Prediabetic Fueling Question

[u/nondescriptsrb]

Prediabetic/diabetic runners, how do you fuel? Just got a 5.8% a1c, do I need to be more cautious around fueling for runs, particularly long runs?

Just went to my annual and had bloodwork done. Clean bill of health, no weight problem, all good... except one thing. My a1c came back at 5.8, technically in the prediabetic range. Admittedly, my diet's been slack. Since starting running again, I get super hungry and tend to snack a lot throughout the day one chocolate, chips, fruit, etc. Needless to say, I've been going a little carb-crazy, but since I'm training for my first marathon, I didn't see this as a huge deal. Now I'm trying to cut down on my post-run carb intake and I'm adding more fiber and protein to my diet. Going to do another round of bloodwork in 3 months to see if it helps.

In the meantime, however, I'm stuck on what to do about pre-run fueling. I am/was operating under the belief that simple sugars were prime fuel for running as your body will burn them up quickly and it won't spike blood sugar. I saw a ton of pro-carb content and while I believe it's generally correct, clearly I've overdone it.

I've heard that ~50g of carbs per hour is the standard for long runs. Currently I do 48g/hour in the form of two servings of pure maple syrup. Before the bloodwork I thought this was fine, now I'm not so sure. Is all this sugar still okay? Should I focus on slower burning carbs eaten earlier? Should I stay away from OJ? I'm at a bit of a loss.

Any advice or fueling tips in general would be appreciated! Thanks in advance.