Why I eat Bounce by Chloe Richardson

Hi! My name is Chloe, I am an elite marathon runner, Air and Space Operations Specialist in the Royal Air Force, coffee addict and nut butter lover.

I have run since I was 11 years old. I can’t say I grew up dying to be a distance runner but after my parents many failed attempts at trying to find a sport I was good at, running around a track seemed to work. Within a few months and some fancy new running trainers I was ready to be the next Paula Radcliff and I loved the sport.

After running all these years, I decided to run my first Marathon last October and represented the RAF in the London Marathon. It was amazing! I hadn’t particularly “Marathon trained” for this, just wanted to have a go at the Marathon Distance. Race morning, I was excited! I put on my RAF Vest and Nike Vapourflys (all the gear…). A few Bounce energy balls, Maurten drink and gels later and I was off. I ran 2.37 and as soon as I came over the finish line, I was ready to find Marathon number 2. A few months and a few more miles later and I finished fifth at the Commonwealth Games & European Championship Marathon trial in April, clocking a new PB of 2:33:25 and I was over the moon!! I may have gone a little hard on the post-race celebrations, but life is all about balance, right?

Clearly from the above information I’m not a lazy person however, when it comes to fuelling and nutrition, I’m horrifically lazy and this can be detrimental to marathon training especially around a busy lifestyle. The correct nutrition not only fuels your next session but fuelling correctly post training is crucial! We know that protein is the best source of recovery from a long run or session, but at the end of the day, it can be difficult to make sure our diet contains enough protein to fuel our daily physical activity.

I take high protein snacks with me everywhere I go, especially after big training sessions. I’ve also been known to take a few cheeky Bounce protein balls in my clutch bag to a wedding before! Runners totally understand the pain of having a long run or training session prior to a wedding/event and then not eating for hours! We get hangry and fundamentally it is going to be detrimental to recovery, so I think it’s a smart move, plus no one likes a hangry Chloe.

It’s hard to hit your daily protein requirement and I’m not one for messing around with protein shakes. Bounce do THE BEST protein energy balls (coconut and macadamia are to die for). As an elite athlete I need snacks like Bounce balls that are full of nutrients, high in protein, contain healthy carbs, fats, and fibre, helping to support my training and provides me with a sufficient energy boost… winner!! You will always find me sat in the office with a coconut milk latte and a coconut macadamia bounce ball.

What’s next for Chloe? Well, I’m running for England next month at the Antrim half marathon and then running the Great North Run two weeks after. In October I will be putting on my fancy Great Britain vest and representing GB at the European 50k Championships in Madrid. I’m excited to see how fast I can go over the Marathon Distance over the next few years and with consistent training, better recovery and nutrition (a lot of Bounce Protein balls will be consumed) I believe a sub 2.30 is achievable and I can’t wait!

You can follow Chloe’s journey on her Instagram @chlorichx.