Marathon Fuel Recipes

Hazel

Gillian and I talk about cake a lot. Some of this is because we are vegetarians, so you have to take your culinary kicks where you can get them, but it is also because we need to find good calorific snacks to get us round those 26.2 miles.

With this in mind I have been practising and perfecting recipes I trialled on the running husband when he was training in Snowdonia last year. The first is pre and post run flapjack, and the second is mid run brownie. Both recipes are adapted to incorporate as much calorific benefit in the smallest number of bites while still being inherently ‘good-calories’. So I use a lot of dried fruit and nuts. To all you dieters out there, nuts are not evil. Nuts are brilliant, and they pack protein in huge quantities into something that tastes like cake, you can’t lose. Why chow down a big ugly slab of dead animal when you can eat cake instead?! So I won’t pontificate too much, but suffice it to say, I love these recipes now. Flapjack is perfect for pre-run fuel crumbled over or dipped in yoghurt, or immediately after running with a big mug of tea. The brownies can be gobbled down while running, as they are so soft and just shy of gooey, but they are crammed full of nuts, fat, salt and sugar. Perfect for long runs.

Flapjack

3 tbsp golden syrup (get a grip, you’re going to run the calories off)

250g butter

140g sugar

220g oats

30g flour

300g fruit nut and seeds

I use various combinations of cherries, cranberries, figs and dates, walnuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, almonds, sunflowerr seeds, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts. All of these needs to be chopped up small enough that you don’t lose your dentures, but since the flapjack isn’t intended for mid-run fuel, I don’t worry about a bit of interest as you don’t risk choking.

Melt the syrup, butter and sugar in a pan, and don’t leave it too lo so it starts to go dark. Then throw in the oats, flour and nuts and mix like crazy. Keep the fruit aside. Lay half the mixture in a lined, greased oven tray (mine is about 6 inches by 12), then sprinkle the fruit evenly on top and put the rest of the oat mixture on top of this. It will need a good bit of pressing down and around with the back of a spoon. The aim is to ensure the fruit isn’t sticking up out of the top where it will burn and inflate horribly.

I put put mine in the oven at 140C for around an hour, checking every 20 minutes and adjusting if it looks like it is burning on the edges too much. Make sure there is no wobble in the middle, but keep the edges from burning. Stick it on a wire rack and chop into your required slices before it is completely cooled otherwise you’ll have to use a chainsaw.

Fruit and Nut Brownies

75g dark chocolate

150g butter

3 eggs

300g self raising flour

1tsp baking powder

200g nuts and dried fruit

I strongly recommend ground almonds for about 50g of your fruit and nut allowance. Cherries are also wicked. Because it has to be soft and easy to gobble on the move I use: 50g ground almond, finely chopped pecan, walnut, pistachio, cherries, figs and maybe dates. I avoid raisins, cranberries, brazilnuts, hazelnuts and whole or flaked almonds and seeds, because they are too crunchy and risky on the run, but it’s all personal taste.

Heat the chocolate and butter in a bowl over hot water, then mix it into the rest of the ingredients. Pour this into a lined, greased baking tray to a depth of about 1 1/2 to 2 inches. Put in the oven at 170C for 35 to 40 minutes. Because they should be gooey, you won’t get a clean skewer when they are done, but it shouldn’t wobble in the tray.

You’ll see in the photo of my brownies that in the background are also some packs of Clif ShotBlocks. These are our other mid-marathon fuel of choice. Running husband recommended them, so we are sticking to those, the brownies and fudge. On a personal level I know I have faded in previous marathons in the last two miles and lost a lot of time compared with my relatively good pace in the early miles. My biggest fear on marathon day is holding Gillian back when she could be running faster, so I am not prepared to let my energy levels drop this time. Food is the answer. I know we have done all the training we can so the only mistakes we can make now are not eating, sleeping or drinking enough. I will reveal closer to the time what Gillian and I intend to eat the day before and the day of the marathon, but the gist is high protein, high carbs, no fear of sugar for a few days, and plenty of liquid.