For the BYD Singapore International Marathon this December, the fueling plan is simple to state. Load carbohydrates in the final days, eat a practiced light meal well before the pre-dawn start, take 30–60 g of carbohydrate per hour in the half, aim for 60–90 g per hour in the full if your gut is trained, and drink to your sweat rate in the humidity. Then refuel within the first hour after the finish. Below, we turn those numbers into a race plan you can rehearse in training.
TL;DR
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Final 1–3 days: raise carbohydrates to about 70% of daily calories and cut fiber, using foods you already know.
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Half marathon: a light pre-race meal, then 30–60 g of carbohydrate per hour from gels or drink.
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Full marathon: 60–90 g per hour, only with a glucose and fructose mix and a gut you have trained.
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Heat: drink 400–800 ml per hour depending on your sweat rate, with sodium, and never gain weight during the race.
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After the finish: fluids within 30–60 minutes, carbohydrate plus 20–25 g of protein within two hours.
Table of Contents
What makes fueling in Singapore different
Heat and humidity change the math. Carbohydrate needs rise in the heat because the body shifts toward burning carbohydrate, and World Athletics guidance on heat recommends building glycogen stores before endurance events, eating carbohydrate before the start and taking glucose and electrolytes in events longer than 60 minutes.
In humid air, sweat evaporates less, so cooling is less efficient and you lose more fluid trying to stay cool. That is why your drinking and sodium plan matters as much as your gels here.
The course itself helps your planning. The route is now 99% mono-directional, with only a short stretch across Marina Barrage where runners return along the same section, so you can plan your fueling points as a simple timeline rather than around out-and-back loops.
For a deeper look at the climate side, see our guide to running in Singapore heat.
The final 1 to 3 days: carb loading without the stomach trouble
In the last one to three days, RUN Singapore recommends raising carbohydrate to about 70% of total daily calories and reducing fiber to avoid stomach discomfort. Practical sources include pasta, rice, potatoes, porridge, oats, pancakes and simple sugars like honey or jam.
In Singapore, that translates easily:
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Plain rice with steamed fish or chicken
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Kaya toast, white bread and jam
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Fish bee hoon or plain noodles
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Porridge with honey
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Bananas, and sports drinks to add easy carbohydrate between meals
Keep it boring on purpose. Skip new foods, heavy spice, and very high-fiber meals in the last two days. Carb loading is a topic of its own, and our guide to the benefits of carb loading for a marathon goes deeper. If you want a timed schedule, our 36–48 hour fueling plan for humid races lays it out meal by meal.
Sample day before the race
| Time | What to have |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | Porridge or white toast with jam, a banana, water |
| Mid-morning | Sports drink and a low-fiber snack |
| Lunch | Rice with steamed fish or chicken, extra rice |
| Afternoon | Toast with honey, or an energy bar you have used before |
| Dinner | Plain pasta or rice, a small protein portion, no spicy sauces |
| Evening | Sip fluids steadily, pale-yellow urine is the target |
The portions are yours to set. What matters is that every item has already appeared before a long training run.
Race morning: the pre-race meal and hydration timeline
The joint ACSM, Dietitians of Canada and Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics approach, as summarized by RUN Singapore, is a light, easily digested meal providing 1–4 g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight. For a 70 kg runner, that spans 70–280 g, so the low end suits a short gap before the start and the high end suits an early meal with plenty of time.
Because the start is pre-dawn, work backward from your flag-off time. Aim to finish your meal about two to three hours before the gun if your stomach is sensitive, and take a smaller top-up closer to the start if you are not. Safe, familiar options include white toast with honey or jam and a banana, plain porridge with honey, or a few plain pancakes with syrup.
The same source gives a hydration timeline:
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About 4 hours before: 5–7 ml of fluid per kg of body weight (roughly 350–490 ml for a 70 kg runner).
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With breakfast: 400–500 ml.
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30–60 minutes before: sip water only.
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About 15 minutes before: 300–400 ml of sports drink or water, plus a gel.
With an early start you will compress this, so rehearse the compressed version on a long run. Our guide on how Singapore coaches plan race-day fueling covers the half and full side by side.
