How to Eat Before a Marathon

As with every other aspect of marathon preparation, smart runners use long training runs to learn how to eat before a marathon. You may have heard the story of elite marathoner Bill Rodgers psyching out his competitors by standing at the starting line munching on a baked potato. What they didn't know is that Rodgers had road-tested this food and discovered that his body processed it efficiently as a pre-marathon fuel.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Select foods to which you are well accustomed for all your meals during the last 48 hours before a marathon and for anything that you bring to eat during the marathon. These final preparatory hours are not the time to experiment with some exotic new cuisine.

2. Eat a simple, high-carbohydrate dinner the evening before your marathon. Avoid rich or complex pasta sauces or any other foods that may disturb your gastrointestinal system.

3. Avoid eating salad, vegetables or other high-fiber "roughage" during the final 24 hours before a marathon. These foods may be good for you at other times, but they can lead to undesired pit stops on marathon day.

4. Drink water with your dinner the evening before your marathon. Refrain from drinking coffee, tea or other caffeinated beverages. Limit alcohol consumption to a single beer or glass of wine. Caffeine and alcohol act as diuretics, which can dehydrate you, and may also disrupt your sleep before a marathon.

5. Include salt in your final pre-marathon meals to maintain adequate sodium levels. This also prepares your body to continue taking in fluid throughout the marathon.

6. Eat a light, simple breakfast on marathon day. This food should be something that you eat regularly for breakfast. A bagel, an apple or even a couple of pancakes can give you a good start.

7. Bring your last pre-marathon snack to the starting area and eat it between 20 and 30 minutes before the starting time. As always, this should be something you have tested before your long training runs and found to be a good, simple fuel. A high-carbohydrate sports nutrition bar or a bagel can make a good pre-race snack.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider reducing your calorie intake slightly during the final week's "tapering" period before your marathon. If you cut your training regimen from over 50 miles per week to about 20 the last week, you probably will gain a few pounds unless you reduce your calorie intake by 500 to 1000 calories a day.

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[brasko]

on 5/19/2009 Avoiding "undesired pit stops", that's what it is all about. :)