Create Your Balance - Nutrition

We all can appreciate carbo-loading the night before a big race, but fueling our bodies for performance is about more than just a meal or pre-race routine.   Creating the proper nutrition and hydration balance through your training, during races and in race recovery can have incredible impact on overall performance and health.

We’re excited to be joined this week by an incredible resource in sports nutrition, who has been the lead dietitian on the meal planning team for US athletes during the Olympic Summer Games.  Jillian Wanik, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, will be joining us on #askHMF tomorrow, June 30, at 3:00 pm live on Twitter.  Send your questions to us at @runHMF or post them on our Facebook page today/tomorrow and Jillian will answer them live from 3-4:00 pm.  Topic areas include:

·       Hydration guidelines

·       Power foods to put on the grocery list

·       Running for weight loss

·       Sports nutrition products

·       Adding calories – when and how

·       Pre-race and race recovery

Learn more about Jillian below and please join us tomorrow, we’ll be giving away Fuelbelts to a couple randomly selected participants who submit a question.  Thanks to Eversource Hartford Marathon sponsor United Bank for supporting the Create Your Balance campaign.

Jillian Wanik

Jillian provides nutrition counseling, presentations and classes on sports nutrition, weight management and wellness for athletes looking to improve performance and positively impact health outcomes.  She is passionate about helping individuals reach their fitness and performance goals through better nutrition.

Jillian worked as a part of a global interdisciplinary team at the Olympic Summer Games in Athens, Beijing and London and the Asian Games in Guangzhou. She defined and set standards and policies for elite athlete fueling. She helped create the Olympic menu databases and provided individual and team strategies to optimize food and fluid choices for performance.

Jillian loves running and her road bike.  She has been an athlete all of her life, recently completing her first marathon and Olympic distance triathlon.  

She earned her Doctorate of Clinical Nutrition from Rutgers University, where her research examined the relationships between physical activity level and changes in weight, waist circumference and percent body fat among participants in a worksite wellness program.

Jillian is an Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics member, a Registered Dietician Nutritionist, Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics, Certified Nutrition Support Specialist and a member of the Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness dietitians practice group.

Run For Good

Runners are motivated people who have an incredible commitment to achieving goals – running for charity is a natural fit.  We truly appreciate your efforts and have two opportunities to reward our participants for their efforts to “Run for Good”, whether for one of the 20 Official Charities or another worthy cause that is personally meaningful.

HMF Run for Good sign-up

All participants in the October 10^th Eversource Hartford Marathon, Half Marathon, 5K and Team Relay are encouraged to run for causes.  In appreciation of those charity runners, HMF and Eversource will give an exclusive marathon tote bag to the first 1,000 registered runners who sign up for the HMF Run for Good program. Continuing the commitment to environment and sustainable practices, HMF and Eversource had the specialty bags created out of branded mesh fencing recycled from the 2014 Hartford Marathon finish line.  Sign up through this form to report charity support and receive a bag (only registered runners of the 2015 event are eligible to receive a bag).

Aiello Inspiration Team

We are calling on athletes who dedicate efforts for community or charitable causes to submit an application to the Aiello Inspiration Team at the Eversource Hartford Marathon and Half Marathon.  This team of inspirational and motivational athletes will represent the best examples of what it means to “run for good.”   Candidate submissions must reflect the ways in which the runner has been positively linked to these initiatives.

Runners of any age or skill level can nominate themselves or others who they feel represent inspiring qualities.  Nominees must be participating in the October 10^th Eversource Hartford Marathon, half marathon, relay or 5K.

Aiello Inspiration Team members will be provided with elite level benefits during race weekend including complimentary hotel stay (for those 50+ miles from Hartford), Pasta Supper tickets and marathon apparel.  Additionally, they will receive a complimentary PRE Perks package (value $65) including limited access parking adjacent to the start/finish line, Mail My Packet service to receive bib and shirt in late September, personalized bib, access to pre-race VIP area and personal baggage check.

Thanks to Aiello Home Services
for their support of the program!

Nomination forms are available on the Eversource Hartford Marathon and Half Marathon Registration Tab under Aiello Inspiration Team. Nominations will be accepted through July 15. A panel committee will review applications and winners will be notified in late July.

PROgressive Series - 5K, 10K & Half Marathon!

You CAN run your first half marathon - we will get you there with our new PROgressive Series, a unique three-race challenge that brings you from 5K to 10K to Half Marathon between July and October.

If you've run 5Ks, maybe even some longer race distances, and are looking for a support program and incentive to take on 13.1 miles, this program is for you.  We make it simple, providing a free training guide, discounted race entry and some extra bling - a commemorative PRO Series finisher medal.  You can register all at once here for the program to run a 5K with us in July, a 10K in August and then the Eversource Hartford Half Marathon on October 10.  There's an option to participate in our group training program (fees apply), which provides experienced coaches, a supportive group environment and a training program shirt.

THE DETAILS
Run one of our July 5Ks, you can choose from the July 11th Red Dress Run for Women, the July 16 Rentschler Airfield 5K or the second Riverfront Scramble on July 23.

You will then run the Old Wethersfield 10K with us on August 23.  This double-loop course is flat and fast, a great way to increase race mileage in preparation for your ultimate goal.  After your 10K, you'll focus and follow our weekly mileage guide to finish the Eversource Hartford Half Marathon on October 10.  Your finish line awaits you in Bushnell Park, with incredibly supportive crowds, great course amenities and a huge post-race bash.

REGISTER HERE, you will be provided all of the options through this link to add the PRO Series events.  To add the PRO Series group training, please register separately here.

If you've already registered for one of the events and want to add the PRO Series, contact registration@hartfordmarathon.com (please allow at least two business days for response).