As the Flora London Marathon approaches, you will be building up your training levels and starting to think about nutrition preparation. The key to a success is to be both physically and mentally prepared on the day. You will have already put in the hard work in the weeks prior to marathon progressively increasing your training and ideally you will have been refuelling with a high carbohydrate diet to maximise your carbohydrate stores (muscle and liver glycogen stores).
During the marathon glycogen stores will start to deplete as the body has a limited supply of carbohydrate, this is why it is so important to make sure these levels are maximised to improve your endurance on the day. During the marathon you will start to deplete these stores and to ensure you do not run low or ‘hit the wall’, you will need to top up your blood glucose levels with extra carbohydrate. This can be from sports drinks, gels, sports bars or food, the choice is yours, so take this opportunity now to practice during training and find what works for you.
Diet Preparation
A balanced diet that is high in carbohydrate and low in fat, and provides foods form all essential food groups ensures that you having an adequate supply of all nutrients. Make sure that you eat breakfast and if running early in morning and can’t stomach a meal, try a fruit smoothie drink to make sure that you are not training on empty. Eat within 2 hours following training as this is when the body is most efficient at storing carbohydrate. If you do not refuel adequately on a regular basis, this will cause reduction in your carbohydrate stores, making training more difficult.
Do I need To Carbohydrate Load before the Race?
In recent years carbohydrate loading has been modified and training is tapered over the week before the race. Continue with your high carbohydrate training diet (contain 5-6g carbohydrate per kg of body weight). Carbohydrate intake should then be increased slightly to 8-10g/kg body weight in the 3 days before the race.
On the Day of the Race
Pre-race meal
On the morning of the marathon, you will need to take a light meal 3-4 hours to allow it to digest, you may find it difficult to eat on the morning because of nerves, in this case try using liquid meal such as fruit smoothie, or fruit yogurt drink. Ideally the pre-marathon meal should contain about 200-300g of carbohydrate, should be low in fibre, so that it does not cause stomach upset. It is important to practice the pre-marathon breakfast during training to find out what works best for you.
Take a snack, or drink in the hour before marathon for an extra boost of energy to help delay fatigue; try dried fruit, low fat fruit yogurt, cereal or energy bar, or a jam sandwich or a sports drink. Drink 400-600mls of fluid two hours before the race allows you to hydrate and also find time for a visit to the toilet. Then top up with 200-250mls of fluid 15-20 minutes before the race starts.
Ideas pre-race breakfast Oat based breakfast cereal with skimmed milk, fruit, toast and juice Porridge with skimmed milk, mixed berries and banana, fruit juice Rolls and sandwiches with low fat filling (cottage cheese, lean meat, tuna) low fat fruit yogurt and a piece of fruit (use granary or seeded bread) Fruit smoothies with milk and oatmeal or yogurt or fruit flavoured yogurts |
During the race
Ideally, during the race you will need to start topping up carbohydrate levels to ensure you don’t run out. Start after about 30 minutes into race, aim for about 30-60g carbohydrate per hour, continue at regular intervals. Try energy bars, gels, bananas, dried fruit-bars or an isotonic sports drink. Start to replace fluids early into exercise, don’t wait to become thirsty. It is easier to drink small amounts frequently to avoid gastric upset. Start replacing fluids within the first 30 minutes of exercise, aim for 150-350 mls of fluid every 15-20 minutes during exercise. An isotonic sports drink is an ideal way to refuel and rehydrate. Start practising drinking while on the run in preparation for the big day, this will help to reduce stomach upset during the race.
Ideas for Carbohydrate During Race (50g carbohydrate) |
800mls isotonic sports drink 1 energy gel (large gel) 2 cereal bars 60g jelly beans, wine gums or jelly babies – 1 jam sandwich (thick bread and lots of jam) 2 handfuls dried fruit |
After the Race
Celebrate!! And enjoy what you’ve achieved. Following the marathon as spirits are high it is easy to forget about recovery. Remember to eat within the hour to make sure that your body has the fuel to start to recovery. Eat carbohydrate snack with some protein, for example fruit yogurt and sandwich with lean meat/tuna/cheese and banana or 300mls yogurt drink, sandwich and tinned rice pudding, or try a recovery bar and recovery sports drink. Make provision for recovery food and drink.
Start replacing lost fluids by drinking until urine appears pale in colour. Eat a high carbohydrate meal following the marathon and continue to eat carbohydrate rich meals for the next week to replenish stores.
