Meghann's Berlin Marathon 2024 Race Nutrition Recap

I had the amazing opportunity to return to the Berlin Marathon again this year with Adidas Running and Believe in the Run. I ran the Berlin Marathon last year and set a PR of 2:49 shortly after turning 40. I hesitated to return, as I wasn’t sure how to top last year. But my Fuel for the Sole counterparts, Meg and Thomas, were getting their six-star medals, and I knew I wanted to be there with them to celebrate such an incredible accomplishment! And, I have zero regrets about this decision. We had an absolute blast on this trip from start to finish. 

I decided to leave a day earlier than usual for overseas races since I have the worst travel luck. I left Cleveland at 3 pm Tuesday, connected in Newark, and flew overnight to land in Berlin at 7 am without any delays. I always hop right onto local time to squash any jetlag asap. We stayed at the Soho House Berlin and ate breakfast while we waited for our rooms. I took a 30-minute power nap on a couch but stayed up through our dinner events and went to bed at 9:30 pm local time. That first day is always the hardest, but after a good night’s sleep, anything feels manageable again!

When I went to Berlin last year, I overpacked my ‘comfort’ foods and never needed them. This year, the only food I brought from the States was my box of graham crackers and two protein shakes. If you have no food allergies, you will have no problem carb-loading in Berlin. There is no shortage of fresh-baked bread, soft pretzels, wood-fired pizzas, fresh-baked sandwiches with all the bread, and fresh-squeezed juices. 

Traveling while carb-loading can take some extra attention, but it’s also quite fun to embrace new experiences. Using my Carb Load Calculator, my goal is 400 – 500 g carbs daily x three days. This is my tenth time carb-loading for a marathon in the last three years, so I can attest that it gets easier the more you do it. 

Research suggests that fully loading our glycogen stores pre-race improves performance by 3+ percent. This equates to 5 minutes faster over the marathon for me. Carb loading is a non-negotiable in my book to allow our body to hold marathon pace until the finish line without hitting the wall. 

This was the most laid-back I have ever been with a carb load, and it worked great. I had no GI issues on race day. I track my carbs in the notes section of my phone. As I eat, I make a note and estimate the total carbs. Then, I add up the estimated total to know if I need to eat anything more before bed. This approach has always worked great for me. If you remember, I have been more boring in the past, leaning on very simple carbs like plain bagels, pretzels, and bread. But, as I run more races, I feel less nervous. Less nervous Meghann on race day means my stomach can handle more variety. Pick foods you are familiar with and enjoy for your carb load. Only you know how to best carb load for your best race day. 

You guessed it. I ate graham crackers. The Berlin Marathon starts at 9:15 a.m. for corral A—D. We planned to leave the hotel at 6:45 a.m. to meet friends, jump on the U-Bahn, and head to the athlete start area. I woke up at 5:45 a.m., drank two small cups of coffee, ate four graham crackers in bed, and then got ready for the race. 

I recommend eating twice before a race when awake for 3+ hours pre-race. So, I carried my box of Honeymaid graham crackers with me to the start area. I crafted three bottles to drop at the Own Refreshment points on the Berlin Marathon course. Berlin is the only major marathon that allows all runners to drop bottles on the course. Own or Personal Refreshment areas are offered at: 5, 9, 15, 20, 25, 30, 36, and 40k. Drop-off is only open from 7 – 7:45 am so we headed there first, then waited at the Adidas Runner area to finish our pre-run eating and bathroom stops. 

At 7:30 am, I was feeling more hungry than I expected, so I made the game-time decision to eat a Maurten solid bar along with four more graham crackers. Maurten solid bars always sit great in my stomach, but I have never eaten one pre-run. <broke that nothing new on race day!> Along with this, I sipped on water throughout the morning. 

With an hour until race time, Meaghan Murray, Ben Johnson, and I headed to corrals B and A, respectively. It was an absolute madhouse. Everyone was using the Tiergarten as their personal restroom, and getting into the corrals was sheer chaos. I recommend spending as little time in this area as possible if you get race-day nerves. Meg and I arrived just in time to hop the fence into the front of corral B, take our pre-race gel 15 minutes before start time, and go!

This was hands down my most successful race nutrition yet. I learned a few things from my former nutrition best at the Berlin Marathon last year and decided to try some changes this year and see how it went.

The day before the race, Meg Murray asked if I wanted to run the first 20 miles with her and that was a no-brainer, yes. Meg has been my coach for over two years, and at that time, I went from a 1:25 to 1:21 half-marathoner & a 2:56 to 2:49 marathoner. Those of you who follow along on social media know we’ve also traveled, worked, and turned work into fun for the last two years. There is a comfort when I am with Meg that I was so excited to bring to race day. 

