Fuelling for A Marathon: A Simple Guide!
Running a marathon is no small feat! Proper fuelling can make the difference between hitting your stride and hitting the wall. Here's a simple guide to help you stay energised, hydrated, and strong during training and on race day! 💪🏼✨
Why Fuelling Matters 🚀 Think of your body as a car: carbs are the fuel, protein is the maintenance crew, and fats are the backup generator. Without the right "fuel mix," your body can’t perform at its best, especially over long distances. 👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼
Carbs: Your Primary Energy Source 🍞🍓🥔 Carbs are the key to powering your long runs and races. 🗝️
Before your race: Have a carb-rich meal 2–3 hours beforehand (e.g., oatmeal with banana or toast with nut butter or, if you’re me, a high energy protein bar.
During your race: Aim for around 60g of carbs per hour. This could be gels, chews, or energy drinks. Start fuelling early—don’t wait until you’re tired!
After your run: Replenish your glycogen stores with a mix of carbs and protein (like chocolate milk, a smoothie or a sandwich).
Before any training run longer than 45 minutes -1 hour: Have some carbs just before you head out of the door: a gel, a bagel, an apple purée pouch (if that works with your stomach). What an added boost? Have a cup of coffee too! Research shows that carbs and coffee together offer the ultimate pre-training boost!
During your training: Aim for around 60g of carbs per hour for any run over 60-90 minutes. We are all so different and so you need to practice fuelling to see what works best for you and how early you need to start. This could be gels, chews, or energy drinks. Start fuelling early—don’t wait until you’re tired!
After your run: Replenish your glycogen stores with a mix of carbs and protein (like chocolate milk, a smoothie or a sandwich).
Protein: Recovery’s Best Friend 🥚🍗🌱 Protein helps repair muscles and supports recovery. ❤️🩹
Daily intake for athletes: Aim for 1.5–2g per kg of body weight.
Post-run: Pair protein with carbs within 30 minutes after your workout. A simple option is chocolate milk or Greek yogurt with fruit or a high-protein bar.
Fats: The Backup Fuel 🥑🥜🫒 Healthy fats are essential for overall energy balance and helping recovery as they are anit-inflammatory. They play a smaller – but still important role during exercise. Include sources like avocado, nuts (almonds, walnuts, macadamias, hazelnuts), seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, chia and flax) and olive oil in your daily diet.
Hydration: Your Secret Weapon 💧🧴
Drink water throughout the day, not just during your run.
During runs longer than an hour, consider electrolyte drinks to replace sodium and potassium.
A good rule of thumb: drink to thirst, but don’t overhydrate.
Practice training with water and working out how to carry it if that’s your plan on race day.
On Race Day: Stick to Your Plan 🏅
Practice your fuelling strategy during training. Race day is not the time to try new gels or foods.
Start fuelling early in the race (around 20–30 minutes in) and keep going at regular intervals. Once you are behind on your fuelling, it’s difficult to catch up!
Practice how you are going to carry your gels – a hydration belt, a hydration vest (although note that some races – for example Boston and New York Marathons – sometimes don’t allow them), a bra with pockets or shorts with pockets.
My fuel of choice on Race Day!
I use Hammer Nutrition’s vegan energy bars, gels (chocolate) and Perpetuem solids on Race Day. I also use it’s vegan protein powder for recovery daily.
On Race Day, I run with one or two flask(s), each one holds up to 5 gels. This is a really economic way of buying gels. I also carry 3 Espresso gels.
Hammer Nutrition has been a leading sports nutrition brand in the US for 37 years and recently started being sold in the UK. I love their clean products - no artificial colourings, sweeteners or flavours. Many of the ingredients are organic. As A Nutritional Therapist who tries to eat as clean as possible on a day-to-day basis, that’s very important to me and why I choose to use Hammer Nutrition ins training and racing. If you want to give Hammer Nutrition UK a go, use code HAMMERYOURMARATHON for 15% off your first order.
In a Nutshell 🌟
Carbs = Energy.
Protein = Recovery.
Fats = Anti-inflammation.
Hydration = Focus and concentration.
Fuel wisely, practice during training, and your marathon journey will feel much smoother. You’ve got this! 💪
Any questions? Get in contact! I’d love to help you fuel right to perform your best!
Janie x