This year I made it a point to work on my marathon nutrition. I posted about Marathon Fueling – What to eat for marathon training here.
This week on the ING Runner’s Nation Facebook page we’re talking fueling. Check it out to chime in.
Knowing when and how to fuel during a marathon (or half marathon) is a key part of training. Figuring out what your body needs during a long run is as important as any other part of training. And it’s not something you just hope and wish works out on race day – you must have a plan to avoid stomach issues and the dreaded wall.
You plan out your long runs and spend time working on recovery. You check the course map. You plan out your race day gear. You read random blogs hoping they’ll stop telling bad jokes and actually provide helpful info…
Just as important as all that is your Marathon / Half Marathon nutrition.
Most sources suggest fueling every 45 minutes with a gel packet or chews or apple pie a la mode. Start fueling before you feel like you need it – don’t let your tank get empty!
Tips for Fueling During a Race if You Have a Sensitive Stomach:
I hear a lot of people saw they can’t stomach fuel. Well if you are going to train for long distance races you have to work it out.
Try: Eating one chew every 15 minutes instead of 3 every 45 minutes.
Try: Dried fruit or gummi bears instead of gels.
Try: Honey packets instead of gels.
Try: Different options until you figure out what works.
Everyone is different and my Marathon Fueling post above has a few of my friend’s nutrition plans as an idea, but you should listen to your body’s needs to identify your plan. 
So, if you’re training for a distance race share your plan below so we can discuss.
Let’s compare notes!
What are you going to eat Before / During and After your race?
Before I usually eat cinnamon sugar toast with a banana and iced coffee.
During I do chews every 5 miles. Any sports drink. Water.
After I eat all the things.
I have look over loads of blog pages and even read and studied some,your work is simply superb.Hats off on your grit and additionally trustworthiness.Do hold us all well informed in future also.
Before: banana and coffee
During: natural confectionery company snake every 45 min, plus water and on course sports drink. I can’t stand gels.
After: water, then fruit, then once my hunger hits, anything in sight!
Before: white toast/half bagel and jelly plus 8oz Gatorade. Can’t do coffee or PB, they send me straight to the bushes.
During: GU/Hammer Gels from mile 8 on every 5 miles. Sip on water and have Gatorade later on during the race if I feel like.
After: love me some chocolate milk!!! That’s the only thing I can handle once I’m done. Then, after a few hours, I start craving salty stuff like crazy! After a long run/marathon, I’d eat melted cheese all day long. And drink coffee. And beer.
Oatmeal with Raisins (I use Flax Milk, not water or dairy-based milk) before. I am still experimenting with fueling during the run. I read Matt Fitzgerald’s books about racing weight and fueling for a marathon and the recommended amount of carbs is somewhere between 30g and 60g per hour. But I think most Gels and Chews are in the ~20g range if I am not mistaken. I use Gatorade Chews currently as they seem to work best for me. Not sure how much they compare from a quality perspective to GUs.
Before; 1+ hours before I run, I’ll eat a Banana and Sun butter or almond butter on most days. If I’m running more then 10 miles, I’ll eat a half of sweet potato with it. Wash it down with Black coffee.
During: Water every mile. Dried Apricots every 3 miles. Gel for any run over 10 miles.
After: Bacon and beer 🙂
Before – Smart Balance Peanut Butter on whole wheat toast and a banana along with a cup of tea for some caffeine.
During – usually a GU between miles 5-6 and then another around mile 10ish. I love Vanilla Bean, Chocolate Outrage & Espresso Love. Plus water and Gatorade or whatever they are handing out.
After – totally depends on if I’m craving something. But I do love some chocolate milk post race.
I pretty much do the same thing for any race of 10 miles or more:
Before – 1 slice whole wheat toast with PB & banana, 1 cup of coffee w/ creamer & stevia, a little water if I have a long wait before the race starts
During – Honey stingers chews every 45 mins-1 hour, I carry water with Nuun and will grab plain water at water stops in between
After – Whatever is in my post-race bag, beer, pizza, etc. 😉
I have tried the gu’s-no good. I have tried the blocks and energy jelly beans, and they were ok. I was not sure if it was the beans or my nerves that had my stomach all messed up for my first half.
I bought the individual twizzler packs (halloween candy!) and tried that last week, and was fine.
I have 2-3 more long runs to do before my next half. . I would like to try the stingers, since I prefer to not eat ‘candy’….
It’s really fun to compare what everyone eats. Before I usually have a banana and nut butter sometimes with Ezekial bread or a tortilla. During- I use Honey Stinger chews every 5 miles or so, and afterwards, whatever is available to refuel quickly and start recovery!
Great suggestions. Typically I do some fruit and an AMRAP bar for breakfast. Right before I will do 3 shot blocks and a 5 hour (I cannot muster energy to run fast that early). During I will start a GU / Huma Gel after an hour and it normally take me about 10 minutes to finish it. I have never done more than a half so that has been sufficient!! After I eat whatever I want!
thnx for this tips its soo great 🙂
As a beginning runner these tips are great!
