Diet for Race/Marathon

If you are a regular runner & participate in a number of races/marathons, you would be aware that your body uses glycogen as its primary source of energy. Glycogen is the glucose stored in the liver & muscles. Once glycogen is depleted, your body will use fats as a source of energy. If the aerobic activity/running is too long, your body will break muscles to generate energy which we want to prevent. Therefore, we should focus on adjusting our nutrition before & during the race/marathon, so that our body has enough energy & do not resort to muscles to extract energy.

Our body at any point in time has 500 gram of glycogen which translates into 2000 calories( 1 gram of carbs= 4 calories). So if you are burning more than 2000 calories, then your body will resort to some fat stores & eventually break muscles.

During the race/marathon, you might burn close to 3400 calories which also depends on your body’s physical characteristics such as weight, age etc.. So ideally, your body needs 1400 calories to perform without breaking muscles. Studies suggest that you consume around 45 to 60 grams of carb per hour. So if marathon lasts for 4 hours, you need to consume 240 grams of carbs( 60 carbs per hour * 4 hours) which translates into 960 calories. Based on your numbers, you may need to consume 960 to 1400 calories to perform well & maintain your muscle mass. However these numbers may differ for each individual based on its body’s physical characteristics- age, gender, weight.

What should you consume during race?

There is no predefined food for race/marathon. It all depends what makes you feel good. Some prefer having fruits while others prefer having energy drinks & gel. Ideally, you should have a mix of both. The following would be good to have

1. 1 Banana~27 gram~108 calories
2. 1 to 2 dates-30 grams~120 calories
3. Energy bar~30 grams~120 calories
4. One scoop of electrolyte~ 200 calories

What to consume before a marathon?

You should always prefer having a meal at least 3 hours before the race/marathon. A moderate, carbs, low fiber, low fat & low protein diet would work best since protein, fiber & fat takes time to digest.

Drink before & during the race

Since you are going to sweat a lot during the race/marathon, it is recommended that you consume a lot of fluids before the race however you should stop drinking 1 hour before the race otherwise you will end up going to the restroom multiple times. You should focus on drinking 200 ml every 15 minutes.

Post marathon, focus on having a lot of fluids. Having lot of food right after run may upset your stomach.