What to eat race morning to have a successful marathon
Now the big day is here! What food choices will most help your marathon?
Before you decide exactly which foods to eat, review our guidelines for what to eat before your training run .
If you are reading this the day before your race, you should probably stick to what has worked for you in the past. Hopefully today isn’t the day before your race; you don’t want to try anything new on race day. That said I once ran a marathon in brand new shoes so if what you have now doesn’t work, try these suggestions.
However, if you don’t have a tried and true pre-race meal plan, here are some options.
The best foods for your pre-marathon breakfast are foods you can find in any corner grocery store. Try each of these during training to see how they work for you. It might be a good idea to have a backup in case something goes wrong on race morning – such as you can’t find Ensure High Protein.
How much you eat depends on how early you get up. You want to take in 200 – 300 calories PER HOUR you have left before the start of the marathon. If you plan to wake up 2 hours before start time, you can take in 400 – 600 calories. Take in the higher amount of calories if you ate an early dinner.
Here are specific recommendations:
Fruit with eggs
Boiled eggs are easy to carry with you and scrambled eggs are easy to find in hotel restaurants. Choose fruit that is low in fiber such as:
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bananas,
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peaches,
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cantaloupe,
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honeydew, and
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watermelon.
Fruits to avoid due to their high fiber content are:
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apples,
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berries,
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dates,
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figs,
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grapes,
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pears,
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mango,
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papaya and
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pineapple.
If you are travelling remember to pack utensils you will need.
Applesauce mixed with protein powder
Make sure you get unsweetened applesauce. Stir in 2-3 tbsp of powdered egg or whey protein.You don’t have to find room in your suitcase for the container, just put the powder in a ziploc bag.
Baby Food is always a good choice
You can usually find it anywhere and it is easily digestible. You can even eat the meats if you could tolerate the taste pre-race.
Liquid meals are my standby
Due to nerves I often find I can’t manage whole foods. On race morning whole foods seem to get stuck in my throat. This is more true for an Ironman race than a marathon but I always have a liquid back-up just in case.
You can blend low-fiber fruit (listed above), fruit juice and 2-3 tbsp of protein powder. A small blender, such as a Magic Bullet, comes in handy for race travel.
Another stand-by is Ensure High Protein. You can find it in the baby aisle of most grocery stores. This is my pre-bike ride drink. It can be expensive but if you keep your eyes open you can find coupons in the Sunday paper.
Sports bar with protein
This doesn’t work well for me as I have trouble chewing them when nervous. I know many runners who rely on these before a run. Drink lots of water with these. Sports bars tend to be dry and your gut can draw fluids in to help with digestion; fluids you need in your race.
Drink plenty of fluid, including water
There is no reason not to have your morning coffee or tea just be SURE you have practiced this beforehand. Caffeine is known to cause upset stomach and nervousness as it speeds up your metabolism. This isn’t what you want before your marathon.
Have only water to drink during the last hour before the start of the marathon. Sports drinks, fruit juices and other fluids with sugar, may cause an insulin reaction that leads to low blood sugar and light-headedness. (Of course that could be your nerves)!
Often digesting carbohydrates lead to a spike in insulin which causes a drop in blood sugar.Sports drinks usually have high-glycemic carbs.
If you are worried you might be hungry – or woke up late – you can take in 100 – 200 calories from a sports drink or gel 10 minutes before the start time. By the time these carbs hit your blood stream you will be running and the exercise effort will blunt the insulin effect. Make sure to drink 6-8 ounces of water with this.
To make sure you get to race morning in optimal shape, read our guide to what to eat during marathon week
After the marathon you will want to be able to celebrate your achievement. Follow our guidelines for the best foods for marathon recovery to ensure you have energy for the party that night.
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