GET RACE DAY READY WITH THE SIS MARATHON GUIDE

PRE-TRAINING

Aim to drink 2-3 litres of water per day. Before a session (particularly longer runs or on hot days) drop one of our Hydro Tabs into your bottle.

Your pre-run meal should be 1-3g/kg of carbohydrate. For a 70kg runner this would be 70-210g of carbohydrate 1-3 hours prerun.

Include high carbohydrate foods such as cereal, toast, bagels, or a GO Energy Bake.

DURING TRAINING

Work out how much you are sweating (per hour) (refer to a later page of this guide) and try not to lose more than 2-3% of your body mass through sweat loss. Include electrolytes by dropping a HYDRO Tab in your water bottle to promote hydration. Drink little and often to prevent stitches or bloating.

Aim for 60g of carbohydrate per hour from a range of sources. An hour of fuel could be something as simple as three GO Isotonic Gels.

AFTER TRAINING

Make sure you replace the key electrolytes and fluids lost during the run. The best way to do this is by dropping a HYDRO Tab in your sports drinks.

Post-run recovery starts straight after you’ve finished. Kick-start the recovery process with a carbohydrate protein blend such as REGO Rapid Recovery.

HYDRATION

Try to consume a couple of bottles of water containing a HYDRO Tablet or GO Electrolyte throughout the day. These will ensure you are hydrated and are replenishing all electrolytes before you race.

CARB LOADING

Our body has limited carbohydrate stores to use as energy on race day. To maximise storage, carbohydrate intake can be increased in the 24-48 hours before race-day. To do this,increase the carbohydrate portion size with each meal, use carbohydrate snacks between meals, like a GO Energy Bake. Aim for 8-10 g of carbohydrate per kilo body mass per day of your carb-load.

PREPARATION

Enjoy the atmosphere of the race village, but don’t get caught out on your feet all day! Try to rest where possible. The night before it’s handy to get all your race kit sorted and number pinned-on so you’re not rushing in the morning. Plus, it makes for the essential pre-race flay-lay picture!

BREAKFAST

Have your race-day breakfast 1-3 hours before you start, whatever you have practised during training. Travel and logistics can cause distractions to your race and fuelling, so knowing what you’re going to eat and planning it out is going to get you to the start line in the best shape.

HYDRATION

Drink 5-10ml of fluid per kilo body mass (around 350-700ml for a 70kg runner) in the hours before starting your race. A good option is sipping on a water bottle that includes a HYDRO Tablet or GO Electrolyte while getting ready and on your way to the event.

PREPARATION

Around 20-30 minutes before the race, take an energy gel such as a GO Isotonic Energy Gel or Beta Fuel Energy Gel. This gives your body time to utilise the energy for the first few miles.

HYDRATION

Aim not to lose more than 2-3% of your body mass via sweat loss. This usually means consuming 500 ml of fluid per hour depending on sweat rate, temperature and humidity – drink additional fluids as needed.

ENERGY

The Science in Sport Performance Solutions team advises that your energy gel strategy should be based on time not distance, i.e. a gel every X minute not every X mile. This will prevent fluctuations in race pacing from affecting your nutrition strategy. It is suggested that during endurance exercise (more than 2.5 hours) 80-120 grams of carbohydrate per hour should be consumed. This equates to 2-3 GO Isotonic Gels per hour, or 1 every 20-30 minutes.

BETA FUEL ENERGY

Our Beta Fuel Energy Gels contain an optimised ratio of maltodextrin to fructose which has been shown to reduce symptoms of stomach fullness and nausea which is great for combatting any gastrointestinal issues often reported when running.