Race Day Nutrition

All the training in the world will count for nothing if you get your race day nutrition wrong.

Your build up to the big day itself is crucial and on the day itself you have to make sure you get it exactly right. That's why we train. It's not just to get your body ready it's also to test out approaches to race day itself. Here we'll go through some do's and don'ts, all based on experience!

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During your training you will have learned how to take on water and you will have trained with the energy drink that will be available during the event that you have chosen. That is what should have happened. If it hasn't then you'll need to make some adaptations on the day.

Getting your food and drink intake right is one of the keys to a successful event, especially a marathon. There are no magic formulas, but there are guidelines that you can follow. Remember that the big events in particular have medical directors and they ensure that what's available on the course is there for a reason. Use what they provide.

You should drink at every water station

How much? At every water station you should take a few sips of water. You must never wait until you are thirsty before you drink. By then you are probably already dehydrated and then you'll have problems. Water stations can stretch over two or three hundred metres in the really big events so avoid the crush and run to the far end and collect your water from there, where it will be much quieter. How your water is made available will be different at every race. Covid has changed things as have environmental pressures. You might get open cardboard cups, or small bottles with caps still on, or off, or in some cases you might be asked to refill your own bottle from a tap that the organiser has provided (there will be lots of them) or a combination of all the options. Take a small amount and if it's a bottle, dispose of it carefully, making sure you don't impact another runner in the process. Keep drinking like this throughout the event; little and often. Some runners carry a bottle with them, almost as a comfort blanket. This is fine as long as a few sips are drunk, not the whole bottle. It's better to have a small bottle on a fuel belt though as carrying a bottle could affect your running posture adversely.

Very, very occasionally a runner will drink far too much water. Real excess can be devastating and lead to hyponatremia, which can be fatal. This is exceptionally rare, but be careful.

Think carefully about energy drinks

All big events will have a brand of energy drink available at certain aid stations, not at every station like water and generally in the second half of the course and less frequently. It will feel like a lifesaver! You must however train with the exact brand that is being used at your event, not a similar one, but the exact one. Each drink is made up of subtly different components and to an untrained stomach they can have very unsettling effects. The more you train with a specific brand the more that your stomach will adapt to it. Whatever race you are running, make sure you find out the specific brand beforehand, get some and train with it for a few weeks beforehand. That's a lot more difficult for an overseas event, but it is now much easier to get drinks from anywhere in the world thanks to online shopping. It's also important to dilute it, rather than drink it straight as it comes. This will reduce any potential negative impacts on your stomach.

Other on course drinks

It's not uncommon to be offered some different options at some events that you wouldn't expect. These are often as a result of a commercial sponsorship agreement. Treat them with caution. They include Coca Cola, sometimes flat, sometimes not, and Red Bull, amongst many others. If you're a regular drinker of Coke on your long runs, you're in luck, but you're likely to be an exception, rather than the rule. The same with Red Bull.

Treat options like this at aid stations with extreme caution

Energy gels: be careful

Energy gels are another very useful energy source that runners rely on, especially in the latter stages of an event.There are often available at big events from half way, much more so than a few years ago, when they were a rarity. Again, make sure you train with the specific brand being made available on the course. The alternative is to take your own and for this you'll need to wear a fuel belt. If you do, then make sure your train wearing one of these belts, as it's not for everyone. Gels are concentrated carbohydrate and they must be diluted with water. They can have a real impact on your energy levels and help prevent you hitting the dreaded wall. Aim to take no more than four or five during a marathon and a maximum of two in a half. If you take more, the impact on your stomach could be bad.

Check out our post on energy gels

Fruit

At many events the aid stations will also include fruit, often cut up bananas and oranges. The former are a great energy boost and the latter are really refreshing. Again it's a good idea to have trained with them but they won't do you any harm if you haven't, as long as you don't have too many! There will generally be a maximum of this kind of aid station so enjoy it if your event does have one.

A potential lifesaver on race day!

Crowd 'handouts'

At big events where there are big crowds it's common to be offered sweets and other goodies from some of the spectators. Although there are times when these can be too good to turn down you must be extremely wary, especially if the product is unwrapped. You just do not know what you are eating and if for some reason you get a negative reaction your race could be over. If it's a boiled sweet, which could really help your energy levels, and it's wrapped then it's probably ok, but if there is any element of doubt, just turn it down.

Take your own

If you don't think you'll be able to survive the race with just water and energy drinks and you usually have more than this on your long run then invest in a fuel belt and take your own supplies. Gels, sweets and bars of all sorts can be carried in these belts. If you think this is you then start training with one as soon as you can. One of the positives is that you're never relying on the event but a negative is that you may end up consuming too much and upsetting your stomach.

It's important to remember that the medical director makes sure the event organiser supplies everything you need on race day.

Get your race day nutrition right and you will be well on the way to a very memorable day!