What To Eat Before A Marathon | Marathon Breakfast Tips
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- Learn how to fuel a marathon correctly by starting with breakfast!
What you eat before a marathon is so important because it can completely shape your race. If you get stomach upset during a marathon then your breakfast could actually be the culprit. Likewise, if you want to run a marathon personal best then you need to make sure your breakfast is the best too!
These tips for a marathon will help you feel confident about your race day breakfast so that you can run a quicker marathon. These are beginner friendly marathon tips too, and cover an important aspect of marathon nutrition tips.
If you're stuck on what food to eat before a marathon then by the end of this video you'll know what foods work, and what foods you should avoid.
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Hi! I'm James. I'm a Sport and Exercise Nutritionist and I make videos on nutrition to give people simple, clear and easy to use information on a range of subjects. I focus on triathlon and how triathletes can use nutrition to help properly fuel their training and racing.
In my day job I work as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner in General Practice, or Family Medicine for those of you not in the UK, and work in a busy NHS GP practice. I'm a Specialist Paramedic by background and have full independent medicine prescribing rights.
Advanced Clinical Practitioner in Family Medicine, BSc, PGCert
Registered sport and exercise Nutritionist (SENr)
Advanced Diploma of Nutrition, MSc Sport and Exercise Nutrition
Nutrition Consultant for Hurry The Food Up
Great Britain Age Group Triathlete
Qualified L2 British Triathlon Coach
I am not affiliated or sponsored by any brands, companies or products that I mentioned or show in my videos. My aim is to make these videos free from any sort of bias!
These videos shouldn't be taken as direct, personal advice on medicine or nutrition but more for information purposes based on the latest research and evidence. Unless otherwise clearly stated, this information is more suited to adults as under 18s have different requirements and considerations. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have as an individual though!
Contact: James@nutritiontriathlon.com
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Usually 2-3 bananas and 2-3 tablespoons of honey before long runs and marathon type efforts
Nice, I like that! Simple and effective 🙂
Its not work brother
Hi James, love the simplicity of your videos, your tips have been really helpful to draw up my nutrition plan for my first IronMan 70.3 I completed last month. Personally, my go-to breakfast is definitely a rice pudding. I use low-protein non-dairy milk like almond milk, and I usually don't hesitate with honey or sugar. This breakfast usually has 60 grams of carbs, and low (
Your rice pudding breakfast sounds great, it definitely fits the bill! I'm sure it will be just as good for your marathon as it has been the other times! 🙂
You have earned a subscriber in me! Love what you’re doing! Will definitely be utilising this in my next big race! Excited to see how this improves my times! 🏃🏽♂️♥️
😊 welcome along! Thank you for the kind words, I really appreciate them. Let me know how you get on! 😀
@@NutritionTriathlon Will do! I have a Half Marathon on the 3rd! So will report back after then! 😊
My go to has always been a bagel, banana and a small amt of honey, glad to see I'm on the right track. would it be worth topping up with a gel prior to the race as well? If so how long before would be optimal (of course this would also need to be trialed), but interested in your take on this.
You definitely are, good work! Yep you can do 🙂 I aim for between 30-60g of carbs about 15 minutes before the race
I make Ugali the night before and have it for breakfast. I do sometimes fry in butter which I am guessing might not be a good idea but it seems to work.
Yeah the butter part isn't ideal, but it depends on how much it is as your individual tolerance! If it's working for you then that's the important thing!
Did a half marathon practice run the other day and had feta cheese eggs on toast with spinach before 😅 now I’ve watched this video I think ill go with a generally favourite of mine which is crumpets and jam 👌and a banana
Hah, crumpets, jam and a banana sound a far better half marathon breakfast!
I can’t stomach porridge before races or long runs.. I’ve switched to Rice Flakes which makes like a porridge type meal but no fibre just white carbs so easy to digest. Usually have with honey and half banana then save the other half of my banana 30 mins before race but maybe this is too little carbs before? Would you recommend upping the rice flakes and honey and have a full banana or maybe even jelly babies before a race :)
I like the approach, for sure! A little hard to say without knowing portion sizes. I'd recommend trying to calculate the amount of carbs in it, just for this purpose. You can use a calorie counting app and work out how much you're eating. If you're consuming at least 1 gram of carbs per kg of body weight then you're in a good place!
