Always make sure that you practice your full race day nutrition routine well before race day itself. Follow these tips, guidelines and examples and smash your PB!

PRE RACE

CARBOHYDRATE LOADING:

Our muscles can store up to 400-500g or around 2000kcal of glycogen to be used as energy. Glycogen is the main fuel you will use during your race and is stored when you consume carbohydrate.

Unlike longer races, half marathon ‘carbohydrate loading’ should focus on increasing carbohydrate intake in the 24 hours before the race and the pre-race breakfast.

Unlike traditional ‘carbohydrate loading’, you don’t necessarily need to increase carbohydrate intake in the 48 hours before the race, but aim for 3-5g of carbohydrate per kilo of your body weight as shown in the table below.

BREAKFAST:

Have breakfast 2-3 hours before the race. This should be part of your ‘carbohydrate loading’ regime as your glycogen stores decrease over night.

This should involve normal breakfast foods with around 1-3 grams of carbohydrate per kg of body weight as shown below:

Dinner (Night Before)	Breakfast
300g spaghetti 100g chopped tomatoes 2-3 slices of garlic bread 500ml SiS GO Energy 300g low fat yoghurt with mixed berries	2 slices of toast with jam 1 small bowl of cereal 250ml fresh orange juice

HYDRATION:

Pre race hydration is key. Aim to drink 500ml-1000ml of fluid in the build up to the race, ideally 500ml 2-3 hours at breakfast and 500ml in the build up to the event.

Don’t drink just water, SiS GO Electrolyte or SiS GO Hydro can increase fluid absorption and retention, meaning there will be less stops for the toilet during the race.

 DURING THE RACE

HYDRATION

Aim not to lose more than 2-3% of your body mass throughout the event. This usually means consuming 500 ml of fluid per hour depending on sweat rate and temperature/ humidity Rehydrate using an electrolyte drink: SiS GO Hydro provides a precise 30mmol/L of Sodium, which will help retain the fluid A SiS GO Caffeine Shot consumed just before you start may increase concentration and endurance performance

ENERGY

Focus should be on hydration and carbohydrate intake After 30 minutes of the race, aim to take on 60g carbohydrate per hour. This can be achieved through food and fluid sources; energy bars and/or energy gels Along with appropriate hydration and fluid intake, this could come from: 3* SiS GO Isotonic Energy Gels or 1* 500ml SiS GO Electrolyte & 2* SiS GO Isotonic Energy Gels SiS GO Isotonic Energy gels are preferred by endurance athletes as they easily carried in a race belt and do not require fluid for easy digestion

 

POST-TRAINING / RACING: RECOVERY

After training or competition around 13.1 miles, the body will be in a state of depletion; to avoid fatigue, reduce the risk of injury and fuel physiological adaptations it is important to recover well by refuelling and getting enough rest.

Follow these key considerations and go again!