato, and lots of vegetables, and stews with most of the same ingredients. It’s no wonder that when Hawgood arrived in the U.S. for the first time in 2013 (where she came to study exercise physiology at the College of Idaho), it took her body awhile to adjust to the new foods with more spices and flavors—even the meat tasted different.
“Not because of the quality, because I was having meals on my U.S. friend’s farms who also raised their own livestock,” Hawgood explains about the unique taste of animal proteins around the world. “Meat just tastes differently everywhere. Maybe it’s something that only I notice.”
Like most people adapting to a new place, she struggled at first to find her stride when it came to fueling.
“My first year in Idaho, I did take a few shortcuts in quality and freshness, and I learned quickly it’s not worth it,” she says. “When you’re an athlete, spending money on good food is part of your job description. You need to buy gas to get to work every day—meaning that we need to feed our bodies with the right food to get our jobs done.”
After her freshman year, Hawgood’s mindset about food was just that—gas in the tank. And while she still believes that, she’s also changed her attitude over the years to view food as something to also enjoy.
“I want to really enjoy eating,” she says. “And I’ve fallen in love with preparing and cooking food—I’ll always love that part of the process, and can’t seem to give it up to someone else because I really love that side of nutrition.”
How to Travel and Eat as an Elite
Hawgood is always on the move, flying across the world to visit friends, explore new places, and compete in trail ultras. This amount of travel would take a toll on anyone, let alone an elite athlete. But Hawgood has managed to perfect her travel-to-fueling formula by following a few solid rules.
1. Don’t Stress Too Much About Timezones—Just Eat
“I try not to stress about travel too much, because the more you worry about food and time changes, that causes everything else in the body to freak out,” she says. “I usually get on the plane and pretty quickly change my watch and phone to the time zone I’m going to. I get into the thinking of, “OK, it’s 6 P.M. there, so I should be getting ready for the end of the day.”
These mental gymnastics include forgetting what time it is at home. This helps her keep an open mind when it comes to her meals. For her, it’s not so much a concern of when she eats, but that she’s consistently consuming food throughout the day like normal—even if it’s in the airport or on the plane.
2. Come Prepared or Learn How to Ask For Help
“Nothing really changes too much when you change time zones,” she says. “I have had trouble in some countries finding gluten-free options—Japan was somewhere I particularly struggled with. I was traveling alone [to the 2019 UTMB Mt. Awa SkyRace where she finished 52] and didn’t know the language, so finding gluten-free options was tough.”
Since this incident, she makes sure she knows exactly how to ask for gluten-free options in whatever language the country she’s visiting requires, and also packs meals to have things on hand so she’s not reliant on unfamiliar stores.
“It’s gotten easier with time and practice,” she says.
3. Drink Tons of Water
This is an obvious one, but it still should not be forgotten. Hawgood always chooses an aisle seat so she’s not afraid to drink a ton of water on the plane—if you’re on the end, you won’t have to nudge anyone’s knees or climb over someone’s lap to get to the bathroom.
4. You Don’t Always Need a Plan
Hawood tries not to get onto a plane with a strict plan—what to eat, when to eat, how much she has to sleep on the plane—as that can create more stress and elevate her blood pressure if she has to slightly veer off of it. Flights get delayed. Travel snafus pop up. She’s always ready to be flexible, which keeps her stress levels down.
5. Don’t Take Shortcuts
One thing Hawgood is strict about is not taking any shortcuts when it comes to the quality of her traveling fuel.
“Airport food can be expensive, so it might be tempting to wait to eat,” she says. “But I take that into account when I sit down there and eat a real meal. It’ll probably cost more, but it’s better than just having a small bar or snack when I’m really in need of a genuine meal.”
She’s become a practiced traveler with all the trips she’s taken, picking out her favorite restaurants and food spots at her most highly-frequented airports. The best, in her opinion, are the places where you can put together a quick rice-based bowl or salad. She’s willing to sit down and order food when necessary, but the ease of walking through a self-serve place is extra nice.
“My advice for athletes traveling is to show up early and take a stroll through the airport and see the options!” She says. “It’s always a good way to get blood moving pre-flight.”
What Emily Hawgood Eats in a Day
Hawgood admits she’s a creature of habit when it comes to the meals she prepares, but when she eats them is all over the map. She’s constantly eating throughout the day, and dinner could be anywhere between 3-7 P.M., depending on when she finishes her run or workout for the day.
Breakfast
Gluten-free toast (her favorite brand right now is Franz) smeared with avocado and topped with scrambled eggs, plus a banana to go.
Lunch
A big salad with a base of spring mix and spinach, and either salmon, chicken, or leftover steak (if she grilled some for dinner the night before). Toppings are always abundant and alternating, but right now she’s into cherry tomatoes, carrots, blue cheese, and olive oil or vinegar.
Snacks
Hawgood jokes that she likes to embrace her European side by snacking on meat and cheese boards—camembert cheese is her favorite. But she’ll also always have snacks on hand like banana chips, trail mix, bananas, and gluten-free cookie dough. A must-have after a workout is chocolate milk.
Dinner
Hawgood is a multitasking cook. For dinner, she’ll throw salmon (seasoned with a bit of salt), and asparagus onto a baking sheet and stick it into the oven before running off to shower or do her recovery or strength routine. She’ll always add an easily digestible carb to her protein and fiber source, often white or brown rice.
Growing up with simple flavors, Hawgood hasn’t diverged into many new spices. She likes salt and pepper, and is always open to trying new tastes when someone else is cooking or she’s in a new place, but in her own kitchen, she keeps it simple.