Marathon training is an intricate balance of endurance, strength, and resilience. As race day approaches, managing your nutrition becomes critical to your performance. For busy professionals balancing demanding careers with high-performance athletic pursuits, strategic nutrition is essential. Proper fueling not only enhances performance but also supports recovery, minimizes the risk of injury, and ensures the sustainability of long-term activity.
Understanding the Importance of Pre-Marathon Nutrition
Endurance running, especially a marathon, places significant demands on your body. A marathon will deplete your fluids, electrolytes, and stored energy (glycogen), while also breaking down muscle tissue. Pre-marathon nutrition is vital because it ensures your glycogen stores are topped off, providing the energy needed to stave off fatigue and maintain your pace for a longer duration. Training is the perfect time to practice your pre-marathon nutrition strategy and experiment with how different foods affect your running performance.
The Macronutrient Balance for Marathon Runners
Marathon training significantly increases energy demands. The body's need for carbohydrates, protein, fats, and adequate hydration shifts depending on training intensity, duration, and individual physiology. Carbohydrates, protein, fats, and water are the key macronutrients that every runner's meal plan should include.
Carbohydrates: The Primary Energy Source
Carbohydrates are the primary energy source for endurance exercise. As training volume increases, so should carbohydrate intake. The body breaks down dietary carbohydrates into glucose, the primary and preferred energy source. During runs exceeding 60 minutes, carbohydrate replenishment is essential.
Recommendations for carbohydrate intake:
- Low-intensity jog (30-60 minutes): 3-5g/kg/day
- Moderate-intensity runs (60 minutes): 5-7 g/kg/day
- High-intensity runs (1-3 hours): 6-10g/kg/day
- Very high-intensity exercise (4-5 hours): 8-12g/kg/day (also for carbohydrate loading)
Protein: Essential for Muscle Repair and Recovery
Protein is vital for muscle repair, building, and maintenance of all tissues, including skeletal muscle. Adequate protein intake throughout the day in protein-rich meals and snacks is crucial to decrease delayed muscle soreness and improve training adaptations. Protein also plays key roles in the immune system and gastrointestinal system, preventing illnesses, injury, and gut issues.
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Recommendations for protein intake:
- General guidelines: 1.2g/kg body weight per day
- Ideal intake: 1.5-1.7g/kg body weight per day (especially with strength training)
- Higher intake (off-season): Up to 2-2.5 g/kg body weight per day (for body composition)
Fats: Sustained Energy and Hormone Production
Dietary fat is just as important as carbohydrates and protein because it is used for sustained energy on long runs, nutrient absorption, and hormone production. Without absorbing adequate vitamins, you can feel fatigued, run down, have harder training runs, poor sleep, and gut issues.
Recommendations for fat intake:
- Generally: 1-2g/kg body weight per day (calculated after carbs and protein)
- Focus on unsaturated fatty acids from foods like avocado, walnuts, pistachios, chia seeds, olive oil, and fatty fish.
Hydration and Electrolytes: Maintaining Fluid Balance
Runners need more fluid as they are losing more during a run. The amount varies depending on the environment as well as the individual’s genetics, duration, and intensity of the run. Sodium chloride, known as salt, is the most important electrolyte lost in physical activity. Salt should be included in weekly meals for runners.
The Tapering Phase: Adjusting Nutrition and Training
With the long months of training behind you, it can be hard to manage the emotional roller coaster before your first marathon. As your mileage winds down during the tapering phase, adjust your caloric intake to match your reduced training load.
Training Adjustments
Less is more, so when in doubt, opt out. Stick with your plan, avoiding the temptation to add mileage or workout days. Take time to stretch and perform range of motion exercises after each run. During your training sessions, be mentally present. Try not to focus on your to-do list or get too distracted by your playlist. Focus on your form, relaxed breathing, and staying aware.
Nutrition Adjustments
Eat smaller, more frequent meals, eliminate calorically dense, nutrient-deficient pre-packaged foods, and cut out or decrease sweets. Make sure meals and snacks have a balance of veggies, lean protein, whole grains, and fruit. Simply by reducing your training volume and eating the right balance of nutrients, you will be filling your glycogen stores. Stick to foods your body knows, and don’t overdo it on the carbs. Aim for nutrient-dense whole foods such as fruit, veggies, lean meats, and healthy fats. Most of your starchy carbohydrate consumption should be pre/post tune-up runs and not later at night when your body metabolically doesn’t need it.
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Mind and Body
Sleep is fundamental to proper recovery, allowing the body to adequately repair and improving mood and energy levels. Aim for an extra hour of sleep each night during this phase. Control the things you can control (your attitude, nutrition, sleep, stress, race-day outfit and shoes, fuel, etc.), and don’t fret about the things that are beyond your control (weather, other competitors, deviations to the course or aid stations, etc.).
The Final Days: Fine-Tuning Your Diet
With just 24 hours until the starting cannon fires, be forewarned, it may feel like the longest day of your life.
The Day Before the Race
Lunch is the most important meal the day before the race. Opt for rice, pasta, pizza, potatoes, or a sandwich along with lean protein and lots of water. Don’t overhydrate. Increase your sodium intake by adding salt to your meals and eating salty foods like pretzels, especially if the forecast is calling for warm and/or humid conditions.
