What to eat before a marathon relay?

macinalli

Hi all,

Will be doing a marathon at the weekend as part of an ironman relay and am unsure of what to eat before the race. I can't start my run until our cyclist comes in so there will likely be some hanging around at the start. My concern is that if something goes wrong on the day for the cyclist (punctures, bad day etc), what do I do in the meantime? I obviously don't want to be starting the run hungry - are there any nutrition tips for keeping myself ticking over til I get to start the run?

Condo131

Plan your day as if you were doing the marathon on it's own and forget the preceding legs.

I'd recommend eating a 'normal' race day's breakfast anyway. After that it's mainly a matter of ensuring that you don't starve yourself and, at the same time, don't overdo it on foods that'll go thro' you - in other words, eat/snack on light things that you're used to.

I'd be interested to hear what experienced Ironmen (& women ) recommend.

Krusty_Clown

Condo131 wrote: »

I'd be interested to hear what experienced Ironmen (& women ) recommend.

I don't think it's really relevant, as their nutritional needs are entirely different.

I'd agree with Condo though, stick with what you normally eat pre-marathon, and have a sports-drink on hand to sip on occasionally, while you wait. Can the bike guy bring a mobile phone, so he can let you know if he's delayed?

macinalli

Cheers for the tips. Have done a couple of marathons before and the pre-race porridge has always done the trick. This time though I think it'll be about 4 pm before I get to start running!

Am thinking that I'll still go for porride in the morning with a plain pasta dish around noon and then hope for the best.

Good idea on the mobile - although I might get an earful for suggesting he carries extra weight :rolleyes:

Gringo78

macinalli wrote: »

Cheers for the tips. Have done a couple of marathons before and the pre-race porridge has always done the trick. This time though I think it'll be about 4 pm before I get to start running!

A lot of ironman races run the bike as a circuit of 2-4 laps so you might be able to get an idea of how he's doing at the halfway point of his cycle.

robinph

Time your eating as usual for the absolute best case of when the cyclist might get in for the hand over, but then have additional backup food available for if you spot early enough of a snag on the bike leg that will delay them more than expected.

I'd have expected there to be some way of telling how well they are doing on the way round so you can tell when to expect them, even if it is only to the nearest half hour.

macinalli

Good idea about the laps - hadn't thought of that. The bike is 2 x 90 km laps - will ask when we register if split times will be available.
Good advice as always!