In the amateur ranks, passion is the driving force of dedication. It’s unlimited. Time and resources, however, are not. Life is a complex and unpredictable interplay of family and work and the unforeseen that makes structure a challenge. We train and race around an unreliable routine. When we can, not always when we want. Nevertheless, we still aspire to be better. We still try. It’s not simply a devotion — it’s an addiction. Of the good sort. Every amateur watches the professional and, at some stage, wonders — what if? Maurten can’t give the gift of time or streamline the day in, day out by stripping away the layers of life. But we can offer the support of nutritional expertise and an ecosystem of specifically designed fueling products.

Such is the circuitous nature of life, what feels unnatural at first may be the missing piece when you meet it again at the right time. “I laugh when I think about my first experience — thinking that running was stupid and feeling so dejected and embarrassed by my inability to keep up with the kids in my school. But look at me now.” — Adriana Estrada

LOG 1 — introducing Adriana

LOG 2 — The learning curve

For Adriana, the inevitable next start line is Boston. “I mean, it's kind of the Holy Grail, right? It's the oldest marathon in the US.”

Reflecting on how she got to this point — feeling confident in targeting big city marathons — Adriana finds it almost absurd that her first foray into running offered such little promise of the joy she now draws from the sport. An ill-fated attempt to join the school cross-country team lasted just a couple of blocks.

“I'm by myself. I don't know where they went. So do I keep running or do I turn around? I turned around, walked back to the school, and  called my mom. She asked me what happened and I said, "‘Running is stupid.’ And that was the end of that.”

Times change and running came around again. On her terms — nothing competitive. And maybe that was the key to unlocking what running could mean. Doing it unrushed and without comparison. Before any compulsion to chase time, running became a way to move through new places.

“My husband and I call it touring. The first thing we do in a new place is go for a run so we can get to know a neighborhood.”

Racing has a magnetism that eventually pulled Adriana in. That enchanting quality. The juxtaposition that blends a festival atmosphere alongside thousands of people wrangling with a distance. “Every year we'd go out and cheer on the New York City marathoners. It was so exciting. I would yell, ‘We're going to do this. Let's do it. Let's sign up.’ Then finally, one day I said, ‘You know what? That's it. I'm going to sign up for something.’ So I consulted all of my friends who run and I started with a half marathon— the Rock 'n' Roll Half, in Brooklyn.” 

And so the process of learning to become a runner began. “My friends gave me tips about what I needed — what shoes, what socks, what kind of shorts, what kind of sports bra… everything. Because I didn't really know anything. This world was so, so different.”

Learning how to fuel isn’t as simple as choosing socks. You only know it’s right when you feel nothing. And when it’s wrong, it can ruin a run.

“Everyone told me to eat lots of  bagels because I needed the glycogen in my muscles. I did that and felt gross because I was way over-bageled.”

While the mental picture of being over-bageled is an amusing one, it’s an important reminder that there’s not necessarily a right or wrong way — only what’s right for you. And that takes patience and practice to master.

This is something that Adriana hopes she will leave Fueled for a Year with a much clearer understanding of. “I know there's a science behind it and I've become a kitchen scientist by trying a little bit of this and a little bit of that. But really knowing what works for my height, weight, speed, age — that’s where I want to learn.” 

Being more educated about fueling, Adriana hopes that it will enable her to strip away much of the clutter. Everything you need — nothing you don’t. To access the purity of running. “There are moments when I'm running and I don't even think about what's happening in my body. It's just this absolute fantastic feeling of being connected to the Earth. When I see Eliud Kipchoge or Hellen Obiri move, it seems effortless. That's where I want to get to — to feel that flow.”

Since the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half, Adriana has moved through greater distances on trail and road. But a qualifying time for Boston would be a sweet validation — a deserved reward — for toiling with the inertia of comfort. Sometimes it’s easier not to try again. But Adriana did and her life is richer for it.

LOG 1 — introducing Adriana

LOG 2 — The learning curve

As the Boston Marathon starts to come over the horizon, Adriana talks us through her training and nutritional focus, as she looks to specifically tailor these important weeks of preparation.

Having a race goal is an odd experience. It feels a long way off. And then suddenly imminent. There’s no backtracking from complacency once a race feels close. Now deep into her Boston Marathon preparation, it’s the perfect complement to this endeavour that Adriana naturally maintains quite high mileage through race experiences — she recently ran a 50-mile trail race and the Los Angeles Marathon. These chunky training milestones provide the relative luxury of being able to practice a full race simulation before heading to the main goal. And that’s exactly how she should use this period of training — to experiment, tweak, adjust, and get to know what her body needs. When Adriana stands on the start line her fueling strategy should be unique to her. Derived from an understanding of personal needs.

“I will be fine-tuning my nutrition plan between now and Boston. I want to make sure I'm not either under- or over-fueled, now that I have a better understanding of what I need per hour. When I get to the halfway part of any race, that's when the race starts for me. I always feel good at the beginning, but I think about what I need nutritionally for the second half. How do I fuel that? Do I just consume 5 gels and go for it? Or, do I have 5 gels and then a peanut butter sandwich to fight flavor fatigue? That's one of the things I'm working on in training too.”

