Seriously how are y'all able to do speedruns that takes y'all hours(specifically longer than 4 hours) to complete? It's dam near impossible for me to handle long runs like that due to fear of getting hungry and also having to use the bathroom. How do y'all long speedruns?
Idk I just sit down and do them. If you're afraid of getting hungry then keep snacks near you (nothing with sugar, go with something like nuts because the protein and fiber will fill you up). Don't drink anything other than water, because again, the sugar and crap will wreck you if it's a really long run, and always remember to stand up and stretch periodically - pace a little if you can - so you don't get stiff or uncomfortable.
Other than that, it's just focusing. Practicing a long run will reveal places during the run where you can eat a little or even have a long enough break to go the bathroom. If you need to use the restroom, then just do it, in a run that's hours long anyway, a 30 second break to use the bathroom won't kill you or your time unless it's a super optimized game (which is hard if they're super long anyway). It's all about being smart with taking care of yourself, but if there's any reason you just can't sit still that long or focus that long - medical or otherwise - then longs runs probably just aren't for you.
Long runs kinda depends on what is in the run, usually people think of JRPG runs but I have never ran any so my insights come from attempting runs in the following games / category (I say attempt because I haven't necessarily submitted a run for each of those, but I have at-least completed one run of each of those at some point and might have decided to not submit it for various reasons) https://www.speedrun.com/acecombat3#100_PALNTSC-U https://www.speedrun.com/alundra2 (this one is where I learned the importance of having your notes on hand) https://www.speedrun.com/aac#All_Androids_Campaign (this one is by far the most straining of all of them) https://www.speedrun.com/earth_defense_force_4.1_the_shadow_of_new_despair https://www.speedrun.com/edf5
You're most likely not gonna get hungry enough for it to be distracting unless it's over 8h , but you can always have a snack near you if you're that afraid you might , preferably something not messy, easy to eat with one / no hand and not sugar heavy, obviously take note of places in your run where you can be less focused and not lose too much time / take too much risks, if that's not a thing then you'll have to take the time loss unless the game has rules for mid run breaks. As for drinks water is a safe bet, energy drinks are definitely not a good idea, you'll feel pumped for a time and then you will crash.
Bathroom should again not be much of an issue with runs that aren't much longer than 8hr, take your precautions before and keep places where you can take a break in mind (if there is any, if there isn't just take the time loss), depending on your setup you could totally go full wireless and just continue playing while going to the bathroom, there's no rule against that that I know of, there's obviously some other options you can think of in a similar vein but I'm gonna leave you to figure those out on your own.
As for other things to think of, get a second device and have your notes on it (if it is in fact relevant to the game in question), make sure you're gonna be comfortable for the duration of the run, specifically for headphone avoid anything bass / treble heavy and turn the volume lower than you're used to if possible (and if at any point your ears start hurting / buzzing / ringing etc remove them immediately, same thing if the headphones themselves start hurting you due to a clamp that's too strong or something similar, ignoring that is a surefire way to get tinnitus or an ear infection), have a clean and dry towel near to wipe any sweat you might build up (again that's very relevant to headphone users) make sure you do not have a medical condition that you can make worse by sitting for that long or staring at a screen for that long (take any opportunity you can get to look around or outside a window / get up and walk around a bit regardless) , try to have some easy way to keep the lighting conditions of the room you're in good for the whole run.
I just do them, unironically 4Head. When I was doing runs for 6942 pencils Any% on Pencil Sharpening Simulator, it was mostly a battle of determination and mindset. To sharpen 6942 pencils as quickly as possible, conservative estimates put the best time at 53h. I, of course, decided to do that all in one run. I bought snacks, 5 hour energy, and a empty milk jug to piss in, so I don't have to go to the bathroom. And I failed this 53hr twice. But it was all a matter of perceptive. While this isn't what I used for motivation, this is what I tell other people who are nervous. Don't look at it as sharpening 6942 pencils, instead look at it as sharpening 1 pencil 6942 times. Take an easy task and break it down into many easy parts. EZ clap. For me, I truly just brute force it for 50+ hrs. But yeah.
Preparing time for the run is the hard part for me. Once I'm past early game, I can fully commit to the run until the end, no breaks. I have a glass of water beside me, which I drink during loading times. Of course, I'm totally exhausted by the end of the run, but I recover from that pretty easily. As for the run itself, I do it without notes. I have the whole thing memorized and if I miss something, notes will not help much to figure out what I'm missing. The run started at ~5:30 hours, now it's under 5 hours.