How to prepare for a marathon?

The marathon is the race every athlete wants to finish once in their life. It's a distance that could be considered a long distance. It's a distance that greatly depletes glycogen stores, as the race lasts over an hour and a half. Therefore, proper sports nutrition during the race is essential to finish in good condition.

Before you start training, you should know that you're going to subject your body to a large volume of kilometers and stress, hence the importance of knowing that your body will be prepared for it. In addition, your body will be subjected to stress that will require you to recover well after each workout. Not only is it important to eat before training, during the day, or during training, but also post-workout preparation is vital if we want to progress. With GLYCOGEN recovery, you'll get the right amount of carbohydrates and proteins, as we've explained in previous guides on " How to recover?" to help you assimilate training to training and thus be able to add more weekly training volume without losing performance or increasing the risk of injury.

What do we mean by periodized nutrition?

This term isn't very common among amateur runners, but it's increasingly common among those who regularly run races like marathons. Periodized nutrition is simply giving your body what it needs at different times during the season. As nutritionists, we should understand that both amateur and professional runners have completely different requirements between a training volume phase and a specific intensity phase.

That's why, just as we emphasize the 1:0.8 ratio or the maximum tolerable carbohydrate concentration in the energy drinks in all our products, science also has something to say about it.

The adaptive response to physical training is determined by a combination of factors:

• the duration
• the intensity
• the type of exercise
• the frequency of training
• the quality and quantity of nutrition before and after exercise

It is becoming increasingly clear that adaptations initiated by exercise can be amplified or attenuated by nutrition. For example, it is well established that in the absence of protein feeding after exercise, net protein synthesis is low and muscle can actually be in negative protein balance, preventing proper recovery.

There is also evidence that reducing carbohydrate availability can promote specific adaptations in muscle. Conversely, supplementation with high doses of antioxidants has the potential to reduce training adaptations [ 1 , 23 ].

During certain training periods there is a focus on weight management and lower energy intake such as pre-season, whereas during other periods such as volume or intensity specific mesocycles there is a focus on recovery and performance and higher carbohydrate intake. Mujika et al. [ 4] concluded that “nutrition should be periodized and tailored to support changes in individual goals, training levels and requirements throughout a season and/or training cycle.”

Hawley and Burke [ 5] discussed the importance of a long-term periodized training and nutrition program as a way to improve performance. The authors stated that “…it seems interesting to suggest that competitive or amateur athletes may manipulate carbohydrate availability before, during, or after selected training sessions that are part of a long-term periodized training-nutrition plan to promote metabolic adaptations to training.” In this statement, there is a strong focus on carbohydrate availability as a driver of training effects.

It is important to clarify that the preseason is a time of year where every athlete uses it to rest psychologically from competitions or simply reduce their sporting activity due to extra-sporting commitments or vacations.

These are times when the body doesn't require a high intake of carbohydrates or proteins. Furthermore, glycogen stores are typically depleted due to the lack of muscle stimulation. Therefore, it's important to monitor the intake of at least the macronutrients throughout the day.

Carbohydrates: 2.5 to 3.5 grams/kg/day

Proteins: 1 gram/kg/day

Fats: 0.7 grams/kg/day

If you don't know how to calculate your daily calories, you can check out the currently popular macronutrient calculator apps to track your daily intake. After a few weeks, you'll know and control your intake without having to use an app.

SEASONAL REQUIREMENTS (SPECIFIC MESOCYCLE 1 AND 2) VOLUME AND INTENSITY

During these times, the body primarily needs to consume slow- and fast-assimilating carbohydrates. This means that your diet should focus on complex foods, such as whole-wheat pasta or brown rice, during off-workout hours, and simple carbohydrates, such as white rice, white pasta, white bread, jam, etc., during off-workout hours.

That is, the diet should consist of fruits and vegetables to maintain high levels of minerals and vitamins, but with an emphasis on foods high in carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates: 6 to 9 grams/kg/day

Protein: 1 to 1.4 grams/kg/day

Fats: 0.5 to 0.7 grams/kg/day

COMPETITION REQUIREMENTS

In competition, or the week before a competition, one thing must be clear: without carbohydrates, a person cannot perform at their best. This is something that pseudoscience has recently emphasized, as fats are the most beneficial substrate for endurance sports. We've already made this clear in our ketogenic diet and performance guide , so we won't enter into the debate.

Competition-like workouts, intensity, or duration. You should use this type of daily macronutrient distribution to ensure you meet your needs.

Carbohydrates: 7 to 12 grams/kg/day

Protein: 0.8 to 1 gram/kg/day

Fats: 0.5 to 0.7 grams/kg/day

It should be noted that the difference in distribution between the pre-competition day and the day you do specific training similar to the competition is that on the first day you should follow a diet with almost no fiber ( tapering, learn more about how to prepare a tapering the day before ) and on the second day you can ingest some fiber and a little more protein since you will train on this day and not the day before the competition.