In addition to the fueling aspect, Adriana is experimenting with different workouts and transitioning her training into a new focus — more speed work. A 50-mile trail race doesn’t necessarily translate into fast miles on the road so a shift at this point in the preparation process is appropriate. It’s a traditional linear periodization approach — reducing volume following a period of base training and increasing intensity. “I'm not worried about the distance because I can do 26.2 miles; I mean, that'll be fun compared to 50. For Boston, I am training for speed. Zeroing-in on that these last few months helped me run the LA Marathon 8 minutes faster than I ran the New York Marathon in 2024. I'm part of a running club here called Team Runners High, and they have a track we go to on Tuesday nights. I've been working on my race pace, fine tuning my form, and visualizing a finish time that I want to hit in Boston, which is exciting.”


Regardless of the goal, Adriana’s purpose is grounded in the same ethos — fun comes first.

"Everything I'm learning about right now —  the nutrition, speed, form, shoes, clothes — It all just helps enhance the enjoyment of something which is so incredibly fun. I'm gathering the knowledge to enhance the experience but not get caught up in, or overwhelmed by, the data."

“I am enjoying learning about how to use the Maurten products as part of my training so that, ultimately, the racing experience is fulfilling. I read this quote the other day that said: "Train hard so the performance is easy.”

Maurten’s Lean Performance Dietitian, Lauren Thomas, noted, “the session with Adriana highlighted how challenging navigating the sports nutrition space can be as an amateur. There is so much conflicting information and misinformation across social media and the internet that can leave athletes confused — or committed to a fueling practice that isn’t serving them. I saw she was not getting enough carbohydrate in her pre-long run breakfast or her post-long run refueling which was likely playing a big role in the hunger she felt later in the day. Unlike many professionals who have more time to focus on recovery and fueling the rest of the day, many amateurs are running around balancing full time jobs, families, etc so they can benefit from planning nutrition ahead of time.”

Coming next:

With support from the Maurten Nutrition Team, Log 3 will explore how Adriana was able to implement and simulate a marathon race strategy in LA, a course that offered a comparable test to Boston.

Log 3 — Adriana x Molly Seidel

Our Fueled for a Year athletes have told their story, they’ve spoken with the Maurten Nutrition Team, and now it’s a chance to get real insights from the elite athletes. Adriana chatted with Olympic bronze medalist  and now fellow trail runner, Molly Seidel, about what to expect from the Boston Marathon course. She was also able to tap into Molly’s broader running knowledge to help dial in her mindset for longer distances.

Adriana:
I have five weeks until Boston and I'm okay with the distance. But what's your advice? What's the scariest thing I should look out for? What should I prepare for that I don't know?

Molly: 
The Boston course is really interesting because although it's not going to seem downhill when you start, it is so incredibly downhill. Probably the first 10 to 12 miles are, in terms of marathon, pretty screaming downhill. So it's going to feel fast, but you're also going to feel really good. The inclination — I made this mistake when I ran Boston — is to go way too fast on the first half. Really keep in mind the whole first half of that race to stay in check and stick with your pacing. Run smart. Boston takes so much self-control to be able to run it right, but if you stay patient in the first 12, and if you are diligent with that pacing and sticking to it — not getting caught up in the energy — you're going to have a great back half of the race. So many people make the mistake, myself included, that you go out like 10 to 15 seconds faster than your projected per mile pace. Then you come through Wellesley and you start hitting the Newton Hills and you literally crash and burn. I had to drop out at mile 16 because I had screwed myself so badly, and this is coming from someone who lived in Boston for five years. I trained on that course every single weekend and I still made that mistake.

Adriana:
When you're running downhill, what is your form like? Because I've read many different ways of approaching that. Some people say to tip forward as far as you can, run on your toes. Other people say to sit back and then just be mid-foot.

Molly: 
So the problem is, anytime you're trying to modify your form, you're inherently going to make things harder for yourself. So for the athletes that I coach and for myself, with downhill running, the most important thing is to focus on staying really relaxed and trying not to think about how I'm moving my legs or where I'm putting my body. Try to focus on staying as relaxed as possible and using the momentum of the hill to carry you. Don't try to change anything about your form. Just try to not be braking yourself as you go down because that’s harder on the legs. By doing a little bit of practice, you actually can get very good at it very quickly.

Adriana:
I just ran the LA marathon in 4h31, which is 8 minutes faster than my time at New York two years ago. I think it's because of the fueling and the understanding that comes from that. But I would love to know, on a bigger level, because you're doing ultras now and are taking on these big distances, how do you calm your mind?

Molly:
Some of it really is just that aspect of keeping on moving forward. I will get deep anxiety sometimes on my longer training runs, where in the beginning, even the first few miles, I'll feel some anxiety of like, ‘Man, this feels like a really long training run. How am I going to get through this? How am I going to feel later?’ And so much of it is almost kind of like grounding yourself in the moment. If you can keep staying in the moment the whole time, you won't get caught up in trying to plan for something that hasn't happened yet.