Race Day Morning
Get up and have breakfast early enough-ideally, three to four hours before you start the race-so your body will have time to digest what you eat. Stick with the same easy-on-the-stomach carbs (plus a bit of protein) that you’d normally eat before a long run. For example, your pre-marathon meal might look like instant oatmeal and a hard-boiled egg, a bagel with peanut butter and honey, or an English muffin with jam and juice. You might also make a smoothie with yogurt and a banana. Then, just before making your way to the starting line, you can top off your carb stores with a ripe banana, some candy, or an energy gel.
During the Race
Sports dietitians broadly recommend taking in anywhere from 30-90 grams of carbs per hour, based on the intensity of your race pace, weight, and other variables. You can get these carbs through energy gels, sports drinks, bananas, raisins, or even candy. Experts typically recommend having something every 30-45 minutes.
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Post-Marathon Recovery
Within half an hour of crossing the finish line, you’ll want to eat about 20 grams of protein and 80 grams of carbs to help restock your glycogen levels and jumpstart your muscle repair and recovery. If you don’t have an appetite for solid foods just yet, try drinking some chocolate milk or a smoothie. Once you sit down for a full recovery meal, choose foods that are high in carbs and protein, as well as antioxidants and omega-3 fats, such as pasta with chicken and veggies, a turkey avocado sandwich and fruit, or a baked potato with steak and veggies.
Sample 7-Day Meal Plan for Runners
This meal plan is designed to provide the ultimate nutritional support for runners, balancing macronutrients to sustain energy, enhance endurance, and promote faster recovery. The plan emphasizes carbohydrates for energy, protein for muscle recovery, and healthy fats for sustained energy and hormone production.
Day 1
- Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, a blueberry muffin, and a pear.
- Lunch: Macaroni lentil soup with a side of hard-boiled eggs, cheese, and an apple.
- Dinner: Chickpeas, rice, and a salad with Brussels sprouts, sliced almonds, and cheese.
- Mid-afternoon Snack: String cheese and apple.
- Bedtime Snack: Cinnamon yogurt.
Day 2
- Breakfast: Chicken sausage and sweet potato hash with a tangerine.
- Lunch: Cottage cheese, snap peas, large pita, with a side of apple, tangerine, and sunflower seeds.
- Dinner: Orange pork chops with rice and parsnips and carrots.
- Pre-Run Snack: Dried mango.
- Bedtime Snack: Yogurt and sliced apple.
Day 3
- Breakfast: Smashed green pea toast with a side of a banana.
- Lunch: Black beans, couscous, and a salad with a side of mixed nuts and a kiwi.
- Dinner: Chicken veggie fried rice with cucumber tomato avocado salad.
- Mid-afternoon snack: Banana and Greek yogurt.
- Pre-run Snack: Banana oaties.
Day 4
- Breakfast: Breakfast burrito bowl with scrambled eggs, black beans, and veggies.
- Lunch: Rice bowl with tomatoes, cucumbers, egg, and an apple.
- Dinner: Potato lentil curry with edamame and bell pepper salad.
- Pre-run Snack: Graham crackers.
- Second Snack: Date and cottage cheese cucumber boats.
Day 5
- Breakfast: Strawberry overnight oats and a banana.
- Lunch: Veggie pasta salad.
- Dinner: Cheesy beef pasta and a side of roasted red beets.
- Mid-morning snack/second breakfast: Bagel with jam and a side of grapes.
- Second Snack: Yogurt and sunflower seeds.
Day 6
- Breakfast: Egg muffin breakfast.
- Lunch: White bean pasta salad with yogurt and a pear.
- Dinner: Roast Potato Salad with Sunflower Dijon and Macaroni Salad.
- Pre-run Snack: Cheerios with tangerine.
- Second Snack: Cherry tomatoes and cottage cheese.
Day 7
- Breakfast: Turmeric Oatmeal.
- Lunch: Miso beet rice.
- Dinner: Greek yogurt and zucchini pasta with garlicky Greek lemon baby potatoes.
- Pre-run Snack: Applesauce.
- Second Snack: Your choice!
Foods to Avoid Before a Marathon
While all foods can have a place in a balanced diet, there are a handful of foods and beverages experts generally recommend avoiding shortly before a marathon so you set yourself up for race-day success.
- Avoid eating too much fat or fiber in the day or so before your race, as these will slow down your digestion.
- Consider skipping any spicy, greasy, or fried meals, which might irritate your stomach or make you feel sluggish.
- Know that “diet foods” that contain sugar alcohols can lead to bloating or diarrhea, and alcohol can dehydrate you.
Common Marathon Nutrition Mistakes
If you’re training for a marathon, here are a few nutritional mistakes to avoid:
- Don’t wait until the week before the marathon to begin thinking about carbs or other nutritional strategies.
- Don’t wait until you feel tired or hungry during the race to replenish your glycogen stores.
- Don’t just “wing it” when it comes to your pre-race dinner or breakfast.
- Don’t neglect electrolytes!
- Don’t try new foods or routines on the day of the marathon.
Customizing Your Meal Plan
Adjusting portion sizes and macronutrient ratios based on the runner's goals, training intensity, or dietary preferences is key. Calorie needs for runners vary depending on many factors such as age, body composition, weight, height, years of training experience, current activity level, and training program. It depends on duration, intensity, and frequency of runs.