HOW TO MANAGE PRE-COMPETITION NUTRITION?

In previous guides, we've explained how to taper, so if you have any questions about what to eat the day before, read this guide before continuing.

We'll focus on what, how, and how much to eat for breakfast before a marathon.

It's important to eat a good breakfast on race day. Too much or the wrong foods can cause stomach upset. And too little can leave you feeling sluggish prematurely. Science can provide some guidance on carbohydrate and other nutrient intake, but much depends on individual preferences. Let's look at several important factors to consider when planning your breakfast on race day...

Carbohydrates are the most important macronutrient to include in your breakfast on race day because your body will rely heavily on them as a fuel source during the race. The body can only store a limited amount of glycogen in the liver, and overnight liver glycogen stores are substantially depleted (6). Therefore, consuming simple carbohydrates in the hours leading up to the marathon is crucial.

It is recommended to consume 1–4 grams of carbohydrate per kg of body mass in the 1–4 hours prior to exercise (7). This is a fairly wide range, which can lead to a variety of scenarios. For example, one person might consume 1 g/kg of carbohydrate 4 hours before a race, while another might consume 4 g/kg of carbohydrate 1 hour before the race, and both would meet the recommendations. It seems to make sense to consume a larger meal if there is more time before the start and a smaller meal if there is less time available.

Each person varies in how much and when they consume carbohydrates before a race, and recommendations should therefore be tailored to their individual preferences. Carbohydrate-rich foods include toast, bagels, porridge, cereal, rice, pancakes, granola bars, and bananas.

If you struggle to digest food before a race, even when you leave a significant gap between eating and running, try liquid forms of carbohydrates. For example, a sports drink like our GLUT 5 DRINK carbohydrate drink or a commercial shake. Both solid and liquid forms of carbohydrates similarly promote glycogen resynthesis after an overnight fast, making them equally suitable options (8).

Foods to avoid or limit?

Certain foods can increase the likelihood of stomach upset during a race, particularly fiber. This is because fiber takes longer to digest, which can mean it may still be in your stomach when you're at the start line. Carbohydrates with a lower glycemic index (GI) tend to have a higher fiber content. Therefore, reducing low-GI carbohydrates in your pre-race breakfast may alleviate symptoms (if you're prone to them), for example, whole-wheat bread, bran flakes, oat flakes, muesli, rye bread.

Consuming too much fat before the race can also cause intestinal problems because it slows the rate at which food empties from the stomach (8). Ideally, when the race starts, the carbohydrates from breakfast should be stored and not still in the stomach. A high-fat breakfast can include bacon, sausage, cheese, and pastries. Of course, the longer the time between breakfast and the race start, the less important this will be.

DURING THE MARATHON

We'll focus on carbohydrates, hydration, and salts in a general sense. As we've discussed in previous guides, each athlete should individualize the three key points: carbohydrates, salts, and water. We've had the Marathon Pack available for a few months now, which provides everything you need for race day—pre-race, during, and post-race—with a strategy sticker that will help you stay on track throughout the marathon and ensure you never forget what you should eat or drink.

Carbohydrates:

Individualization is the key to success, but every athlete should consume between 40 and 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour during a marathon, or at least one 60-gram gel per hour. That is, if the marathon lasts four hours, you should consume six to seven Hydro 35 gels in total.

If we go beyond the basic carbohydrate requirements per hour, an athlete who manages to consume more than 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour throughout the season will be very effective in improving performance. Speaking of performance, an athlete who has trained their stomach to consume 70 to 80 grams of carbohydrates per hour during a marathon will likely be able to improve their time more easily than an athlete who consumes the recommended minimum.

Hydration

Regarding hydration, athletes should consume at least 300 to 550 ml of water per hour to compensate for losses caused by sweating.

That is, the athlete who finishes in 3 hours should consume between 1 and 1.5 liters in total during the water test.

Dehydration is a limiting factor that athletes should consider, as the famous 30km wall is due not only to poorly planned carbohydrate intake but also to poor hydration management.

The best way to plan your water intake is to calculate your dehydration rate. In our guide, "How to Calculate Your Dehydration Rate?", we'll show you how to calculate it in just 3 steps. If you can't, download this FANTÉ calculator created by our nutritionists, which will help you calculate your optimal hourly water intake in a simple and easy way.

In general, athletes should consume the necessary amount of water per hour to avoid losing more than 2 to 3% of their total weight during the race. And if it's winter, you can adjust your hydration even further and go up to 4% if your race requires you to reduce your drinking to achieve a more difficult goal, such as breaking the 3-hour mark.

