Soccer Matchday Nutrition Guide | Collegiate to Pro

This Marathon Guide has been created by our Nutrition Advisor, Matt Jones, to be the complete nutrition guide for training and racing the Marathon.

The Marathon distance is known by amateur and professional runners to be the ultimate test in running. Your body must be ready to race, and so it is imperative that your nutrition in the weeks, days and hours leading up to the race is dialled in, to maximise your performance potential.

Part 1: We will explain everything you need to know about fuelling your training for a marathon, to help you perform and recover optimally and get the most out of all your runs. 

Part 2: We will go through the nutrition for the days running up to your marathon, going over nutrition and carb loading and hydration to prepare your body and put you in the best position to perform on race day. 

Part 3: We will present race day nutrition guidance, explaining what you should consume the morning of, pre and during the marathon to keep your body fuelled and your performance maintained. 

At the end of the guide, we will provide an example daily meal plans for each stage of the guide, namely a normal day in training, days in the week of the marathon, and race day itself.

Part 1: The Marathon Training Diet

The chances are you have a well structured, periodised and planned training programme to follow to prepare yourself for the marathon. But perhaps you are still wondering how to adjust your diet to best fuel and prepare yourself.

Alongside training, nutrition is equally important in your preparation; getting it right can improve your performance and make the experience more enjoyable. On the other hand getting it wrong can leave you struggling and in a world of pain. 

In the following article, we will cover exactly what you will need to do to adjust your diet in training for, then in the days leading up to the marathon and finally during the race itself. 

It's evident from research that ‘miles make marathoners’. Monthly training volume is the best predictor of marathon performance, so let’s begin with how to structure your diet during the training block in the months and weeks before the race itself.  

Energy

The first and most fundamental adjustment you need to make to your diet when commencing marathon training is simply increasing your daily energy intake. 

The energy cost of running a marathon has been estimated to be between 2200 - 3200 kcal, whilst energy expenditure of training could be anywhere between 500 - 800 kcal per hour. 

If you were to maintain your normal diet, with no adjustments the chances are you would create a negative energy balance, which will not only mean you lose weight and muscle mass, but will also reduce the amount of energy available to your body to support performance and recovery. Low energy intake for extended periods of time can also impact the immune system, making you more susceptible to picking up frustrating illnesses, not what you need when trying to prepare for a marathon. 

Increasing your energy intake can be as simple as eating a little more of the foods that you currently eat. Although it’s perhaps more beneficial to do this a little more strategically, by adjusting the types of foods you are eating, and also playing closer attention to the timing of those foods. 

Fuel

Carbohydrate is used as a fuel for intense actions such as running. Carbohydrate is stored in small quantities as glycogen in both the muscle and liver. 

The best way to imagine this is whenever you eat a carbohydrate rich food it will be used to top up small petrol tanks in your muscle and liver. 

Those petrol tanks are fuel reserves for intense activity. 

Given that running is relatively intense, most of the energy you burn during your training runs will come from carbohydrates. So when increasing serving sizes at meals, it will be the carbohydrate component that needs to be adjusted the most, to top up those tanks and ensure they are suitably full for future sessions.

If we assume that you currently consume 2000 - 3000 calories each day, you will likely need to add an additional 500 to 800 calories or 125 to 200 grams of carbohydrate to your daily diet to meet the demands of daily training.

In a practical sense that’s the equivalent of an additional banana and tablespoon of honey in a slightly larger bowl of porridge at breakfast, with a bottle of apple juice, an extra slice of bread at lunch with some fruit, a slightly larger serving of rice with your evening meal and three caramel rice cakes before your training run. 

Consuming between 5-7 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight should be sufficient to maintain the fuel tanks and support your performance and recovery. 

That is between 350 - 490 grams of carbohydrate for a 70 kg runner. 

Some recommended carbohydrate-rich fuel foods include oats, bran flakes, wholegrain bread, pasta, rice, cous cous, quinoa, potatoes, rice cakes, granola or cereal bars, fruits and fruit juices. 

