Mavr Sports Nutrition Team
Updated October 21, 2026. 9 min read.
To fuel your Runna training plan, match your nutrition to each workout type: light carbs before easy runs, 30-60g carbs/hour during long runs over 90 minutes, and a 3:1 carb-to-protein recovery meal within 30 minutes after hard sessions.
Runna builds adaptive training plans for 5K to marathon. Its plans tell you what to run each day, but they do not list daily carb or meal targets for each session.
So what should you eat?
Your Runna plan says "Long Run: 18km" on Saturday. Great. But what did you eat Friday night? What's your pre-run breakfast? Are you taking in carbs during the run? And what does recovery look like after? These questions matter more than most runners realize — and getting them wrong is why so many runners bonk, feel flat, get injured, or plateau.
Training is stress. Nutrition is how your body responds to that stress. Without proper fueling, you don't get the training adaptations you're working so hard for. You just get tired.
Research from the International Journal of Sport Nutrition consistently shows that athletes who match their nutrition to training load — not just daily calorie goals — recover faster, get injured less, and perform better on race day. Yet most runners treat every day the same nutritionally, whether it's a rest day or a 20-mile long run.
Your Runna plan includes different workout types for a reason. Each one places different demands on your body — and your nutrition should reflect that. Here's a breakdown of what to eat for each session type.
Easy runs are low-intensity and primarily burn fat for fuel. They don't require much pre-run nutrition unless you're running first thing in the morning.
The biggest mistake with easy runs? Overeating. Many runners reward a 5km jog with a 600-calorie smoothie bowl. Your easy run probably burned 300-400 calories. Keep it proportional.
Long runs are where nutrition makes or breaks your training block. Your glycogen stores last roughly 90 minutes at moderate intensity. After that, you need external fuel — or you'll hit the wall.
Critical: Practice your in-run fueling on training runs, not on race day. Your Runna long run is the perfect time to test gels and figure out what your stomach can handle at pace.
Intervals burn glycogen fast. Even a 45-minute interval session can deplete muscle glycogen significantly because of the high intensity. These sessions demand that you show up fueled.
Tempo runs sit in the sweet spot between easy and hard. They're glycogen-dependent but typically not long enough to require in-run fueling.
Runna is excellent at periodizing your training. It varies intensity, volume, and recovery across your plan. Its coaches offer general nutrition advice, but the app does not list daily carb targets that change with each session.
This means you're left to figure out: How many carbs do I need today? Should I eat more on this double-run day? How do I taper my nutrition alongside my training taper? Do I need to carb load before my race?
These are the questions that separate runners who bonk at mile 20 from runners who negative-split their marathon.
The sections above cover fueling around each session. The other half is how much you eat across the whole day. Your carbs should rise and fall with the day your Runna plan gives you. Protein stays about the same, and fat fills the gap on lighter days.
Hard session (intervals, tempo)
Daily Carbs6-8g/kg
FocusCarb-rich meals timed before and after the session.
Long run
Daily Carbs7-10g/kg
FocusYour highest-intake day. Carb-rich dinner the night before, fuel during the run, and a real recovery meal.
Easy run
Daily Carbs3-5g/kg
FocusNormal meals. No special fueling needed.
Rest day
Daily Carbs3-4g/kg
FocusFewer carbs, protein kept high. Eat normally, just not like it is race day.
Double run day
Daily CarbsMore than a single hard day
FocusEat more across the whole day and put fast carbs, like a banana or a sports drink, in the window between the two runs.
| Runna Day | Daily Carbs | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Hard session (intervals, tempo) | 6-8g/kg | Carb-rich meals timed before and after the session. |
| Long run | 7-10g/kg | Your highest-intake day. Carb-rich dinner the night before, fuel during the run, and a real recovery meal. |
| Easy run | 3-5g/kg | Normal meals. No special fueling needed. |
| Rest day | 3-4g/kg | Fewer carbs, protein kept high. Eat normally, just not like it is race day. |
| Double run day | More than a single hard day | Eat more across the whole day and put fast carbs, like a banana or a sports drink, in the window between the two runs. |
Watch out for eating backwards. Many runners eat the least on their hardest days and the most on rest days. Hard sessions blunt your appetite, so you don't feel hungry after a tough workout, and the hunger comes back the next day when you need less. An app that gives you one calorie target for every day makes this worse. On workout days, eat by plan, not by appetite.
