I’ve run 17 marathons, and one thing I’ve learned you can’t mess around with is your nutrition. As the mileage grows in marathon training, so does the importance of fueling correctly during runs and supporting your recovery.
Most of this can certainly be done with your regular diet, and I think it’s important not to overuse supplements, but I do use them when fueling my longest and hardest workouts, especially during my peak mileage weeks in marathon training.
Over the past month of training for the Frankfurt Marathon, I’ve been running around 80 miles a week, which is my highest consistent mileage, and I’ve been relying on supplements more than usual to help me keep going.
There are three main categories of sports nutrition products I use — energy drinks and gels for fueling my runs directly, a recovery drink to get key nutrition in after hard workouts, and electrolytes for hydration before/after very long, sweaty runs.
This is just my direct fueling for runs, and it comes on top of trying to eat as healthy a diet as possible with lots of vegetables and carbs, and popping a Costco multivitamin in the morning too.
Energy — Maurten Drink Mix 320 and Gel Mix 480
Carb drinks and gels are the products I use most regularly in training, fueling before and during long, hard workouts, and I’ve found Maurten’s products to be the best for me.
That’s because they don’t give me any stomach problems, which I don’t find is always the case with other gels and drinks.
Maurten’s Drink Mix 320 contains 80g of carbs in a 500ml drink and has long been my go-to before a long workout and during marathons. I’ve used it a lot in training for Frankfurt.
I've glugged down gallons of Maurten's Drink Mix 320 during the last decade of marathon training. It's expensive, but a great way to consume 80g of carbs in a stomach-friendly way before and during hard runs.View Deal
However, on race day I plan to try the relatively new Maurten Gel Mix 480, which packs 120g of carbs into a 350ml soft flask, so I’ve practised with this in my long runs.
The Gel Mix has a texture between a gel and a drink, and makes following a high-carb strategy during runs a bit easier than carrying lots of gels or drinks.
The newest addition to Maurten's line-up allows you to get 120g of carbs from a 350ml soft flask by combining the Gel Mix 480 with 200ml of water. It's very convenient and what I'll be using at the Frankfurt Marathon.View Deal
Maurten’s products are very expensive, so sometimes I’ll use cheaper options during training, but when it comes to my key workouts and race day, Maurten has been my go-to for years now.
My toothpaste use also goes up during marathon training, by the way, because when you're consuming high amounts of what is essentially pure sugar, you've got to look after your teeth.
Recovery — SiS REGO Clear Recovery
For most of my marathon training weeks, I don’t use a dedicated recovery product; instead, I just make sure I eat a good meal containing lots of protein, carbs and vegetables, but when doing double workout days or 20+-mile runs, I like to use the SiS REGO Clear Recovery powder.
It contains 20g of protein and 21g of carbohydrates and mixes with 500ml of water into a clear shake that’s quite refreshing to drink, especially compared with thicker protein powders.
REGO Clear Recovery: $32
As well as packing in a high amount of protein and carbs to help you recover after workouts, the cranberry and raspberry flavor of this drink makes it enjoyably refreshing, too.View Deal
While it’s not as essential as the carbs I have during workouts, I feel it helps to kickstart my recovery after sessions, so I’m ready to run the next day, or even later that day.
Hydration — Precision Fuelling & Hydration Electrolytes
I live and run in London, so electrolytes aren't as essential for me as they are for those in hotter climates, so I don’t use them all that often, but when I do, I like to use the Precision Fuelling & Hydration 1000 Electrolyte sachets or tablets.
Electrolyte Powder: $13
You can get Precision Fueling & Hydration's electrolytes in either tablet or powder form. I tend to use the latter in sachets, as it mixes quickly and easily with stirring.View Deal
I’ll dissolve one sachet in 500ml of water ahead of my longest runs and sometimes afterwards as well, which helps replace the sodium lost in sweat. For anything under 90 minutes, I don’t tend to use electrolytes, though.
There are a lot of electrolyte options out there now, and mostly I find just going with one that tastes good is a solid approach, but I like the PF&H products for their especially high sodium content and clear nutritional info.