To all the marathon runners

dirtyblue

I wanted to reach out to people who participate in high endurance activities. I am doing a 9-11 Memorial Stair Climb tomorrow, whereas I have to climb 110 stories worth of stairs. I need some advice on what my routine for food, etc should be.

I will be doing the climb anywhere between 2-4 in the afternoon. We were planning on going out for breakfast - should I load up on anything in particular?

Should I eat lunch?
should I jut have some sort of energy bar for lunch?
I was going to take an endurance drink before the climb-should I take anything else?

I know these questions may seem a little silly, but this is the first time I have ever participated in any sort of endurance activity besides just working out in my basement. Any advice you can throw my way would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thank you!

Rompa_87

To be honest you should be fine just eating normally.

Have a proper meal two hours before your climb and maybe a snack just before and then something light after.

The whole carbo-loading and nutrition while exercising only really becomes relevant during endurance and ultraendurance events which last greater than 90 minutes. Anything less than that and your ordinary diet should last you.

RisOnTheRun

I'd eat lunch as long as you give yourself at least two hours to digest, stay away from vegetables and anything else high in fiber, and eat a mix of carbs and protein. My routine before big races is to eat a bagel with peanut butter and a banana. Good luck!!!

PeachyKeene

What type of endurance drink are you talking about? A high protein:) or energy drink ? I would eat a good breakfast, but don't overdo it. Don't eat pancakes for sure. Had a friend get extremely sick doing a 5k after eating pancakes. A good protein bar would be good to eat for lunch and a banana for a snack between breakfast and lunch.

This is probably what I would eat:

Breakfast:
2 scambled eggs
bacon or ham
oatmeal
whole wheat toast no butter

Snack:
Banana
1 Tablespoon of Peanut butter

Lunch:
Protein bar

dirtyblue

Thanks guys, that is exactly the information I wanted.

The endurance drink is just an endurance drink, not protein.

bmfrazie

Last year I did a stair climb race in the tallest building in Denver. I don't remember the exact number of stairs or anything. Everyone has given you great advice about what to eat. The key thing is you don't want to be over filled when you start. You really don't want to have to use the restroom half way through.

They only bit of strategy I would say go into the race open minded and remember the cause. I really thought I was going to be able to run the whole thing. In all reality I didn't even run half of it. After the 3rd floor I started a new strategy and would run every other flight of stairs. Do whatever is right for you though and remember this race is like nothing you have done before. Good luck