Race-Day Fuel: How to Get it Right

So you've done all the training for that race? But how much thought have you given to your nutrition? If your goal is a 5 or 10k then nutrition may not be a major issue provided you typically eat a healthy diet. But what if you're getting ready to race a half-marathon, marathon or ultra-marathon? Then you may want to think about your fuelling strategy. Fuelling smartly will make the difference between finishing the race or not finishing at all, or at least between being able to enjoy the race and hitting the wall and having a rather painful experience.

A few days before the race

Before race day, your focus should be on getting enough carbs. That’s the famous carb loading phase. Don’t make the mistake to stick to your normal diet until the evening before race day and suddenly ingest an insane quantity of pasta: carb loading should be done a few days before the race by including more carbs than you would typically have on a normal day but with normal quantities taken at regular intervals throughout the day. The reason for refraining from overeating the night before is that it’s likely to cause digestion problem and that’s no ideal preparation for a race! And don’t forget that carbs are not only pasta. Bread with honey or jam, or fruits, are completely acceptable ways of carb loading at say breakfast or for a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack. The idea of carb loading is to ensure you have topped up your glycogen stores prior to the event so your body can make use of them when it most needs it. But beware, it won’t take you too far if you don’t top them up during the race itself unless you have specifically trained your body to make better use of fat...

By the way, the same goes for fluid. Ensure you hydrate properly a few days before the race if you're usually bad at it. Don't leave it to an hour before and down 2 litres of water at once. Like for food, preparation needs to start a few days before for your body to be able to perform at its best.

During the race

What you ingest during the race and how much depends on the type of race you do and the distance. I personally refuel in different ways depending on whether I am running say a road half-marathon or marathon, or an ultra-marathon. I would typically only have fluids during a 10k, and only if it’s hot (because I ensure I start the race correctly hydrated as mentioned above). The requirements on the body are different depending on where you will be racing over say 2hrs, 4hrs or over 7hrs or more.

Personally for a marathon I rely on a mix of gels and jelly beans. I favour the SIS gels and Sport Beans. I find that the gels tend to stick in my mouth though so always have some water with them. In terms of hydration, for a road race, I try and carry two bottles, one filled with plain water and another one containing an energy drink. I like making my own energy drink purely because I like knowing what I am drinking and because I don’t like anything overly sweet, but you may want to use something pre-made like Gatorade. Mine is a simple mix of orange juice, water and salt. Some websites have some recipes to make your own (see Runner's World ones here), so you may want to experiment as it’s really down to personal taste. I cannot emphasize enough how critical your fuel and hydration management is to your race. To this day I am pretty sure that it is the reason why I didn't hit any wall during my first marathon in 2010 and finished relatively fresh in a time of 3:54. Had I not ingested gels and jelly beans and drank fluids at regular intervals through the race (I monitored this on my watch), I don't think I could have expected a similar outcome.

For ultras I actually like eating some slightly heavier things. The reason is that my pace is slower and likely includes walking some of the uphills so I find it much easier to digest heavier food then than during a fast race where every second counts to achieve that elusive PB, and I find actual food more satisfying than just gels and sweets. So for example I included some chocolate brioches in my latest race pack. The perk was that I like them a lot so I knew it would provide as much a mental boost as a physical boost during my ultra. I however also packed some easier-to-eat foods. At first I was just going to go for my usual road race food (the gels and jelly beans I mentioned earlier) as I was in serious lack of creativity but then I saw what accomplished ultra-marathoner Susie Chan ate during an ultra and realised I had that in my pantry: toddler snacks, and more specifically Ella’s Kitchen Bananas+Coconuts pouches. Although my 3-yr old is a big fan, it had never occurred to me I could make use of them myself. I really like the taste and having used a few of these during my recent ultra I can say that they worked very well for me. I also included some conventional gels in my pack as well as some lighter snacks that I could eat easily and more regularly, again courtesy of my kids: the Kiddylicious Fruit Wriggles. No real chewing involved with these, which I find to be a real bonus when running (and why I chose them to replace my usual jelly beans). One thing that I can say definitely didn’t work for me though was Coke. I was absolutely craving it during the race so I indulged at the first rest stop but then spend the next 2k running with a stomach cramp. It was fizzy so maybe that was the reason but I may stay clear of it at my next race just in case!

My 50k ultra food (thankfully I didn't have to use the Paracetamol!)

After the race

Don’t forget to refuel and replenish your glycogen stores with protein and carbs. It will help recovery and food is best consumed as soon as you can after completing your race. Refer to this excellent article about what to consume post-race and how much of it.

 

Take-Aways from this Post

1. Experiment during training (on your long runs in particular). It will take a lot of trial and error to find what works or doesn’t work for you. Also some stuff that you may not normally consider eating during a normal day may become very tasty when you’re on your long run and suddenly craving carbs/fluid/salt. 
2. Don’t don’t don’t try anything new on race day. You may end up with stomach cramps or worse digestive problems that may seriously hold you back. 
3. Work out how many calories you will need. A few things to consider are listed in this great article. 
4. Adjust your fluid intake to the race condition. I drank over 4 litres of water in addition to 2 glasses of Coke during my 50k ultra. This is way more than I thought I would need, and less than I actually needed as I ran out of water before the second water stop. You just have to listen to your body. I know some people advise to drink to thirst. Personally I think sipping fluid more often is a better strategy as by the time you feel thirsty you may find you are struggling to keep up your pace and find it hard mentally. In short, it may be too late already.

Happy fuelling!