Fueling for a Marathon

How do I fuel for a Marathon and how do I practice this in the lead up to Race Day

I’m going to go into a bit of detail on how I fuel for a marathon and the different strategies I find best for me through trial and error. I just want to preface this by saying that everyone is different and what suits one might not suit another and its really in the build up that you generally find the best approach but the below is the approach I take and generally the approach I advise all my runners to adopt.

So when I say fueling for a Marathon I am talking about 2 methods:

• Taking on Water

• Energy Gels

What is my fueling Strategy in the actual race itself? I’ll talk about energy gels firstly. For my last Marathon I took on 5 energy gels and that will more than likely be my approach for Dublin in October. For Rotterdam Marathon I took on a gel at roughly 7k intervals so;

• 7k

• 14k

• 21k

• 28k

• 35k

I found this worked quite well for me. I sussed out where the different water stations were beforehand and if I could I generally tried to take on a gel shortly before a water station but this may not always be possible due to location of water stations throughout the course. Some of you might think 7k is early in the race for the first gel but the trick is to start fueling earlier rather than leaving it too late to a point where it has less effect, by fueling early it can have a big impact on your energy levels late in a race. What gels do I use? I used Maurten for my last race and I found it brilliant I have to say. I used the Gel 100 sachets. They’re less sticky than other gels and almost chewy and jellow like but for me they are my go to from now on! They’re on the tad expensive side if I'm being honest but for me they’re still worth it. There are other brands out there, I used SIS (Science in Sport) Gels when I ran my PB 3 years ago and found them quite good. Again this is something to trial and error yourself and see what works best for you. How do I carry my gels? I use whats called a flipbelt that wraps around my waist. Its comfortable and stores the gels for me quite well. There are other variations of belts out there so again whatever you find best. Heres the link below for where I got my belt: https://www.therunhub.ie/accessories/running-waist-belts/flipbelt-zipper-black/36710/ Whats my approach to taking on Water? So I take on water early and often in a Marathon. Generally every water station I try to take on water, for most Marathons they’re positioned generally every 5k. In the first half of the race you might not feel you’ll need it but like the energy gels its for later in the race especially if it’s a hot day. Something I do and would advise everyone is to do is not to just take a sip of water then throw the bottle or cup away. Most races have 250ml bottles and I tend to try and take on every drop of water in that bottle. So that means carrying it with me for a few hundred metres. I take it on gradually as opposed to trying to take a big gulp immediately as this in my opinion generally leaves you breathless and wastes energy! Remember the purpose again is fueling for later in the race. How do I put all of this to practice in Training? To make sure fueling is seamless and works effectively on race day this needs to be practiced well in advance. The gels you are thinking of using on race day should generally be the ones you are using on your long runs now. During a training run I tend to try and take on gels every 30 – 40mins or so. For my longest long run in the build up to a Marathon I'll probably take on max 4 gels. I also try and make sure I practice hydrating also. What I tend to do is use a looped route for my long runs so that I am getting water on board every 30 or 40mins or so. I tend to set up a table outside my house with 250ml bottles and grab a bottle as I run by (I hold on to the bottle until I have consumed all of it). If you’re driving to a certain route you can also place them on top of your car. If you’re really lucky you may have someone who meets you at certain points to hand water to you 😉 When should I start practicing? If you’re aiming for Dublin you should start adopting this into your long runs from now in my opinion. It might be that you’re takin on only 2 gels in a long run but that’s fine its just to get as familiar as possible with your strategy for race day and that it doesn’t feel alien to you.

Again I'll finish off by saying this is the approach and strategy I adopt and found works best for me through trial and error. So in the build up to your Marathon find what works best for you and then adopt that approach on race day. Any questions or feedback don’t hesitate to get in touch. Noel