25/08/2026
Exactly how I’m fuelling for 42.2km 🏃♀️🍚
Carb loading isn’t just eating a giant bowl of pasta the night before 😂 There’s a little more strategy behind making sure my fuel stores are FULL when I hit that start line.
This is the personalised plan I’m following. From the start of my carb load → race morning → fuelling all 42.2km.
Save this one for your next race week 🤍
T-5 DAYS!!!
Think of glycogen as fuel stored away for later ⛽️
Carb loading is about maximising those stores before race day so my muscles have as much readily available energy as possible when I ask them to run 42.2km
Probably the biggest misconception: I’m NOT carb loading all week 😂
For the first half of race week I’m eating pretty normally. Balanced meals, regular snacks, consistent carbs and plenty of fluid. No need to suddenly start eating everything in sight
Now we load 🍚
From Friday afternoon I start increasing my carbs while pulling back on fibre + fat and keeping protein moderate. The goal is more carbohydrate without putting a huge amount of extra stress on my gut.
Think white rice, rice cakes, fruit, OJ and slightly bigger carb portions
The main event: ~420g of carbs 🫡
Rather than trying to force down a couple of MASSIVE meals, I’m spreading my carbs across the entire day and sticking to foods I know sit well with me.
420g is my personalised target, not a blanket recommendation for everyone 🤍
Nothing new on race morning!!!
About 90 minutes before I run: 2 crumpets + jam, a banana + black coffee ☕️
Then one gel + water around 15 minutes before the start.
Simple, familiar and VERY well practised 😂
My plan is 30g carbs every 30 minutes, always chased with water. I’ll use 7 non-caffeinated gels + 2 caffeinated, with caffeine coming in around 60 and 120 minutes.
No waiting until I feel like I “need” a gel. By then, I’m already playing catch-up
You trained your legs. Don’t forget to fuel them 🤍
Fuelling has become just as much a part of my marathon preparation as the running itself.
This is MY personalised race-week + race-day plan. Your carbohydrate and fuelling needs may look different