Half marathon fueling plan
For events of one to two hours, the World Athletics consensus points to a familiar pre-race meal, carbohydrate after the warm-up, and 30–60 g of carbohydrate per hour from drinks or gels during the race.
A practical half marathon plan:
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Before the start: one gel and a few sips of sports drink after your warm-up.
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Around 35–40 minutes: your first gel, taken with water.
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Around 70–80 minutes: a second gel if your finish time is beyond about 1:45.
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Every water station: small sips, not big gulps.
Two gels spread across the race typically land you near the lower half of the 30–60 g range, depending on gel size. Check your product label for the grams per serving and do the sum for your own pace.
If you want a ready-made starting point, our half marathon bundles pair well with this plan: the GU Half Marathon Endurance Fuel Bundle, the SiS Half Marathon Endurance Fuel Bundle and the aminoVITAL Half Marathon Endurance Fuel Bundle. Pick the flavors and textures you tolerate best, and use them in training first.
Full marathon fueling plan
For the full marathon, the same World Athletics consensus suggests 60–90 g of carbohydrate per hour from a mix of carbohydrate drinks and more concentrated gels, set against the fluid goals in your race plan.
The higher end is not automatic. Intakes above 60 g per hour are absorbed well when the product mixes glucose and fructose and the gut has been trained for it. If you have never taken more than 40 g per hour in training, race day is not the time to jump to 90.
A build-up approach
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Weeks 1–4 of long runs: practice 40–50 g per hour.
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Weeks 5–8: move to 60 g per hour.
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Final long runs: test 70–90 g per hour only if your stomach copes.
A simple race-day rhythm
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Start fueling early, within the first 30–40 minutes, before you feel you need it.
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Take a gel or drink carbohydrate on a fixed clock, for example every 25–30 minutes.
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Pair each gel with water so it digests well.
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Add sodium through drinks, gels or salt capsules, as covered below.
High-carbohydrate gels and drink mixes from brands such as Maurten, SIS and GU are all available from our energy gels and hydration range. Which one you choose should come down to what sits well in your stomach at race pace.
Fluids and sodium in the heat
The IAAF/World Athletics fluid policy recommends 400–800 ml per hour, with slower runners at the lower end and faster runners at the higher end, especially in hot, humid conditions. It also suggests cool drinks containing 0.2–0.45% sodium and about 5% glucose or glucose polymer.
RUN Singapore adds that most runners absorb about 180–210 ml every 15 minutes, which is why small, frequent sips work better than occasional large drinks. It suggests 300–600 mg of sodium per hour, often totaling 500–1,000 mg from drinks, gels or salt capsules.
For heavy sweaters, World Athletics heat guidance notes that extra sodium may be needed, and that any hydration strategy should be tested before racing.
Find your sweat rate
Weigh yourself before and after a one-hour run at race pace in similar conditions, with no drinking. Each kilogram lost is roughly a liter of sweat. That gives you a personal number inside the 400–800 ml range.
Do not overdrink
The aim is to match, not exceed, what you sweat. Finishing heavier than you started is a sign of overdrinking, which can dilute blood sodium and is dangerous. If you feel bloated or sloshing, ease off the fluids and keep the sodium and carbohydrate going. Our guide to running hydration in Singapore covers what to drink and how much in more detail.
Electrolyte drink mixes, hydration tablets and sports drinks are all in our hydration range. If you have a medical condition affecting blood pressure, kidneys or the heart, speak to your doctor before changing your salt intake.
Rehearse it: training runs and heat practice
Nothing in this plan should be new on race day. The official SGIM26 guide, A Guide to Going the Distance in Singapore, was developed with national marathon record holder Soh Rui Yong. It is free and covers pacing, heat adaptation, race nutrition, recovery and injury prevention.
Practical ways to rehearse:
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Do your longest runs at the pre-dawn hour you will race, with the same wake-up time and pre-race meal.
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Run at least one or two sessions later in the morning so your body feels the heat of the final hours.
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Practice taking gels and drinks at the exact intervals planned for race day.
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Write down what worked: product, grams, timing, how your stomach felt.
