Importance of Nutrition for Marathon Running
A well-planned marathon training diet to accompany your regular training is absolutely essential if you want to achieve success in your race. Whether you are running your first marathon or have run many before and are looking to beat your PB, getting your nutrition right can be the difference between crossing the finish line or hitting the wall and not making it. It can be confusing with all the conflicting information available, and it is important to understand that you should do what works for your body, not what someone tells you worked for them. So what should you be doing to prepare for your big day?
1. Plan, Plan, Plan!
This may seem like a common-sense thing to say, but so many people get this wrong, and it is probably the most important point I will make in this article. Planning ahead will ensure you get the required nutrients every day, from macronutrients down to vitamins and minerals, all of which serve an important purpose within the body. The best plan of action is to write down all the meals and snacks you will have each day for the week, taking into account when you will be training, working, sleeping, etc., so you can plan appropriate times for eating and preparing food.
There is no point in picking something to make for dinner that will take you 2 hours to prepare when you only have 30 minutes available. I have often seen people doing this, and when they realize they don’t have time to make it, they will just get a takeaway, which is not what you want. By planning like this, you will also cut down on food waste as you can create a shopping list based on the planned meals and only buy what you need.
The more things you plan for, the better and more relaxed you will be when it comes to race day. Every week you should create a new plan according to your training, taking into account the increase in mileage as you get closer to the big day.
Having a diary or notebook purely devoted to your marathon training diet will help keep you on track. In this, you can keep notes of meals/foods that work well for you, how you are feeling, timings, training logs, etc., to help keep you as organised as possible.
2. Remember, You Are a Marathon Runner
This might sound like a strange point to make, but it is something that many people forget about when it comes to nutrition. The government puts out a lot of information regarding healthy eating and nutrition, which is good. However, this information is generalised and targeted at the general population, not marathon runners.
So when you see things such as avoiding salt, just think about how this may impact your performance. Remember, salt contains sodium, which is essential for several functions, including fluid balance and muscle contraction. By avoiding it, you may find you are lacking a valuable requirement for your performance. It is worth noting, however, when I say sodium is important, this does not mean it is an excuse to add loads to your meals and eat high salt foods.
3. Train Nutritionally for Race Day
Your training period is not just the time to get your mileage up; it is also essential that you train nutritionally as well. Everyone’s body reacts differently to different foods and timings, so it is vital that you are familiar with what works for you. This is especially true for sports products such as gels, which are given out for free in most races. There are many of them on the market, and a lot of people will be tempted to take the free ones on race day so they don’t need to buy and carry some. However, if you train with a different brand than what is given out for free, you may not be aware that it could result in stomach issues, which is the last thing you want to discover after months of hard work in training.
Make sure you familiarize yourself with everything you will be consuming on race day, from breakfast to fluids and anything you will be consuming during the race. If you want to use the free gels provided, buy them and use them during training runs to ensure they react okay with your body. It is much better to stop a training session partway due to stomach issues than to pull out of the actual race.
You should aim to do at least one trial run of the race, where you try to match everything as closely as possible. This will also help if you suffer from pre-race nerves as it takes away some of the uncertainty.
- Get up at the same time you will on race day
- Have the same breakfast at the same time as you will on race day
- Set off on your run at the same time as race day (If possible, train on part of the route you will be racing)
- Wear the same clothes as you will on race day
- Eat and drink the same things as race day
4. Remember Your Energy
Carbohydrate is a widely discussed topic at the moment, and people have many different views on it. Just to clear this up, there is nothing wrong with carbohydrate! I will repeat that again… There is nothing wrong with carbohydrate. The issue many people seem to have with it is that it “makes you fat.” Again, this is not true. The truth is eating too much of anything makes you fat, not carbohydrate.
For those of you who are not familiar with what it actually is, here is a brief explanation: Carbohydrate is the body’s main energy source and is stored in the muscle and liver as a thing called glycogen. When you run a marathon, it is absolutely vital that you begin the race with your glycogen stores full. Failure to do this could result in you ‘hitting the wall.’
I have had clients in the past who are under the impression that carbohydrate is bad and will make them fat, so they avoid it. Doing this will only lead to failure in the race and an increased risk of injury.
It is also worth noting that you might experience weight gain when you are training due to your increased carbohydrate intake. This is perfectly normal and is NOT fat. It is water associated with the storage of glycogen. For every 1g of glycogen you store, there will be around 3-4g of associated water. So don’t worry if you are gaining weight; this will go away after the race.
5. Don’t Forget to Recover
Recovery is so important when it comes to training and getting the most out of it. After a long training session, many people just want to go home and curl up on the sofa, often forgetting to eat, which is a big no-no! When you have done a lot of exercise, your muscles are damaged, your energy stores are depleted, and you have lost a lot of electrolytes through sweat, so it is essential that these are addressed.
Ideally, you will consume a meal/snack rich in both carbohydrates and protein within 20 minutes to aid the repair of muscles and help to refill energy stores for the next session. The optimum requirement for each is approximately 1g of carbohydrate per kg body weight at a ratio of 4:1 Carbohydrate: Protein. So if you weigh 75kg, you should aim for around 75g of carbohydrate and 19g of protein within 20 minutes of finishing training.
If you require assistance with your marathon training diet, check out my consultancy packages that offer everything you need to achieve success on your big day, or get in touch now if you have any questions.