Marathon Fueling Tips from Paralympian Susannah Scaroni, RD

These “modifications” embrace main victories: Gold within the 5000 meters on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and first-place finishes on the Chicago, New York Metropolis, Boston, and Grandma’s marathons.

Forward of lining up as soon as once more on the New York Metropolis Marathon, Scaroni—now an RD—gave Effectively+Good the within scoop on precisely what her marathon fueling plan seems like.

The day earlier than

As a result of wheelchair racing entails much less impression than operating, Scaroni says the coaching entails excessive depth and excessive quantity the vast majority of the time, which suggests she just about all the time follows a high-carb food plan. So she solely actually begins to zero in on race-specific vitamin the day earlier than.

That begins with sipping on carb-rich drinks: She goals for 80 ounces of fluid, together with 32 ounces coming from a sports activities drink like Gatorade.

Though her pre-race dinner is usually offered by race organizers, she likes to comply with a little bit of a method. For carbs, she’ll have some rice, potatoes, or pasta. She’ll additionally embrace a lean protein like hen or fish. “And I do not keep away from too many greens, however I am not having a dry kale salad, for instance,” she says. “I am making an attempt to have rather less fiber, however some cooked greens are all the time good.” 

With a purpose to be certain that she’s not up all night time going to the toilet, she’ll drink most of her remaining fluids for the day at dinner in order that she’s additionally taking in some electrolytes, like sodium, to assist her maintain onto them. Then she’ll simply have a small glass of water when she’s brushing her enamel.

“Sleep is simply as necessary as vitamin,” she says. “And never having to make use of the restroom extra occasions an evening is a giant a part of that.”

The morning of the race

Identical to another morning, Scaroni begins each race day with a giant glass of water to rehydrate after sleeping.

She normally eats breakfast a pair hours earlier than coaching, however earlier than a race—significantly one with difficult logistics just like the New York Metropolis Marathon, which begins on Staten Island—there could also be a couple of hours between breakfast and the beginning. So she’ll have a much bigger meal that features advanced carbs and protein, like oatmeal and yogurt or peanut butter, possibly a Clif bar and Gatorade as a result of she is aware of she has time to digest it—and she or he would not wish to find yourself hungry in the course of the race. Then she’ll deliver a Gatorade, Powerade, or Skratch Labs carbohydrate hydration combine together with her on the bus and within the tent simply earlier than the beginning.

Espresso can be a should. “What I really like, if I’ve the chance, is to deliver my very own AeroPress. I normally use about 16 grams of beans and grind these up,” she says. “Or, if I haven’t got that choice and there is a espresso store, I wish to get a crimson eye, which is a cup of espresso with a shot of espresso in it.”

On the course

Scaroni did her grasp’s thesis on fueling issues for the precise wants of para athletes. Some have impaired GI functioning as a result of a spinal wire damage, and even simply the place that athletes take inside their sports activities wheelchairs can intrude with the gastric system. Additionally, she factors out: “Our arms are in gloves, so simply the act of consuming must be completed just a little bit extra thoughtfully.”

Scaroni’s go-to technique is filling up a CamelBak with 60 grams of carbs from her Skratch Labs hydration combine, then ingesting it by means of a straw (totally on downhills when she would not have to make use of her arms to push).

Her recommendation to different marathoners

There is a traditional saying in operating: Do not attempt something new on race day. And that applies to your marathon fueling plan, too. Scaroni suggests coaching with precisely what you propose to eat in the course of the race, right down to the precise manufacturers and flavors. “GI points throughout operating are so prevalent, and I feel actually type of making an attempt to nail down what your physique can tolerate whilst you’re operating is a giant factor to finishing the marathon to the very best of your capacity,” she says. 

Alongside those self same traces, she suggests additionally working towards that early breakfast, or a number of small meals, such as you’ll have on race day. And about all that free Dunkin Donuts espresso within the begin village: Solely partake should you sometimes drink espresso proper earlier than a run. “If [you’ve] by no means had it earlier than,” warns Scaroni, “it isn’t essentially the very best day of the yr to attempt it out.”