Ben Shephard has shared the fuelling technique and psychological method he’ll depend on for the London Marathon this Sunday. The 51-year-old is returning to the iconic race and, whereas he’d love to interrupt 4 hours, he’s refusing to place an excessive amount of strain on himself. Put merely, he desires to get pleasure from the expertise.
That doesn’t imply he’s taking his fuelling evenly. Without sufficient carbohydrates, runners threat hitting the notorious wall in the second half of the race – one thing that’s notoriously tough to get better from. Shephard is doing every part he can to keep away from it.
Ben Shephard’s London Marathon Fuelling Strategy
‘The plan is 30g of carbs every 20 minutes,’ he tells MH. ‘But for the first hour, I’ll do a gel each half-hour, which I feel must be sufficient – so round 90g of carbs an hour.
‘I don’t suppose I’ve deliberate my lengthy coaching runs very effectively with fuelling, in order that’s the one concern I’ve for Sunday. I’ve achieved loads of coaching and really feel like I’m in fairly fine condition, however I’ve left it a bit to likelihood, and I’m fixating on it a bit bit.’
Research suggests marathon runners want between 60 and 120g of carbs per hour, with sooner runners sometimes leaning in direction of the higher finish of that vary. That consumption is supported by a carb load in the days main into the race, together with a high-carb breakfast on the morning itself. Shephard can be planning to high up his glycogen shops nearer to his begin time.
‘I’m working the evening earlier than, so I’m not going to get a lot sleep, however that’s high-quality. I’ll stand up early as a result of I must get issues transferring and, you already know, type all that out. But breakfast might be actually excessive carb,’ he says.
The Mental Method to Get Through a Marathon
No matter the way you body it, marathons aren’t straightforward. But Shephard has sufficient expertise of endurance occasions to know learn how to grind his manner by them, typically returning to a easy thought when issues get robust.
‘What’s bought me by when it’s been actually horrible is understanding it’s going to finish,’ he says. ‘There’s an excellent line – I feel it’s in What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by [Haruki] Murakami – and it’s, “The end is inevitable.” That’s a phrase that’s caught with me for years.
‘I say it to myself over and over again – at some point, this will stop, and I’ll look again on this second and be very happy I bought by it.
‘If I’m actually struggling, I’ll put a giant observe on – one thing that takes me out of the second. Then I can simply deal with the music and hold going. Beautiful stuff.’
Ryan is a Senior Writer at Men’s Health UK with a ardour for storytelling, well being and health. Having graduated from Cardiff University in 2020, and later acquiring his NCTJ qualification, Ryan began his profession as a Trainee News Writer for sports activities titles Golf Monthly, Cycling Weekly and Rugby World earlier than progressing to Staff Writer and subsequently Senior Writer with soccer journal FourFourTwo.
During his two-and-a-half years there he wrote information tales for the web site and options for the journal, whereas he additionally interviewed names comparable to Les Ferdinand, Ally McCoist, Jamie Redknapp and Antonio Rudiger, amongst many others. His standout reminiscence, although, got here when getting the alternative to talk to then-Plymouth Argyle supervisor Steven Schumacher as the membership gained League One in 2023.
Having grown up a eager footballer and enjoying for his boyhood facet till the age of 16, Ryan bought the alternative to characterize Northern Ireland nationwide futsal crew eight instances, scoring three targets towards England, Scotland and Gibraltar. Now previous his peak, Ryan prefers to combine weightlifting with working – he achieved a marathon PB of three:31:49 at Manchester in April 2025, however credit the warmth for failing to get beneath the coveted 3:30 mark…
