Fuelling Strategies for Endurance Racing: An Interview with Endurance Legend Magnus Michelsson
“What should I be doing nutritionally to prepare for my races?”
This is one of the most common questions Melbourne Pack Coach Sean Williams gets asked as a distance running coach.
To address this, Melbourne Pack interviewed
Magnus Michelsson. Not only is Magnus the
husband of Melbourne Pack standout athlete Susan
Michelsson, he is also an endurance running
Legend in his own right. And we don’t use the
term ‘Legend’ loosely! He ran his first marathon
in 1985 at the age of 17 in 2:40. In 1988 he was
87th at the Hawaii Ironman – the youngest
competitor in the top 100. A successful career
in triathlon followed, but he eventually
switched back to the marathon in the leadup to
the Sydney Olympics because he ‘thought that it
would be easier to make the marathon team than
the triathlon team’. His half marathon personal
best is 62:52, and his marathon personal best is
2:13.59; he has twice won the Melbourne and
Canberra marathons, and has also won the Gold
Coast Marathon.
In 2012 at Ironman Melbourne his 2.50 for the
marathon was the fastest Ironman age group time
for ALL age groups for the whole year.
His Melbourne Marathon winning margin in 2003 is
the biggest male winning margin in the history
of the race. He has completed 11 Comrades
marathons, finishing as high as 16th in a time
of 5:55.28. It was racing at Comrades in South
Africa that ultimately led to his new profession
of representing and distributing the 32Gi brand
of sports nutrition in Australia, as this is
where he first discovered the company and its
products.
At 49, he is currently training for the
Busselton Ironman, and so endurance fuelling is
an everyday reality for him.
Melbourne Pack: Why did you choose to support
and promote 32Gi Sports Nutrition?
MM: I had been playing around
for years with different nutrition products and
I was really not that happy with them. For
example, when I ran 2:13 for the marathon I had
a lolly snake at 30k and had the sports drink on
the course.
However as race distances got further, nutrition
fuelling became more important. In 2008 I
discovered the 32gi Endure product and that
worked really well for me for the 89k Comrades
Marathon– it raised my blood sugar slightly but
for a really long time. I have since found out
that it is even safe for diabetics and kids
because it does not give you a sugar spike. When
I first tried 32Gi Endure for a marathon I
actually fuelled myself too much; the newer Race
product would have been a better choice. Now
that I run around 3 hours for the marathon
Endure is ok. It really depends on what speed
you are running and how quickly you are burning
those calories.
Melbourne Pack: What is your biggest tip for
endurance athletes with regard to what they
consume before and during races?
MM: Find something that works
for you. Try lots of things first and then stick
with something that works; as people react
differently to individual products. As well,
what works for one distance for you may not work
the same for other distances. For example, if
you are doing a race such as the 89k Comrades
Marathon, you might have something more
substantial such as ‘chews’, and I even know
someone who used the Recovery Protein drink
during this race.
32Gi Low Gi Chews are a bit like a lolly snake.
The bar has 4 sections, so you can eat a quarter
at a time. They do not melt, even in extreme
heat, and are designed to give two hours of
stable energy. They are equivalent to 2 small
bananas or potatoes in sugar response and
calories, and are easy to chew and swallow,
which are your primary concerns for fuelling
while racing.
32Gi Recover is a unique vegetable protein
recovery formula using a 1:3 PROTEIN to
CARBOHYDRATE ratio. The 3:1 carbohydrate to
protein ratio can assist in delaying the onset
of muscle fatigue during high intensity
exercise. So with the protein it is not
something usually used for racing, but this
person found that it worked for him. Once again
the key is to find out what works for you.
In 2012 when I ran 2.50 for the Marathon as part
of the Ironman at age 44, I used four bottles of
32Gi Endure on the bike, 2 bottles of 32Gi
Endure on the run, and the tabs. I was using
these products long before I started selling
them.
Melbourne Pack: What are the biggest mistakes
that you see athletes make?
MM: Not doing enough training,
especially for the relatively shorter races. If
you feel that you have to have a gel during a 1
hour race then you probably have not trained
enough for that race.
I consider shorter races those less than an hour and all you would need is water. I actually see people over-consume calories when racing and/or training. A lot of the gels in the marketplace are so high in sugar that you have to consume them every approximately every 20 minutes so that you don’t get the sugar drop – and the athletes can be consuming more calories than they are burning. This is definitely not what you want if you are trying to reach your ideal racing and training weight.
I think sometimes people are having something
for ‘psychology’ – they want to consume
something but they really don’t need it. You do
need something if you are racing over two hours.
But then again, you need to do a lot of training
to get in good enough shape to not need anything
over a two hour race.
Melbourne Pack: What are your specific tips
for fuelling for the marathon?
MM: My biggest tip is to avoid
anything that will spike your sugar levels until
later in the race. Other tips include:
1. Once you have worked out what works for you,
work out how many calories you need for the
entire race and budget your calorie allotment
accordingly.
2. If you can’t get 32Gi on the course, then you can use the tabs – keep them in foil, chew and have with water and it is just like having a sports drink. A 32Gi chew and the race drink is usually good for people running their marathons in the 2.30 range.
3. I also recommend the 32i Endure drink because the slow burning carbohydrates without the sugar.
4. Another option is the 32Gi gels which are rice malt syrop, which doesnot give you a sugar spike. Experiment in training with how often you need those.
5. For the Half marathon – use 32Gi gels or race drink - or nothing!
6. If doing an Ultramaraton: use 32Gi chews and 32Gi Endure Drink and 32Gi Race Drink.
7. Finally, try a Starter Pack – try out all the products and work out which ones work for you. You can order from www.32gi.com.au