Marathon Weekend 2026

[The Expert]

SAFD and happy anniversary @camaker
I've paid some attention to fueling, but mostly regarding what I can't or shouldn't have. This training cycle I'm noticing that runs feel easier and my paces are faster, and I honestly think it's in part because of diet. We've had a weekly farm vegetable share all summer and picked up another for fall, so we've been cooking a lot and eating lean and balanced meals.

We're traveling this weekend and my diet is different, and I noticed my hour long easy run felt much harder than it should have. I also forgot to bring my fuel and didn't eat anything before I went. So food is clearly impacting my runs far more than I thought. I'm going to start logging it so I can confirm and watch for patterns.

 

[RuntheMouse]

SAFD: I’ve never met a carb I didn’t love so I’m not lacking in that department on any given day. So prerace, at Disney especially, I don’t do much different the days before other than focus on hydration and picking something yummy for dinner. I have oatmeal in the morning to top things off.

My marathon last month was the first one I made an actual attempt to carb load and holy cow was that hard! I ended up drinking a lot of juice to get relatively close to where I was shooting for.

 

[Naomeri]

SAFD: I don't eat a wide variety of foods, so I don't have much trouble finding something to eat before the races. I do have a few rules about what not to eat though. No rich ice cream in the late afternoon/evening (a Mickey bar is OK in the afternoon, but no malts or sundaes), and definitely no hot dogs--I get the worst burps if I run within like, 12 hours after eating hot dogs and it's just too gross to put up with.

I usually opt for some french fries or a Mickey pretzel for dinner the night before at Disney, and a burger at lunch. I don't worry about carb loading specifically because I already eat a bunch of carbs.

 

[Kerry1957]

SAFD: I'm an in-control Type 2 diabetic, so i have learned to live (and run) eating very few carbs. Carb loading for me is a bagel with peanut butter and a banana the morning of the race. I do try to pack in some extra calories the night before the race but it's high protein, moderate fat, very low carbs. I'm only only running the HM this year so it is not as critical. On course nutrition is thus important for me, but that's another SAFD for another day.

 

[FFigawi]

SAFD: My primary pre-race meal is a big breakfast in late morning the day before the race. I follow the advice of my former coach who told me before my first Ironman to “eat as many pancakes as you can. Then have one more.” Works great for marathons too, which is why you’ll find me at Chef Mickey after the half. For dinner before a race, I keep it pretty light with miso soup, sushi, and plain rice. It’s a good mix of simple and easy-to-digest carbs and protein.