The way to close the gap is to read your Runna plan as a fueling plan, because each workout type implies a different decision. An easy run usually needs nothing beyond your normal meals. A speed or threshold session needs carbs in the hours before and a recovery meal after. A long run over 75-90 minutes needs a pre-run breakfast, 30-60g of carbs per hour during, and a real recovery meal. Race week needs a carb load and familiar foods. Once you see the plan this way, fueling stops being a separate chore and becomes a single line attached to each session already on your calendar.
This is exactly what Mavr automates — connect your Runna calendar and every workout gets a fueling strategy attached, timed to its duration and intensity. But you can apply the same mapping by hand the moment you look at your week: name each run, and the fueling decision follows from its type.
Friday dinner
Carb-rich meal: pasta, rice, or potatoes. This is your glycogen top-up.
2-3 hours before run
Oatmeal with banana and honey, or toast with jam. 80-120g carbs.
30 min before
Small top-up: half a banana or a few sweets. 20-30g carbs.
During (every 30 min after first 45 min)
1 gel or equivalent: 25-30g carbs per serving. Sip water between.
Within 30 min after
Recovery shake or meal: 60-80g carbs + 20-30g protein.
Lunch / rest of day
Balanced meals. Don't restrict — your body is rebuilding.
| Timing | What to Eat |
|---|---|
| Friday dinner | Carb-rich meal: pasta, rice, or potatoes. This is your glycogen top-up. |
| 2-3 hours before run | Oatmeal with banana and honey, or toast with jam. 80-120g carbs. |
| 30 min before | Small top-up: half a banana or a few sweets. 20-30g carbs. |
| During (every 30 min after first 45 min) | 1 gel or equivalent: 25-30g carbs per serving. Sip water between. |
| Within 30 min after | Recovery shake or meal: 60-80g carbs + 20-30g protein. |
| Lunch / rest of day | Balanced meals. Don't restrict — your body is rebuilding. |
For easy runs under 60 minutes, running fasted is fine if you're used to it. For any quality session (intervals, tempo, long run), eat at least a small carb snack 30-60 minutes before. Performance drops significantly when glycogen-depleted.
Roughly 60-100 calories per kilometer depending on your weight, pace, and terrain. A 20km long run typically burns 1,200-2,000 calories. Mavr estimates this automatically based on your Runna workout details and body weight.
No. Gels are only necessary for runs over 90 minutes. For easy runs, intervals, and tempo sessions under 75 minutes, water and a proper pre-run meal are sufficient. Save gels for long runs and race day.
Yes. Mavr connects to your Runna calendar via the ICS calendar link. It imports all your planned workouts and generates personalized nutrition recommendations for each one, including pre-run, during-run, and post-run meals.
During taper, your training volume drops but you should maintain relatively high carb intake to maximize glycogen stores for race day. Don't cut calories proportionally to your reduced mileage — this is when carb loading matters most.
Yes. Your long run day should be the highest-intake day of your week. Aim for about 7-10g of carbs per kg of body weight across the day, with a carb-rich dinner the night before, a pre-run meal, fuel during the run, and a proper recovery meal after.
Yes. Rest days need less energy, so dropping carbs to around 3-4g per kg is fine. Keep protein high for muscle repair. Don't starve yourself, just don't eat like it's race day.
General guidance for healthy adults, not medical advice. Talk to a doctor or registered dietitian if you have a health condition, take medicines or have special dietary needs.
Connect your Runna calendar to Mavr and get automatic, personalized meal recommendations for every workout on your plan.
Ask Kai, the coach in the app