In the world of competitive running, Mike Wardian, 43, is known for piling up records. Some of them are playful: he鈥檚 clocked the fastest times dressed as Elvis and Spider-Man. Others are more remarkable: in August, Wardian ran the Leadville ultra and the Pikes Peak marathon back-to-back, breaking the combo鈥檚 FKT by almost five hours. The food in Wardian鈥檚 pantry is a similar mix of serious and surprising. He鈥檚 been vegetarian for 20 years, and he eats a lot. 鈥淥ur family鈥檚 food budget is exorbitant,鈥 he says. Here鈥檚 what he always keeps stocked.
Gerber Baby Food ($10 for eight)

鈥淚 eat tons of . My favorite is bananas with apples and pears. Sometimes I鈥檒l stir one into my oatmeal in the morning, or I鈥檒l put a few in my drop bag to eat during a 100-mile race instead of gels.鈥
Flintstones Vitamins ($13)

鈥淚鈥檝e always taken 聽and just never switched to an adult alternative. Ever since I was a聽kid, they鈥檝e reminded me of the start of the day. I like the taste of all of them, but purple is probably聽my favorite.鈥
Sound Probiotics ($30)

鈥淚 don鈥檛 eat dairy,聽so that obviously means no yogurt. But I want to make sure I聽keep everything on track in my gut, so I started taking . They鈥檙e specifically聽formulated for high-performance athletes.鈥
Pickles
鈥淧ickles provide plenty of salt to replace what I鈥檓 losing through sweat. I eat them after runs to help me replenish, and sometimes I鈥檒l snack on them during 100-milers. I probably have them three times a week, usually on a plain bagel with scrambled eggs. It鈥檚 the perfect balance of salt, carbohydrates,聽and protein.鈥
Mustard
鈥淲e keep lots of聽different kinds of mustard on hand. Dijon and stone-ground are two of my favorites. They add a good hit of heat to just about anything.聽I like to put some in my post-long-run meals to counter all the intense sweet stuff I eat during those big efforts.鈥澛
Michele鈥檚 Granola ($7)

鈥淥ur shelves are lined with cereals like Kix and Rice Krispies. For something extra fancy that鈥檚 chock-full of good-for-you ingredients, I love the cinnamon-raisin flavor of . I hate going to bed hungry, so I鈥檒l mix the Rice Krispies and granola with almond milk as聽a snack after dinner.鈥
Whole Foods Raw Honey聽($7)

鈥淚鈥檓 way into honey. My favorite packaged brand right now is . But often I鈥檒l聽just eat it straight from the honeycomb with bread. When I need something a little more portable and less messy鈥攂efore races or in聽my drop bag鈥擨 turn聽to almond butter, banana, and honey on an English muffin.鈥