We were unprepared for how crowded the entire course would be, and we decided early on that bobbing and weaving wouldn’t benefit us here. The only weaving we did was to find enough space to run side by side as much as possible. The weather was, however, incredibly favorable. It was 48 degrees F at the start and 58 degrees F at the finish, with a few clouds but mostly sunny, the best weather in race history. 

I used Maurten gels, Skratch Labs hydration sports mix, and everyday drink mix for fueling. I took 7 Maurten gels, 2 servings of Skratch Labs hydration mix, and 3 scoops of everyday drink mix. <I am a very heavy, salty sweater. Combining the two Skratch Labs hydration products to allow for more sodium has been a complete game changer for my performance.>

With Meg’s help, I could refill my hydration bottle while holding race pace, which might be the greatest accomplishment of the day. 

I wore the Lingo by Abbott continuous blood glucose monitor for the carb load and the race. There are no alerts during running, so nothing changed my fueling in race, but it was fascinating to look back on my blood glucose data after the race and notice what was happening. The goal is to keep our blood glucose high and steady during the marathon to provide our muscles with consistent carbohydrate availability. Interestingly enough, my blood glucose started to drop at just over 2 hours around mile 22. This is precisely where most of us ‘skip’ our last gel for various reasons. Yet, my blood glucose data showed that my last gel at 2:25 hours into the race saved my performance. It gave me consistent energy and fuel to finish the marathon at race pace, without slowing down, and with a smile on my face. Pretty neat. Don’t skip that final gel! 

I came through the finish at 2:50:56 – just 61 seconds off my PR from last fall. It felt wonderful to run hard but without a time goal and take in the sights of Berlin this year. Reflecting on this day as I write, I realize that my body feels terrific post-race. I attribute this to solid nutrition, fabulous shoes, and not forcing a specific pace.

True to form, I wore all black and white out there on race day. My ‘lucky’ hat from Believe in the Run x Ciele. Goodr Mach G shades in grey to hide my eyes when things started to hurt. Then, down to this black tank top from Adidas Adizero. 

The most common question I have gotten, ‘Where did you carry all your gels?’, can be summed up by my choice of sports bra and shorts. I carried a gel in each armpit of my Bandit sports bra. It may sound weird, but it works great. And I carried four gels in the pockets of my Adizero Running Gel Short. These shorts were purchased in Berlin and again broke the ‘nothing new on race day’ mantra. But, let me tell you – they were studly! The entire waistband contains four separate pockets. Historically, I could not stand gels in my shorts bc they ‘bounced,’ but I never even noticed these. These appear unique to Germany, but I found the same pair on another website. (Here’s a link to the pink as long as they last!) 

Now for the shoes… if you’ve followed along on my running journey, you know that I am quite the Princess and the Pea when it comes to shoes. I have very little mobility in my big toes, which means cushion and plates are my best friends. I won’t pretend to be a shoe reviewer so check out Believe in the Run first thoughts on the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro 4, which I wore for the Berlin marathon. But, from my experience, this was a phenomenal shoe. It felt bouncy, supportive, and light on race day. And, I have to say – I’d 100% wear this shoe again. My longest run in this shoe pre-race was an easy 14-mile run, and I could hold race-pace with no difficulty for the entire marathon. My feet and body felt phenomenal post-race as well. Thank the dear sweet lord because next up…. NYC Marathon!  

Immediately after the race, we went on a search for water. This took a moment and came from a hose and dipping cups in a vat of hose water. I drank five cups and lived to tell about it so it couldn’t have been too terrible. We got our ponchos, which were much needed when sweaty and wet in the 50s. Meg and I hopped back on the U-Bahn to grab our Tracksmith posters stamped with our times and headed back to the Soho House to shower and start the celebration. I chugged a Fairlife nutrition shake I packed from home, ate a leftover soft pretzel sitting in my room, and enjoyed the most epic shower with lovely water pressure at the Soho House Berlin. Eventually, we went to dinner at the restaurant at Soho House, and I enjoyed a burger & fries with Meg <our post-race go-to>.

Cheers to another epic Berlin marathon and my 18th marathon on the books! I am forever thankful for this running community, which allows me to chase my dreams and help you all chase yours. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be here, and I hope you all have these exact moments in life. 

A huge thank you to the Believe in the Run crew and Adidas Running for making this trip so lovely. 

Next up… spectating the Chicago marathon and running NYC marathon. I hope to see so many of you there!