What to eat before a race!

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anna9102
anna9102 Posts: 56
in Food and Nutrition
I'm doing the 10km race for life on sunday, and i was just wondering what i should eat saturday night, sunday morning and sunday lunch before the race? and how long should i leave a gap after my last meal? (race is 2pm)

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  • little_princess
    little_princess Posts: 48 Member
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    I am interested too! I have a race on the 23rd!x
  • belcrowe
    belcrowe Posts: 1
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    hey i have run everything from 5k to marathons. it just depends on the race length. for a 10km , i don't think it's neccesary to carbload. maybe if you want to have pasta the night before for dinner. the morning of the race...maybe a piece of fruit and oatmeal. a couple of hours before the race ...maybe a sports bar..
    i don't know if this is your first 10km ...so i don't want to offend but if you have been running for a while and putting in 10-15 miles a week, you will be fine with eating the same as if you are doing your weekly mileage. most important thing is to stay hydrated:drinker:
  • Anonymou5
    Anonymou5 Posts: 92
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    I reckon if your doing a 10k your going to want to do it sub 1 hour?

    Just eat as you would for training and perhaps pack an energy gel and use it if you need a quick boost!
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    Eat whatever you usually eat before training - I'm a big believer in "nothing new on race day".
    For a 10k you shouldn't need to eat any differently but it is worth making sure you are well hydrated the day before and on the morning- within reason though, you don't want to be in the portaloo queue at the 1km mark (not joking, there was quite a line at the 1km mark at my recent 14km race).
  • Aperture_Science
    Aperture_Science Posts: 840 Member
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    Eat whatever you usually eat before training - I'm a big believer in "nothing new on race day".
    For a 10k you shouldn't need to eat any differently but it is worth making sure you are well hydrated the day before and on the morning- within reason though, you don't want to be in the portaloo queue at the 1km mark (not joking, there was quite a line at the 1km mark at my recent 14km race).

    ^^this

    What you eat the night before a race will not improve your run on the day, but if you get it wrong it can ruin it. Do nothgn different or new the day before except read this excellent blog post from BerryH: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/BerryH/view/20-things-i-wish-i-d-known-before-my-first-race-266231

    Have a great race.
  • anna9102
    anna9102 Posts: 56
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    nope i'm a newbie to running! i've never run 10km before... most i've done is about 5.5km. I expect there'll be a lot of walking! but it's a charity run, so i'm obviously not that bothered about my time. i'm just wondering what will leave me less sluggish, and more energetic in the long run? and i dont want to get a stitch or cramp from eating too soon before the race haha!
  • Ianultrarunner
    Ianultrarunner Posts: 184 Member
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    I ran a 5K (Race for the Cure) Saturday morning and all I had was a Gatorade two hours prior and nothing else.
    Hydrating well the day prior is good.
    It's more important to eat after than before for me. Every person is different.
    Some people find running on an empty stomach actually helps more than not.
  • tadpole242
    tadpole242 Posts: 507 Member
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    As a former runner, I’d say it doesn’t really matter what you eat before your race, but it does matter when, it depends on when your race is, you should aim to finish your food two hours before the start. When I raced I only ever ate toast and jam before my shorter runs 10k, and tuna on toast before longer runs 20k.
    As other posters have said, try nothing new on race day, not food, not clothes not shoes, and definitely no new fangled free given away at the race sports drinks. If you use it on a training run or six, and it’s not caused you any problems then use it, but don't try new things on the day (unless that new thing is running faster).

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