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Original poster

Marathon training and food

31 replies

Girlintheframe · 30/01/2026 08:24

I’ve impulsively signed up for a marathon at the end of this year. I did complete a 1/2 marathon May 2025 and doing a full one is a bucket list item.

My concern is nutrition. During the 1/2 training I managed to gain 5kg. I was just so so hungry. I lost it all over a few months. At the moment my longest runs are 16km and my body seems to have adapted and I’m no longer ravenous.

I am worried about how to manage my nutrition once I start training and mileage (and hunger) ramps up. I know it very common for people to gain weight during training and it’s not the be all and end all but I would rather avoid the months of dieting post race.

It’s defo fat by the way and not muscle (though there may be some of that). All 5kg appeared to have stuck to my abdomen! Probably because despite increasing my carb intake (red rice, quinoa, oats etc) I just couldn’t get enough of them including junk ones!

Would really appreciate any tips

OP posts:
StylishAndBeautiful · 30/01/2026 17:42

What was your typical diet when training for a half-marathon?
Were you eating a lot of carbohydrates to fuel your runs?

Original poster
Girlintheframe · 30/01/2026 17:33

Thanks everyone. Some things to think about and try.

OP posts:
BarnacleBeasley · 30/01/2026 09:56

I'm very greedy so I ate like a horse when marathon training, but I also ran 60-70 miles a week, so it would have been hard to gain weight.

Anyway, my general advice would be to run much slower for most of your runs, especially the long ones. You can train your body to become more efficient at burning fat as fuel and although obviously that doesn't mean the fat won't come back if you overeat, it may mean that you don't feel quite as ravenous for carbs the whole time.

NutButterOnToast · 30/01/2026 09:51

You just have to deal with the weight gain if there is any.

People manage it differently, I think the more training you do the more you'll learn what works.

I got a 20min pb in the marathon last year 5kg heavier. Some of that is gym and gaining muscle, some isn't!

Whataninterestinglookingpotato · 30/01/2026 09:45

You are hungrier when marathon training but you just need to eat enough to fuel your body. You don’t have to eat every carb after every run. I didn’t gain weight while marathon training. If anything I had to remember to eat enough not to loose. But I know it’s a common thing.

I don’t like gels and so I kind of trained myself to function and run distances without a lot of fuel. So I don’t know if that played a part at all. The only training run I ate anything on was the 20 mile one where I had two energy bytes. not saying this is optimal for performance, it really probably isn’t, but I didn’t get the excessive hunger I’ve heard some people speak of. I also generally have a fairly high weekly mileage anyway so I suppose marathon training probably added only 5-10 miles a week to what I would do anyway at its peak.

eat until you feel like you’ve had enough fuel. For me that’s so I feel strong rather than floppy but not stuffed.

Swaytheboat · 30/01/2026 09:11

What would you tell yourself if you hadn't exercised and craved junk or excess carbs? Would you eat it anyway or say you don't need it?
You can't out exercise diet, and even long training runs won't burn up multiple plates of chips.