Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/36958
Appears in Collections:Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport Journal Articles
Peer Review Status: Refereed
Title: Nutritional Intake and Timing of Marathon Runners: Influence of Athlete’s Characteristics and Fueling Practices on Finishing Time
Author(s): Jiménez-Alfageme, Rubén
Garrone, Florencia Pino
Rodriguez-Sanchez, Nidia
Romero-García, David
Sospedra, Isabel
Giménez-Monzó, Daniel
Ayala-Guzmán, César Iván
Martínez-Sanz, José Miguel
Contact Email: nidia.rodriguezsanchez@stir.ac.uk
Keywords: Sport nutrition
Fluid intake
Competition
Carbohydrates
Endurance athlete
Issue Date: 2025
Date Deposited: 21-Mar-2025
Citation: Jiménez-Alfageme R, Garrone FP, Rodriguez-Sanchez N, Romero-García D, Sospedra I, Giménez-Monzó D, Ayala-Guzmán CI & Martínez-Sanz JM (2025) Nutritional Intake and Timing of Marathon Runners: Influence of Athlete’s Characteristics and Fueling Practices on Finishing Time. <i>Sports Medicine - Open</i>, 11, Art. No.: 26. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-024-00801-w
Abstract: Background Endurance athletes’ competitions have increased over the decades and marathon races are becoming increasingly popular. Proper nutrition is critical for optimal performance and long-term health in marathon athletes. This study aimed to investigate runners’ nutritional intake, especially fluids, food, and supplements, competing in the Seville Marathon. A descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out to obtain information on the consumption of liquids, food, and supplements. A total of 160 runners (aged 42.2 ± 7.3 years) who were primarily men (87.5%) who participated in the 2022 Seville marathon took part in the study. Results There was no significant difference (p > 0.050) between marathon finish time (from 2 h 12 min to 5 h) or sports experience and fluid, carbohydrates (CHO), sodium, and caffeine intake pre- and post-competition. However, according to the results obtained, the athletes who met CHO intake recommendations during the competition (60–90 g/h) were more likely to finish the marathon in less than 180 min (p = 0.035). Conclusions The intake of CHO (35 ± 17 g/h), sodium (192 ± 150 mg/h) and caffeine (57 ± 49 mg/h) was low compared to the current recommendations during the competition. The intake of fluids (466 ± 279 mL/h) was at the lower limit of recommendations. Most athletes did not receive nutritional counselling by a sport dietitian, which may explain why athletes failed to meet specific nutrient recommendations. Future investigations with a larger sample size are warranted to assess the relationship between dietary intake and finish time.
DOI Link: 10.1186/s40798-024-00801-w
Rights: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Licence URL(s): http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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