A Hearty Breakfast for a Marathon

Paula Radcliffe said of her preparations on Sunday for her world record marathon, "I slept well and, before the sun came up, had my usual pre-race breakfast of porridge, honey and bananas."

"As you'd expect, this is a good meal for long-distance running," says Richard Faulks of the Institute of Food Research. "Most of the energy is in slow-release, easily-digestible carbohydrates. There is a mixture of quick (honey) and slow release carbohydrates (oats and banana) and this would top up liver and muscle energy stores (glycogen) before the race. This would have given Paula a steady flow of energy to maintain her during the race, without a sudden surge of blood sugar. That, together with the drinks containing rapidly absorbed sugars and electrolytes she took during the race to avoid dehydration provided the energy for this world beating run."

"It's important that pre-race meals are easy to digest, as the blood flow to the digestive system tends to shut down during hard exercise, and the fact that Paula ate before dawn meant that her stomach would have been empty before the race started, helping to reduce stomach cramps."

"In addition to carbohydrates, Paula's breakfast was rich in electrolytes, including potassium, magnesium and calcium, all essential for the chemistry of muscle contraction."

However, 'one breakfast does not a marathon runner make', and Paula will pay strict attention to her diet throughout her training. Unlike most of us, performance athletes carry very little body fat, as their diets are designed to store energy as quick release glycogen instead of slower-burning fat.

For further information contact:

Jo Belsten BSc Press Officer Institute of Food Research Norwich Research Park Colney Norwich NR4 7UA

Tel: +44 (0) 1603 255 218 Fax: +44 (0)1603 255 168 Out-of-hours Tel/Fax: +44 (0)1692 583 024 e-mail jo.belsten@ifr.ac.uk http://www.ifr.bbsrc.ac.uk

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