Hey, James! Thank you so much for sharing such a complete video with us. I'll run my first 10k in a month and I have just a simple question: The temperature of the environment influences directly on what I should eat? If yes, what would you recommend for a 10k in a warm and tropical 25-28 degrees weather?
You're welcome 🙂 temperature doesn't really change the food you eat, no.
Hydration and sodium intake will be more important though. Would recommend whatever breakfast before running that you usually have, as long as you tolerate it. Just make sure you're well hydrated before the race and you should be fine!
I normally eat buckwheat with honey before my long run, which is high in calories, but takes a little bit more time to digest. Should I try something more digestible, or should I stick with buckwheat?
Does it suit you? Do you get any stomach problems? If it works for you then stick with it, no need to change
probably stupid question, but if carbs stores get ran down overnight, what is the point of carb loading 48 hours or so prior? to ensure for those 90 minutes you're fully fuelled? although it is suggested to have a energy gel 30-45 minutes anyway, before the glycogen stores start to run down. I know you can only carb fully over small meals/ a few days, and it can't all be done in one-day., but it seems a bit pointless if its suggested regardless you're going to last 90 minutes anyway, and even then should take a gel etc.
Not a stupid question at all - it's a great one!
So the difference here is where the glycogen storage and depletion happens. The aim of carb loading is to saturate muscle glycogen stores, which is why you need to eat so many carbohydrates over that ~36 hour period. You can store roughly 400g of glycogen in your muscles.
You also have stores of liver glycogen too, and that's only about 100g of glycogen.
When you sleep, your muscle glycogen stores don't get depleted but your liver glycogen stores do. Your liver turns glycogen into glucose overnight and releases it into the bloodstream to maintain blood glucose and supply other organs.
It's your liver glycogen stores that you have to replenish in the morning. On average they might drop from about 100g to 40g, and you want to replace this. Hence breakfast and a gel top up before a race 🙂
Hope that makes sense! Any questions just shout 🙂
ah that's perfect! thank you.@@NutritionTriathlon
Apple sauce, oatmeal w/ some honey, and fruit juice
Nice! That's a good combo breakfast 💪
@@NutritionTriathlon any tips on how to not have to go #2 the morning of, had some poor experience the last 2 weeks during my 18 milers
Check out this video, hopefully it will give you some tips!
ua-cam.com/video/59d0iWD48jA/v-deo.html
I am 16 running my first half marathon and I just ran a 15k last month but had bad stomach aches at mile 7 I ate oatmeal peanut butter honey and a banana and that’s been my go to forever but my stomach hurt bad and I don’t want that to happen again. Is there anyway you could help me for my half marathon this week and let me know a good meal cause I think it’s time to change it. Also I usually wake up and eat 3-4 hours before race start. Thanks love your vids!
Hey, great to hear you're so interested in nutrition and running!
I can't give you personal advice over UA-cam, but I can give you some broad guidance.
If someone is struggling with stomach issues during running then removing the high fat and fibre foods in the meal beforehand is a great start. Peanut butter is a big culprit for that, so I'd say reduce/remove that as a starting point and see how you get on.
I've also done a half marathon specific video on breakfast that you can check out here:
ua-cam.com/video/P8QjqGiey4E/v-deo.html
Hi James,
I will run at 6 PM. Do you have tips for me? Should I eat lunch? What would you eat for lunch?
Yeah I would try to have my last meal about 3-4 hours before the race, keeping it very simple, so your typical carb load foods. No real change needed!
Check out this video for more information on it!
ua-cam.com/video/KzBXYFXC_FU/v-deo.html
2:05 video starts
Great advice! While on a long run keep in mind the most important thing! Post workout meal 🍺
Great stuff! 💪
Would you recommend sprouted rolled oats before a half/full marathon? It appears they're higher in fiber than regular oats, but I've also heard they're easier to digest.
Really a personal thing. For some people they'll be fine, others they'll be too fibrous. I would struggle with them. Test them a couple of times and see how you get on 🙂
Hi James, great vid!
I wanna star training for a marathon but do struggle with tummy issues on long runs. I will definitely use your tips.
What is your opinion on sugar as a carbohydrate? Will for instance biscuits be okay to eat before a long run, or should I stick to porridge and bread? Thanks!
