Less than 2weeks to go before the London Marathon. If you haven't given your nutrition for the days leading up to the race - now is the time.

Plan your meals for the days leading up to the marathon to make sure you are getting the right amount of macronutrients. It’s important to be eating more carbohydrates to increase your muscle glycogen stores. You don’t need to go to extreme lengths. Just start adding an extra 30-50g of carbs a day for about 4-5days before then run.

On the day of the marathon plan a breakfast options that are high in carbohydrates but not too high in fibre and fat. Read labels on your foods to see what options contain the most amount of carbs and choose wisely. For example once piece of toast has only about 15-20g of carbs - where as one bagel plain bagel has 50g or carbs. You want to make sure you are not over eating but still getting in a high amount of carbohydrates.

The night before the marathon up your carbohydrate intake more. Again nothing to extreme, it could be as simple as having an extra bread roll, baked potato or an extra 3-4 tablespoons of rice on top of your normal meal.

I would suggest eating about 100g of carbs 3-4hrs before the race - this could be 1 bagel and bigger than normal bowl of porridge with some added dried fruit. Make sure you eat early to give your body time to digest the meal before the race so not to feel sick when running. 

15-20minutes before the marathon starts I would suggest having a gel sachet to boost your carbohydrate levels. Check the labels on the gels you are buying before the race - as carbohydrate levels can vary between different brands. Energy gels are not delicious by any means, but from the research I have done Huma gel sachets seem to be the best tasting, most natural with the a high amount of carbohydrates.

During the race make sure you are stopping to grab water bottles. After mile 3 there will be water every 1mile. Don’t only drink when you are thirsty, but also make sure not to over drink as your will end up feeling sick. There will be lucozade sport drink available at mile 7, 11, 15 and 19. Make sure you grab a bottle to sip on as it contains about 30g of carbs which will help refuel your muscle glycogen stores.

There are two lucozade Carbo Gel stations during the run one at mile 14 and the other at mile 21.5, I highly recommend grabbing a sachet on your way past. By this point in the run your body will be needing those extra carbohydrates to fuel you on. Even if you feel you don’t need it.

At the end of the run, make sure you keep hydrating, and if you are not feeling too ill, start sipping on a recovery drink made up of about 30g carbs and 15g protein. Either prepare this before the race or buying a “@nakedjuice protein fruit smoothie”. This is an excellent option as half a bottle contains 30g carbs and 15g protein. Drink the other half an hour later.