Our guides on fueling during training runs and the full 2026 marathon race-day nutrition guide can help you build a testing log.
After the finish: recovery that starts in the first hour
The World Athletics fluid policy advises starting to rehydrate as soon as possible, with fluids within 30–60 minutes, and says muscle glycogen is best restored in the first 2–4 hours. If you can, weigh yourself before and after the race and replace 1¼ to 1½ times the weight you lost in fluid.
On the food side, Mayo Clinic suggests 1–1.2 g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight and about 20–25 g of protein within the first two hours after a long event, ideally starting with a carbohydrate drink that includes protein. For a 70 kg runner, that is roughly 70–84 g of carbohydrate.
A simple post-race routine:
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Sip an electrolyte drink as you collect your medal.
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Within 30–60 minutes, have a recovery shake or a carbohydrate and protein snack.
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Within two hours, eat a proper meal built around rice, noodles or potatoes with a lean protein.
Browse our recovery powders and protein powders, and read our marathon recovery nutrition guide for more detail.
Our perspective
We see the same pattern every race season: runners spend months on mileage, then change their fueling in the final week because a friend swore by something. The runners who feel strongest in Singapore’s humidity are usually the ones who chose a small set of products early, tested them on long runs, and wrote the plan down.
Pick your plan, practice it, and trust it on the day. You have done the training, and the fueling should simply support it.
Jason John
Build your race kit
If you are planning your fueling for December, we make it simple to get everything in one order. Our range covers energy gels, hydration mixes, recovery powders, protein, vitamins and minerals, and Garmin watches for tracking pace and your fueling intervals. Everything is sourced from official brand channels, and we offer next-day delivery within Singapore, so there is time to test before race week.
Start with a half marathon fuel bundle for a ready-made set of gels, or browse the full Racepack.sg range for the full marathon. A Garmin smart watch can also buzz you on your gel schedule.
FAQ
How many gels do I need for the BYD Singapore half marathon?
Most half marathon runners need about two to three gels, depending on finishing time and gel size. The target is 30–60 g of carbohydrate per hour, so check the grams on your label. Take one before the start and then on a fixed clock.
How many gels do I need for the full marathon?
The range is 60–90 g of carbohydrate per hour, which for many runners means a gel every 25–30 minutes, often combined with carbohydrate in a sports drink. Build up gradually in training, since high intakes need a trained gut.
What should I eat the night before the race?
Choose a familiar, low-fiber, carbohydrate-rich meal such as plain rice with steamed fish or chicken, or plain pasta. Avoid spicy sauces and very high-fiber foods. Keep the portion comfortable so you sleep well.
What should I eat on race morning with a pre-dawn start?
Have a small, practiced meal such as white toast with honey and a banana, or plain porridge with honey, as early as your stomach needs. Add 300–400 ml of water with it. Rehearse the exact timing on a long run.
How much should I drink during the race?
Stay within 400–800 ml per hour, depending on your sweat rate and pace, and drink in small, frequent sips. Do not drink more than you sweat. If you finish heavier than you started, you drank too much.
Do I need electrolytes or salt for the Singapore marathon?
In hot, humid conditions most runners benefit from sodium. A common range is 300–600 mg per hour from drinks, gels or capsules. Heavy sweaters may need more, and anyone with blood pressure, heart or kidney conditions should check with their doctor first.
Can I use the same gels as in training?
Yes, and you should. Race day is for products your stomach already knows. Use the same brand, flavor and timing you practiced, and carry your own supply instead of relying on what is offered on course.
What should I take after crossing the finish line?
Start sipping an electrolyte drink straight away, then aim for 1–1.2 g of carbohydrate per kg and 20–25 g of protein within two hours. A recovery powder is an easy way to do this when your appetite is low.
Is it safe to try a new product on race day?
We advise against it. Stomach issues in the heat are hard to fix mid-race, so test everything on long training runs at similar conditions and similar pace.
Sources
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Contemporary Nutrition Strategies to Optimize Performance in Distance Runners and Race Walkers
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BYD Singapore International Marathon presented by adidas, ActiveSG Circle
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Feeding Recovery for Endurance Athletes, Mayo Clinic News Network
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