Hi! Thanks 🙂
Sugar is totally fine within a sporting context. Glucose/Maltodextrin and fructose and simple sugars (simple carbohydrates) and are the core unit for energy and helping with your carbohydrate stores. They're what are contained in most sports gels and drinks.
For breakfast, do what works for you. As long as it's carbohydrate based, relatively low in fibre/fat/protein, then do whatever works.
If sugary biscuits fit that nutritional profile and work for you, that's fine! Don't feel you have to go for something like porridge and bread.
I work with athletes who will sometimes have something as simple as a carbohydrate sugar drink and a sports bar, because that's all they can stomach.
So I have London next week. I usually have overnight oats with chia and pumpkin seeds as well as skyr yogurt. Would you recommend take out all the seeds and skyr and just have the oats with skimmed milk and honey? I’ll probably also have 1 or even 2 white bagels with jam. I’ll eat 3 hours before so hopefully this isn’t too much? A Maurten 320 mix which I’ll sip until 1 hour before. Would love to hear your thoughts? Also a banana as I’m waiting to start.
Honestly this is just so individual. It sounds like a lot to me, and either the oats or bagels on their own would be fine (portion size dependent etc) along with the Maurten drink. But if you've practiced it all in training and tolerate it without any problems then it's fine.
As to whether I'd change the breakfast.. again, individual and what training has looked like. I typically advise lowering the fat and fibre content in the prerace breakfast, and seeds are high in those. So personal preference, but I usually err on the side of caution
@@NutritionTriathlon thanks. I’m going to try the carb loading you suggested. It seems like a lot but I’ll give it a go. I’d need around 680g to get the 10g per kilo but maybe I can get close to 600. I’ll do my best. Thanks for the advice.
Hi, Great video. 😎
Hope you can help me regarding some questions more cycling related. Lately I have problems with stomach upset on a morning bike rides within only first 30-60 minutes.
In the afternoon I have no problem, after proper lunch, but in the morning is another story. I already tried your DIY Sports Drink and on today's short 35km morning ride it worked great, no problems and can eliminated artificial sports drinks and fokus on the food.
Regarding breakfast, if I eat small sandwich with white bread, Jelly, peanut butter and some banana that would be ok?
What about eggs? I also some times eat that for breakfast before the ride. Most of my friends on a group ride eat that in the morning before the ride, 2-3 eggs, some bread, tea and have no problems?
This weekend I eat little to much for 5 hour ride and now I see, from you video, that I eat everything wrong. Had only 1,.5 hours to digest, before group ride, early in the morning. I have to turn around after 1 hour of riding, have big stomach upset, that lastated whole day and even next day. Never happened before like that. Combination of wrong food and sports drink that obviously also don't agree with me. Was a real bomb for my stomach,
Thank you for the replay, keep up the good work.
Hey, thank you!
Tough question to answer without knowing more detail because honestly it could be down to so many causes. What you ate the day before, how hydrated you were, what you ate that morning etc.
Your suggestion of a white bread sandwich with jelly and pb before a ride would work fine.
Eggs might be ok for some people, but egg breakfasts are generally high in protein and fat which can cause GI upset.
What I would suggest is starting with a light breakfast like your sandwich, and getting a 'baseline'. If you can tolerate that without any problems then you know you've got a good option. Then you can experiment with different foods or timing. Then if only the sandwich works then you can just use that and make sure you fuel well during your ride too. Hope that helps!
@@NutritionTriathlon Thank you for the replay, much appreciated. already using your DIY Sports Drink, with different juices and in last few rides works like a charm, cheap, effective and also much healthier.
Regarding food will do that also look at your previous videos and combine something. Great videos with lots of useful informations, so thank you for some guidance and I think I'm on a right path, been doing this wrong for decade.
Keep up the good work... 😎
I’m thinking couple cups of coffee, two plane bagels with jam and a banana. Maybe a couple pancakes with honey, 3hrs before. One gel 15 minutes before start of race. Thoughts?
Sounds like a lot of food to me. 2 bagels with jam and honey OR pancakes with honey would most likely be enough. But if you can tolerate it.. sure!
@@NutritionTriathlon went with 1 bagel/jam and 2 pieces of toast/maple syrup. Worked great for me today!!
Hey sir, what do you think about dates for breakfast for the marathon?
