The right sports nutrition for the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON

Run faster with the right food and drink

Alongside training and regeneration, nutrition is the third pillar for healthy and successful running on the way to the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON. In order to cover the increased energy requirements of a marathon, to convert training stimuli into performance-improving adaptations and to restore muscle structures and biochemical processes, the chosen food must provide essential nutrients in adequate quantity corridors.

^{Carbohydrates, for example from fruit, are regarded as the muscle fuel of runners - and the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON 2023 is no exception.  SCC EVENTS / Norbert Wilhelmi}

Energy for optimal running training

There are only three classes of nutrients, known as "macronutrients", from which our metabolic machinery obtains the energy for all life's activities via complex breakdown and build-up processes. Carbohydrates and fats are the key energy suppliers for all endurance performance, whereas proteins are primarily responsible for building up the substance and function of muscles and other organ structures as well as for control and transport tasks in metabolic processes.

Basic fat nutrition for runners

Even in very lean athletes, subcutaneous fat forms a rich energy depot for ultra-long endurance performances of moderate intensity. In the basic diet, attention should be paid to fat quality with a predominance of unsaturated vegetable fats and oily sea fish (herring, salmon) and selected edible oils such as linseed, walnut and rapeseed oil containing omega-3 fatty acids.

Carbohydrates for endurance athletes

Carbohydrates provide quick energy for increases in intensity (speed). Their limited storability in the form of glycogen in the muscles and liver makes their depletion a performance-limiting component in endurance sports. Glycogen deficits and drops in blood sugar levels are performance killers. "Low-carb" is therefore not a recommendation for marathon runners. The blood sugar level also reacts highly individually to healthy complex carbohydrates (e.g. from wholemeal products).

Tip: The recommendation given by the International Society of Sports Nutrition for marathon endurance events of covering around 60% of energy requirements with carbohydrates, with an intake of 5-8 g of carbohydrates per day and kg of body weight, should be seen as a guide. A separate "trial and error" is required to determine the exact quantity and digestibility.

Protein recommendation for marathon runners

Often associated with "body-built" muscle packages, the adequate supply of protein in endurance sports cannot be emphasised often enough. Lean endurance muscles, their energy supply controlled by enzymes (proteins!), messenger substances and organic repair processes also require a protein intake that can be up to 0.8 and 1.6 g per day and kg of body weight, depending on the duration and intensity of the exercise. The combination of plant (pulses, nuts) and animal sources (fish, eggs, dairy products, meat) provides the most reliable supply of all the necessary building blocks (amino acids) for the body's own protein.

Remember: Marathon nutrition is not "rocket science", but a comparison of science with your own experiences and taste preferences.