Carbohydrates can be categorized based on how quickly they deliver fuel to the body, this is often referred to as the glycemic index. Higher glycemic index foods include white bread, white spaghetti, mashed potatoes, sports drinks, energy gels and candy. They deliver fuel rapidly and can be referred to as fast fuels. These foods, snacks or drinks are ideal before, during and after training and races, when the body needs fuel rapidly. Slow fuels are generally wholegrains such as wholemeal breads, pasta, bran flakes, wholegrain rice, quinoa, chickpeas, lentils and high fibre fruits such as apples. They deliver fuel slowly, over an extended period and should be prioritized at all other meals and snacks.  

Repair

Protein rich foods are digested, absorbed and broken down into individual amino acids which are primarily used to support growth and repair processes in the body, particularly in muscles. Imagine amino acids are like small bricks, these bricks are used to rebuild tissues. Running is incredibly taxing on muscles and joints, so consuming protein in sufficient amounts and at regular periods across the day is important to aid growth and repair processes. 

Consuming around 1.6 - 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight should be sufficient to optimise the repair processes. 

Splitting this total daily dose into 4 or 5 equal parts will also ensure that the body receives a steady supply of building blocks throughout the day. That is roughly 112 - 126 grams of protein for a 70 kg runner, and 28 - 31.5 grams of protein per meal. Most people skew protein intake to the evening meal, with missed opportunities to repair and adapt in the morning and in the evening before bed. So don’t be like most people and ensure you evenly distribute your daily protein intake. 

Suitable protein sources to aid repair processes include lean meats such as chicken, turkey and lean beef, eggs, fish, shrimp, dairy products such as milk and Greek yogurt, soy, beans and pulses, and even whey or vegan protein powder if you struggle to meet the daily requirements from wholefoods alone. 

Salmon, mackerel and sardines are particularly worthy of mention as they not only provide quality protein, but they are also rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fats which are known to reduce inflammation, muscle damage and soreness. A very nice addition to the daily diet during intense training. 

Boost

Fruit, vegetables and healthy sources of fat can be referred to as boost foods as they have the ability to boost numerous aspects of our health and functioning as humans, thanks to their vast quantities of vitamins, minerals, fibre, fatty acids, water and other phytonutrients. 

Dietary nitrates have received serious attention in the sports nutrition space in recent years, owing to their ability to boost nitric oxide production, widen blood vessels, reduce blood pressure, improve blood flow, endurance performance and power output. The perfect storm for a runner in marathon training. 

When selecting which vegetable to add to your meals, nitrate-rich vegetables such as beetroot, spinach, rocket, swiss chard and lettuce are certainly worthy of consideration. 

Current research suggests a dosage of around 800 mg of nitrates may be required to boost performance in endurance events, with 100 grams of beetroot and spinach providing roughly 300 and 240 mg respectively. 

Including a variety of nitrate-rich vegetables each day, with each meal is a worthy consideration, perhaps some spinach with eggs at breakfast, beets with lunch, rocket and beet juice with dinner, and then stewed rhubarb with protein yogurt before bed. 

Including a wide variety of fresh fruits into your diet is also likely to help your performance and recovery during this intensified period of training. We have known that fruit offers a host of health benefits for many years, but in recent times we have developed a detailed understanding of how fruit-derived polyphenols can benefit the body. Polyphenols have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which support the body, brain, heart and muscles train, compete and then recover. 

Current evidence suggests that doses of between 300 - 1000 mg per day may be optimal. Interestingly cloves, peppermint, cocoa, dark chocolate, coffee, berries, cherries, pomegranate, beans, green tea and red wine are all rich in polyphenols and should feature in your training diet. Its also possible to supplement with concentrated, capsule forms of polyphenols from blackcurrant extract, with evidence to suggest that consumption both before and after exercise can benefit both endurance and recovery. 

