Darmstadt marathon
It was my first marathon of the year, and took place in Darmstadt a short train ride south of Frankfurt. As per normal I changed my diet in the days leading up to the race to include lots of carbohydrates, and ate more than I normally would do.
The day before I started with a first breakfast of muesli, and a second breakfast of pain au chocolat. For lunch was pork schnitzel with side salad, followed by a mid-afternoon chicken and basil sandwich. Dinner was in the Maritim hotel in Darmstadt, and was a chicken fajita with fries and salad. I limited myself to a bottle of Clausthaler, an alcohol-free lager, which didn’t taste of much but at least looked the part.
On the day of the race I ate muesli again for breakfast followed by a crispy white roll with jam. During the run I got through several bananas, cereal bars and sports drinks – all provided by the organisers at regular refreshment points. All this food helped me finish in 3h 55, which for a fairly hilly course I was pleased with.
An hour or so after the race I broke all the rules of gastronomy, and tucked into a well-deserved Big Mac meal….    Â