Despite the fact that he was running his first marathon, Dathan Ritzenhein was considered a contender for a top-three finish at the 2006 New York City Marathon. After all, he has just run a 1:01:26 half marathon a few weeks earlier. Ritzenhein ran strong through 22 miles in the Big Apple, but then the wheels came off. He staggered through Central Park at 6:30 pace and finished a disappointing 11th in 2:14:01. The reason for his collapse was rather obvious: he had consumed no fluid or nutrition after the three-mile mark. A track and cross-country runner all his life, Ritz simply wasn't accustomed to drinking on the run (even in a half marathon there's no benefit to drinking for those who can cover the distance in less than 90 minutes).
Active Expert: Matt Fitzgerald
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Nov 28, 2007 7:21 PM
Matt Fitzgerald
in response to: ebowleper
Matt Fitzgerald
in response to: ebowleper
Sorry for the delay in responding. I had to get the answer from Dathan's coach, Brad Hudson. Dathan had Accel Gel packets available at seven different points along the course. Brad does not believe he consumed the full contents of all seven packets. He washed the gels down with water and drank Accelerade at alternate aid stations without a gel packet. Good luck in your Boston training!
Dec 4, 2007 2:58 PM
bpilch
bpilch
this is as much a comment as a question to Matt. I read your Performance Nutrition for Runners, which is excellent btw. You talk about creating a bolus before the race and what to drink, but then you have a throw away line that drinking is not beneficial in races lasting less than an hour. Does that mean drinking during the race? I run 10ks and I would assume that you still want to drink a bunch right before the race to have your stomach start emptying immediately, or am I wrong. A general comment I would have is to realize that some of us aren't marathoners and we still need advice, too....
Ritz ran an awesome race. Do you know around which mile he took the gel packets? I'm training for Boston, and I've been experimenting with what to eat and when during my long runs.