proper nutrition and perseverance in training is the cornerstone of any marathon race the basis of marathon nutrition should be that the increased nutrient requirement of the body be met while it is being trained to compete for the race day thus pre event nutrition is important for improving race day performance also marathon runners need to know which nutrients to avoid in order to stay away from exhaustion and gastric upset on the race day today dr kamna desai shares some quick nutrition tips for marathon runners pre event nutrition while training if marathon runners do not eat enough food at frequent intervals they will not meet the basic requirement of the body and hence will not get enough nutrients to sustain the high intensity activity gradually they will start showing symptoms like chronic tiredness muscle pull cramps dizziness frequent illness poor concentration weak performance and delayed recovery so the basic requirements will be met by eating a variety of food from all the major food groups like cereals 611 servings day vegetables 35 servings day fruits 23 servings day milk and milk products 23 servings day pulses nonveg 12 serving day fluids 1012 glasses day diet plan a diet plan must meet the basic as well as increased nutrient requirement during training to positively impact the performance on the race day one may need to take in higher quantities of calories coming from carbohydrates and protein in order to fuel their higher metabolic rates therefore the most important nutrients when it comes to running are carbohydrates proteins and water carbohydrates provide the necessary fuel during training and performance during training days low glycemic index carbs should be choosen over high gi as it provides energy for a sustained period during long runs carbohydrates are important carbohydrates provide the body with instant energy excess carbohydrates are stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen after about 90 mins or more of rigourous activity the glycogen stores of the body are not enough to sustain it carbohydrate loading needs to be done 45 days prior to the race day the aim of carbohydrate loading is to top up liver and muscle glycogen stores to delay fatigue thereby enabling the body to maintain high intensity activity during longer runs therefore it is a widely used procedure amongst marathon runners to increase the glycogen stored glucose by 200300 to fuel the body and sustain the activity by delaying fatigue in the final week before your marathon taper exercise while increasing carbohydrate intake to 910 g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight one may gain some weight in case the overall calories are increased and not maintained during carbohydrate loading so the easiest way to increase you carbohydrate intake is by replacing most of the fat in your diet with carbohydrate on the event day moderate to high glycemic foods can be included in breakfast such as cereals or oatmeal with skim milk or yoghurt