Top Tips For Sprint Triathlon Nutrition!
Honing your sprint triathlon nutrition plan can help improve your performance on race day by making sure your body is primed and ready to get you across the finish line as quickly as possible!
Sprint triathlon plans will look different to one used for an olympic distance triathlon or other endurance sports, as they are much shorter. However, there is still plenty you can do to prepare for your sprint race.
I’ve worked as a sports nutritionist and helped people race super sprints up to the full ironman distance, and there’s always something you can do to improve your triathlon nutrition.
So whether this is your first sprint triathlon or you're a veteran of the race, I have nutrition tips you'll want to hear!
How to fuel for a sprint triathlon
In the week before your sprint triathlon, I suggest you follow the same diet as nutrition for sprint triathlon training - that is, plenty of carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats. You want to support your body to train and recover well.
Carbs will be your primary energy source during the race, as they are what your main fuel source for moderate to high intensity exercise.
Most people’s carb stores are limited at around 2500 calories, stored in the body as glycogen. This is enough for about 90 minutes worth of hard, constant exercise.
Eating plenty of carbs before you race allows you to maximise these energy stores, so you can exercise for 90 minutes or longer without hitting a wall.
When racing longer distances like a marathon or an olympic triathlon, upping your carbohydrate intake (or carb loading) is crucial to give your body enough energy. For these events, you will need to be able to exercise for longer than 90 minutes.
For a sprint triathlon, carb loading might not be as crucial; it depends on how long it takes you to complete the race. If you can do it in under 90 minutes, then you don't need to do any intense carb loading.
I would still recommend following a high carbohydrate diet the day before, to make sure your muscle glycogen stores are topped up. But you don't need to do a full 36 hour carb loading period, as you would for olympic distance races.
If it takes you more than 90 minutes to complete a sprint triathlon, then I would incorporate a longer period of carb loading into your sprint triathlon diet plan. Current research recommends you want to eat somewhere around 10g of carbohydrates per kg of your body weight in the 24-36 hours before a race.
You can find a carbohydrate loading guide on the resources page to download for free if you’re interested!
What to eat before a sprint triathlon?
If you know from training sessions that you can complete a sprint triathlon in under 90 minutes, the then you don’t need to eat as much carbohydrate based foods as I recommend in my carb loading plan in the 24 hours before your race. You could just consciously increase the amount of carbs in all your meals the day before - so more bread, oats, pasta or rice than you would normally.
If you expect your race to take you more than 90 mintues, then carb loading will definitely help you. Aim for around 10g carbs per kilogram of bodyweight, focussing primarily on simple and bland carbohydrates.
I'm talking white bread, white rice and potatoes - all the stuff that usually doesn't count as proper nutrition, but in this scenario is the perfect fuel source! If you can't eat that much solid food, energy drinks, energy gels and small energy bars are also a good place to start.
Generally you also decrease the fat and protein content the day before, because these don’t contribute to performance in a sprint triathlon and instead will just make you feel more full and bloated.
Here are some ideas for carb loading foods:
Potato or sweet potato (skin off is best)
Any white rice based dish
Tomato pasta
Fruit juice
Carb-based snack bars
Porridge
Sports drinks
Confectionery (like jelly sweets)
Rice pudding
White bread sandwiches
White bagel with jam or honey
Breakfast before a sprint triathlon
How about what to eat before triathlon sprint on race morning? Your breakfast / pre-race meal won't significantly affect your performance at all, so it really comes down to personal preference. The point of it is really just to top up your carb stores and make you feel good.
I would stick to simple carbs so you digest your pre-race breakfast quickly and aren't running on a full stomach. I would also make sure that you are eating something you've tried before, so you know that it doesn't have any adverse effects on your digestive system. New foods are just risky!
Hydration for a sprint triathlon
You should drink plenty to keep on top of your hydration when you carb load and in the hours before a race too.
However, hydration is not as important during a sprint triathlon, because it's not a very long event, so it isn't putting your body under the same amount of strain as a longer endurance event would. This means you don't need to be super tactical about your fluid intake.
For this sort of event, drinking to thirst is a sensible plan. If you complete the race without taking any fluids simply because you aren’t thirsty then it’s very unlikely that you will have had any negative performance effects due to dehydration.
