London Marathon 2016: 8 top nutrition tips to follow the week before the race

Sports nutritionist Charlotte Kennedy gives the down low on what to eat and drink in the final days before London's biggest running event 
Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
Annie Ross13 April 2016

For 38,000 people, weeks and weeks of preparation culminate in race day on Sunday 24 April at the start line of the Virgin London Marathon 2016. In the same way as our physical fitness has been honed to enjoy the race and avoid injury, nutrition the week before a marathon is the pinnacle of importance for on-the-day performance and recovery afterwards.

Charlotte Kennedy, a sports nutritionist at Etixx, the company who fuelled last year’s marathon winner, Eliud Kipchoge, shares her top tips for keeping healthy and primed in the final week before London's biggest running event.

1. Aim for a carb-enriched diet

Carb-loading is a term that is widely known by marathon runners and is definitely worth considering. However, is it important that endurance athletes recognise that they can eat too much carbohydrate in the build up to an event. It is not uncommon for marathon runners, especially beginners, to go overboard on carbohydrate intake in the week before and be left feeling bloated and heavy on race day. There is only so much carbohydrate that your body can store and therefore aiming for a carb-enriched diet is a better approach. This should include about 10-15 per cent more carbohydrate than you are used to. Aim to eat a portion of carbohydrate with every meal, especially the day before the marathon, alongside some carbohydrate-based snacks. Don’t feel as if you need to overindulge - you’ll only feel worse for it.

2. Keep hydrated

Hydration for the marathon should begin way before race day and you should ensure you are staying properly hydrated in the build up to the event. Carry a bottle with you wherever you go and make sure you are taking frequent sips. Monitor your urine colour to check for hydration - urine should be a light straw colour for optimal hydration. If you struggle to remember to sip regularly, find a trigger to do so. For example, buying a new bottle and carrying it with you might motivate you to drink a bit more.

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3. Avoid alcohol

In the week before the marathon, do your best to avoid all alcohol. Avoid temptation - your body will be very grateful come race day! Not only does it make you dehydrated, it also effects you psychologically with motivation and alertness so can only be detrimental to performance. Save the alcohol for your post marathon celebration!

4. Maintain protein intake

Don’t compromise protein in the name of carb loading. Protein is essential for muscle growth and repair and will help to leave your muscles in the best state for race day.

5. Don’t try anything new

In the build up to marathon day, it is important that you stick to tried and tested healthy eating. Don’t be too adventurous with your cooking or try out that new recipe you’ve wanted for ages - you never know how your body might react to new foods. Stick with meals that you have frequently and keep them plain and simple. It might not be the most exciting week of food but it will help prevent any nasty stomach surprises.

6. Limit fibre intake

One thing you might want to do in the few days before your marathon is limit fibre intake. This helps to minimize any stomach issues that excess fibre intake can cause. In this situation, it may be better to have white bread, pasta and other carbohydrate forms, as these are lower in fibre than their brown or whole meal alternatives.

7. Experiment with caffeine

If you’re looking to use caffeine for performance, try decreasing your caffeine intake in the week prior to the marathon. This will decrease your tolerance to the effect of caffeine meaning that when you have it on race day morning you will experience more of a performance enhancing effect.

8. Do a dress rehearsal

Try out the meal you plan on having the night before, as well as your race day breakfast. This will help you see how the food and quantities sit with your body and will reduce the number of things to think about in the 24 hours before the race.

Best of luck - and see you at the start line!

Annie Ross is the founder of eXerK.com, completing 52 sporting challenges in 52 weeks during 2015. Follow her on Twitter@eXerKyourself

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