Liz Applegate's message to elite athletes and the average person is quite simple: diet counts. Applegate, a UC Davis nutrition lecturer and former award-winning triathlete, was asked to help plan the menus that will be made available to athletes at hotels and on-site locations during the U.S. Track and Field Trials in July. She suggested menus that would offer a variety of high-quality protein and carbohydrates. For the vegetarian athletes, she suggested that plenty of soy-based products, such as tofu and soymilk, be available. "In general, track and field athletes pay superb attention to their diets," says Applegate, who also serves as a nutrition consultant to Olympic and professional athletes. "It has to do a lot with the type of highly motivated person it takes to go out and train individually for these sports." Compared to the average person, elite athletes require higher calorie intake and more protein than the average person does. They also need to eat more often, Applegate noted. And those who compete in distance events want to make sure that their bodies' carbohydrate stores are well stocked. During the Olympic trials, athletes will attempt to maintain the same type of diet they've been training on. "The days here in Sacramento will be really crucial for them and they won't want to blow their chances by eating something new that might cause them stomach distress," Applegate says. Although most of us won't be pole vaulting or running a 100-meter relay anytime soon, we all need to pay attention to basic good nutrition and exercise principles practiced by elite athletes, she stresses. "We're all running our own marathons," she said.