The slow-release of carbohydrates provided by SuperStarch helps athletes and active people maintain steady energy levels without the spike & crash. LIVSTEADY also has a very low osmolality, meaning it exits the stomach quickly and does not require lots of water to digest. Marathoners have been encouraged to drink 4-8 ounces of sports drink every 15 minutes and/or to take a gel every 30-45 minutes to keep glucose moving through the GI system and into the blood stream. When I use UCAN, I drink a full serving of the Energy Powder 30 minutes before I start. It is always a good practice to start out adequately hydrated before a long run or race. This will help decrease your marathon recovery time. After all, you just need to avoid low energy (physically and mentally) in the last 10K of the marathon to hold your pace and achieve your goal. Nailing your nutrition is a key aspect of marathon training and racing. water or sports drink, 10-20 minutes before activity drink 10 oz. 2023 Marathon Training Academy. The bar is dense and doesnt have a real distinct cinnamon flavor. Ask 100 marathoners how they fuel and youll get 100 different answers. But UCAN isn't just for elite runners - it's for anyone looking to improve performance and fitness in training without having . You can practice various methods of carrying and consuming your nutrition so that on race day you are not burdened with anything more than the physical goal youve set for yourself. They are small, easy to use, and can be consumed in two seconds. Here are our pro tips for marathon nutrition: Use the Marathon Nutrition Calculator to create a nutrition plan for your next marathon. Try these methods in a few long runs. Sign up for our newsletter for all the latest news and offers. If you start experiencing stomach distress, yet all your calories are coming from liquids and bottles, the risk becomes two-pronged. You should consume one of these gels every 17-30 minutes or once every couple of miles. Adding salt to foods is also a great way to increase sodium intake to meet higher needs. Low-calorie electrolyte mixes not only provide fuel and hydration but also increase absorption of carbohydrates. Try Run Team Free Depending on the marathons start time, you dont necessarily need to consume a full breakfast before the race. A one hour 10 minute PR huge icing on the cake that I can eat now that I have burned all of those calories! It has been a game changer for me in terms of recovery. You might decide, or be coached, to instead run a 20 mile long run with two 6-mile marathon-paced segments included as your race simulation. An average runner will burn anywhere from 400-600 calories per hour during an easy-to-moderate run. They have 2 types of gels and 3 drink mixes. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases. But if something goes wrong, thats no reason to give up there are a number of things that you can do to get back on track. All Rights Reserved. Required fields are marked *. . This change in the GI tract makes Strategy #1 a big challenge for many runners. You feel worse and worse until glycogen (carbohydrate) stores are all but depleted and youre forced to walk. Marathon Fueling with Pro Runners Sara Hall, Emma Bates and Coach Greg McMillan Marathon Fueling with Pro Runners Sara Hall, Emma Bates & Coach Greg McMillan Watch on In this blog, we dive into the fueling routines of some of the fastest women marathoners in the world. Chat With Us, Privacy Policy | Contact Support | Terms and Conditions. And I would much rather do so without constantly stuffing gels in my pie hole. You can get away with poor nutrition habits at shorter distances. For longer events I like Tailwind too. You just get your carbohydrates once every hour and then just need to drink water and electrolytes in between. For Hammer gels, the top three were maltodextrin, water, apple juice concentrate (apple cinnamon) or tapioca syrup (for the chocolate variety). In between servings, you hydrate with water and electrolytes. Most traditional sports nutrition with simple carbs provide a spike and crash effect, and youre left managing the sugary roller coaster. If you have a misstep in your fueling protocol, then you might end up running out of energy or hitting the wall. This means youll want to begin fueling with carbohydrates about 45-60 minutes into your race. Refreshing, sugar-free electrolyte drink mix. That said, no coach will recommend running a marathon at marathon pace prior to the marathon. This is a positive for your muscles but is a big negative for your GI tract. This changes the way the starch is metabolized and allows it to deliver steady, long-lasting energy. "I love having UCAN bars after my workouts and long runs. As Ive advocated before, carrying your own fuel allows you to control what and when you feed so you arent reliant on the race to provide the same concoction youve been training with. Avoid the highs and lows of sugar-based fuels with our slow-releasing SuperStarch ! I am so happy that I stumbled upon the MTA podcasts and am excited to be a part of this group! I am using these for a powerful but healthful boost during a training run or competition. (Ucan) Angie prefers to take one serving of Ucan before the race and then carry one serving in a small hydration bottle and sip it as she goes. Electrolytes are vital on hot days, while the carbohydrates from a sports drink or soda help keep your energy levels full. I am a Registered Dietitian with my Masters in Public Health. It keeps your blood sugar stable, helps you burn more fat, and spare carbohydrates, which is the trifecta to avoid the bonk. Then once that is dialed in, try it in a tune up race. water and mix it into a small flask or carry multiple servings in a bottle. Now, I dont see this as a problem given todays hydration packs but if a runner isnt prepared to carry, then this strategy will not work. (2012), Subscribe for updates and get the FREE eBook:5 EASY ON THE GO SNACK RECIPES, Your email