What Do Elite Runner’s Eat Before A Race? (Part 1)
[Article by Tait Hearps of Sweat Elite]
The week or so preceding the big race you’ve been preparing for for months can trigger anxiety and doubt in any runner. How much should I be running during my taper? Should I be running the day before the race? What will the weather be like? Have I done enough work? Am I ready? A stream of worries that are nearly always harmful rather than helpful, prompted by the pressure put on yourself because of months of preparation.
Another major source of confusion for athletes is what to eat! Here we look at pre-race nutrition and later we will examine the intricacies of feeding yourself during a sustained effort. Pre-race nutrition is crucial to performance, and it’s something that you really don’t want to get wrong! Like many aspects of running, there is no one-size-fits-all approach, and this means that most experienced runners will have their own pre-race ritual and back it fiercely when the topic arises. We recommend experimenting to find something that sits well with you and then sticking with it as long as it’s working.
Everyone has heard of carb-loading, but what does the science behind this say? And how do the elites prepare?
In the build-up to a big race emphasis must be placed on other important factors such as sleep, relaxing, and avoiding stress. Keeping diet simple and familiar is also very important, too often runners will change their diet drastically in the hope of a better performance, only to suffer when they realise their body hasn’t adapted to the new fuel source. Certain diets and even specific foods are espoused as enhancing endurance. However, if you aren’t practiced at consuming these foods in training or in the lead-up to races, changing suddenly can have disastrous consequences come race day. Serious deviations from what you normally consume when training in the lead-up to the event is not recommended.
With this being said, there is substantial evidence that ‘carb loading’ can delay the onset of fatigue, which is a key factor when trying to run a fast marathon. ‘Carb loading’ essentially involves increasing the amount of carbohydrate in your diet, generally involving simultaneous diminution of the amount of protein and fat. But how does this help you run faster for longer?
When running at reasonably high intensity, even at the aerobic pace of a marathon, most people will be in a state of metabolism where they are using glucose for energy, as opposed to fat which can be utilised more efficiently in much lower intensity exercise. Glucose is a simple sugar, which is stored in the body by condensation into the polysaccharide glycogen. Glucose levels in the blood are balanced by uptake from the gut, which results in glucose moving into the blood and subsequently into cells if it is not immediately needed for use, and breakdown of glycogen stored in cells to transfer glucose back into the blood for transport to other organs. Glycogen is predominantly stored in the liver and skeletal muscles.
Hence, the theory behind carb loading in the days prior to a big race is that you will be maximally topping up glycogen stores in the muscles and liver. Come race day, you will begin to burn through glycogen in the muscles as you run, and when stores here are depleted the liver will provide a much more significant portion of the energy by glycogenolysis – converting glycogen to glucose. Taking gels and carbohydrate drinks mid-race also works to increase the levels of glucose entering the bloodstream via the gut.
So, given the benefits of maximally loading glycogen prior to the race, how should one go about this? Sticking to foods that are high in carbohydrates, that you know you tolerate well, is important. Foods with more complex carbohydrates, and a low glycaemic index (meaning they are a ‘slow release’ form of carbohydrate) are ideal – wholegrain bread, pasta, rice, potato…
The night before the race make sure not to overeat as this can be detrimental when you’re lining up on the start line, your body still not finished dealing with the huge meal from last night. A large meal can also disrupt sleep, definitely not desirable the night before the big day. Avoiding high levels of fibre, protein and fats is advisable as these are more challenging to digest, fibre can also result in bloating the next day.
Here are a few examples of what athletes have said they have the night before a race.
Continue to Part 2 – What Do Elite Runner’s Eat Before A Race