If you’re getting thirsty and feel the need to drink - that’s fine too!
Embrace the discomfort - it’s worth it!
What to eat during a sprint triathlon?
Now for the really interesting part. Is there anything you can do during a sprint triathlon to improve your performance?
Goal time: 90 minutes +
If you are expecting your sprint triathlon to take longer than 90 minutes then getting enough carbohydrates during the race is a good idea. You can use whatever source works better for you - gel, chewie, sports drink - but you should trial this in advance and practice it.
I would suggest using a gel or drink that contains a combination of glucose and fructose, and aiming to consume 30-60 grams of carbohydrates per hour. You should make sure you practice this in training, especially running at your intended race pace, to make sure you tolerate it well.
Whatever product you decide to use, the packet should detail what type of carbohydrate it contains and how much of it. Glucose may be called ‘glucose syrup’ or ‘maltrodextrin’.
You can read my review of Maurten products and my review of SIS Beta fuel gel for my breakdown on commonly used triathlon carb products!
The best and easiest time to get these carbs in would be on the bike, and if you really want, you can have a gel at the start of the run. You probably shouldn’t need this but if it makes you feel better and doesn’t cause any tummy upset that’s fine.
Goal time: Under 90 minutes
What about if you’re aiming for under 90 minutes? Or even aiming for less than an hour and trying to win the whole thing? Is there anything you can do?
There does seem to be one potential way you can improve your performance! It’s not necessarily to do with your carbohydrate stores, rather it is all about your perception of fatigue.
There’s been research into fatigue and ways to prevent it and it seems that even something as simple as a carbohydrate mouth rinse - so basically a sugary drink that you just swill around your mouth - is enough to improve performance. Various studies have shown this, and you can read this round up summary for more information.
This means that even if you don’t feel you need any form of energy or hydration during a sprint triathlon, and, from a nutrition point of view, you’re well topped up before you start, your body and brain seem to perform better with some sort of stimulus.
Any of the classic sports drinks should contain sufficient carbohydrates to trigger this response, but if you want to be scientific then the advice is that you need to contain a solution containing at least 6% glucose. That equates 30g of carbohydrates in 500ml of water.
So next time you’re racing a sprint it may actually be worth putting that bottle on your bike, or, my favourite option, put a carb drink in T2. You can then have a sip of it before you head out for your run. You can either spit it out or swallow it - both options are fine!
What to eat after a sprint triathlon?
When you finish your race, it is a good idea to have a recovery drink in the form of something like a protein smoothie or chocolate milk. This will replace some of the glycogen you have used and help your muscles to repair, without feeling too heavy on your stomach.
For the next couple of hours, sticking to simple carbs can help you keep replenishing your glycogen stores. Now is a great time to get a good amount of protein in (minimum 20g per meal) and healthy fats into your diet is a good way to help with muscle repair and general recovery.
Sprint triathlon nutrition FAQs
I've more or less covered the ins and outs of preparing for, completing and recovering from a sprint triathlon. Now let me answer any lingering questions you might have! If there's anything I haven't covered, feel free to drop me a line in the comments below!
What should a sprint triathlete eat?
A sprint triathlete should eat a healthy, balanced diet in the training period before the race. This should be low fat, contain enough protein and plenty of fuelling carbs.
In the 24 hours before the race start, a sprint triathlete should eat primarily simple carbohydrates, and much less fat or protein. This will allow them to build up the glycogen stores necessary to get them through the race.
Do you need energy gel for sprint triathlon?
This depends on the time it takes you too complete it. If it's less than 90 minutes, energy gels won't have much effect.
If it will take you more than 90 minutes, then an energy gel for sprint triathlon might be sensible. You could also use a carbohydrate based drink.
How do you fuel a sprint triathlon?
You fuel a sprint triathlon by eating healthily in the weeks preceding your event, then doing some minor carb loading in the 36 hours before your race.
While doing a full carb load might not be as important for a sprint triathlon as it is for an Ironman triathlon, it still helps to top up those energy stores so that you know you will last the duration of the event.
That's a wrap on my tips for sprint triathlon nutrition. I hope you have a better idea of what to eat before sprint triathlon and general nutrition for sprint triathlon! Good luck with your race!
You can watch the video below for a run through of carb loading for a triathlon
