The first third – Stay Hydrated

NA® RACE NUTRITION

STAY HYDRATED

THE SCIENCE BEHIND
KILOMETRES   0 TO 15

THE FIRST THIRD

STAY HYDRATED

You have got off to a good start and have reached your optimum running pace. Your fat burning is running at full speed and, depending on your performance, you draw more or less of your energy from your carbohydrate reserves. You are therefore consuming from your “glycogen backpack”.

It is therefore high time to supply your body with fresh, quickly digestible carbohydrates so that your stores last as long as possible. Carbohydrates that you take in from outside during the race are called “exogenous carbohydrates”. These come in during the first third of the race, mainly through drinks.

NA-Trinken-trotz-mangelndem-Durst

THE SCIENCE BEHIND

Exogenous carbohydrates help you to conserve your glycogen stores. On the marathon distance, your body can optimally absorb and burn 90g of carbohydrates per hour.

The ratio between glucose and fructose (2:1) and the correct salt concentration (hypothon) are crucial for optimal carbohydrate absorption.

Sports drinks with different ratios or different carbohydrate molecules impair carbohydrate absorption and can lead to digestive problems. The same applies to carbohydrate solutions that are too highly concentrated: e.g. carbohydrate gels AND sports drink.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO

How much you should drink depends on how much you sweat and therefore also on the ambient temperature. If you rely on the 90g of carbohydrates per hour, you can plan on drinking around 200-250ml every 15-20 minutes. This is because a typical sports drink contains around 60-80g of carbohydrates per litre.

ON THE TRACK

In the first third there are already three refreshment stations

Make sure you are well hydrated and, if necessary, have a sports drink at the start. The first carbohydrate intake is only after about 30 minutes.

Plan to drink at least one whole cup (200ml) of FUEL at km 6.3 and 11.6. 

NO EXPERIMENTS ON COMPETITION DAY.
TEST OUR PRODUCTS IN PREPARATION.

If you haven’t tested our products yet, now is the time to do so. Optimal marathon nutrition must be tested in advance so that you can perform at your best on race day. You can find all NA® products either in our webshop or at the Zurich Marathon main sponsor Ochsnersport.

Zurich Marathon Map

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