One of the most important aspects of long-distance running that is often overlooked and neglected by many is mid-run nutrition. Fuelling yourself properly before a run is enough for distances such as 5ks and 10ks. However, when you start advancing to distances such as half marathons and full marathons, taking on nutrition during a run can be the difference between finishing or not.
When running these longer distances you can be constantly running and sweating for around 2,3,4,5,6+ hours. During this time you will be burning thousands of calories, so if you are not taking any in during the run, your body can start to suffer massively. Therefore, making sure that you are taking enough of the right foods during these distances is vital.
We have teamed up with our partners at Runna to take a look at the best snacks and foods to consume mid-run as well as the best drinks to consume. These will give you the best chance of properly fuelling your body to be able to finish your race.
When it comes to consuming foods during runs, you need something that is highly nutritious and jam-packed with everything you need. The main things that you need from your foods are calories and carbohydrates. This is because these are incredibly effective at fuelling and increasing energy levels. Below are the 5 best foods that you should consider taking during your longer-distance runs.
Are you worried about how to store your snacks during a run? Check out our blog on the best ways to store running snacks during runs.
When running long distances, the main thing that you need to consume during your run is calories. This is because, throughout the distance, you will be burning thousands of calories. So making sure that you are replenishing your body with some of the calories you are losing is vital.
One of the most impressive foods for running that are densely packed with both calories and carbohydrates is dates. Also known as nature's caramel, these amazing dried fruits not only taste delicious but help to significantly refill your body's glycogen levels. This is hugely important as glycogen is the body's main source of energy during strenuous activity.
One of the most obvious foods to consume during a run is a banana. While a huge amount of people will eat a banana or two before a run, not enough realise just how beneficial they can be to consume during a run. In fact, they do not just need to be consumed in the longer distances such as half marathons and marathons, they can also be incredibly beneficial in mid-range distances such as the 10k.
The average-sized banana features around 27 grams of incredibly fast-digesting carbohydrates. This means you do not have to worry about it taking hours upon hours to digest and for you to feel the benefits, as they are digested in around 30 minutes.
It is also important to know that the more ripe and brown a banana is, the quicker its natural sugars can be absorbed into the bloodstream. Once again making them incredibly beneficial for giving you an extra burst of energy during longer runs.
Another extremely effective, and slightly more delicious running snack to consume during distances such as half and full marathons is gummy sweets. Not only are these tasty treats a phenomenal pick-me-up and reward during your runs, they also offer several benefits.
These sweets are full of sugars which your body can turn into energy but have little to no fats or fibres that can slow down the speed at which your body absorbs the food. So they can provide a vital energy burst whenever you need it during your run.
While they are incredibly effective, in order to get their full benefits you must use them properly. You must understand that during exercise your body can only consume around 60g of carbs per hour. Gummy sweets have on average around 4-7g of carbs per sweet, so it is important to not consume too many otherwise you can increase the chances of getting a stitch.
Another snack that can provide runners with a huge amount of benefits is a honey sandwich on white bread. White bread is one of the most effective snacks for runners as it features a very impressive amount of fast-digesting carbs. When adding honey to the bread you have a brilliant way of improving the taste and the number of carbs per serving.
This impressive amount of carbohydrates will then be able to send a huge amount of much-needed energy to the muscles in your body that need it. This will not only fuel you but also give you the nutrients that you need to be able to perform at your best.
Last but certainly not least, the snack most runners take when running longer distances: isotonic gels. These gels typically feature between 20-30 grams of easy-to-consume and easily digestible carbohydrates that can give a runner the boost of energy it needs, when they need it.
In addition to the impressive amount of carbohydrates in these gels, they also tend to feature vital electrolytes. This helps to reduce the risk of dehydration through the run and ensures that your muscles have all of the sodium, potassium and magnesium that they need to perform at a high level for a prolonged period of time.
While most people think that simple water is one of the best drinks to be consumed during a long run, often enough it actually is not. In fact, there are a huge amount of other drinks that are full of nutritious ingredients that water does not include. These added ingredients allow these drinks to not only hydrate the body but also replenish vital nutrients.
One of the best drinks to consume during longer runs is coconut water. Whether you love it or hate it, its health benefits are unquestionable. When running long distances such as full and half marathons, you sweat out a lot of vital electrolytes such as sodium, magnesium and potassium. All of which coconut water has in abundance.
In addition to the electrolytes that coconut water can replace, it also has a high amount of carbs. This means that it not only helps to hydrate and replace vital electrolytes which are lost but also provides the body with carbohydrates which can be used as additional energy.
Okay, with this one you have got to hear us out. While this may sound completely disgusting to most people reading this article, we can assure you it works. This is because the brine of pickles is full of sodium and can therefore combat the levels of salt lost while sweating during a half or full marathon.
Consuming just 60 millilitres of this stuff can give you a 200mg hit of sodium. This means that to replenish the salt and electrolytes lost during a run, you only need a very small amount of the delicious (to some) pickle juice.
Water is extremely important. After all, our bodies are made up of around 70% water. So making sure that we are constantly staying hydrated, especially during intense exercise is integral to performance. However, there is a very simple way in which we can take the benefits of water to a whole new level. Simply add fruit.
Adding fruit such as citrus, berries, melons, and even fresh ginger or mint to your water can not only help to enhance its taste but it can also help to enhance its nutritional value. This is because it adds an extra level of nutrients and carbs. Because of this, it is one of the best drinks that runners can consume.
Lastly, another amazing drink that can be consumed during long runs is sports drinks. Sports drinks such as Lucozade, Powerade, Gatorade, and other similar brands are formulated to both enhance hydration and offer athletes a sizable portion of easy-to-digest carbohydrates. This makes them extremely effective for consumption during long-distance running where hydration and carbohydrates have such an impact on performance.
Studies have also shown that marathon runners who consume sports drinks throughout their runs can increase their times significantly. This will undoubtedly be down to the hydration and fuelling benefits that come from these types of drinks.
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