The Marathon Fueling Plan: 6 Weeks to Train Your Gut and Finish Strong

If your training runs feel solid but you fizzle out in the last six miles of every race, this plan is for you. You take a gel every few miles, you feel strong through mile 18, and then your pace falls apart. Or your stomach turns on you. Or you carb load with a giant pasta dinner the night before and show up to the start line feeling heavy. Most runners assume that is just how marathons feel. It usually isn't. It's a fueling problem, and you can fix it. The Marathon Fueling Plan is a six-week, week-by-week guide that treats fueling as a skill you train, like your legs. Your stomach is a muscle, and it needs reps. Each week gives you a clear fueling workout to do on your runs. Each includes exact targets for carbs per hour, gel or chew timing, fluids and electrolytes, and a progression that builds from one week to the next. You'll also get a simple carb loading formula, a race-week eating plan, a race-day fueling timeline, and a post-race recovery plan for when you aren't hungry after 26.2 miles. You'll finish with a tested fueling strategy that you've already practiced. It won't be a guess on race morning. Nothing new on race day, because you'll know what works for you. I'm Kristy, a registered dietitian who has supported more than 600 runners. I was a featured nutrition expert in the Runner's World Guide to Nutrition and Fueling. I also under-fueled my own first marathon as a dietitian, taking a gel every 45 minutes and drinking only when I was thirsty. This is the plan I wish I'd had.