How to fuel a sub-4 hour marathon while travelling
This October I had the privilege of participating in the Chicago Marathon, one of the 6 world major marathons. This also happened to be the race where 23 year old Kelvin Kiptum set a new world record of 2 hours and 35 seconds!! Nearly half the time it took me to complete the same course!
Alas, we cannot all be elites and while I didn’t PR, BQ or set any records (I finished with 3:49:39), I had an amazing time and would 100% recommend this race to anyone! Every single kilometre of the course was lined with spectators cheering, encouraging and just making us all feel like rockstars!! Absolutely exhilarating!
After reflecting on my race, I thought I would share with you how I fuelled my race week, which can become a bit more challenging when we travel to events and have less control over our meals than we would at home. I also want to note that I was travelling with my amazing family, who joined me as my personal cheer squad (even getting custom t-shirts made), and we were there to enjoy the city and try lots of cool restaurants.
Personal Marathon Fuelling Considerations
My philosophy around food is that it should be fun, enjoyably and bring people together and not just a necessity to keep us full and nourished. So, while my pre-race fuelling might not be what I would have chosen had I been racing at home, I did try my best to be mindful of my carb and hydration intake leading up to race day.
Test your strategy
I have been running long enough and tested enough fuelling products that I know what I like and what works for me. Ensure that you test and practice with many fuel sources on every training run and practice your pre-race nutrition every single run. This is a very individual thing and what works for me, may not work for you.
I didn’t have the opportunity to test out the fuel that would be provided on course so I had to be prepared to both bring my own and figure out effective ways to carry my own nutrition because I didn’t want to rely on what was given out on race day. Also turns out that I would have missed at least 2 of the fuelling stations either because I was caught up in emotion or I simply didn’t see more than 1 the whole course, but I knew there were more (I also would have better planned if I was going to be using the race course fuel). In addition, I’m not a big fan of gels because I can’t do the texture and general artificial flavours are off-putting to me. I did plan to drink the Gatorade electrolytes on course, just not the gels.
Know what you need
I’ve also learned that hydration and electrolytes are key for me. I prioritized my water intake on all the days leading up to the race, taking my big water bottle with me everywhere I went.
I also need to have an understanding of what my carb needs are, in general, leading up to race day, what I need during and after the race.
I don’t weigh, track or measure my food, but I have a general idea of what type of carbs work for me during and after my races. Again, because I was travelling, I didn’t really fuss about this too much before the race.
Chicago Marathon
Over 48,000 runners and 1.2 million spectators! It’s a race to remember!
Pre-Race Nutrition
To create your plan, you first need to know how much you need. How many calories, how many carbs. These are of course very personal based on your height, weight, and goal time. But it’s good to start with understanding what your daily carb needs are between, which you can determine by the following formula:
How many carbs does a runner need
Your weight in Kilograms x 8-12g carbs
example: 56kg x 8-12g carbs = 448g - 672g carbs
My Marathon Meal Plan: 3 days before
Hotel Breakfast - omelette (2 eggs, spinach, cheese, tomato), fruit, oatmeal (brown sugar, cranberries, almonds), orange or apple juice
Lunches - tacos, sandwich and yam fries
Dinners - pizza (deep dish of course), Ramen, Sushi (miso and maki rolls) the night before the race
My Marathon Race Day Meal Plan
My corral started at 8:00am, and I tried to get there by 6:30 and I planned for a 3:40 finish time.
5:30am - wake up
Marathon Day Breakfast:
Holos overnight oats + honey/ginger tea
380 calories
12g fat
47g carbs
20g protein
Ate a banana (~100g carbs) on the way to the start line
Sipped on Nuun electrolytes all morning until 7:45 when I was in the corral
I was able to bring all of my race-day nutrients with me because I didn’t know what I would have access to when we arrived.
Marathon Nutrition Plan
I was able to bring all of these snacks in my carry-on luggage!
My Marathon Nutrition Plan
How much nutrition I was aiming for on the marathon:
~200 calories per hour or ~800 calories over the race
Actual consumption = 700 calories + with the electrolytes I took on course
~40g of carbs per hour or 160g over the race (guidelines recommend between 30-90g/hour)
Actual consumption = 172g+ with electrolytes
Fuelled every 30 minutes alternating
3 Endurance Tap (1 pouch = 100 calories with 24g carbs and contains trace minerals of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese)
300 calories
72g carbs
5 Xact chews (1 fruit bar = 100 calories with 25g carbs and sodium, potassium, iron)
400 calories
100g carb
I was left with one bar at the end of the race
Had 2 Endurance Tap with Caffeine which I saved for half way and the last 5 km for an extra boost
Took water at every station (nearly every 2 miles on course)
Took on-course gatorade electrolytes about every second station
How I carried my marathon fuel
Carried my fuel and a small water bottle in my Naked belt which worked quite well, I did have to adjust it a few times as it became lighter and less full, but overall I was happy with it since hydration vests were not allowed.
Finish Line Celebration!
Ended with a “Chicago Handshake” - an old style beer and a shot of Mallort
Post Marathon Nutrition Plan
I ensured that I had some nutrition in my bag with a little bit of protein and carbs to eat within 30-60 minutes after finishing. I packed:
Green juice smoothie (140 calories/1g fat/29g carbs/2g protein)
Xact protein bar (250 calories/14g fat/17g carb/15g protein)
Drank 1/2 the Goose Island beer provided at the finish and a bottle of water
I don’t usually have a big appetite after I finish a race, but I know the importance of food to fuel recovery and I make myself get something in. Early that evening we went for an amazing and expensive surf and turf dinner at a great steak house! I enjoyed a small steak, crab, and asparagus with a half a baked potato, a couple glasses of wine and the best Chantilly Pumpkin Pie I’ve ever had!
Deep Dish on Medal Monday!
Best deep dish at Pequad’s!
Worth the treck!
The Result of My Marathon Nutrition Plan
No cramping
No GI issues, though I did have to make a stop to pee at about 30km in (which doesn’t usually happen to me)
No sloshing
No overheating or feeling cold
I stuck to my plan for the majority of the race
I did lose momentum and energy after the bathroom break and it was hard for me to keep at my desired pace
Muscles were really screaming with a good 6km to go and I made a stop for Bio Freeze
The excitement and incredible crowds did cause me to feel emotional and overwhelmed at least twice on course and I felt like I couldn’t breath and probably also impacted my energy levels.
Overall I was really happy with how my fuelling went given I had to make some compromises on my pre-race nutrition, but I felt really good. I believe hydration, together with some tweaks to my day-to day diet have been the key for me to work through the GI issues I used to experience when I first started marathon running.
I want everyone to have a great race day and training experience, so if nutrition, GI issues, cramping or low energy levels are preventing you from having a great race day experience. Book a discovery call, because I’d love to chat about how we can create a plan to get you running faster, fuelling better and having the race day experience you want!
