Runners require more calories than most people -- sometimes up to 25 percent more, according to Hal Higdon, author of "Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide." If you aren't eating enough calories, you slow your metabolism, destabilize your weight, slow your speed and risk injury. Your body uses considerable energy to run, so feeding it properly is a vital part of your sport.
Calories
Running increases your body's demand for nutrition. Runners require up to 2,500 calories a day, according to Higdon. If you normally eat about 1,800 to 2,000 calories a day, start eating more. Runners training for half-marathons run about 20 to 25 miles a week. The usual food pyramid does not provide enough energy for this level of activity.
Diet
While the normal healthy diet consists of 15 to 20 percent protein, 30 percent fat and 50 to 55 percent carbohydrates, runners need more calories from carbohydrates. Runners who don't eat the required carbohydrates find they have trouble with long-distance runs or recovering from shorter ones. Your body relies on the fuel of complex carbohydrates when running. If you aren't getting enough calories, add fresh or dried fruit, bagels and pasta.
Metabolism
When you don't get enough calories, your metabolism slows. This is one of your body's first responses to not giving it what it needs. Navy SEAL and author of "Maximum Fitness" Stew Smith says a calorie deficiency doesn't necessarily mean you'll starve yourself. Instead, your body just hangs onto water and stops you from increasing your oxygen intake, which is a crucial part of running.
Injuries
When you don't eat enough calories, you risk injury. If you don't satisfy your body's need for the right kinds of calories, you deprive yourself of vitamins and minerals that help you recover from training. The main cause of pain for runners is inflammation caused by overuse or repetition. Eating enough calories allows your body to repair the inflammation. If you don't eat enough calories, not only is your body unequipped to fix itself, but it's also paying more attention to your metabolic changes than healing.
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