How to Fuel for the Sydney Marathon: A Practical Race Day Nutrition Guide

The annual Sydney Marathon is almost here, so now is the time to make sure your race nutrition plan is actually sorted.

If you’re running Sydney, or preparing for another marathon, you probably already know the basics.

You need carbohydrates.
You need fluid.
You need to practise your fuelling.

The part that often gets missed is knowing exactly how that is going to happen, hour by hour.

Start With Your Carbohydrate Target

For many marathon runners, carbohydrate intake may sit around 60–90g per hour, but more is not automatically better.

Your pace, goals, gut tolerance and what you’ve actually practised during training all matter.

So if you’re aiming for 60g per hour, work out where those 60 grams are coming from.

Gels? Chews? Sports drink? Food? A combination?

Know What’s Available on Course

For the 2026 TCS Sydney Marathon, POWERADE will be available every 5km from 5km through to 40km, with GU energy gels available at 20km and 30km.

That’s useful, but I wouldn’t rely entirely on the course.

Carry the products you already know work for you, then use what’s available on course as part of your overall plan.

Think About Your Gut Too

If you’re using gels, take them with water rather than sports drink.

A gel is already a concentrated source of carbohydrate. Taking it with sports drink can create a very concentrated load in the digestive system and increase the chance of gut upset.

You might use sports drink at one point, then take your gel with water at another.

And remember to look at your total carbohydrate intake, not each product separately.

Practise What You’ll Do on Race Day

Your long runs are where you find out whether your plan actually works.

Practise the products, amounts and timing you intend to use so you know what your gut can comfortably tolerate.

Race day is not the time to test something new because another runner swears by it.

Keep it simple and stick with what you know works.

More Marathon Nutrition Support

I’ve been writing the nutrition plans for the TCS Sydney Marathon by ASICS for around a decade, covering everything from training nutrition through to race-week and race-day fuelling.

If you’re running Sydney this year, now is the time to check the details, stick with what you’ve practised and make sure your plan feels simple enough to follow when you’re actually out on course.

You can access more resources here:

📌 2026 TCS Sydney Marathon Training Hub

📌 Download my FREE Marathon Nutrition Guide

You can also follow @uberhealth on Instagram for more race nutrition information in the lead-up to Sydney.