How to Fuel Your Long Runs – Nutrition and Hydration Guide
When you’re training for your first marathon, half-marathon, or big trail adventure hydrating and fuelling appropriately is crucial. You can do all the training in the world, but without the right fuel in your body to keep you going, the training becomes irrelevant.
But we get it, it’s a minefield out there. You probably have 100 questions going through your mind right now as the big race day approaches. Should I be using gels for my long runs? Is it better to eat solid foods? Do I need to take electrolytes?
Well, not to worry - we’re here to provide you with an easy-to-understand guide, including 7 simple tips for fuelling your long runs and races, including both hydration and nutrition.
7 Tips for Fuelling Your Long Runs
Running is fun, and racing and running long distances is particularly fun. So, we want to keep things simple to help you enjoy race day, and smash that PB you’re aiming for.
1. Practice, practice, practice
We’ve all heard the old adage ‘don’t try anything new on race day’. This is particularly important when it comes to your nutrition and hydration strategy. Yet, so many people get excited at the race expo, or feel like they need to find that perfect gel to use for the first time on race day. This is the last thing you need to do.
What you really need to do is find what works for you weeks (or months) out from your race, test it in your long runs, test it again, and then execute the same strategy on race day. There are so many amazing nutrition brands out there, so try a few out, find one that works with your stomach and taste buds and stick to that. It’s great to test on a long run how your body will react to the nutrition you plan on taking 1 hour in, 2 hours in, and if it’s a marathon or ultra-marathon – 3 hours in and beyond!
2. Pre-race fuel
Fuelling for race day begins days before the race, not the morning of. Begin to eat carb-heavy meals 2-3 days out, reduce fibrous foods such as vegetables that might upset your stomach, and eat a high carb breakfast that you’ve tested out in your training on race day.
The same principle applies for hydration. Downing a few litres of water and knocking back some electrolytes on race morning is not going to be enough to keep you hydrated for the race. For the entire race week (and throughout the entire year!) make sure you are drinking lots of water. In the couple days before, and the morning of the race, make sure to also drink electrolytes so your body is stocked up on sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium and you won’t be so reliant on the electrolytes provided on the course.
3. Fuel early and fuel often
This fuelling and race strategy was summarised perfectly by Australian Ultra Running legend Lucy Bartholomew when she said ‘nibble nibble, sip sip, left foot, right foot’ to describe her UTA100 2024 strategy. Particularly for ultra-running, it is all about getting fuel into your body early, so your system knows that we are not just running here, but we are eating and fuelling too. By starting to fuel early, it allows your body not just to send blood to the legs, but also to the stomach, helping you digest the calories your consuming, and turn them into fuel.
While it differs for each person (and each distance), we suggest taking your first gel, bar, or calories of choice 30-45 minutes into the run. The longer your run is, the earlier you should start fuelling. For example, if you’re running an ultra-marathon, you should start consuming calories 30 minutes into the race, because you’ve got a long day (and maybe night) of fuelling ahead. However, if you’re running a half marathon, you can wait until 45 minutes, or even an hour into the run to start taking calories in, because you won’t be running as long.
4. Use time intervals to get a consistent flow of calories
When you’re deep into a long run, maths is hard. Trying to calculate paces and hitting your time goal is hard enough, so don’t make your tired mind work harder by complicating your fuelling strategy. Your pace can also fluctuate depending on terrain, fatigue, and how far into the run you are. Therefore, using time intervals is easier on the mind, and it keeps you consistent with your consumption.
We suggest 30-minute intervals. It is simple and effective. Most experts suggest consuming between 200-300 calories an hour for optimal performance, and the average gel or serving of energy blocks/chews has 100-120 calories. So, take your first serving 30 minutes in, your next one at 1 hour, then 1 hour 30 minutes, 2 hours, and rinse and repeat until you’ve finished! If you’re using both gels and solids (such as bars or waffles), it can be good to alternate from gel, to solid, back to gel, back to solid – giving your taste buds and stomach a bit of variety.
5. Use caffeine strategically
Caffeine can be a runner’s best friend, or worst enemy – so be very strategic how you use it. To reiterate our first tip: practice, practice, practice. The most important advice when it comes to caffeine is knowing your own tolerance, and trialling caffeine in your training. If you don’t drink coffee, and have never tried a caffeinated gel in training, definitely do not try it out for an extra kick on race day.
However, if you use caffeine appropriately, it can give you the focus and clarity you need deep into your run. Every brand has different levels of caffeine in their gels, ranging from 10mg per gel, to 100mg per gel. We would recommend that you don’t use caffeine in every gel, but more like every 2nd, 3rd, or 4th gel. Some people even like just keeping it in their back pocket, only to use when needed. A nice caffeinated gel or energy block can definitely give you the kick you need when you’re deep in the pain cave.
6. If you find something that works, stick with it
We are nerds when it comes to hydration and nutrition. We love the details and nuances between different brands and different products. We are proud of all the brands we stock, and can stand behind the quality of every one of them. However, that doesn’t mean that one certain gel will work for everyone. Every runner is different, and we see that daily in people’s preferences on brand, flavour, and consistency.
While it can be fun to try out different products in your training, when you get closer to race day it is all about sticking to what you know, and controlling the controllables. Once you find a product that works for you, stock up, use it in your training, and you will avoid any dreaded stomach issues on race day. You will know what to expect, your body will be used to it, and strangely you will begin to count down the minutes until you get another taste of one of those sweet, sweet gels!
7. If you are using the products supplied at the race, test them
Our final tip for race day is to make sure you are very careful using the nutrition supplied on the course. Races will always advertise in advance what products will be on the course, so if you plan on using the gels, bars, or drink mixes that the race provides, test it out in your training and make sure there will be no shocks on race day.
How to find the right nutrition and hydration for your next race
We know it can be hard to know where to start when it comes to race day fuelling, but we hope this nutrition and hydration guide has helped ease some stress ahead of your next race, so you can focus on getting out there and enjoying it.
Whether you’re tackling a half-marathon, marathon, or ultra marathon, proper nutrition and hydration is vital to a successful day. At the Runners Shop, we’re here to support your journey every step of the way with a wide range of performance and nutrition products, tailored for runners. Why not drop into one of our stores in Randwick or Killarney Vale to get personalised advice, or browse our nutrition products & hydration products to have it shipped straight to your door.