part of the ritual for marathon running

Pre Event

The conventional advice is that a pre event meal should be eaten three hours before the event. This meal should be both high in carbohydrate, but also low in fat and light on the stomach. One of the main things to bear in mind when planning your pre event meal is taking on board complex carbohydrates - think of beans, pulses, vegetables and foods from cereal crops.

With your pre-event meal, drinking PSP22 or Go Electrolyte instead of a normal drink of squash can help you add complex carbohydrates into the meal, without adding any bulk. Go Electrolyte will also keep you hydrated in hotter climates and help load on salts you'll lose through sweat.

Race Day

Taking on board another burst of carbohydrates ten to fifteen minutes before you start is another way to ensure you get through your run without suffering from depleted resources later on. A bottle of PSP22 or Go Electrolyte is great here but if you don't want a drink, a Go Gel before you start will do the same job.

During the race, we'd recommend carrying at least four gels with you, one to take at every half hour interval. If you're running a two and a half hour marathon, taking a Go Gel at 30, 60 and 90 minutes will see you through the first two hours. At the two hour mark, taking a Smart Gel with a 50mg shot of caffeine in can give you both a physical and psychological boost and you'll be on the home straight in no time.

Post Race

The first 20 minutes after exercise are the most important for recovery. Taking on board just one 50g serving of Rego Recovery will give your body 13g of protein and 30g of carbohydrates to help your muscles recover and your body some fuel for the impending post marathon socialising. Not only that, but it contains a balanced blend of electrolytes, vitamins, minerals and glutamine to rehydrate you after the run and boost your immune system.

Don't forget to rehydrate before you dehydrate!

Train to Race

The most important piece of advice is to practice your race day plan before raceday. Everybody reacts slightly differently to different concentrations and flavours (for example, how many ways can you drink a cup of tea?).

Not many people run a full marathon in training, so trialling spacing your gels on a one hour run, drinking a bottle of Go Eletrolyte or PSP22 ten minutes before a run or just trying a bit of each flavour can help you decide your plan.
The professionals do this and have specific plans at specific feed stations. They know their nutrition is so important that in the 2009 Tokyo Marathon, at the 35km feed station, Salim Kapsang dropped his bottle and turned back from the lead group to pick it up again. He had his Smart Gel and went on to win the race.