5 Fueling To-Do's to Optimize Your Spring Half Marathon & Marathon Performance

There are so many logistics that go into planning for your half or full marathon, and fueling should be involved in planning, too. Do yourself a favor and lock in these 5 things so that you can feel confident in your fueling and get the most out of your race:

1. Test Out On-Course Fuel & Hydration

Even if you don’t plan to use what’s offered on the race course, try out the fluids and gels your race is going to offer you during your training. You never know what might happen - you could drop a gel or run out of the fuel you brought with you - so knowing that you’ve at least tried the options available can give you peace of mind that it’ll work well for you in an emergency.

2. Practice Your Full Marathon or Half-Marathon Fueling Plan on Your Remaining Long Runs

If you are aiming for a gel every 20 minutes to fuel your marathon, you shouldn’t be taking one every 40 minutes during your long runs right now. Your gut is adaptable and will adjust to higher carb amounts, but you need to give it the reps to do that!

Think about which method of hydration you plan to use during your race, and practice taking in fluids in whichever way you choose. If you’re planning to stop and grab a cup of water at each aid station, but in every training run you have a handheld bottle or hydration vest on, it may come as a shock when you try to drink from an open cup at race pace.

3. Figure Out If You’ll Carb Load And, You Guessed It… Practice!

Carbohydrate loading isn’t just a giant bowl of pasta the night before a race. It requires temporarily increasing your daily carbohydrate intake for 1-3 days to store as much glycogen (carbohydrates used for energy during exercise) as possible. This helps you to maintain faster paces for longer into the race, and will help you avoid “hitting the wall” or “bonking” before the finish line.

If you are new to carb loading, listen to my discussion with marathoner Kristian Warwick on The Marathon Podcast to hear who should carb load, how many carbs you need to eat, and how to do it without causing major digestive issues!

4. Practice Your Pre-Race Breakfast

You may think you know what you’ll eat before your race, but if you’re like many runners who are out the door before the sun, you may be used to eating a small snack a few minutes before you start, and breakfast comes after the run. On race day, you want to have a full meal several hours before the start so that you are fully fueled and don’t get hungry before you finish. I find athletes feel much more confident on race day if they’ve practiced eating their full meal 3-4 hours before a run, because they know it’ll sit well in their stomach and give them the energy they need.

5. Think About Travel Logistics

If you’re traveling far for the race, chances are you’ll have to eat in transit and we all know that can be complicated. Think about what you can pack to eat on the go, and how you’ll access the right amount of fluids if you’re flying.

If you’re staying in a hotel near the race, where will you eat and what can you keep in the hotel to eat when restaurants aren’t open? Look into where you can eat that doesn’t require you to be walking very far distances to get there, especially if you’ll be in a city!

If you’re renting an apartment or home near the race, know what kitchen items and appliances you’ll have where you’re staying and make sure to either pack the food you plan to eat or hit a nearby grocery store once you arrive. Pro tip: order grocery pick-up ahead of time so that you can focus on settling in on the first day there.

Fueling for distance races involves a lot of planning and preparation, but the more you do ahead of time the more likely you are to perform well and be able to focus on enjoying the race you’ve worked so hard for!

If you still aren’t sure where to start, or you want to run your fueling plan by a sports dietitian, let’s chat!