Completing a marathon is being added to more people’s bucket lists. Following a race plan will help you prepare for your next race. However, a marathon training diet is also necessary if you want to run your hardest. Our experts explain what’s important to consume while training and how to include that nutrition in your schedule, up to and throughout race day.
What to eat during marathon training: before the taper
Running long distances requires a lot of energy. It is necessary to eat properly if you want to avoid getting tired or hitting the wall. Just like you spend months training for your marathon, you should practice your nutrition for at least three months before the race.
While training for the marathon, you work to increase speed and endurance by working on intensity and distance. During this training phase, when what you eat can be as important as that you eat While training, eat a variety of foods before and after running to determine what your stomach handles best. Don’t forget to include energy gels, chews or sports drinks in this plan. If you’re going to use them during the big race, be sure to include them in your training to find out what works best for you.
This is your time to experience how certain foods and eating at different times impact your performance. Some people need to eat two or three hours before running to be able to move comfortably, while other runners are ready to run an hour after eating.
Your diet during marathon training should replenish the energy you expend. You’ll run longer distances and burn more energy, which means consuming more calories to keep you going. There are many different plans to obtain the necessary calories and nutrients depending on your individual training goals and needs. As a general rule, at least half of the calories you consume should come from carbohydrates before reducing your intake. Carbohydrates are important because they help the body replenish the amount of glycogen (stored energy) it expends during rigorous physical activity.
If you’re not sure where to start with your training nutrition plan or want to make sure you’re eating the right combination of nutrients, consider speaking with a registered dietitian. They will help you create a training diet for each phase of your training and teach you what and when you should eat to ensure you run your best.
Easy to digest carbohydrates
As part of your training, you will need to discover which carbohydrates best suit your stomach. It will take time for your gut to adapt to more carbohydrates. Try to vary what you eat before and after running.
Avoid foods that may upset your stomach.
Some high-fiber foods can contribute to runner’s diarrhea. Consider avoiding beans, lentils, chickpeas, peas, and broccoli. You may also find that other types of foods upset your stomach while you run. Incorporating a variety of foods into your diet throughout your training is crucial so you can know which foods are good for you and which ones you should avoid as race day approaches.
What to eat during taper: 3 weeks before the marathon
Three weeks into your marathon, you should focus on letting your body recover from rigorous training while replenishing your glycogen stores. The key to your diet during this point in marathon training is to decrease your calorie intake while maintaining the amount of carbohydrates you are eating.
To be at your best, you’ll need to reduce your training regimen before the marathon. This means that you will reduce the intensity of your training to give your body a chance to recover. During the taper, you will run less, which means your body will need fewer calories. To reduce calories without reducing the carbohydrates you eat, reduce the amount of fat you eat. By eating fewer grams of fat, more calories can be allocated to carbohydrates. Aim for 20 to 25% of your daily calorie intake to come from fat.
Protein is also necessary to rebuild muscle during the taper period of your marathon training. Eat 0.6 to 0.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day. And do your best to eat a variety of proteins from lean meats, legumes, eggs, and other protein-rich foods.
Fill up a week before your marathon
The week before your marathon, be sure to maintain your calorie intake even if you’re not burning as many calories. Increase your carbohydrate and protein intake to replenish your body’s reserves.
Your performance and endurance can improve if you start a race with a full reserve of carbohydrates. It is when this reserve is depleted that your brain and muscles get tired. And the added protein will help with muscle recovery.
Fill up on grains, starchy vegetables, and fruits that suit your stomach well. Your protein intake should also increase as your portions increase. Greek yogurt and quinoa are two foods rich in carbohydrates and proteins.
Carbohydrate loading 48 hours before a marathon
The marathon is almost here! In the two days before your big race, you’ll want to focus on eating one thing: carbs. Eating plenty of carbohydrates will help you replenish your glycogen stores so your body has plenty of energy to use during the race.
Stick to carbohydrates that are easy to digest. Eating foods that are easy on the stomach will reduce the chances of you developing digestive problems before or during the marathon.