Soft flask? Yes or no?

From FANTÉ, it is a resounding yes since we are nutritionists and from our experience, a test like a marathon requires at least a 250ml soft flask or if it is more prudent and requires a more specific strategy, a 500ml soft flask.

Salts

During a marathon or any endurance event, we should consume at least 350 to 450 mg of sodium per hour, as this is the minimum amount our body needs to maintain osmotic balance.

For this reason, FANTÉ has ​​created the Gel 60 range, with which you can consume 60 grams of carbohydrates and 350 mg of sodium per hour with 1 gel, the minimum amount per hour you need to perform at your best.

On the other hand, if you're an athlete for whom texture is a priority, we've created the Gel Hydro 35 range, specifically for trail running and running. Thanks to its liquid texture, the gels are easier to ingest and more easily assimilated. Both ranges provide the minimum sodium requirement per hour and the minimum amount of carbohydrates per hour needed for your body to perform at its best.

Caffeine

Before explaining how we should manage caffeine consumption, we recommend that you read our guide on caffeine replenishment , in which we explain how we should ingest caffeine during long-distance and middle-distance events.

For a marathon, caffeine is an essential supplement if we want to perform at our best. It's the supplement with the most scientific evidence behind it.

If the test lasts 2 to 3 hours:

The athlete must consume 1 Gel 60 caf pre-race 30 minutes before the start and another Gel 60 caf after 1:30 of starting.

If the test lasts 3 to 4 hours:

The athlete must consume 1 caff pill or 1 60 caff gel 30 minutes before the start, 1 glut 5 lite 100CAFF gel at 1:30 a.m. and another 60 caff gel at 2:30 a.m.

If the test lasts more than 4 hours:

The athlete must consume 1 caff 30' pill before the start, 1 gel, 1 glut 5 lite 100CAFF gel at 1:30 a.m., another 1 GLUT 5 LITE 100CAFF gel at 2:15 a.m. and another Gel 60 caf f gel at 3:30 a.m.

EXAMPLE OF NUTRITIONAL STRATEGY

If you want a personalized strategy tailored to your professional and personal conditions, your training level, and your nutritional level, our new Nutritional Consulting is an innovative product never before seen in nutrition brands. Our nutritionists will create a personalized and specific strategy for you. You'll receive a PDF with the entire strategy and a video with our nutritionists explaining every detail of the strategy firsthand, so you have no doubts.

If you prefer a pre-designed and pre-planned marathon package, get our MARATHON package . Depending on your fitness level, you can choose Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3. Depending on the level you choose, you'll have a different strategy. The goal is to customize the package as much as possible and ensure each athlete is in the best condition on race day.

Likewise, here we leave you a general example that meets all the conditions explained above.

Learn more about marathons and how to plan for race day.

Talk on sports nutrition specializing in marathons with Mario Castellanos (running fitness coach). Watch the video.

Sports nutrition talk: basic aspects of nutritional strategy during running with Andrea Ferrandis (sports nutritionist specializing in endurance sports). Watch the video.

Literature

1. Paulsen G, Cumming KT, Holden G, et al. Vitamin C and E supplementation hinders cellular adaptation to resistance training in humans: a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial. J Physiol. 2014;592:1887–901
2. Paulsen G, Hamarsland H, Cumming KT, et al. Vitamin C and E supplementation alters protein signaling after a resistance training session but not muscle growth during 10 weeks of training. J Physiol. 2014;592:5391–408.
3. Morrison D, Hughes J, Della Gatta PA, et al. Vitamin C and E supplementation prevents some cellular adaptations to resistance training in humans. Free Radical Biol Med. 2015;89:852–62
4. Mujika I, Stellingwerff T, Tipton K. Nutrition and training adaptations in aquatic sports. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2014;24:414–24.
5. Hawley JA, Burke LM. Carbohydrate availability and adaptation to training: effects on cellular metabolism. Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 2010;38:152–60.
6. Rothman DL, Magnusson I, Katz LD, Shulman RG, Shulman GI. Quantification of hepatic glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis in fasting humans with 13C NMR. Science (80- ). 1991
7. Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM. Position statement of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: Nutrition and Athletic Performance. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2016;116(3):501–28.
8. Keizer HA, Kuipers H, van Kranenburg G, Geurten P. Influence of liquid and solid meals on muscle glycogen resynthesis, plasma fuel hormone response, and maximal physical work capacity. International Sports Medicine J. 1987;
9. Gentilcore D, Chaikomin R, Jones KL, Russo A, Feinle-Bisset C, Wishart JM, et al. Effects of fat on gastric emptying and glycemic, insulin, and incretin responses to a carbohydrate meal in type 2 diabetes. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 200