What to eat to run a marathon

The Food Chain

BBC

Arts, Society & Culture, Food

4.7 • 545 Ratings

🗓️ 19 March 2026

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What should runners should eat to train for, and complete, a marathon? With major races like the London and Boston marathons approaching, more people than ever are taking on the 26.2-mile challenge. But what should you actually eat to fuel that distance? Ruth Alexander is joined by one of the most successful marathon runners in history, Paula Radcliffe, who held the women’s world record for 16 years. She shares what it takes to fuel months of marathon training, and what it feels like when things go wrong during a race. Also on the programme is former world champion runner Steve Cram, now a coach and commentator, who explains the common nutrition mistakes he sees among recreational runners. And Performance Director of the dsm-firmenich Running Team, Valentijn Trouw tells us what it’s like to oversee the performance programmes of elite athletes including marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge. Ruth asks them what runners should fuel their training, what to eat in the crucial days before a race, and how to avoid “hitting the wall” on marathon day. If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk Produced by Izzy Greenfield. Sound Engineer: Annie Gardiner Picture: Credit - Getty. Paula Radcliffe competes in a marathon

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:07.0	An early start here. It's time to kick off.
0:10.0	Your day. Morning!
0:11.9	What a line-up.
0:13.3	Oh, thanks very much. We do get some great guests on the show.
0:16.1	The crowd is loving this.
0:18.3	Thanks, guys. Thank you. Too kind.
0:20.2	From morning chaos to match day commentary. And everything in
0:24.4	between. BBC sounds packed with personality. Welcome to the food chain from the BBC World
0:33.4	Service with me Ruth Alexander. More people are running marathons than ever before. With the London
0:39.5	and Boston events approaching, maybe you're training for one yourself now. So today, we're finding
0:45.0	out what you should eat to run a marathon well. Joining me is one of the most successful marathon runners
0:51.0	of all time, Britain's Paula Radcliffe, who held the women's world record for 16 years from 2003.
0:58.3	Hello and thank you for having me. Also with us is Steve Kram, the former British world champion middle distance runner, now working as a coach and commentator.
1:07.1	Hi there, yeah, great to be here.
1:09.2	And Valentine Trow, performance director of the DSM Ferminich running team.
1:14.3	Valentine manages the performance program for some of the sports biggest athletes,
1:18.7	including Kenyan marathon running legend Elliot Kipchogi.
1:23.0	Hello, thanks a lot for having me.
1:26.0	Now let's warm up with a quick fire question round, shall we?
1:30.1	On race day, what matters more?
1:33.2	Super shoes or super nutrition?
	...

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