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Odd Race time - What to eat & when?

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Samstan101
Samstan101 Posts: 699 Member
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Normally the races I do are on a Sunday morning, especially HM+ distances. The only time I've raced in an evening has been Running Club league races once a month starting at 7:30pm but under 10k in distance so normally I'd have a cereal bar late afternoon and go straight from work. However, this Saturday I have a mountain marathon that starts at 17:30 and I'm really not sure what to eat and when during the day (especially as sometimes end up with a dodgy stomach when running). A normal Saturday would be cereal bar & coffee for breakfast about 90mins before parkrun, then chicken sandwich for lunch around 12:30, then a main meal in the evening about 6pm. So any advise/ suggestions gratefully received, thanks!

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  • Curtruns
    Curtruns Posts: 510 Member
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    My longest evening race was a 10K....all I did was eat normally through the morning and ate frequently and lightly through the afternoon. It works for me.
  • JENNIENS
    JENNIENS Posts: 81 Member
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    Great question! I need to follow.. In November I have a 5k in the morning then at 10pm a half marathon! I really didn't think about eating until now. :/
  • runfoorun
    runfoorun Posts: 314 Member
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    I would suggest shifting your food intake as if it were a morning race. So you're starting your race 12 hrs later than a typical run so shift your food intake to match. Eat the bulk of your calories the day before, then a fairly carb heavy breakfast (make it your main meal) Eat light the rest of the day to avoid digestive issues at race time, then treat your dinner as if it were your usual morning pre-race breakfast (cereal bar, toast, fruit, etc) I do a lot of long training runs at night so this is kind of how I do it so I don't have to poo on the trails. Hope it helps.
  • Samstan101
    Samstan101 Posts: 699 Member
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    That's great thanks all :)
  • DavidMartinez2
    DavidMartinez2 Posts: 840 Member
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    This is why I hate evening races. My first night time half I ended up ducking into a porta-potty at mile 4. Eat a normal lunch ~noon and then have a gel just before race start.
  • litsy3
    litsy3 Posts: 783 Member
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    I just did the Reykjavik midnight sun run half marathon, which started at 9:20 pm, and I just had a normal breakfast and lunch, then a snack at around 4pm and a last 'meal' at 6:30, which was fruit, yoghurt, granola and a slice of toast, which is what I'd normally have for breakfast. It worked out fine in the end, though it's still an annoying start time because of having to wait around all afternoon.
  • Samstan101
    Samstan101 Posts: 699 Member
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    Well I used the fueling tips above and that bit went fine, so thank you.

    Unfortunately though I started suffering vertigo from about mile 7 on the downhills that got progressively worse and slowed me to a crawl and I ended up with my first DNF :( I still managed almost 5500ft of elevation gain in total and 20.1 miles (in 7hrs!) but not the full marathon. My first ultra (33miles in just under 8hrs) was tough but nothing like this. 2 days later I'm still walking like I need both hips replacing and am definitely in need of a few days training break to recover.

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