posted by Chris Barber
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It’s race day and you’ve done all of your training, you’ve got your running shoes, the only thing left to do is wake-up, eat some breakfast, and push yourself to attain awesomeness status.  So what kind of food should eat the morning before the race to allow you to become awesome without making you feel like you have to throw up?  I personally have a difficult time determining how much food is enough to eat the morning before races.  I always push myself to the “I feel like I have to throw up” level so I usually don’t want anything in my stomach on race day; however, I need energy, especially for longer races.  Sometimes the less I have in my stomach the easier it is for me to feel like I have to throw up.  I’ve seen runners eat a full breakfast before a race and I’ve also seen runners forcing themselves to throw up at the starting line of a race.  Don’t make yourself throw up.  Even if you are trail running.  You’re already skinny.  You must be, you’re a runner.  So here are some universal tips that every type of runner should consider when eating breakfast the morning of race day:

Your objective on race day is to top-up on your liver glycogen stores, maintain blood sugar levels, and hydrate properly.  Too easy.  In order to do this you should eat foods that give you carbohydrates with a small amount of protein.  Some suggested combinations are raisins with honey, cereal with a banana and low-fat milk, two slices of toast with some orange juice, or a bagel with peanut butter.  As a side note, growing up in the South, the first time I ever saw someone eat a bagel was my Sophomore year of High School before a cross-country meet.  The first time I ever ate a bagel myself was my Senior year of High School when I was working at a grocery store stocking cream cheese and decided to buy some bagels.  They were pretty good but I thought my father was going to kick me out of the house when he saw me walk through the door with a bag of bagels.  He usually eats fried peach pies for breakfast.  My mom bought him fried blueberry pies because they were “healthier.”  I’m serious.

If you have a weak stomach on race day then you should at the very least drink a sports drink or a sports meal replacement to get the nutrients you need.  You know your body needs some energy during the race.  If you have had a problem with having food in your stomach during a race then try eating 2-3 hours prior to the race to give your body time to digest the food.  Also try eating easy to digest foods like oatmeal to allow your body to receive some energy but remove the excess waste before you start running.  If you a running a race under 60 minutes then you don’t need to worry about eating at all, just make sure you drink water and stay hydrated.  If you still have a problem with food in your stomach during races then start finishing your races under 60 minutes no matter what the distance is.  Problem solved.

Race day can be a nervous morning.  Blame your shivering on the cold weather and toe the line with the confidence that you have the proper amounts of nutrients in your body without feeling like you have to throw up.  Only 5% of runners who feel like they are going to throw up actually do.  So push yourself and be in the top 5%!  Measured on the belly curve of course.

Tags: eating, hydration, races, racing

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