50 | health | april/may 2010
Fuelling a
marathon
The day before
“Carb loading” is the term used for increased carbohydrate intake
before a prolonged endurance event, to maximise your body’s
glycogen stores, meaning you will start the race with your body
properly fuelled up.
Fuel
No one type of starchy carbohydrate is better than another in
terms of glycogen storage, so base meals on foods such as
breakfast cereals, potatoes, breads, pasta, rice, couscous and
noodles. Snacks can be made up of sweeter sources of
carbohydrate, such as fruit salads, scones or pancakes with jam,
jaffa cakes and toast.
Guideline amounts for the day before the event are 7-12g
carbohydrate per kg bodyweight. The table below provides
examples of how a 55kg athlete (minimum 385g carbs) and 70kg
athlete (minimum 490g carbs) can achieve this.
Meal
55kg athlete
(409g carbs)
70kg athlete
(537g carbs)
Breakfast
2 slices of toast with
jam, banana, 200ml
fresh orange juice
60g bran flakes with
250ml milk and
chopped banana,
200ml fresh apple juice,
slice of toast with jam
Snack
50g Pretzels, half pint of Blueberry muffin and
milk
400ml orange squash
Lunch
1 tuna salad with pitta
bread, 1 mixed bean
salad with pitta bread,
100g grapes
1 bagel with cream
cheese and salmon; 1
toasted bagel with
grilled lean bacon,
lettuce and tomato; fruit
yoghurt; piece of fruit
(e.g., apple or pear)
Snack
Fruit scone with jam
2 toasted crumpets with
jam
Dinner
200g cooked pasta with
tomato and vegetable
sauce, topped with
Large baked potato
with 240g baked beans grated cheese; pack of
Angel Delight made with
semi-skimmed milk
Snack
1 mug hot chocolate
Fitpro
50g chocolate
Preparing for a
gruelling 26.2-mile
marathon?
Nutritionist
Lindsey Ormond
offers last-minute
advice on fuelling
and hydrating.
Fluid
Consuming fluid regularly throughout the day is the best way to
ensure you maintain a hydrated state. Water, squashes, sports
drinks, tea and coffee all count towards your fluid intake.
Moderate levels of caffeine have been shown to not have the
diuretic effect that is commonly believed, so it is not necessary to
rule caffeine out altogether.
Dehydration can be crudely observed by checking the volume
and colour of urine; if it is dark and in small quantities, then
consume some more fluid, where as pale, straw-coloured fluid in
plentiful volumes indicates good hydration status.
Day before nutrition
1 Have three large meals and three snacks to spread out the
carb intake.
2 Have a small bottle of water with you to ensure you
consume fluid regularly.
3 Don’t try any new foods the night before – stick to what
you know.
Morning of the race
Nothing should change on race day, including your breakfast. You
should consume what you have done on the morning of your long
runs and what you know will not give you gastrointestinal discomfort.
Fuel
A high carbohydrate breakfast is important, as your liver glycogen
will be reduced after an overnight fast (“breakfast” literally means
“breaking the fast”) and this will help replenish it.
The experts advise 1-4g carbohydrate per kg bodyweight in the
two to four hours prior to starting exercise (see table below). It could
be split into two amounts, such as a large breakfast four hours
before, followed by a small snack on the way to the event, two hours
before the race starts.
april/may 2010 | health | 51
55kg athlete
(116g carbs)
70kg athlete
(155g carbs)
60g cornflakes with
250ml milk
4 slices of toast, two with jam
200ml apple juice
Low-fat fruit yoghurt
Banana
Banana
200ml pineapple juice
Fluid
Consume 5-7ml per kg bodyweight at least four hours before
exercise. Smaller amounts can be taken within four hours of the
event, particularly if you are producing small amounts of
concentrated urine, but avoid over consumption. This will mean
extra weight and it could have an effect on how much you can eat.
Morning of the race nutrition
1 Make sure you have breakfast and that it is high in
carbohydrate.
2 Stick to what you have had on the morning of your long
runs. If you have not had a large breakfast on the morning of your
long runs, or struggle to consume a lot in the morning, then pay
more attention to your carbohydrate intake the day before and
during the race.
3 Don’t go over board on the hydration – too much will just make
you need the loo more and add extra weight to carry around.
During the race
Having a source of carbohydrate during the race will provide your
muscles (and brain) with energy and help prolong your time until
fatigue. Have 30-60g carbs per hour of rapidly available carbs, such
as those in the table below.
Food
Carb content (g)
Roll of wine gums
35
1 sachet carbohydrate gel
30
30g bag of jelly beans
27
330ml bottle Lucozade Sport*
21
*(As provided on course at London, Edinburgh and Loch Ness marathon)
If you are having carb gels, consume them with some fluid to
avoid potential (although uncommon) gastrointestinal discomfort.
During the race nutrition
1 Plan what you are going to use during the race in advance
and take it with you. For example, have a gel every hour, starting at
30mins, then 1h.30, 2h.30 and so on. Don’t rely solely on the
carbohydrate handed out on course, although this can provide a
crucial accompaniment to your own sources.
2 Train with what you are going to use on race day. We can
train our gut and build up tolerance to consuming food and fluid
during exercise – start with small amounts and build up gradually if
you have discomfort at the start.
3 Mix up the flavours of what you are having to avoid taste
exhaustion (i.e., take different flavours of carb gels and use packets of
sweets that are of a mixed variety, such as wine gums). fp
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