address will not be published. with elite U.S. marathoner Emma Bates about the mindset that led her to finish 2nd at the 2021 Bank of . (Theres been more than one race where the sports drink on course wasnt mixed correctly leading to many upset stomachs.). This has been a popular strategy and there are hundreds of products available that aim to provide fast-acting carbohydrates in lots of different flavors, textures and carbohydrate types (glucose, sucrose, fructose, maltodextrin, etc.). Stand at the 25-mile mark of any marathon and youll see lots of runners (and Ive been one) who clearly stopped fueling adequately and are left to struggle to the finish line. To illustrate just how universal marathon fueling has become, here are the race weekend eating habits of runners from five countries: Australia, Finland, Wales, Venezuela, and the United. That will tease out any flaws in your nutrition approach since youre subjecting yourself to as much of the race day stress as possible. This would then keep the brain happy (it uses glucose and tightly monitors blood glucose levels) and would provide some glucose for the working muscles. If youve ever experienced GI distress (sloshing, bloating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea) then you know it can make for a miserable training or race experience and can be deadly to your performance. I took 2 bars before the race and 2 during the race. Consume the serving over a 5-10 minute span rather than sipping on it slowly like a traditional sports drink. From staying adequately hydrated, to training your gut, to taking in enough fuel, these are some of the logistics that marathon runners need to consider for fueling during a marathon. First, youll plug your numbers into our Marathon Nutrition Calculator. Weve alluded to many of the significant factors affecting marathon nutrition, but now its time to piece it together. The top three ingredients in the Ucan bars are SuperStarch (hydrothermally cooked non-GMO corn starch), protein blend (whey protein isolate, milk protein concentrate) and isomaltooligosaccharide. If the traditional strategy of sugar-based fueling has not worked. This makes sense, of course, because even if you arent running a marathon, your blood glucose level will fall after 2-4 hours. I, myself, made the switch to this strategy a few years ago and found it to easily overcome the issues I had with the spike/crash and GI upset in marathons (from using Strategy #1). I have used the bars during both training runs and races. Meb is considered one of the top American Distance runners of the last 2 decades. Fellow U.S. marathon stars Sara Hall and Emma Bates also relied on UCAN to power them to top 10 finishes at this year's World Championship Marathon. Whether you have time for a whole morning meal or not,you should be fueling with 20-50 grams of carbohydrates 15-30 minutes before the race starts. When youre putting in the hard work to train for a marathon, the last thing you want is your nutrition to hold you back. how this blueprint was created Dilute the carbohydrates with more water later in the race to account of the compromised GI tract. There are lots of things that could go wrong the weather might change, you might forget a packet of gels, or you might start bonking with 7 miles to go. Were on a mission to empower athletes at all levels to achieve their personal best, and reach beyond their own expectations. For all but the last 30-45 minutes, use the Strategy 2 regimen above. It comes available in four non-caffeinated flavors and four caffeinated flavors. Before discovering Maurten, I always had the UCAN Energy Powder 30 minutes before the race. I dont feel the soreness or aches and pains after a long run and I still have energy 2 or 3 hours later. -Joint Episode with Marathon Talk U.K. Dont forget to practice your fueling strategy in training and adjust based on the sessions duration and intensity. Traditional energy gels and sports drinks with maltodextrin and simple sugars have a high osmolality, which is why many runners experience GI distress when they consume them repeatedly. water or sports drink) every 15-20 minutes, Train yourself to drink during exercise if this is new to you. This seems to provide the best of both worlds. Instead, we can focus on a high quality pre-run meal and a high quality post-run meal over our quick fuel. Our Marathon Fueling Guide will help you nail your nutrition, give you tips on how to fuel with UCAN, and teach you to avoid the pitfalls that many runners fall into. Top dietitians, elite trainers and more than 400 professional Designed to optimize post-workout muscle repair. You just work out in your training the frequency of ingestion so you maintain energy. Fueling up with UCAN before a workout is one of the best times to use the product. Running longer runs and marathons without fuel means energy levels, and blood sugar levels, fade over time. He is a certified coach, Cat 1 cyclist, and is a freelance writer having been published in many of the worlds largest endurance sports publications. Learn more here. Sign Up to Receive a Weekly Newsletter with Top Running Tips, Best Running Belts That Wont Slip or Bounce and Carry it All, How Far Did I Run? Keep them frozen as long as you can because they will melt, especially the chocolate/peanut butter bars (which are my fav)! Do you have a long run fueling strategy in place? As a professional runner and nurse anesthetist, Sarah Sellers relies on UCAN to energize smarter before her morning long runs. ! PodcastFest! UCAN is a slow-release fuel with the benefit of not having to fuel as often and avoiding blood sugar spikes and crashes. Each drink has its own mixture, which can be watered down or made even more concentrated. As with most things in running, its hard to find a one-size-fits-all with marathon fueling. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Prime your mind and body for peak daily performance with the leading fuel for long-lasting energy.