Hey. You'd have to eat quite a few to consume sufficient carbs to make it worthwhile, but this would also include a lot of fibre.
It might be possible but wouldn't be a top suggestion!
Hey. You'd have to eat quite a few to consume sufficient carbs to make it worthwhile, but this would also include a lot of fibre.
It might be possible but wouldn't be a top suggestion!
Why no nuts or seeds? I'm training to walk the Honolulu Marathon in December. My breakfast is a peanut butter and jam sandwich with a glass of low fat milk. So far it's worked but I'm still on lower mile walks.
Any advice for walkers? Thank you!
It's about controlling the amount of fibre, fat and protein, and nuts and seeds are quite high in those. They'll increase the risk of tummy upset when paired with running.
Doesn't mean they will, and some people will tolerate them, but when combined with running there's a much higher likelihood.
Same advice applies really to walkers and I'd just say to take it as seriously as anyone running it 🙂 you'll still need appropriate fuel over it, especially since you'll be doing it for longer. Depending on the intensity you do it at you may be able to scale back on the 'sport specific' products like gels or sports drinks and go for wholefood options like jam bagels or oat bars.
Plan in advance and practice 🙂
I've done a full video on marathon fuelling if you're interested
ua-cam.com/video/TN-Yo21xdCA/v-deo.html
@@NutritionTriathlon That makes sense. Thanks for the quick reply. I am trying to train with as much whole food as possible and use the gels on longer walks. Your videos are great!
You're welcome 🙂 good luck with your training and the marathon in December!
😅jj@@NutritionTriathlon
Would you recomend the same amount of carbs for a half marathon?
For breakfast? Yep! Same sort of thing. Enough to feel satisfied but not to feel overfull. Eating more the further out from the race start you are, less the closer to the race start.
Hi James, thanks so much for your videos - I really appreciate your nutrition advice!
I normally have overnight oats and thought I can stomach them well enough but lately I've had tummy problems during my MP long runs (40g Oats + water, berries, and honey around 3hrs before my run).
I'm uncertain if it would help to eat earlier given the amount of carbs in 40g oats is not insanely high, right? You reckon I should switch to sth else entirely or am I miscalculating the amount of carbs in overnight oats? Thinking of bagel + Jam and bit of PB as an alternative.
Hey Niklas. You're welcome!
Yep, that sounds like a relatively small breakfast and eaten in sufficient time! Some people just don't tolerate oats before running, so it might be worth trying something different. Could also try removing the berries too, as for some people the fibre in them is enough to cause symptoms!
First of all I would probably try removing the berries, and if that doesn't work then I'd swap to a white bagel/white bread and see how that goes
@@NutritionTriathlon Oh didn't consider removing the berries at all, will definitely try that one out! Cheers again
@@NutritionTriathlon Hey James.
Went out for my next long run today and had 2 Bagels with jam and pb around 3hrs earlier - definitely felt better but I might dial it back to one bagel! Though still some tummy issues arose only when I switched back to easy paces in between the marathon pace efforts, and most notably when I sipped on some water. Which makes me wonder if I might drink too much (around 300-500ml for 30ish k) or if bloating just happens when I'm not running fast and my concentration slips as a consequence.
Sorry to bother you again but tbh I'm kind of suprised and irritated lol that most of my nutrition routine for Halfs does not seem to work for longer efforts ... :D
Still quite a few possibilities. Depends on the size of your bagels, but dropping down to 1 bagel is reasonable, 1 + jam is still a good amount. Could try dropping the PB. 300-500ml for 30km doesn't sound like much. For context, it's not unusual for 300ml per hour during long runs.
The longer you run, the more likely you are to get gastro issues and therefore you need to optimise your nutrition :)
Thank you for the great video. Needed this information for my upcoming marathon.
You're welcome 🙂 good luck with your marathon!
@@NutritionTriathlon much appreciated🙂
My favorite event breakfast is Hawaiian Rolls and Red Bull. Easy to find in any grocery store, delicious and easy on the stomach.
Sounds good to me! I hadn't heard of them before but just googled them - they look tasty!
Paired with a red bull is a good combo for the caffeine 💪
Honey, banana, blueberry and Gatorade
Nice one - sounds great to me!
Apple, banana... that's all you need....
Not true! Apples aren't ideal due to the fibre (skin) and a banana on its own wouldn't be enough 😃