05/01/2026
I cramped out at the 11km mark of my first half marathon last year and shuffled through the last 10km to finish at 3 hours. This is what I’m doing differently heading into the Toronto Half Marathon.
Your muscles run on glycogen. You want that tank full before the start line. In the days leading up to race day, carbs go up. Rice, pasta, potatoes, bread. Fat and fibre go down. Nothing your stomach hasn’t seen before.
Night before, keep it boring. Simple pasta or rice, protein you’ve eaten a hundred times, early dinner.
Race morning, two to three hours out, aim for 60 to 90 grams of carbs. Bagel with peanut butter. Oats and banana. Something you’ve eaten before a training run.
Then on the course, you need to keep topping that tank up. That’s where gels come in. I’ve been using and honestly the simplicity is what got me. Honey and pink himalayan salt, less than four ingredients, no artificial anything. Clean fuel that actually makes sense mid-run.
Do the work, fuel the work, trust the work.
I’m not an expert. Just a guy who learned the hard way.
