Creating Your Race Day Fuel Plan
By Holley Samuel MEd, RD, LD, CSSD, CPT
If your training is starting to wind down before your upcoming goal race, you probably have more time and energy to think about the logistics of your race. Besides planning how you’ll get to the start line, where you’ll be staying, the weather, and what you’ll wear, you also want to put some thought into your nutrition plan. Failing to plan is planning to fail when it comes to race day nutrition, and hopefully you have been practicing your nutrition during your training so you have an idea of what works well for you. Your nutrition is one of the things entirely in your control leading up to race day, unlike the weather or if your flight gets delayed, so take advantage of this opportunity to make sure you nail your fueling strategy.
Travel Fuel Tips
If your race is going to take you longer than 2 hours, you should plan to carb load in the 1-3 days pre race. If you are traveling for your race and need to carb load (you will if you are running a half, full, or ultra marathon), you need to take into account where your food is going to come from on the days leading up to your race.
Carb loading doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does require some planning and intention in order to meet your carbohydrate needs to top off your glycogen stores before your race. Identify which days you will be traveling to your race and where you will need to stop to get food. Lay out what snacks, electrolytes, and fluids you can pack as well for between meals. Don’t forget to hydrate especially if your travel includes flying, which can be dehydrating. The last thing you want is to show up to race weekend depleted and dehydrated because you didn’t account for travel day nutrition. Do not just tell yourself “I’ll just figure it out when I get there.” This usually leads to skipped meals, dehydration, stress, food that doesn’t settle well, and self frustration. The days leading up to your race are just as if not even more important than dinner the night before or breakfast the morning of your race when it comes to topping off your glycogen stores.
Next, think about the day before your race. Identify where you will be staying, how much walking around you want to do before your race, when you want to eat your meals that day and where those meals will come from. Many runners like to have an earlier dinner pre race and then settle in for the evening to attempt to get plenty of rest. If this is relatable, make sure anyone you are traveling with is aware of your plan. Will you need to make dinner reservations to ensure this plan works or are you able to make dinner where you are staying? Either way, make sure what you plan to eat before your race is something that you have successfully fueled with during training.
Race week is not the time to try out a new diet, any new foods, cut out a food group, or try a brand new restaurant. Race week is not the time to go to the race sponsored pasta dinner if you never have pasta the night before a long run. Race week is not the time to try a variety of different fuel samples at the expo just because all of the other runners are doing it. Stick with what you know works and feel confident in your fueling plan. If you are not sure what your plan will be, consider practicing some options in your last couple of training runs to assess what you want to do during race week.
Race Morning Fuel
What do you usually have before your long runs or hardest workouts? This is what you should have before your race. Preferably, this should include about 0.5- 1.8g/lb body weight easy to digest carbohydrates ~1-2 hours before your race starts (account for any extra time you need to digest as practiced in training). For example, for a 150lb runner, they would need between 75-270g carbohydrates over the course of their pre race fuel. This could be 1 bagel with 1 banana, drizzle honey, and 1 tablespoon of peanut butter with 12oz of sports drink like Gatorade endurance or Skratch Labs (total ~125g carbohydrate) 1.5 hours before the start of the race. If what you typically have pre long run is significantly less or different than these parameters, consider doing a “race day simulation run” for one of your last long runs and practicing a fuel plan that you could use for race day. On this run, wake up the same time you plan to wake up the day of your race, start your run the same time you will start your race, and practice your fuel plan paying attention to how you feel.
Make sure you plan to bring your race day fuel with you or identify where and how you will get it the day of your race. Account for what time you will need to wake up to eat this before starting your race and if stores, hotel breakfast buffets, coffee shops etc will be open at that time. Also identify how you will travel to get there and if race related road closures will interfere with this.
During Race Fuel
Finally, make sure you know what you plan to have for your fuel plan during your race. I recommend you pack extra in case you need more on course, and use only sports nutrition you have used successfully during training. Don’t forget about hydration and any vessels you will need for carrying your nutrition, hydration, phone etc on course. Check the race rules to make sure what you are training with is allowed on race day, assess what will be offered at aid stations, and where on course those will be located.
For example, the Marathon World Majors do not allow hydration vests or large bottles, and the Chicago Marathon will make you dump out any fluids you try to bring through security, so make sure you are aware of your specific race’s rules and prohibited items. Usually at the start line races will have water for athletes and bathrooms, but check your race’s website to learn more about what will be offered at the race in terms of nutrition.
Remember that all this planning will set you up for success on race day, and after the race is over you can celebrate! Need help organizing your race day nutrition plan? It can help to write it all out so you don’t miss anything. Check out this free Guide to Race Week template as a resource to help you out!
References
Vitale K, Getzin A. Nutrition and Supplement Update for the Endurance Athlete: Review and Recommendations. Nutrients. 2019;11(6):1289. Published 2019 Jun 7. doi:10.3390/nu11061289