On the subject of boosting performance and without diving into the minefield of supplements, I would like to discuss creatine monohydrate specifically. Traditionally creatine has been recognised as a supplement specifically for power and strength sports, and avoided by endurance athletes for fear of gaining weight and slowing them down.

More recently however, research has confirmed that endurance athletes are likely to benefit from creatine supplementation (roughly 5 grams per day) too, for multiple reasons. Including enhanced glycogen storage and recovery, greater cellular hydration, reduced neuromuscular fatigue, inflammation and oxidative stress, and maintenance of pH. Most, if not all endurance events end with a sprint finish too. This sprint finish is very likely to improve with creatine supplementation. 

Fluid

The human body is around 60% and you can lose anywhere between 500 ml and 3 litres of fluid per hour through sweat during intense marathon training. Consuming sufficient fluid each day to maintain hydration status is important. 

Dehydration impacts the brain, cardiovascular system and muscle strength and power. A tell tale sign of dehydration is lethargy and general fatigue, this can make daily life more difficult, nevermind your training. 

Drinking 1 ml of water per kcal consumed is a good general guide, so that could be anywhere from 2000 - 3000 ml per day and then an additional 500 - 1000 ml per hour of training depending on your unique sweat rate. 

The best way to monitor your hydration status is checking the colour of your urine. Urine should be a pale, almost clear colour. The darker the urine the more dehydrated you are. Note that urine colour can be influenced by a variety of factors, including some vitamin supplements and beetroot juice, and other things, but as a proxy measure it is useful. 

Individual sweat rates can vary considerably too and when body mass loss exceeds 2% your performance can suffer. Sweat rate is relatively easy to calculate, using the below formula. An online sweat rate calculator has been developed by Jay et al., (2024) and the prediction model displays high accuracy, with mean absolute errors of 0.03 L/hr for running and 0.02 L/hr for cycling.

Any difference in body weight pre to post-run is assumed to be fluid losses through sweat, with 1 kg assumed to be the equivalent of 1 L of fluid. As an example, if I start my run weighing 70 kg and finish weighing 69 kg, that is 1 kg loss or 1 L of fluid lost through sweat. This is only 1.4% of my body mass, so is not going to hurt my performance, but I would need to consume around 1.5 L in the following hours to fully rehydrate post-run. 

It is also helpful to know your sweat sodium composition during training and well in advance of the race itself. This can be measured with wearable tech such as Flowbio or you can also determine whether or not you are a heavy sweater by wearing black cotton t-shirts during training runs and then letting it dry after. If the t-shirt is white with salt deposits then you can assume you are a heavy sweater and might need around 1000 - 1500 mg of sodium per hour. 

The addition of electrolytes to pre and post-run drinks can accelerate the rate of rehydration, enhance fluid retention and muscle function. Consider adding 1 - 2 Cadence Core 500 Electrolyte Sachets per day around these training runs, perhaps a Race 500 Sachet pre-run if training in the morning. 

Focus

Finding the motivation to get up and go, especially when it’s cold, wet and windy outside is challenge in itself. So adding in foods and fluids that can help get you amped up, ready and raring to go is most certainly worthwhile. Caffeine and caffeinated beverages such as coffee and or the Cadence Race 500 Sachet can do just that. 

Caffeine is an adenosine antagonist, which in simple terms means it blocks the actions of adenosine and has a stimulant effect on the brain, improving attention, focus and generally gets you more hyped for a long-grueling run. Interestingly caffeine can also reduce perceived exertion, making tough training feel easier and more enjoyable and it can also boost endurance so you can run faster.

Be mindful that the stimulant effects of caffeine last for many hours, perhaps as much as 12-hours. So drinking caffeinated drinks after midday might interfere with your sleep, not such a good idea. So it’s best to consume these drinks earlier in the day and ideally around 30-minutes before you train. 

Conclusion

There is significant individual variability in nutrition requirements during a marathon itself, so making specific recommendations is challenging. But we hope that this document helps inform your decisions ahead of the race so that you are adequately fuelled and hydrated, and dare I say enjoy the experience.