Preparing for a marathon requires more than just logging miles and honing your endurance. What you eat in the days leading up to the race and on race day itself can significantly impact your performance.
As someone with over a decade of running experience, and many thousands of kilometres under my belt, I’ve spent years perfecting my fuelling strategy through trial and error. Here, I’ll share insights on how to fuel effectively for your marathon, drawing from my own experiences.
Here are some marathon nutrition ideas that work for me:
What to eat the night before marathon:
- Chicken Stir Fry
Marathon Day – Breakfast:
- Jam sandwich
- Instant oats
Snacks:
- Banana
- Protein Nut Bar
Race Food (Solids):
- Sandwich with butter & spread of your choice
- Shot blocks
- Lollies
- Chips
- Energy biscuits
Race Liquids
- Water
- Carb & electrolyte drink
- Pureed fruit pouches
- Energy gels
A little About My Running Journey
My running journey has spanned 10 years and covered many thousands of kilometres in training runs and races. My longest running events include 2 trail marathons and four 50km ultramarathons. I am currently training for Sydney Marathon, which will be my first road marathon, and also for my first 100km run. My nutrition advice is all from my personal experience and knowledge. I’m pleased to share my tips on fuelling my runs.
Race Snapshot: Ultra Trail Kosciusko 50km
This race from 2022 is my favourite 50km run to date. We had to drive nearly 600km to get to the start of the race. I had to pack all my food for before and during the marathon which meant I had to be super organised. I had lists and spreadsheets, bags and tubs, with everything sorted and in its place.
Marathon Week - Eat Clean
Travelling the day before a race is exhausting so eating clean and healthy is essential. I really like to focus on eating as clean and healthy as I can for the week before the race.
Always avoid new foods on the day before. Stick to comfort foods that your body is familiar with.
For dinner, I had brought a stir fry that I had made at home. My meal included rice for carbs, chicken for the protein, and a few veggies.
Carb Loading before Your Marathon
During the week before your marathon, some runners advocate for carb-loading. This involves increasing your carbohydrate intake the night before your big race to stockpile glycogen stores in your muscles. I had tried this at a half marathon and found that it left me feeling heavy and bloated.
Some runners choose to load their carbs over the week prior, so it is not such a huge load in one hit.
Personally, carb loading doesn’t work for me, but I would suggest that you try it for yourself before a long training run and see if it will work for you.
Some carb-rich meal options include:
- Pasta with marinara sauce
- Rice with chicken and vegetables
- Baked potatoes or sweet potatoes
- Quinoa salad
- Bagels with nut butter or jam
- Oatmeal with fruit and honey
- Whole grain sandwich with turkey or chicken
- Pizza
Marathon Race Morning – Breakfast & Snacks
Race morning was an early start, so I prepared and organised my food the night before. I woke early and ate my breakfast – a jam sandwich on white bread, and just water to drink.
I try to avoid too much fibre before a race so white bread, butter and raspberry jam is the perfect pre-race food for me. I have also since tried instant oats and find this to be another great breakfast, especially if the weather is cold.
The drive to the start was about 40 minutes so I brought a banana to eat when we got there.
The food I packed for my race included:
- Tailwind in 2 x 500ml bottles – this comes in a powder and when mixed with water provides a complete source of carbs and electrolytes. In theory you could complete your entire marathon or ultramarathon using just Tailwind, but I like to supplement it with some alternatives.
- Pureed fruit pouches, the kinds designed for babies! They are easy to pack, carry, open and eat.
- Vegemite (promite or marmite in some countries) sandwich on white bread with butter. I always cut the crusts off and cut it into little fingers, and pop into a zip lock bag. It is a great mix of carbs and salt to keep the cramps away.
- Gels – these are not my favourite due to their texture. I have tried quite a few over the years and they are quick and convenient so I do often carry some as a backup.
- Shot blocks (or other “glorified” lollies from a running shop) – these are generally very sweet, just like lollies. These are a good choice for me, they are a little more expensive than lollies but they are easy to eat and come in lots of flavours and some are even caffeinated.
- Water in my backpack bladder
Nutrition frequency during my marathon race:
As each kilometre ticked away, I took a small sip of my Tailwind. Every hour I would have something extra from my pack. I always try and eat the real food as early as I can, because sometimes later in the race, I just don’t feel like chewing solid food.
The first food I ate was half of my vegemite sandwich. Another hour down the road I had a pouch of pureed pears. My energy levels were going well and the next food was the rest of my sandwich.
Utilising Aid Stations During Ultramarathons
Aid stations during races can vary greatly on what they stock. It is a good idea to find out from the race organisers what they plan to have there.
I refilled my bottles with their drink (which I had practised drinking on training runs prior to race day). There was a large selection of fruit, chips and lollies. The chips were in mini sealed packets so I grabbed a couple and stashed them in my pack for later.
Aid Station Tip!
Bring a couple of empty zip lock bags, and fill with food from the aid station to restock your supplies.
It was a long time before the next aid station and in this stretch, I ate chips and lollies and continued to sip my electrolyte drink. I had left a drop bag of my own items at the next aid station so I was able to fill up with my own Tailwind drink and had more pureed pears.
From here I started using the caffeinated Tailwind. I prefer not to consume caffeine for the entire race and save it for the end, when I need that extra energy boost. I also picked up a couple of packets of chips, and some red frog lollies and set off with a full pack again.
There were no more aid stations, so I knew these supplies would need to see me to the finish of the race. As the race goes on, I tend to feel less like real food, so the Tailwind electrolyte drink and puree pears work best for me.
Nutrition after my Ultramarathon!
At the finish line was another aid station, full of recovery foods. However, a lot of the nutrition available didn’t interest me, like a full plate of cheesy nachos! However, as the weather on this run was cold (it had been snowing during the race), I loved a hot milo and hot soup to warm me up.
The night of my ultra, we went out for a pub meal and I ate a burger and chips, and loved every bite of it!
This was my best long race to date; my training was just right for me to perform at my best and my fuelling strategy complemented and supported me on my race.
Why is nutrition so important for marathon races?
What you eat and drink before and during a race will help you to get the best out of yourself. If you are empty, you will feel tired, sluggish, move more slowly and eventually start to feel unwell. When you line up for your first marathon (or any running event), you will have trained for months. You will have worked hard on long runs, strength sessions, speed work, and tempo runs. The last thing you want on race day is to jeopardise all that hard work by using insufficient or ineffective fuel.
How much food should runners eat during a marathon race?
How much fuel you need during a marathon and what food to eat is very personal. Experts recommend that runners eat 50 to 70 grams per hour. However, the best way to find what works best for you is to practice on your training runs.
I generally aim for around 200 calories per hour. But this will vary greatly depending on factors like:
- Height
- Weight
- Metabolism
- Fitness levels
- Effort level
- Race distance & terrain
- Weather
Conclusion
Practicing with nutrition intake during your long training runs is essential to get a feel for how your body will respond. On race day, be sure to fuel well before your race starts and continue to fuel throughout your run.
You can line up at the start line with the confidence that you have the best fuel strategy in place. Then get out there and smash your goal!
If you’ve tried any of these nutrition suggestions or would like to share what works for you, please let me know in the comments!