Adriana:
I use Maurten gels, but what else do you eat on these runs? Because sometimes I get flavor fatigue. What are you reaching for to break out of that?

Molly:
Yeah, a lot of times I'll try to substitute like a real food by alternating the Maurten Solid with just like a large Rice Krispie treat, almost because the chewing is really nice. I also really like a salt and vinegar potato chip or a pretzel.

Adriana:
And then are you slowing down to eat or are you munching as you're going?

Molly:
I'm kind of munching as I'm going. I practice that a lot. And especially coming from pro marathoning where we have to take our bottles running full speed, because you can't slow down when you take it. So for me, ultra has been nice that I get to take it going 7.30 to 8 minute pace rather than full blast.

Adriana:
I’ve had some great advice from Lauren in the Maurten Nutrition Team, about some other food options to try when running. What do you like to drink and eat on the trails?

Molly: 
I think it really does depend on your own system. And so much of it, that's part of the fun of training, is getting to experiment with different things. Each run is an opportunity to test something new.

Adriana:
This has been so great. Getting to meet you and hearing your stories. I appreciate the advice.

Molly: 
It’s so much fun getting to talk to you and I do really hope that Boston goes well. It'll be very exciting to see how this goes for you. I'm glad that I got to help contribute to hopefully you having an amazing race.

In all honesty, it really is about self-control. I wish I had better advice than that, but it's kind of making sure that you're just being patient on the day. I don't think there's any specific trick that you can do other than checking your watch, checking in with how you feel, and making sure you’re being honest with yourself. I think it's very easy to let the ego take over and be like, ‘Obviously I can hold this pace for the entire race.’ Don't make promises at mile 5 that you can't keep at 25.

Log 4 — Lifestyle

LOG 1 — introducing Adriana

LOG 2 — The learning curve

LOG 3 — Adriana x Molly Seidel

For the professionals, it’s easy — the sport is their lifestyle and their living. That’s what comes first. For our Fueled for a Year athletes, training for a sport is a balance. A complex interplay that carefully manages time, communication, relationships, and rest. To keep the scales roughly in equilibrium when opposing forces are trying to pull them in different directions takes patience and understanding. This is how Adriana controls the day in, day out demands of preparing for the Boston Marathon alongside the needs of work and her partner.

“Having understanding family members to support your dreams, if you want to call them dreams, ambitions, or goals, is what makes these endeavours wonderful and fulfilling.” — Adriana Estrada.

Being alert to the person you are and appreciating how that impacts the people and the environment around you is a skill. Athletes know how they feel after a period of inactivity. Impatient, stodgy, irritable. But for a relationship to work, it’s also important for the partner to recognise that too.

“My husband has been so supportive in all of this — he knows I'm happiest when I can run and surf. And therefore, I'm easier to live with because I get the energy out and I feel more at peace. Just having those outlets makes me a much more grounded person.” It’s a frank admission that simply by running you become a better person, but running is not selfish and it’s not a bad habit. It’s also an activity that Adriana can enjoy with her husband, even if she admits that he is a little faster. “He’s also a runner, but calls himself ‘the reluctant runner’ because he's not as obsessed with it as I am. But at the same time, he enjoys it and he understands the benefits.”

For Adriana, running fostered new connections and a new social scene when she moved across the country from new York to California.

“I have my own business, and working in a new city, remotely, can be very isolating. Part of getting to know the community and making new friends was through a running club, AREC. Through these friends, I have been able to explore the trails around here and learn a lot about the ‘art’ of running. My friends whom I know from my prior life, and also new friends that I've made here that don't run, are always amazed by how much time I spend running.”

Like-mindedness is magnetic.

When it comes down to the nitty-gritty of preparing to run the Boston Marathon, the sustained training effort does have an impact beyond the fatigue of ‘casual’ running. A training block for a purpose hits differently. “Sometimes I can't get to bed until 10 or 11pm because, if I'm training in the evening, by the time I get home I'm starving. After eating, I can't go to bed right away because I can’t sleep on a full stomach.”

But Adriana accepts that this is her situation and that any period of preparation should always be managed from a personal perspective. “There is no one right way, other than the process that you're following. The last thing you want to do is change anything at the last minute — diet or shoes or fueling, or whatever it is. Trust that process and trust yourself.” Understanding that there really isn’t a fixed formula is a core principle of any training regimen.

Underpinning all of this is an understanding of having the freedom to pursue a goal and the joy that comes with it. Work might sometimes be hectic, days might be long, and she may feel the cumulative fatigue, but Adriana doesn’t take this moment for granted.

"There are so few people in the world who have these opportunities and also have the support of family and friends behind them. If you don't have that, it can be overwhelming. Then you start questioning, ‘why the hell am I doing this?’ So that's the thing that keeps me grounded — I'm so grateful and happy to be able to do this with the people I love around me."