Five enthusiastic runners from Artizian Catering – Team Scrambled Legs – will be at the start line of the London Marathon this year – conditioned by an intense training programme and fuelled by a special marathon eating plan devised by their own in-house expert.
What the team didn’t realise at the start of their training programme was how much their marathon menu would benefit others and what an overwhelming response it would receive from clients and customers – and the wider public.
Diet and nutrition for marathon runners
Artizian’s own nutrition expert Catherine Attfield, Artizian Manager – Nutrition & Wellbeing, helped the Artizian team get the most from their food. One of the runners, Artizian’s Commercial Director Tracey Fairclough explains:
“I found that there was so much conflicting advice surrounding diet and nutrition for marathon runners. Once you sign up for the marathon everyone you talk to has something to say about what to eat and when to eat it. It’s a real challenge trying to sift through all the information out there and work out what’s right for you. I knew the one and only person we could trust to point us in the right direction was our colleague Catherine Attfield.”
Daily plan – Bite Size Steps
It didn’t take Catherine Attfield long to devise a daily plan designed to enhance performance and aid recovery, she commented:
“I decided to bring together a Marathon nutrition plan because I know just how critical it is to performance. I started by creating simple nutritional advice as a daily check list, so that anyone, whether novice or veteran, could easily follow the Bite Size Steps.
“Through building up the information in this way, people have told me it is easier to follow, makes total sense and most importantly of all – they can easily stick to it because it is not overwhelming. What I have tried to reinforce is that recovery nutrition is as important as performance nutrition and why providing this information was so critical to anyone attempting this incredible feat.”
Wider value
After seeing the marathon menu and feeling instantly inspired and more confident, Tracey Fairclough recognised its value for Artizian’s clients, customers and the wider public too. The decision was made to release the marathon menu and on the 1st April a blog was created here to offer daily nutritional guidance.
Daily blog posts featuring advice from the Marathon Menu are now being shared right up to the day of the marathon on 26th April, giving anyone in training instant access to Artizian’s practical nutritional resource. There are also regular tweets from @artizian_caters and posts via the company Facebook and LinkedIn channels offering bite-sized marathon eating advice.
From internal guidance to the wider public
The response to the daily blogs so far has been truly amazing with plenty of positive feedback from Artizian’s managers, clients and customers, many of whom have actually printed the menu out to keep close to hand each day. Tracey Fairclough commented:
“So what started as internal guidance turned out to be hugely beneficial for many of our clients and customers as well as the wider public who are now visiting our blog each day and engaging with our advice via social media. It’s a fantastic feeling and I’m glad we were able to create and release such a valuable resource.”
Good for business
Known for their Foodology philosophy and their scientific approach to feeding people, the Artizian team feel the marathon menu and the positive reaction it has attracted has been good for business as well as being good for the individual members of Team Scrambled Legs.
See daily advice from the marathon menu online here
Team Scrambled Legs
Artizian’s Team Scrambled Legs are running the marathon in aid of the National Autistic Society, hoping to raise a total of £20,000 to help support individuals living with autism on a national level. If you would like to help the team reach their fundraising target, you can sponsor them by visiting here
About Artizian
Artizian was founded almost 18 years ago by Alison Frith, after spending over a decade working for other contract caterers. Her company is driven by a passion to source, cook and serve the best fresh food that is nutritionally led and chef inspired to Clients, their staff and guests and contribute positively to their working day. Artizian’s philosophy and values remain unchanged: its’ simple and straightforward ideas encompass ‘people, food and attention to detail’ which lie at the heart of everything the company does and it prides itself on matching the right team to the right client, every time. It has the underlying belief that great work comes from great relationships.
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