Worried about bonking in your marathon? Get the 6 best pre-marathon foods
It’s race day! Eating the right pre-marathon breakfast will help you keep from bonking at mile 20?
Before you decide exactly which foods to eat, review our guidelines for what to eat before your training run .
If you are reading this the day before your race, you should probably stick to what has worked for you in the past. Hopefully you aren’t reading this the day before your race; you don’t want to try anything new on race day. That said I once ran a marathon in brand new shoes so if what you have now doesn’t work, try these suggestions.
But if you have not yet settled on a pre-race menu, here are options that work.
The best foods for your pre-marathon breakfast are foods you can find in any corner grocery store. You will want to try each of these suggestions during your marathon training to see which works best for you. It might be a good idea to have a backup in case something goes wrong on race morning - such as you can’t find Ensure High Protein.
How much you eat depends on how early you get up. You want to take in 200 - 300 calories PER HOUR you have left before the start of the marathon. So if you get up 2 hours before the race, eat 400 - 600 calories. If your pre-race dinner was early, say 12 hours ago, then take in the higher amount of calories.
Here are specific recommendations:
Fruit with eggs
Boiled eggs are easy to carry with you and scrambled eggs are easy to find in hotel restaurants. Choose fruit that is low in fiber such as:
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bananas,
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peaches,
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cantaloupe,
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honeydew, and
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watermelon.
Fruits to avoid because they have a lot of fiber are:
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apples,
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berries,
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dates,
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figs,
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grapes,
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pears,
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mango,
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papaya and
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pineapple.
If you are travelling remember to pack utensils you will need.
Applesauce mixed with protein powder
Make sure to buy unsweetened applesauce. Stir in 2-3 tbsp of powdered egg or whey protein.You can carry the powder in a ziploc with you, no need to bring the whole container.
Baby Food is always a good choice
You can usually find it anywhere and it is easily digestible. You can even eat the meats if you could tolerate the taste pre-race.
Liquid meals are my standby
Due to nerves I often find I can’t manage whole foods. Maybe it is nerves but I kind of choke on solid foods in the morning before the race. This happens to me more before an Ironman that is does before a marathon but I usually have some Ensure handy.
You can blend low-fiber fruit (listed above), fruit juice and 2-3 tbsp of protein powder. A small blender, such as a Magic Bullet, comes in handy for race travel.
Another stand-by is Ensure High Protein. Most grocery stores stock Ensure in the baby food aisle. I use this almost exclusively before long bike rides now. Though Ensure is rather expensive, you can find it on sale if you watch for it.
Sports bar with protein
This doesn’t work well for me as I have trouble chewing them when nervous. But many of my fellow runners eat them exclusively before a run. Drink lots of water with these. They are quite dry and can draw your fluids into the gut to help with digestion.
Drink plenty of fluid, including water
There is no reason not to have your morning coffee or tea just be SURE you have practiced this beforehand. Caffeine speeds up your metabolism which can lead to upset stomach and nervousness - which is not ideal before your big race.
Have only water to drink during the last hour before the race. Drinking fluid with sugar, such as a sports drink, may cause low blood sugar leading to light-headedness. (Of course that could be your nerves)!
Eating high-glycemic carbohydrates can create an insulin spiek which leads to a drop in blood sugar.Sports drinks usually have high-glycemic carbs.
However, 10 minutes before the start is a good time to take in 100 - 200 calories from a sports drink or gel. By the time these carbs hit your blood stream you will be running and the exercise effort will blunt the insulin effect. Be sure to take this with 6-8 oz of water.
To make sure you get to race morning in optimal shape, read our guide to help plan what to eat during marathon race week
After the marathon you will want to be able to celebrate your achievement. Follow our guidelines for planning proper marathon recovery food to ensure you have energy for the party that night.
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