Fuelling a Half Marathon

Half Marathon training takes dedication, and ensuring your body is properly fuelled can make all the difference in your performance come race day. With Coach Annabelle’s 12 Week Half Marathon Program, having a solid nutrition strategy will help you get the most out of every session. From carb-loading before race day to refuelling after your run, understanding how to properly fuel your body is key to optimising endurance, recovery, and overall performance. In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know, including pre-race nutrition, race-day fuelling strategies, and post-run recovery.

Performance Meal Guides for Half Marathon Training

Proper nutrition is key to optimising your performance, and our Performance Meal Guides are designed to support your training every step of the way. These Meal Guides have been specifically designed by our MWU Dietitian's to ensure you meet the Recommended Dietary Intake (RDI) for essential minerals like iron, magnesium, potassium, and calcium—helping with endurance, muscle function, and recovery.

The New Performance Meal Guides include a pre-workout snack made up of simple carbs, a post-workout meal ensuring optimal recovery and the addition of hydration and electrolyte supplementation to ensure you stay refreshed. We recommend consuming this meal 30-60 minutes before your run.

To ensure your Macro targets are correct for you, set your Nutrition Goal to Maintenance or Muscle Gain for this Program to optimise performance and recovery during your training. We recommend avoiding a calorie deficit goal, as these can hinder recovery and make it harder to meet your energy needs. Focusing on Maintenance or Muscle Gain will ensure you're fuelling your body properly to crush your runs and recover effectively.

Pre-Race: The Carb-Loading Phase

“Carb loading” is a strategy used by endurance athletes to maximise muscle glycogen stores before race day. This process involves increasing carbohydrate intake in the 36-48 hours leading up to an event, ensuring the body has enough stored energy to sustain prolonged efforts. However, carb-loading isn’t about overeating, it’s about adjusting macronutrient balance to prioritise carbohydrates while reducing fat and fibre intake. This helps optimise performance and minimise the risk of gastrointestinal discomfort during the race.

For endurance events like half marathons, aim for 10–12 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight per day in the final two days before the race.

Carb-Loading Tips:

Prioritise easily digestible carbohydrates such as white rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, fruit juice, and sports drinks.
Reduce fibre intake to avoid bloating or digestive issues on race day.
Stay well-hydrated, as glycogen binds with water, helping with endurance and muscle function.
Lower protein and fat intake to prevent feeling overly full and allow for optimal carbohydrate consumption.

Planning your carb intake effectively can make a significant difference in your performance, ensuring you have the energy needed to go the distance.

Race Day Morning: Pre-Race Fuel

For an early morning race, aim to eat a balanced meal 1-2 hours before the half marathon. This is a great opportunity to top up glycogen stores and hydration levels pre-race. Aim for a meal that is light, low in fibre and high in carbohydrates.

This meal should be what you have practiced during your training, we recommend not testing new meals on race day for optimal performance - consume something your body is used to.

Pre-Race Meal Ideas

PB, Honey, Banana Overnight Oats

Toast with Butter & Honey

PB & Jam Crumpets

If your race is later in the morning, you may have time for a larger meal 3-4 hours before the event followed by a small snack or gel closer to the race start.

Fuelling During the Race

For a half marathon, fuelling during the race can help maintain energy levels, especially if you’re running for longer than 75 minutes. On race day, you shouldn’t just show up with a few gels or chews in case of emergency. You should be practicing this prior to race day. We recommend for any runs that are longer than 70 minutes you practice consuming what you will on race day.

A general rule of thumb is to aim to consume 25-30 grams of carbohydrates every 30 minutes during the race to prevent muscle fatigue and maintain pace. For mid-race fuel opt for easy to digest carbohydrates with minimal fat, fibre and protein.

Mid-Race Fuelling Suggestions:

Running gels or chews (with water)
- Annabelle’s favourites are the Pure Sports Nutrition Gels or you will be able to purchase any type of energy gels from places like Rebel Spot or any local Running shop.
Sports Drinks with carbohydrates and electrolytes like Powerades (ensure to avoid sugar free as these will not provide you with any energy)
Small pieces of banana, dried fruit, lollies or energy bars

For carrying your mid-race fuel, Annabelle recommends the LSKD running belt for storing smaller items or investing in a Running Vest (particularly for trail races where there may not be drink stations) so you can carry water / electrolyte drinks with you!

Remember: Hydration is just as important as fuelling. So don’t forget to drink water at the aid stations and consider using an electrolyte drink if you’re sweating heavily.

Post-Run Recovery: Refuel and Rebuild

After finishing an intense session or crossing the finish line, it is extremely important to focus on replenishing glycogen stores, repairing muscle damage, and rehydrating. Aim for a meal or snack with carbohydrates and protein within 30-60 minutes after your run to aid in recovery and ultimately prevent injuries.

Post-Run Snack Ideas:

Chocolate Milk and a Banana
Protein Bar and a Powerade

Post-Run Meal Ideas:

Protein Breakfast Burrito

Chocolate Swirl Overnight Oats

Rachel’s Almond Vanilla Smoothie

Spinach & Mushroom Omelette

Continue to hydrate well throughout the day and consider adding electrolytes if you experienced heavy sweating during the race.

Key Takeaways

Fuelling properly for a half marathon isn’t just about race day—it’s about what you do in the days and weeks leading up to it. By carb-loading effectively, eating a solid pre-race meal, fuelling during the race, and prioritising post-run recovery, you’ll set yourself up for success.

If you're an intermediate runner looking to take the next step in your journey, Coach Annabelle’s 12 Week Half Marathon Program provides expert guidance to help you train smarter, fuel better, and perform at your best. Start your journey today and get race-ready with confidence!