Sports fuel is not something you save for race day. It’s a process of understanding — through training — what works and what you can tolerate. What you consume in the race is the result of practice and planning. Don’t let your body decide on race day what it can stomach. By the time you cross the start line you should know what works for you. But it’s more than simply using what you like the taste of. Fuelling matters at a deeper level.
Get used to it.
How you learn to fuel will be different from the person standing next to you on race day. The amount of carbs and types of fuel that we can all tolerate is unique. By fuelling the varied tempos and intensities of your training sessions properly it helps your body adapt faster to the process of becoming a runner. Each session is a stepping stone — a building block — on that journey to race day.
Use the Maurten Fuel Guides to understand the principles of fuelling individual training sessions or races. But again, remember that fuelling and choosing your nutrition strategy is highly personal, so treat them as a starting point. Fuel Guides are a reminder that we train our legs, our lungs, and our guts, when preparing for a big race. From fartlek to your long runs — approach them with a plan.
Start by going back-to-basics.
It’s the first thing that every runner will learn and is echoed by the great marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge — “What I do in training, is what I do in the race.” If the stomach can tolerate it in training, there should be no surprises on race day. Treat that first day of training for a big race like a start line of its own. To understand what fuel your body can tolerate and how many carbohydrates per hour will see you finish strong, the work starts here. A fuelling diary is a useful addition to your training toolkit for this. Track what you consumed before, during, and after, and also how you felt.
When to fuel.
Sports fuel is supported by science and works alongside real food — not as a replacement. Some training sessions — longer or more intense — rely heavily on the specific composition of sports nutrition. Others less so. Not every session is a duration or intensity that requires sports nutrition and fuelling. In general, training under 60 minutes can be achieved with the glycogen already stored in the muscles, supplemented with water. During harder interval sessions it can be helpful to take short sips of Maurten Drink Mix 160 in the rest and recovery phases of the workout. For workouts that don’t require in-session fuelling the emphasis should be on adequate carbohydrate during the pre-exercise, warm-up periods, and immediately after.
Finish each session strong
Don’t finish a session depleted — recovery starts before you stop. A prolonged training plan asks a lot from your body. Repeatedly finishing training in a depleted state will negatively impact your long-term progress, so recognise the signs. Training will leave you tired — especially as mileage increases — but it shouldn’t leave you feeling empty, weak, or nauseous. Avoid playing catch-up. To finish a training session strong and to start the replenishment of carbohydrate early, maintain a fuelling strategy into the latter stages of your longer runs. If you are able to train on a loop that can include regular fuel stops — ideally mimicking the fuelling intervals of race day — that can also be a helpful trick.
Understanding Hydrogel Technology
As Official Energy Partner to the Nike Melbourne Marathon festival, we’re in this together. Maurten’s Hydrogel Technology will be available on-course to all runners in the half and marathon. Out there on race day it’ll be GEL 100 and GEL 100 CAF 100 ready for you at the aid stations.
Maurten fuels the fastest — gold medals, world championships, and world records — including the fastest men’s and women’s marathon times in history. We have also created packs that will allow you to fuel your training and race day performance at this years Nike Melbourne Marathon and these are available at www.maurten.com.au/pages/melbourne-marathon
