Marathon Fuelling: Matching Your Nutrition to Every Training Session

If you’re training for a marathon, nutrition isn’t just about eating more carbohydrates.

It’s about knowing what the session actually requires.

I recently joined the Run with Fitpage Podcast for a FREE Marathon Training Nutrition Masterclass, where we covered some of the questions I hear from runners all the time.

Do you need to eat before every run?

When does fasted training make sense?

How much carbohydrate do you need on a long run?

What about gels, hydration, electrolytes and recovery?

The answer usually starts in the same place: What training session are you doing?

Fuel the Session in Front of You

An easy one-hour run and a three-hour long run place very different demands on the body.

For a shorter or easier session, you may not need much additional fuelling at all.

For longer endurance sessions, carbohydrate, fluid and electrolyte needs become much more important.

That means looking at the purpose, duration and intensity of the session before deciding what to eat or drink.

Rather than following one nutrition strategy for every run, the goal is to make your fuelling fit the work you’re asking your body to do.

Long Runs Are Also Race Nutrition Practice

As marathon training progresses, long runs become about more than building kilometres.

They are one of your best opportunities to practise your race-day nutrition.

That includes testing:

• how much carbohydrate you can tolerate

• which gels or other products work for you

• how often you prefer to fuel

• how much fluid and sodium you may need

• how your gut responds as the session gets longer

This is where you work out the details before race day rather than leaving them to chance.

We also talked about one common gel mistake: taking a concentrated gel with sports drink at the same time.

That can create a very concentrated carbohydrate load in the digestive system and potentially lead to a very unhappy stomach.

Don’t Forget What Happens After the Run

Marathon nutrition doesn’t stop when your watch does.

As training volume increases, recovery becomes increasingly important too.

In the masterclass we discussed what to include in a recovery meal or drink, along with nutrients such as iron, vitamin D, magnesium and B12 that may be worth assessing as training demands increase.

Good recovery nutrition is part of preparing for the next session, not just recovering from the one you’ve finished.

The Bigger Picture

The main message from the masterclass is simple: Match your nutrition to your training.

Not every run needs the same amount of food, carbohydrate, fluid or electrolytes.

And as race day gets closer, your longer sessions become the place to refine the strategy you plan to use when it matters.

If you’re preparing for a marathon, or supporting runners who are, the full conversation covers fuelling before, during and after training, fasted running, gels, sweat-rate testing, electrolytes, caffeine, recovery and key nutrients.

Watch the FREE Marathon Training Nutrition Masterclass below ⬇️