at Sports-Nutritionist.com. "Then you need to take in foods that give you the fuel to perform your best." Here's how. Calories are based on a 68kg athlete.Picture credit: Sue TallowEasy Spin or RunCalories: 200 to 300 Time before: 30-45 minutes

Running a marathon, whether for the first time or as an experienced athlete, is a huge challenge and getting a suitable nutrition and fuelling strategy is often the one subject that troubles runners the most.Ensuring your body is stocked up

Ruth is a leading sports dietician and a member of the British Dietetic Association and Health Professional Council. She is also an advisor to Sportscotland's Institute of Sport, specialising in helping athletes of all levels prepare nutritionally

to 8 miles in the coming weeks), and Sunday is a long slow run, designed to be on tired legs, after the fast work on Saturday. In various of your posts, and in general, nutritional advice centres around eating to match your exercise, however, I actually

The Secret: Fast FoodTime-pressed Nate Appleman (PB 3:51), reveals how to fuel up when seconds countAppleman  started running four years ago for his newborn son. "I was pushing 18st," says Appleman, winner of the 2009 James Beard Foundation's rising

. “Sodium helps regulate the body’s fluid levels,” says Bob Seebohar, author of Nutrition Periodization for Endurance Athletes. The loss of salt is also connected to other running problems, such as cramping. So exactly how much salt should runners ingest

to eat unless my stomach is grumbling. 2. I feel guilty after I eat sweets. 3. I'll run extra miles tomorrow to make up for whatever I eat at dinner tonight. 4. I believe there is a perfect way for a runner to eat. 5. I have off-limits foods, like pizza

- whether that's before training, during long races or in recovery - is crucial to racing success.The night before your run: prepareWhat to eat... pasta, rice, soup, wholegrain bread, vegetables...and why: The week before a race is a time to reduce your

nutrition strategy and practise it in training. Drinking while running, for example, is a skill you have to learn."Maitland agrees. "Your stomach does not work so well when you're racing and the six per cent standard concentration of many sports drinks

to help others and loved running. Seven miles later, however, something went horribly wrong.It should have been the best of times for Lucero. The previous week she had defended her doctoral dissertation to become, in effect, Dr Cynthia Lucero