Faster after 40: The evolution of a 4x Olympian's fueling

Four-time Olympian Lisa Weightman is the only athlete to finish all seven World Marathon Majors and complete the 42.2km distance at the Olympic, World Championship and Commonwealth Games.

We sat down with Lisa to find out what she's learned about fueling, as well as balancing work, training and life, since running her first marathon back in 2008...

The evolution of Lisa's fueling plan

Hey Lisa, what did your strategy for that first marathon involve?

Prior to running my first marathon in London 18 years ago, I worked with a dietitian and long-time friend Lisa Middleton. She prepared a carbohydrate loading plan ahead of the race that was specific to my size and energy needs and it worked perfectly. I used energy drink in my bottles and flat cola in the later part of the race. I didn’t hit the wall. I just felt that my quads got tired and it became harder to focus in the final 5 miles.

I followed the carb loading plan to the letter and hit the goal of running 2 hours and 32 minutes, securing a place on my first Australian Olympic team. I was extremely conservative in my fueling during the race as I didn’t have the benefit of trying it out in training back then.

The science around carb intake during endurance events has shifted in the past decade. At what point did you start paying serious attention to how much you were taking on during races, and what prompted that shift?

In 2019, I was in the shape of my life. I rolled my ankle at the Gold Coast half marathon which was extremely frustrating, but went on to run 68:48 at the Sunshine Coast half marathon a month later.

Two months later, I went to Chicago having put together the best block of training to date. I had high expectations, but just after 25k I started projectile vomiting. To this day, I can't stomach orange flavours during a marathon - the memories of bringing Lucozade back up that day never left me!

After Chicago, I was full of disappointment. I’d had visions of huge celebrations post-race, but instead ended up spending hours in the medical tent. I started researching different products on the market, and came across Precision Fuel & Hydration. After trying lots of different brands' gels, I found that the PF 30 Gel was the only gel that didn't upset my gut. I worked with the Victoria Institute of Sport dietitian, Jess Rothwell, and we trialled an increase in the number of gels consumed - little by little, we added a little bit more.

In 2022, with Precision Gels strapped to my bottles, I ran a PB at Berlin 2:24:00. I ran another PB in 2023, taking another 45 seconds off my time.

I lifted my weekly mileage and so had more opportunities in my longer workouts to try additional gels whilst working in race-like conditions. It paid off.

In 2024 and 2025, I ran a couple of marathons in China, adding an extra gel at each race to see how the stomach handled the increase. These trials went well and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to race a flat and fast course again to see how this translates!

What's your biggest fueling mistake that you'd want a younger athlete to avoid?

Eating pizza before a long run. I always feel extremely sluggish and get a sore stomach when I eat pizza. I assume it’s related to the gluten in the base or too much cheese. But I avoid it before a race, an interval workout or a long run. I've learned that keeping a diary is so important - you can then see patterns and eradicate the things that lead to decreased performance.

Balancing sport, work and life

You've held down a full-time job throughout your entire elite career. How has the way you structure your training around work changed from your 20s to your 40s - do you train less now, or just differently?

As a runner in my 20s, I was always getting shin soreness. I couldn’t run a lot of miles, so I had to cross-train quite a bit - water running, spin classes and strength work. It was always extremely frustrating not to be running on the track as that was my favourite thing to do.

In my 30s, year after year I’d change one thing, whether that would be an increase in mileage, a change in workouts or a change in how I broke my runs up. For example, when we had my son Pete I was in my mid 30s, I took four months off work for maternity leave and then went back part-time. I also had a desire to qualify for the Rio Olympic Games.

I ran my first half-marathon race 10 months after Pete was born and three months later went on to qualify for the Olympics at the Houston Marathon, where I finished in second place.
I did my biggest mileage when I ran my now personal best in 2023; 200km for five weeks and 180km for five weeks prior to that. I ran my highest mileage, I consumed more fuel and I ran my fastest.

I’m 47 now. I haven’t been training at the same level in 2025 and the early part of this year due to injury and motivation. I tore my hamstring at the end of 2024, and reinjured it early in the return in January 2025.

I then pushed the envelope for Sydney and injured my achilles in the lead up to the marathon there. That coupled with the events of 2024, which extended well into 2025, culminated in a very difficult period which required so much energy just to keep going.

I run because I enjoy finding out what I can do and how fast I can go. In 2025, I lost that motivation while I recovered from injury, but I used that time to experience new things, to develop new strengths and to set the foundation for a new chapter. I’m excited for what lies ahead.

You're a mum, you're working full-time, and you're still competing at a level most athletes half your age would be proud of. When something has to give in a week - a session, sleep, family time - how do you decide what gets cut? And has that calculation changed as you've got older?

Priorities start with family, then work, then running, then comes my husband Lac and my needs last. Sleep is always the sacrifice. My day starts at 4:30am - when your day starts that early you're sacrificing sleep no matter how early you get to bed! The next thing that drops off is strength work. If I had the opportunity to be a full-time athlete, life would look a lot different, but the ability to combine full-time work and athletic life is the reason why I’ve been able to do it for so long.

What are your goals for the coming seasons?

I’m excited to get my 10km and half marathon fitness closer to my best and then target a faster marathon. I’m in the process of planning this, but for now it’s great to take a moment to enjoy and reflect on the achievements so far. We often quickly move from one goal to the next and I’m keen to reflect and really enjoy this next 12 months.

Further reading

• How to maintain motivation for training as you get older
• How to train smarter as you get older
• Should your hydration strategy change as you get older?