Marathon Nutrition- what do you use?

[Jaqa]

I have a BF marathon coming up on 4 December and have been experimenting with various foods.

My aims have been
- a steady flow of energy, so cutting out energy gels etc.
- High nutrient density as I will only be carrying a fanny pack.
- Adequate supply of mineral/salts as I sweat buckets in the humidity.
- Palatability- can I get it down my throat with minimal effort.
- Not ridiculously expensive and with excess packaging.

So far, I have tried
- chia seeds, which has always worked with me, but I can only have that pre-race as I am not carrying water.
- Coconut oil, meant to be the easiest fat to digest, and has high weight/energy ratio. Really bad to anybody running behind me though.
- Macadamia nuts- lots of fats but can be difficult to swallow after a couple of hours.
- Energy/Protein bars- difficult to find ones without chocolate (it melts). And I had one yesterday that caused me to have explosive diarrhea on a 35k training run and the rest of the day, and gave me a very serious dehydration problem.

Still to try
- Sticky rice wrapped in nori with something savory inside.
- Bulletproof coffee- seems like this needs an adjustment period?
- Mcadamia nut butter with honey and this in a travel squeeze tube.

I have always considered myself to have a strong stomach but after yesterdays experience I am very apprehensive. Going barefoot into multiple public loos on a Sunday morning is not something I want to do again.

What do you guys use for solid food on long runs?

 

[BroadArrow]

i am probably the wrong person to answer this since my answer is that my first marathon was demolished by an ill-advised banana at mile 13 and my first 50-mile was ruined by a combination of trying to eat food and insufficiently conditioned soles. thus, my go-to food is at least a 12-hour fast before a long run and nothing at all during the effort. naturally, you need to balance what your body is actually telling you and what your mind is prepared for and have a way to resolve the conflict when they disagree. my solution was to practice without food so that my mind could be confident about doing long runs in that manner (and fully understand the merits of slowing down). the worst is to get halfway through the race, freak out, and end up doing the dreaded "try something new on race day".

anyways, good luck finding the right mix for your situation. i hope your marathon goes very well.

 

[Jaqa]

i am probably the wrong person to answer this since my answer is that my first marathon was demolished by an ill-advised banana at mile 13 and my first 50-mile was ruined by a combination of trying to eat food and insufficiently conditioned soles. thus, my go-to food is at least a 12-hour fast before a long run and nothing at all during the effort. naturally, you need to balance what your body is actually telling you and what your mind is prepared for and have a way to resolve the conflict when they disagree. my solution was to practice without food so that my mind could be confident about doing long runs in that manner (and fully understand the merits of slowing down). the worst is to get halfway through the race, freak out, and end up doing the dreaded "try something new on race day".

anyways, good luck finding the right mix for your situation. i hope your marathon goes very well.

I have looked at the benefits of the fasting/zero calorie runs. It might be worth pursuing in another climate but here in Singapore, my pulse rate is 10bpm higher than temperate climates (and I include South Carolina in August as temperate!) for the same perceived effort. (and about 30 seconds/km slower on longer runs). Trying to do it without some nutrition has led to spectacular bonks and being totally incapacitated for the next 24h. I also end up totally overeating so the weight loss benefits are reversed.

 

[Tristan]

I have only ever eaten one thing while running a marathon - medjool dates. Natures energy food. They do have a lot of fiber though so make sure your system can tolerate them ahead of time if you want to try them. I buy whole ones, pits still inside, seems like the pitted ones get dried out and old faster and don't taste as good. I just put them in a sandwich baggie. What I've done now for about 3 marathons is to eat the first one somewhere around 10-14 miles then one every 2 miles until 18-20. Much after 20 miles I don't think they will digest by the time you finish anyhow. So usually 4-5 of them. They are high in potassium but not sure about other electrolytes, I've never really looked at electrolytes before. During my marathons I don't have to worry much about sweating, and during my training runs in the hotter part of summer I've never taken any electrolyte supplements even when sweating heavily (but those runs are usually only half-marathon distance).

Good luck, it might just take some experimentation to find what works for you. I've thought about trying to make my own energy bars for longer runs using things like coconut, honey, peanut butter, etc. but just haven't had the need yet.

 

[skedaddle]

I have always considered myself to have a strong stomach but after yesterdays experience I am very apprehensive.

When you run blood is diverted away from the stomach making it less efficient and more prone to upset or the 'runners trots'.
The only way to find out what works for you is to experiment when training, I personally run fasted most of the time, but have found that something small and sweet can often act as a placebo. Natural fruit juice jelly beans are my go to for that, but my natural diet is hi carb not fat based.
Remember we're all different.

 

[Jaqa]

Thank you for your replies!

I must say I have been finding road running very different wrt nutrition from running trails. I used to run 5h+ on trails with hardly any nutrition but that could be because where I ran, Western Cape, South Africa, most of the runs went up a big mountain and down again. The uphill was obviously the first half when I did not need much extra nutrients and then the down hill was easy from a calorie point of view. Most trails where also very technical single track so work rate could only be so high. Now running on very flat terrain, I am finding there is not much chance to drop my pulse rate and recover. Also, running trails gives me a natural high which definitely helps.

Luckily I just found a place that stocks a particular energy bar made in South Africa. It's far removed from natural foods being very processed and the fruity flavors are a very bright color. The main ingredient is milk powder. It does have a nice amount of fat and some proteins too. But the weird thing is that I love them, find them very palatable on a run and they work for me. Far removed from what I would ideally like to take but I'm going to use them for the marathon and then experiment some more afterwards.

I have been having bullet proof coffee in the morning before my runs the last few days and it has definitely helped after 45 minutes of running. There has been a very noticeable kick in my performance and I am finishing my runs extremely strong.

 

[Tristan]

Well you got to use what works for ya, just make sure you've tried it a few times - it wasn't clear to me because you said you just found them but also said you found them very palatable on a run. Unless you've already tried dates though, I'd still like to say give whole dates a try if they are available there, medjool is the variety that is available to me that works nicely.

What is bulletproof coffee btw? I love coffee and usually have some before my runs. It would sometimes cause some issues with having to pee of course, but I read one strategy about coffee that I implemented this year at a few races that has worked well. Instead of enjoying coffee for an hour or two or whatever before the race, I resisted the habit and just treated it more like a performance aid. I wait until about 15 minutes before race start, and down the whole cup. Being within 15 minutes I've not had the urge to pee waiting around the start line, and you get a real boost of caffeine in the system right about the time your off. Also I dial back the coffee a bit the week before the race, or at least 3-4 days prior. The last 2 days I don't drink any. Helps get a better sleep those last few days, plus I've heard people that drink coffee regularly don't get as much of a performance boost during a run. But perhaps you get more of that 'boost' effect after you haven't had much coffee in several days and then right at the race start you down a cup.

 

[Jaqa]

Bullet Proof Coffee- Add in 2 tsp Unsalted butter and 2 tsp coconut oil to your coffee and stir very well. You can start with 1 tsp each and work up to 3 tsp each. Use best (organic etc) available butter and coconut oil.
Also, it helps to use proper coffee not that weak percolated stuff. I use an espresso machine with freshly ground beans.
My little addition is a dash or two of turmeric for the anti-oxidant benefits and more. Cinnamon could also work well.
Only one cup of 250ml a day. So my caffeine intake is below America's average.
And it is surprisingly tasty!