Plan to carb load 36 to 48 hours before the race.
What is carb loading?
Carb loading involves eating a large amount of carbohydrates before a race or other sporting event to increase the amount of energy stored in the body. This method will increase the glycogen in your body above normal levels for a short time, improving your endurance and performance. When carb-loading, aim to eat about 10 grams of carbs for every kilogram of body weight.
The best foods to load carbohydrates are:
- Fruits (bananas, tart cherries, oranges, grapes, watermelon)
- Whole grains (brown rice, quinoa, cut oats, low-fiber whole grains)
- beet
- Green leafy vegetables
- yams
Eat 65 to 70 percent of your calories from carbohydrates the day before a marathon.
The day before a marathon, eat mostly carbohydrates, some protein, and a big lunch. About 65-70% of your calories this day should come from carbohydrates. Try to eat something every two to three hours. Good carbohydrate-rich snack options include bananas, nuts, and oatmeal.
Make lunch your big meal, not dinner. This will give your body more time to process the nutrients. It will also make you less likely to have stomach problems on race day. Whole wheat pasta is one of the best pre-race meals. Japanese soba noodles, sweet potatoes, squash, quinoa, and brown rice are also good options.
It is also important to consume protein the day before the marathon. Eat 3 to 4 ounces of fish, lean meat, or tofu at lunch.
Eat familiar foods 2 to 4 hours before a marathon.
You want to eat well a few hours before the race. Avoid digestion problems by staying away from new foods that you have not eaten during your training. Eat a meal high in carbohydrates that does not raise blood sugar, moderate in protein, and low in fat and fiber. This will prepare your body for the duration of the race.
Whole grain cereals, bread, or a bagel with a small amount of peanut or almond butter are good options. If you want to eat fruit, choose a banana.
Drink 17 to 20 ounces of water or a sports drink.
Eat a carbohydrate-rich snack every hour during the race.
Shortly after you start running, you’ll want to supplement your carbohydrate stores. Your body can only store a limited amount of glycogen and you don’t want to risk running out of energy. Energy gels and chews, sports drinks, bananas, and crackers are full of carbohydrates that will release energy quickly. Plan to eat 20 to 25 grams of carbohydrates every 30 to 45 minutes.
Hydration is also important. To avoid overhydration, alternate between drinking water and drinking sports drinks. Your sports drink should contain between 6% and 8% carbohydrates. The average person should drink 5 to 10 ounces of water or sports drink every 15 to 20 minutes. However, the exact amount depends on how much you sweat. The weather on race day will have the biggest impact on how much you should hydrate (sunny vs. cloudy, humidity, heat, and wind). And if you use energy gels, make sure to always consume them with water. This helps your body digest them faster and prevents you from becoming dehydrated.
Replenish your body: What to eat after the race
The 30 minutes immediately after running are really important. You may not feel hungry, but this is the time to replenish your body’s carbohydrate stores, stock up on muscle-repairing protein, and rehydrate. After a marathon, your carbohydrate stores will be almost completely depleted. It’s also possible that you damaged the tissue during the run.
Try to eat a 3 to 1 ratio of carbohydrates and lean protein. A cup of chocolate milk is an example of a 5 to 1 carbohydrate to protein ratio. Other good snack options include trail mixes with nuts, crackers with peanut butter, pita and hummus, yogurt, and dried fruit.
Eat a full meal two hours after your marathon. The food should contain high-fiber carbohydrates, lean proteins and healthy fats.
As during the race, it is important to drink both water and sports drinks to replace fluids lost through sweat. Drink 16 to 24 ounces of water or sports drink for every pound you lose while running. This must be done within 24 hours of the marathon.
Get support from a registered dietitian while you train
What you eat has a big impact on how well you run your marathon. Working with a registered dietitian can take the guesswork out of your marathon diet. Our dietitians will work with you to create a personalized diet that fits your training program, personal preferences, and other needs. We’ll show you how to get the calories and nutrients you need from a diet rich in whole foods. Together, we’ll make sure you’re energized on race day.
