By Hannah Brooks Olsen for Blisstree.com

Ultramarathoner and author Scott Jurek runs for literally hundreds of miles at a time, fueled by a plant-based, nutrient-rich diet. But even if your runs are just a few laps around the track, your performance (and whole body) can still be aided by eating healthy–so, when I interviewed Jurek last week, I asked him a pretty straightforward question: what are the eight foods all runners should eat? And, because he’s really nice and wants everyone to eat an awesome diet, he shared some with me.

Jurek, whose new book Eat and Run is a super-inspirational memoir/cookbook, which features vegan recipes (using the following foods), race recaps, nutritional information, and Jurek’s own personal journey toward health, was quick to caution that even a diet brimming with superfoods can’t make up for a lack of smart training and an otherwise unhealthy lifestyle.

But, he says, there are some foods that are just such great resource (for vegans or non-vegans alike), that every runner should consider adding them into their diet.

Flip through the gallery to see what he recommends…

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How far we’ve come: A short history of women’s marathons
Crazy personal trainer reveals what happens to your body when you let yourself go