Project Marathon: Nutrition dos and don’ts for runners

The improver: Matt Kurton

Time for a quick disclaimer: if you’re looking for expert nutrition advice, you’ve come to the wrong place. In the past week, my diet has ranged from the good (salmon, tuna, lean chicken, porridge, about ten-a-day on the fruit and veg front) to the less good (cheese, potato waffles, fish fingers, processed cereals) to the never-going-to-see-this-in-Paula- Radcliffe’s-shopping-basket (carrot cake, croissants, carrot cake, chocolate digestives, carrot cake, a few pints at a local ale festival, a carrot cake chaser …). I’m very much a believer in everything in moderation. With more emphasis on the ‘everything’ than the ‘moderation’.

You’ll probably get more useful nutrition information by picking up some leaflets in your local supermarket. But they won’t tell you much about the reality of training for a marathon, so here are a few details about my running-specific diet. I’d be very interested to hear about yours.

I always have a big plate of pasta the night before a long run – it’s tradition. Then my pre-run breakfast of choice is, without fail, a toasted bagel with honey and sliced banana, a cup of tea and two pints of water. For some reason, this now veers perilously close to a superstition/ obsession for me. Customs officers in Germany and France would have found the ingredients in my suitcase when I headed to the Berlin and Paris marathons (because bananas and bagels would have been impossible to find in such provincial backwaters, obviously). It’s a combination that’s never seen me feel hungry on a run, and one I’d need a lot of convincing to change.

As for fuelling when I’m running, Sam suggested I start drinking energy drinks earlier on my long runs, so I’m trying to do that. I always carry plenty of water and squeeze down a couple of blackcurrant energy gels if I’m going further than, say, 12 miles, but I’m now drinking Lucozade Energy before leaving and toying with the idea, on Sam’s recommendation, of buying one of those strange rucksacks so I can sup it through a plastic tube as I’m going along. The shopkeepers of Oxford would possibly appreciate this, as it would mean an end to me puffing through their doors, red-faced and clutching a sweaty £2 coin, to buy Lucozade after about 14 miles. (Tip: always carry some money, in case you need a drink or some sweets to pep you up.)

My routine after a long run is equally repetitive. A sports milkshake and some water as soon as I get through the door, then a nutbar. I also have a soluble vitamin C tablet in water. (That’s definitely a bit of advice that requires a disclaimer: some evidence suggests they don’t do your liver any favours, and your body can only handle so much vitamin C. But I swear by one tablet a day to boost my immune system when I’m training for a marathon.)

After some stretching and a shower, I’ll have a tin of tuna in a sandwich with some salad and mayonnaise, and a yoghurt. And in the evening, I’ll go for some combination of lean meat or fish and some veg.

It doesn’t get any more scientific than that. I never drink alcohol the night before a long run or a race. I always try to get plenty of protein after a run because it helps your muscles to recover, as well as plenty of carbs to get my energy stores back up. I drink water all day, every day.

My top tip for carb-loading in the days before a marathon is scotch pancakes. They’re low fat and high-carb so they don’t leave you feeling bloated like bread and pasta do, and they’re very tasty.

I have a total inability to have only one slice if someone brings cake to work – especially carrot cake, as you may have gathered. But, hey, what’s the point of doing all of this exercise if I can’t enjoy some of the benefits? It’s not like I’m trying to win the marathon, after all …

The beginner: Carol Williamson

The main thing that Sam Murphy took me to task over at our first meeting was my nutrition (or lack thereof). I’ve steadily been losing weight over the past year on a high-protein, low-carb, calorie-controlled diet (with the odd aberration, as mentioned below) and am anxious for this to continue. I had therefore been following my marathon training schedule but not really making any changes to what I ate.

Since I am an ‘all or nothing’ person, my weekly diet plan most often consisted of five or six days of ‘diet’ food and very few carbs, followed by a Friday and/or Saturday night blowout with friends, generally involving a
bottle of wine and a curry or similar. This meant I was running either a) on zero carbs or b) vaguely hungover.

