What to eat for your pre-race meal?

Pre-race meal objectives

It’s crucial to avoid mistakes and not put yourself in further difficulty at the risk of sabotaging your own race. Digestive comfort, energy and hydration, the essential pillars of this last meal.

The pre-race meal must meet 3 objectives:

• Maintain your energy reserves (glycogen stock), already optimized during your last week of preparation.
• Maintaining good hydration
• Ensuring digestive comfort during the race

There’s no question of gorging yourself just before the start , as your energy reserves have been optimized throughout the week (see our article What to eat a week before a race).

The most important thing is not to make a mistake and put yourself in digestive difficulties. That’s why it’s important to choose what you’re going to put on your plate and when you’re going to eat it.

Foods to choose and avoid

Bear in mind that what you eat will depend first and foremost on your digestive and taste sensitivities, and also on the time of day you sit down to eat.

As a general rule, limit foods rich in irritating fibers , such as most raw vegetables and wholemeal products. You should also limit fats , especially saturated fats, and excessive quantities of protein, which slow down digestion.

That’s why I advise you to test what you can tolerate best, so as not to make any mistakes. I’m sharing with you a non-exhaustive table of foods to avoid/prefer before a race:

Meal idea 2 hours before the race

If your race starts early in the morning, then I’d opt for breakfast 2 hours beforehand, so for an 8 a.m. start it’s best to finish your meal at around 6.

In this case, it will be essentially made up of carbohydrates: oat flakes, farmhouse bread, rye or spelt for those who are sensitive to gluten, and in addition: honey, agave syrup, dried fruit, banana, compote, etc.

On average, we recommend 2g of carbohydrates per kg of body weight, i.e. around 120g for a 60kg person, for example. You should therefore adapt your carbohydrate intake to your body weight, but also choose quality sources to avoid the risk of reactive hypoglycemia during your race.

Example of a meal 2 hours before the race:

• Porridge with a vegetable drink and rolled oats (60 to 120g) + 1 to 2 teaspoons of honey
• 1 banana +/- 1 compote
• 1 drink: tea, herbal tea, glass of water

OR

• 2 to 3 slices of lightly buttered farmhouse bread + honey
• 1 banana and/or 1 compote
• 1 drink: tea, herbal tea, glass of water

Meal idea 3 hours before the race

If you opt for a meal 3 hours before departure, you can include a source of protein such as 1 boiled egg (easier to digest than a hard-boiled egg) or 1 slice of ham.

Example of a meal 3 hours before:

• 2 to 3 slices of lightly buttered farmhouse bread + honey
• 1 banana and/or 1 compote
• 1 soft-boiled egg
• 1 drink: tea, herbal tea, glass of water

Waiting ration: an essential?

The time between the end of your meal and the start of your run can sometimes seem long and a little stressful. First of all, you need to stay well hydrated. I advise you to drink regularly, but not excessively: count on around 500ml of water, divided into small quantities. For the more stressed, you can add a little syrup or fruit juice for a carbohydrate source.

As far as solid intake is concerned, some athletes have experienced episodes of reactive hypoglycemia when consuming a carbohydrate source 45 to 90 minutes before the start of their race. In this case, if you’re feeling a little hungry, I’d advise you to consume a solid intake such as fruit paste, or ½ banana, or ½ energy bar 15 minutes before your start.

You can also drink 25 to 30cL of exercise drink in small sips.

Remember that the pre-competition meal should simply enable you to maintain your slightly diminished energy reserves following the overnight fast, but is not intended to make up for poor nutrition in the days leading up to your race. You also need to stay well hydrated and avoid digestive discomfort.