Before:PB toast, coffee, orange nuun, banana
During: honey stinger chews- pomegranate passion fruit. I cut them in half, start taking them at ~5k. Rather than chew them I let them sit between my cheek & gum and slowly dissolve. Water/gaterade, whatever is at aid stations, I alternate, or take one of each.
After: water, nuun, anything I feel like 🙂
Before: bagel with peanut or almond butter with sliced banana & cinnamon, black coffee
During: Gel packs every 5-6 miles, water & Gatorade
After: a mixture of protein & carbs, coconut water, and usually ice cream/ fro yo treat later in the day 🙂
I know juice is probably a bad idea for most people but I love the naked strawberry banana before a long run. And a banana is a must!
This is actually my downfall with long distances, I’m horrible at fuelling since so many things don’t sit well in my stomach during or after. I’ve done full and half marathons with nothing more than water and a little gatorade (although I somehow manage to spill most of that down my front). Last 1/2 I used Enlyten electrolyte strips and got a PR but my stomach was no bueno for days afterwards. Ive also taken a protein bar with me and eaten the tiniest of bites throughout the 1/2 and that seemed to sit fine. Still a work in progress for sure, looking forward to trying some of these tips. After…the biggest, baddest, chocolate chippiest muffin I can find or pancakes.
BEFORE: I’m obsessed with Superpretzels before a race. And actually I accidentally ended up eating two of them the night before last fall’s philly marathon and then another in the morning just before the start and I shaved 31 min of my time so now I swear that they really are a “super” food. lol!
DURING: I mostly eat sport beans and Honey Stinger chews but sometimes after running for 2 hours I don’t have the energy to deal with fuel so I just drink more gatorade at the water stops. I really want to try to fuel more frequently (like coach steve mentioned in comments above) to see if that helps.
AFTER: Pancakes and Eggs and salt and vinegar chips or a burger and fries
Before a race, I have either a bagel or toast with PB and banana and coffee (iced or hot, depending on the season). Depending on how long I have to travel to the start/wait around, I’ll take a gel right before the start (I get hungry really easily!).
During, I take a gel every 7-8 miles. I usually just drink water, though I should practice using sports drinks for the electrolytes and carbs.
Afterwards, I chug a bottle of water, then maybe a sports drink, banana, and whatever protein-y thing they have. Then I go out somewhere to pig out 😉
Before: peanut butter toast and a banana
During: During a half I drink whatever water/sports drink they have and don’t eat anything. During a full or a longer long run I eat raisins and honey every 5 or so miles
After: Whatever my heart desires.
Before: (for a long run) banana with pb or toast or rice cakes with banana and pb. If its a short run than nothing or a little bit of banana or rice cake if I’m hungry.
During: dried cranberries, during my first half I just ate some when I felt like it or felt a little hungry.
After: protein and carbs. Whatever is gluten free and available as well. After my half I had a banana, some Greek yogurt, an apple and half of a protein bar.
One of my running friends recently told me about Thermotabs to get salt back in her system. She tried it and loved it. I know I have low sodium/salt levels in my blood, my doctor even told me I need to drink less water every day, not more (who does that?!?!). And I see salt on my arms, legs and face after long runs. Do you think Thermotabs might help?
I would totally try it. I am a very salty sweater and I drink a TON of water – it wouldn’t hurt to do a trial run during training.
Before – banana and chocolate drink
During – water
After – anything! I deserve it after all the training I did. 😀
Before: ww english muffin with peanut butter and banana, coffee w/ almond milk
During: energy chews (1-2 every 3 or so miles), sports drink in hand, water at stations
After: whatever sounds good. After my first 1/2 marathon the orange slices provided after the race were the best thing ever and the thought of the donuts provided made me nauseous.
I want to try dried fruit or dates or Energybits but I’ve got a month left to figure it out and I’m getting nervous to change it up…
Monica, you are pretty fast so maybe you can get away with a little less but I think most of your readers would do a little better trying to get in at least 100 calories of carbs per hour. I personally aim for 150 – 200 cals an hour. You can drink some of those. I like to chew my food the first two hours of my race, so I prefer solid food like Clif Bloks. After that I move to gels. The gels get the sugar into your system faster but my stomach doesn’t love them. Make sure you wash them down with liquids or they can get stuck in your stomach. Try Island Boost made with a coconut water base if you don’t love the thick gels. I take a gel about every 3 miles after the two hour mark.
Don’t for get to take your electrolytes. I know you love Nuun and I’ve been using it too. I also like Hammer Enduralytes Prolytes (drops) and S Caps.
Before the race I mix in super greens powder mixed with oatmeal and a banana.
After the race its low fat Chocolate milk, water, rest then beer 🙂
Thanks Steve!
My stomach is unfortunately a wee-bit sensitive sometimes — so before my long runs I keep it simple. I LOVE Larabars (and the fact that they have so few, REAL, ingredients) pre run with a cup of coffee. And then honey stinger pink lemonade blocks during the run. I used Gu’s for a long time and had to force it down — these are like gummie treats! My husband has been known to eat them for fun. . .
