guides

Marathon Nutrition: What to Eat Before, During, and After the Race

Marathon & Half-Marathon Nutrition Tips

You’ve trained for months to run a marathon, and it’s finally time to lace up your running shoes and show what you’re made of. During a marathon, the body burns a lot of carbohydrates, so fuelling it with enough energy is pivotal to running at peak performance. In this OTE guide, we will cover what you should eat before, during, and after your race.

Nearly Race Day: What to Eat the Day Before a Marathon

The day before your marathon, it’s time to start thinking about fuelling your body for the run ahead. We recommend eating a high-carbohydrate meal to fuel your body while it still has time to digest a heavy meal. Popular examples include meals that feature pasta, baked potatoes, or bread.

We also advise avoiding greasy, fatty, or spicy meals, as well as new dishes, to prevent gastrointestinal stress or sluggishness. Alcohol should also be avoided. Throughout the days leading up to your marathon, we recommend sipping OTE Hydro Tab drinks to ensure you are fully hydrated for race day. 

Fuelling a Marathon

The Morning Of: What to Eat Before a Marathon

Today is the day, so let’s get your body ready to perform. On the morning of your marathon, it’s important to have a high-carb breakfast that’s easily digestible. You may have less of an appetite as the nerves start to creep in, but it’s essential that your last meal is energy-rich and familiar.

If you aren’t sure what to choose for your pre-race breakfast, here are some of our favourites to give you some inspiration:

  • Porridge, banana, and honey
  • Scrambled eggs on toast
  • Beans on toast
  • Granola, yoghurt, and fruit

As you make your way to your event, you may want to give your body one last carbohydrate hit. If so, you can’t go wrong with an OTE snack bar about 40 to 60 minutes before the race starts. This delicious, natural-ingredient snack will satisfy your hunger, provide a quick energy boost, and prevent any digestive discomfort during the race.

Cookies & Cream Duo Bar

Mid-Race Fuelling: What to Eat During a Marathon

Whether it’s your first marathon or your fiftieth, mastering the art of mid-race fuelling can play a huge part in sustaining performance. If you’re not sure where to begin with race-day marathon nutrition, here are our top two tips for fuelling during a marathon:

How To Taper For A Marathon

1. Carry Everything You Can

Whether you take a running bag or wear shorts with pockets, carry small, lightweight fuelling products with you to use every 30 to 45 minutes of your marathon. Our energy gels, for example, are lightweight and easy to open, making them ideal for on-the-go use.

Remember: bring more than you think you’ll need. You never know how you will feel once you’re out there, so it’s always better to be prepared!

2. Ask a Friend to Resupply

You can only carry so much fuel and still run comfortably, so we recommend asking a family member or friend to wait at a pre-agreed stop along your marathon route, ready with more gels and energy chews to support the rest of your race.

Strategically select this spot to ensure you will have already likely used most of your fuel by the time you get there. It may also be helpful to ask this friend to have an OTE energy drink ready to help you stay hydrated.

Post-Run Recovery: What to Eat After a Marathon

Once you cross the finish line, it’s time for two things: 

  • Feel proud of yourself for completing such an amazing achievement! 
  • Refuel and rehydrate! 

From the moment you finish your race, it’s important to support the body in its cooldown and recovery, and drinking water and an OTE recovery drink straight away replenishes your lost salts and carbohydrates, as well as repairs your tired muscles with protein.

Speaking of protein, OTE also has specially designed products to support recovery and provide sufficient protein. Our Chocolate Recovery Soya Protein Drink, for example, requires only 300ml of water, making it an accessible and convenient post-run option.

Phil Sesemann

How to Fuel for a Half-Marathon?

Does the nutrition plan outlined above work for half marathons? It’s an important question. The day before a half-marathon, you can stick with the same plan, but you can adjust your nutrition on the day of your half-marathon depending on how quickly you expect to complete the race.

Target Time: Under 90 Minutes

  • Eat your last snack 90 minutes before your race to give the body enough time to digest and absorb carbohydrates without causing stomach discomfort.
  • Take a caffeine gel or Super gel 15 to 20 minutes before the race to ensure your energy levels are at their highest.
  • After 45 minutes of running, consume one Super gel, taking small sips every 10 to 20 seconds to avoid disrupting your breathing rhythm.

Target Time: Over 90 Minutes

  • Take a caffeine gel or Super gel 15 to 20 minutes before your race.
  • Consume one Super gel around 40 minutes into your run. This may be the point where you don’t feel like you need the fuel, but an energy top-up will ensure you don’t have a dip later in the race.

Marathon Nutrition: Your Questions Answered

If your daily routine includes a morning coffee, we recommend continuing it on race morning. If your body is used to this morning caffeine kick, taking it away may leave you feeling more tired than usual. Likewise, if you don’t normally consume caffeine in the morning before you go running, this is not the time to add it in.

It’s hard to take on food while running, and the process of digestion in the stomach requires energy to function, taking energy away from your muscles. As a result, we advise sticking to gels and energy drinks, as they are light on the stomach and designed for easy digestion.

If your target time is four hours, we recommend carrying five gels, plus a sixth as a backup.

– Check out our

Marathon Race Day Product Picks

Perfect Your Marathon Nutrition Here at OTE Sports

Running a marathon takes consistency and dedication, and at OTE, we want to help you every step of the way. Marathon nutrition goes hand in hand with training, so make sure you have the fuel to perform your best on race day with our gels, chews, and drinks.

Ready to take on a marathon? At OTE Sports, we’ve got the expertise and products to help you cross the finish line with a smile on your face. Whether you need a race-day breakfast with our Anytime Bars or a crucial mid-race boost with our fast-acting energy gels, be your best with OTE Sports.