The winner
Jaylah Hancock-Cameron won the 10km at the Melbourne Marathon in 32:32, and her race-day fuel was about as simple as it gets: real food early, a light top-up, and one FUELR caffeinated gel 30 minutes before the gun.
No fancy protocol. No mid-race gels. Just the right fuel at the right time. Here's exactly what she ate, when she ate it, and why it works.
The race
Jaylah took the win by 11 seconds in a tight finish at the front of the women's field.
|
Place |
Runner |
Time |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Jaylah Hancock-Cameron |
32:32 |
|
2 |
Ruby Smee |
+0:11 |
|
3 |
Stella Radford |
+0:56 |
A 10km at this pace is short enough that you don't need to fuel during the race. What you do in the three hours before decides whether you start with full tanks and a sharp head.
The fuelling timeline
Three check-ins, each with a job to do.
|
When |
What she had |
The job |
|---|---|---|
|
3 hrs pre-race |
Bagel with peanut butter and honey |
Top up carb stores with a proper meal |
|
2 hrs pre-race |
Banana and apricot bites |
Easy carbs to keep energy topped up |
|
30 mins pre-race |
1x FUELR caffeinated gel |
Switch on focus and alertness for the start |
Why it works
3 hours out: the main meal. A bagel is a dense, low-fibre carb hit that's easy on the stomach. Peanut butter adds a bit of fat and protein to keep her full, and honey brings fast sugar. Three hours gives it time to digest before she's running at threshold.
2 hours out: the top-up. A banana and apricot bites are light, familiar carbs. They keep blood sugar steady through the warm-up window without sitting heavy.
30 minutes out: the caffeine hit. Caffeine takes roughly 30 to 60 minutes to kick in, so taking it half an hour before the gun lines up the effect with the start and the hard first kilometres. Our caffeinated gel is built for this job: it's zero carb, so it adds the focus without loading more food on top of breakfast.
Nothing during. At sub-33 pace the race is over before carb stores run low. Pre-race fuelling does the heavy lifting.
Copy it for your next 10km
- Eat a real breakfast about 3 hours out. Mostly carbs, low in fibre, something you've eaten before.
- Snack again around 2 hours out. Fruit or a small carb snack. Keep it light.
- Take a caffeinated gel 30 minutes before the start. It gives you the lift right when the gun goes.
- Practise it in training first. Run your timing before a hard session or a parkrun so race day holds no surprises.
Running a half or full marathon? You'll need carbs during the race too. That's where our isotonic gels come in, at 25g carbs each.
Fuel like a winner
Jaylah didn't overcomplicate it, and neither should you. Get your timing right, keep it familiar, and let your fuel do the rest.