I just re-ordered my Margarita Shot Bloks(3x the salt–if I don’t have it I will sweat into a oblivion) and Lemon-lime Nuun for my first marathon next month…aaaaand cue shitting my pants….
Before my first marathon I ate 1/4 of a really bad bagel (you know it was bad because I only 1/4 of it) and during the run I held on to a banana that I never ate and consumed 1 (deceptively named) fun size dark chocolate candy and then I didn’t feel like eating afterwards. I wasn’t really hungry for the rest of the day, surprisingly.
Before a Marathon: 2 chocolate pretzel special k bars and a gatorade (I like the pink lemonade)
During: GU at mile 6, 12, and 18. I get water at every stop and then gatorade when I feel that I need it. I can’t do chews… really. It’s hard to chew and run simultaneously 🙂
Before: PB&J on a bagel, banana, and a Gu 20 minutes before the race start.
During: Start fueling with Gu at mile 4.5 and then every 4 miles. I also have a fuel belt with four bottles; 2 with water and 2 with Gatorade. I also drink water at every water stop.
I can’t do chewing things because I can’t breathe well. Not sure how you do it!
Before long runs I typically do pb toast and gels or chews during.
Great tips!
I have my first “fuel” 45-minutes after the start and then every 15-minutes after. I have found the Justin Peanut Butter packs work great because they are a great mix of PB and honey. I also like the Clif Shots in Mocha. I know a lot of people love using Twizzlers as well.
As far as hydration, I get water at each water stop and for some reason the first sip I have to swirl around in my mouth and spit out, then the second sip I swallow. It’s a mental thing I guess!
🙂 So helpful!
Before: (on marathon day) bagel with honey
During: I take 2-3 chews about 15 minutes before the gun goes off. Then I take some again around miles 8-10 of course with fuel throughout via powerade or gatorade.
After: Banana and water. That’s all my stomach can handle.
Before – Toast/English muffin with PB, coffee, water
During – About every 5 miles Sport beans, Peanut MM, Shot Blocks, any sports drink, water
After – Usually a large burger and water.
I love toast or a bagel with peanut butter and lots of water before. I’ve recently switched from gels to chews and find taking 2 every 4 miles works better for my stomach. After, I love love love chocolate milk! And then after my stomach settles I love a good salty meal. I’ve run 1 marathon so far and after I had minestrone soup (it was cold out), salad and breadsticks from the Olive Garden. It was the most perfect post run meal I could ever dream of.
Before: PB toast with cinnamon sugar or blueberries and COFFEE (it gets things going)
During: still trying to figure out what works best – so far have tried a variety of gels (my fav thus far is Gu Espresso Love). I think I’m going to try some of those Clif block chews on my next run!
After: dark chocolate almond silk and pretty much everything else in the fridge/pantry/random stranger’s hand that looked tasty.
Brown Sugar/Cinnamon Pop Tarts an hour before I run (I know, horrible!) and Clif Razz shot gel at about 8 miles in, then another Cliff Razz shot about 12 miles in. I’m still learning my spacing, and sometimes I replace the first shot gel with a Gatorade Prime Pre-Game fuel drink. I know Pop Tarts are HORRIBLE, but they seem to stick to my bones better than much else I found (that I am awake enough to make at times as early as 4:00 AM!)
Great tips!
Before: greek yoghurt with berries, chia, and flax; a hard boild egg, some toast.
During: water, and fruity flavoured gels.
After: a sports drink, and ANYTHING!
PB&J on WW toast & coffee before
Gel every 5 miles-ish; water/Gatorade throughout
post-race depends on what’s readily available and what kind of race it was…..but I treat myself with a Coca-Cola Classic, for sure!! It has become a tradition after triathlons to have Bojangles’ Spicy Fries with my tri-buddy.
I like PB on toast and a banana before the run, GU (PB flavor) and water/electrolyte drink during, and ANYthing afterwards. Actually, after a marathon, I only have an appetite for a little bit of chocolate milk. It takes a few hours before I feel like eating something.
Almond butter and banana on a bagel or toast before, vfuel gels at the start and every 7 miles. These are super easy on the tummy and I recommend if you are sensitive. After-anything I want ha!
Before:
Vega pre-workout energizer with 1tsp of beta-alanine and a Stinger Stroopwafel.
During:
Water. Vega gels every 7.5-8km.
After:
Vega Recovery Accelerator and sometimes Performance Protein.
Then? ALL THE THINGS 🙂
Before – cliff/oatmega/etc bar. Some sort of caffiene (tea, etc).
During – I STINK at getting enough nutrition but I try to start with a handheld with gatorade (frozen if it’s hot) and eat about 1 chew every 1-2 miles and fill my handheld with some water/gatorade as I can on the course. I can do a half marathon on just gatorade from aide stations, but longer or a half marathon after a 56 mile bike = need more fuel.
After – usually beer is the first thing that settles well, oddly enough, or if not that, then some sort of preztel/chips. Then later, all the things.