The Six Minute Mile Holiday Gift Guide
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I used to be absolutely terrible at race-day fueling. I mean—terrible. Like the kind of terrible that produces dramatic bonk shows.
I once resorted to walking during what should have been a flat and fast half marathon because I didn’t think I needed any calories for that distance. (Clearly, I was wrong!) Another time during a tough mountain marathon in Interlaken, Switzerland, I fell over with debilitating leg cramps 2 miles from the finish line because I failed to take in enough carbohydrate before I began a grueling ascent.
I more or less crawled across the finish line. And this is not an exaggeration. One time I even decided to fuel myself with cheese. Yes, cheese. As you can imagine, it was a very (very) bad experiment. I have many more stories just like this. But … you get the picture.
Maybe it’s because I’m now a mom and can’t afford to bonk because I have to finish runs and races with enough energy to parent a toddler and an infant. Or maybe it’s that I’m finally tired of paying for races I squander. Either way, I’ve thankfully gotten it together in recent years and now have a solid race-day nutrition strategy. I practice nutrition during training runs to train my gut—but purely with carbohydrates; I’ve left dairy behind. I experiment with different fuel sources and I make sure I’m well-hydrated and fueled before, during and after. The difference? It’s significant.
While I haven’t met anyone silly enough to try to race with a plastic baggie of cheese cubes, pretty much every runner I’ve met has come face to face with race-day nutrition woes more than once. But with a little practice, it’s easy to make positive changes to your race-day fueling strategy so that you can more consistently perform to your potential. Here’s how.
Old-school thinking had us all carbo-loading a full week leading up to an endurance event. If, like me, you really leaned into this, you might have noticed a big change in digestion on race week since you were combining nutritional changes with tapered miles. Think bloating, irregular digestion—not fun.
Thankfully, newer research supports consuming more carbs just the day or two before big events. This study from 2011 that followed over 250 runners at the London Marathon found that those who consumed over 7 grams of carbs per kilogram of body weight (that’s roughly one gram of carbs per pound of body weight) the day before the race were faster and more consistent than the runners who did not. Studies have also shown that carbohydrate, not fat, is the best source of fuel.
Hannah Lowe, an elite adventure racer, clinical exercise physiologist and registered nutritionist in Aotearoa, New Zealand, recommends carb-loading up to two days before an event in order to fully saturate glycogen stores.
“Longer pre-loading phases don’t provide any extra benefit and can often simply cause gut discomfort or issues when training,” she says. “For events lasting more than 90 minutes, the aim is to consume 3.5 to 4.5 grams of carbohydrates from whole food sources.”
She adds that lower fiber options are also important to avoid race-day gastrointestinal issues.
Good whole food options include sweet potatoes, rolled oats, banana, quinoa and rice.
And, while it’s not related to carb intake Lowe says higher protein goes a long way for women during race week if they’re in the luteal phase—or second half—of their menstrual cycle. “This is due to a higher metabolic rate and reduced carbohydrate storing efficiency,” she says.
In addition to adequate carbs, your hydration level also matters. But don’t overthink it. Drink enough to make sure that your urine is mostly clear.
Kylee Van Horn, a Colorado-based registered dietitian nutritionist specializing in endurance sports nutrition, owner of Fly Nutrition, author of Practical Fueling for Endurance athletes and co-host of Your Diet Sucks podcast suggests some simple guidelines for determining how much water to drink.
“Keep to drinking half your bodyweight in ounces plus 16 to 20 ounces for every hour of exercise you are doing,” she says. “I also recommend a serving of 500 to 1000 milligrams of sodium to help top off sodium stores and help prevent flushing out electrolytes pre-race.
Don’t show up to a start line with an empty stomach. Even if your race-day jitters prevent you from feeling your typical morning hunger pangs, eating a solid carbohydrate-rich breakfast is crucial to optimal performance.
“Breakfast or a meal before a race ensures that if glycogen stores have been used up at all, you have some starting fuel to get you going and preserve what you have stored for as long as possible,” Van Horn says.
Also don’t try anything new on race day. I always eat a banana, a big spoon of peanut butter and a fig bar before long runs and workouts. And if I’m going longer, I’ll add in a slice of toast with peanut butter for the extra calories. I’m consistent with this combo on race day.
But just because this breakfast works for me doesn’t mean it’s the right meal for everyone.
“Breakfast doesn’t ‘have’ to look a certain way,” Van Horn says. “Some of my athletes with sensitive stomachs choose to consume high carbohydrate liquids along with light solids like toast or graham crackers to ensure that they don’t feel overstuffed or don’t have to force things down with pre-race nerves.”
Have an afternoon or strangely timed race? It’s a good idea to focus on a carbohydrate-rich snack about 30 minutes to an hour before you toe the line. And be mindful that you eat relatively easy-to-digest foods that won’t cause bloating or gas discomfort that your body is used to earlier in the day.
Oh, and don’t forget water! Van Horn recommends experimenting with this during training and including electrolytes to ensure maximum absorption.
A 2008 study linked carbohydrate intake 15 minutes before an endurance event to a nearly 13 percent increase in performance. And, practically speaking, this makes sense. Think about it: you ate breakfast several hours ago (ideally between two and three), so your body is already getting close to needing another meal. A quick top-off snack (like a gel) should be enough to prime your body at the start line.
Lowe stresses the importance of a pre-race snack as a way to top off glycogen stores if your nerves suppressed your appetite earlier in the day.
