Essential Nutrition for Runners

What to eat before a 05:40 start when nothing is open yet, and why sadza is not the enemy.

The 05:40 start is the hard part. Nothing is open, you woke up forty minutes ago, and whatever you put in has under an hour to become useful.

For anything under 12km, water and a banana is enough. Past that, you want 30 to 40 grams of carbohydrate roughly 45 minutes out - two slices of bread with honey does it, and it costs less than any gel on the shelf.

Sadza is not the enemy. It is cheap, local carbohydrate that sits well the night before a long run. Pair it with beans or beef for the protein and stop apologising for it.

On the run itself, anything over 90 minutes needs fuel going in from minute 45, not from the moment you feel empty. By then it is already too late and the last 8km will teach you that lesson properly.

Afterwards: protein within the hour, and drink to thirst rather than to a number. Harare's altitude and dry season will pull more out of you than the distance suggests.