#1,

I have been training for marathons for years ( 10 marathons, one Ultra Marathon, dozens of medium triathlons) and run them infrequently but still run them none-the-less (one race a year or so). I h ave one in 2 weeks, the "COWTOWN Marathon", 26.2 miles, in Fort Worth Texas 23 Feb 2002. I have been doing the Cyclical Ketogenic Diet since mid Nov and doing my long runs of 15-20 miles after the carb up lately. That will be the key to your success on the marathon, coming out of ketosis and carbing for 3 days prior to the race and consuming carbs during. You can go back to low carb after the race but I wouldn't recommend doing it without carbing.

On the brightest side I feel that the "fat burning training" of working out while in ketosis will make hitting the wall gentler. Most of the pain "normal" people feel at 18-20 miles is their bodies conversion to fat burning for energy. Hey, we are good at that and actually feel better; so it should be a snap for you. Just make sure that you take the time to consume plenty fluids and a few carbs during the entire race. Don't worry about the 30-45 seconds it takes to WALK into a water point, grab a cup of fluids and drink it down, walk a few feet more to let it settle, then continue to run. Most races have water/fluid points every 2 miles which is perfect;(every 15-20 minutes) you can get yourself 6-8 ounces of fluid.

As you get within a few months of the marathon and your long runs run into the multiple hours you may find that the CKD is a better WOE as opposed to straight ketogenic. I feel fantastic on the one long Sunday run after carbing up Fri nite and Saturday (although carbs are tough on the stomache after a week of so few). Try a long weekly run and add 15 minutes each week. I started with an hour and last week did 2:30 after adding my time each week.

Good luck,

Mike