Pro tip: Practice this during training runs and stick to the same fuel you plan to use during the race. (If you don’t like the brand of gels or drinks provided on the course, be prepared to carry what you’ll ingest during the race.)
While you certainly can get through races up to a half marathon without enough fuel depending on the distance, it’s rarely wise to do so. That’s because our body’s glycogen stores (aka carb storage) start to drop after an hour (and some argue this could happen sooner) and are generally fully depleted after 60 to 90 minutes of running, so it’s imperative that we replace them quickly before we plummet into a dreadful bonk.
And be mindful of the types of sugars you’re consuming, and aim to get in a blend of both fructose and glucose. This is easy to do if you’re relying on pre-packaged nutrition (like gels or chews), which usually have a blend already. But if you’re relying on whole food sources, dates, bananas, maple syrup and honey provide a solid fructose and glucose combo.
“Our small intestine has channels for both glucose and fructose to be absorbed and utilized by the body,” says Van Horn. “Varying carbohydrate type during exercise can reduce the chances of gastrointestinal distress especially if you are consuming higher amounts of carbs per hour,” Van Horn says. “A note of caution, though: some runners do not tolerate fructose well so it is important to trial what you will use in races in your training.”
I have tinkered around with gel timing, too. For most races, I take a gel every 20 to 30 minutes (though I’ve experimented with slightly more). While that seems like a lot, I notice a huge improvement in my ability to not just stay on pace, but to stay mentally present on pace. And that’s big. But your exact race-day nutrition plan is unique to you since we all burn fuel a little differently thanks to our speed, genetic factors and more.
Although traditional protocol for marathon runners has been to consume between 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrates per hour depending on your body’s needs, some runners need more than that. While most runners will do just fine with a gel with 25 to 50g of carbohydrates every 30 minutes, some research suggests it may be beneficial to take nearly double this amount particularly if you’re racing long events like mountain trail races and ultramarathons.
This study found 120 grams of carbohydrates per hour to be beneficial to performance, and anecdotally some athletes have found success with over 150 grams per hour. But this isn’t the norm and taking in that many carbs could upset your stomach. As always, practice your race-day fueling strategy in training for months before your next event.
“Most runners need between 90 and 100 grams of carbohydrates per hour,” says elite-level trail runner Stephanie Howe, a PhD in nutrition and exercise physiology. “GI upset is a big risk with taking in too many carbs per hour. And, for distances like the half- and full marathon, you just don’t need to use that much.”
Further, she says most runners will have enough stored glucose for a high-intensity race lasting between 60 and 90 minutes.
On the other hand, Lowe touts the benefits of high-carb fueling even for shorter distances for women in particular. “For women, it can be especially useful in the high-hormone phase, when the body leans more on carbohydrates and glycogen use is less efficient.”
The bottom line? The research is muddy and everyone processes carbohydrates differently. So, again, it comes down to experimentation to find out what works for you. And if you’re dabbling in distances longer than a marathon, it could be worth exploring higher carbohydrate intake, but do so with caution.
But gel-ing up isn’t enough. Hydration counts here, too. The rules for drinking water are far more fluid (pun intended) and depend on how much you sweat and the composition of your sweat, the outside temperature and humidity levels as well as your race distance.
If you’re a heavy sweater, drinking the amount of water you actually need can be difficult sometimes, which makes it important to practice taking in water during training runs just like you practice taking nutrition. But what’s equally important is knowing how much sodium you’re sweating away each hour—something that can be determined by a sweat-test—so you can replace the salt and other electrolytes you’re losing in sweat.
“To perform sweat-loss testing, weigh yourself pre and post exercise with no clothes on,” says Van Horn, noting that this test session should be between 45 and 90 minutes long and that you should refrain from eating.
“Standardize your losses to a number of ounces of losses per hour. Your fluid target intake range per hour should be somewhere between 75-85% of losses,” she says, adding that if you do need to drink any fluid, just be sure to make a note of it.
If you perfectly execute your carbohydrate timing, but fail to drink enough water or take in enough electrolytes, your race will suffer. A common rule of thumb is to drink to thirst.
Lowe also says how you drink matters. “Avoid gulping down your water as you will hear it slosh in your stomach or it may lead to cramping early on.”
It’s easy to overthink this. The key is simple: hydrate till your pee is light yellow or almost clear and eat a hearty, balanced meal you enjoy with carbs, fats and proteins.
RELATED: Eat to Recover: The Ultimate Guide to Post-Run Nutrition
With so many race-day fueling options to choose from, it can be hard to narrow down your favorites. My best recommendation is to start testing different gels, chews, and drink mixes early enough in your training cycle to practice consistently with them.
“There is no one-size-fits-all answer to finding the right fuel because everyone’s unique. Some love gels, but can’t do a certain ingredient in the gel. Some people like chews, waffles, or prefer to consume their carbs in drink mixes,” says Courteney Lowe, an elite endurance athlete and co-founder of Fuel Goods, an online sports nutrition store. “Your gut, your training style, the temperature, your flavor preferences—it all plays a role. That’s why figuring out your fueling sweet spot takes some trial, a little error, and a lot of practice.”
If you’re having trouble figuring out where to start, her company, Fuel Goods recently developed a “fuel quiz” that can help you determine the types of fuel you love and hate. You can try it out here. Or, you can simply start out trying a few of my faves:
Contributing writer Ashley Arnold is the director of brand at Fleet Feet and an ultrarunner who lives in Missoula, Montana, with her husband and two young children. She tells stories through video, words and photos, and is most at home running trails, adventuring in wild places with her family and sipping coffee while eating cake.
