Reflections on The Berlin Marathon with Maurten
By The Feed.
Head Coach Charlotte had the chance to step into the shoes of some elite marathoners at the recent Berlin Marathon. After her time on the ground alongside Maurten, she shares her insight into how the best marathoners in the world are fueling their run.
Wow. The field for this year’s 2023 Berlin Marathon was full of incredible professionals, capable of breaking records. That is just what they did.
You may be wondering how they fueled and what it takes to win a 5th Berlin Marathon, or set a world record in the distance - or PR when you’re at the top of your game. One thing we know for sure, nutrition is definitely part of that recipe.
What was on course? Maurten Drink Mix 160 as well as Gel 100s, water, fruit, and tea. For the elites, it was going to vary by person as they have their own bottles on course. I know this is what we are all dying to know.
How exactly did they fuel?
We had a chance to touch base with Maurten to get some details on this. Of course, before diving in, it’s important to note that every individual is different. What may work for Eliud Kipchoge or Tigist Assefa, may not work for everyone! We all have different needs, but this is a bit of insight into how some of the pros who utilize Maurten kept their fuel tanks full along all 26.2 miles of Berlin’s beautiful and fast course.
Maurten gave us an inside look.
Before even beginning to chat through nutrition strategy for the elite athletes, Maurten mentioned a key point. Berlin offers a specific opportunity to the pros in that they have 13 stations where they can pick up bottles. This differs from other races where there are only 8. Maurten athletes tend to use this more as a safety net. Their athletes must take at least 8 bottles, but let’s face it - we’ve all been there. Have you ever been in a race where you thought you had another gel, but potentially it fell out of your pocket? Or you thought there was one more aid station?
If you have, this method is for you. Instead of requiring elite athletes to hit all 13 aids, so long as their athletes hit around 8 stations, they would meet at least 80-100g of carbs per hour. If they missed a station, a bottle, or were in a groove and didn’t want to step over to pick one up, they didn’t always have to. There was always another one along the way in case. Or, maybe they were going so hard that they felt they needed a little extra fuel, they could stop at more than 8 to meet those needs. Genius. This is also why, if you’ve ever spoken to our coaching team, we always recommend bringing one or two extra gels or servings of drink mix, AND trying out the fuel on course.
The other thing to note is that while it may appear that all of the pros are only using Maurten’s drink mix, as this was a top question we had for them, some pros may also be using gels. However, these gels are taped to their bottle, so they are taken in swiftly, without hesitation or even much notice from those watching.
How do the elite marathoners incorporate Maurten’s additional products?
We now know that Kipchoge is a huge fan of the Maurten Solid 225. If you’re not sure what we’re talking about, have a look at the press conference ahead of Berlin, where he can be seen having the bar ahead of race day. Topping up our stores of carbohydrates is a pivotal aspect of any nutrition strategy before a hard effort like the Berlin Marathon, especially if you’re Eliud Kipchoge or Tigist Assefa and going for a record. This doesn’t always have to be drink mixes and gels though and Kipchoge displays this. Remember, you can vary up your carbohydrates in the 24-48 hours before a hard effort, with easy to digest carbs like the Maurten Solid 225, to easily hit your goals and get to the start line with a full tank.
With proper fueling, and easy to digest carbohydrates like Maurten’s gels, drink mixes, and solids, we can all take one step closer to achieving our performance goals out there on the course while ensuring our body feels good too. Nutrition is vital, and Maurten is proving that every day their athletes break down more and more walls in sport. Keep on pushing it, Maurten!
How to introduce Maurten and which products may be best?
It’s going to be very individualized. What works for one person may not work for another! This is why we would recommend the Maurten Variety Pack so you can test out their range of products to see what works best for you. This will depend on a variety of factors, including the distance you are going to be running. Some find that over shorter, more intense distances, they tend to prefer gels and drink mix; however, once we get into longer distances, like the marathon and ultra-marathon, solids may become a bit more prevalent to change it up texture wise.
And last, but certainly not least, if you’re looking for a quick and easy way to carry your 60-90 grams per hour of carbohydrates during a marathon, look no further than Maurten’s newest product - the Gel 160, packing 40 grams of carbs per gel, 2 of these per hour will get you right into that high intensity long duration fueling guideline.
If you have any specific questions about how to best introduce or include Maurten in your intake, drop us a message at coaching@thefeed.com and our team of nutrition experts can help guide you!