Often although I felt fine from a cardio perspective, I felt weak and exhausted and in urgent need of sugar after a few miles. ‘Bread is the devil’ had been my mantra for a good while, based – I suppose – on little other than celebrity fad diets. ‘Carb-loading’ was not something I was looking forward to, with all the visions of hoovering up giant bowls of pasta it brought to mind.

Sam, however, (who has an antipathy towards pasta herself) assured me I can introduce a ‘good’ source of carbohydrate into each meal such as rice, sweet potatoes, couscous or starchy vegetables – without piling on the pounds. A friend also pointed out that wine is fairly calorific, and I have yet to cut that out as a food group.

Suitably chastised, I resolved to give it a go. Already I am seeing improvements in my running (I have far more energy) and so far no extra pounds have appeared. In fact, I’m even looking forward to the Flora London Marathon Pasta Party that I’ve just received an invite for …

The expert: Sam Murphy

Do …

Eat your greens
A high intake of fruit and veg is even more important when you are exercising regularly. The vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals they contain help support the immune system, so you’re less likely to succumb to colds and infections, and provide antioxidants to attenuate the damage caused by training. Vary your choices and opt for brightly coloured fruit and veg where possible, which tend to be more nutrient-rich.

Carb up
Carbohydrate is the five-star fuel for runners, and since only a limited amount can be stored in the muscles and liver (although this amount increases with training), supplies need to be constantly replenished. Aim to have a good quality carb source at every meal. As a guideline, active people should consume 5-7g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight per day. For a 70kg person, that equates to the carb content of 15 bananas!

Put the kettle on
The evidence for the ergogenic (performance enhancing) effect of caffeine for endurance athletes is convincing. Recent research suggests that it enhances muscular contractility, reduces the rate of perceived exertion and improves mental focus, enabling us to go for longer without succumbing to pain and fatigue. A dose of 1-3mg per kg of body weight should be sufficient: as a guideline, a can of Red Bull contains around 80mg; a single espresso, 65mg. Take your caffeine 60-90 minutes before you run.

Refuel fast
After a long training run, take on some carbohydrate within 30 minutes. This is when your glycogen stores are most receptive, and if you leave it too long, this window will close. Research shows that combining carbohydrate with a little protein maximises replenishment. A milk-based drink is a great option.

Don’t …

Run on empty
If you are running first thing in the morning, or in the evening and you haven’t eaten since lunch, have a high glycaemic index (GI) snack an hour before to provide rapid energy. Good sources are a slice of malt loaf, a bagel with jam, Jaffa cakes or an isotonic sports drink.

Be adventurous
‘Stick to what you know’ is the golden rule when it comes to pre-race dinners and breakfasts. Use your long runs to determine what kind of food works best for you so you know what to eat come race day. And once you’re on the run, don’t be tempted by orange segments, wine gums and mini Mars bars unless you’ve practised eating these in training.

Rely on water alone
Water is not the best choice for runs that last longer than an hour. An isotonic sports drink not only hydrates but also provides energy and electrolyte salts to offset those lost in sweat. One study of 98 marathon runners compared the effects of a sports drink with a placebo: the runners who got the real thing were able to work at a higher heart rate, especially during the last 10 km of the race (when most people begin to slow down).

Drink if you’re not thirsty
Over the past decade, cases of exercise-induced hyponatraemia (water intoxication) have increased in long-distance endurance events as a result of people drinking more fluid than they need. Weighing yourself before and after exercise is one way of determining your fluid needs, as is monitoring your urine. To avoid hyponatraemia, opt for sports drinks rather than water, drink little and often, rather than large volumes at once, and don’t drink if you don’t feel thirsty.

Do you have any food rituals before a race? Let us know your nutrition dos and don’ts on the comments section below

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