Holy CALories!

I was just reading the classic, Runner's World Complete Book of Running, and was shocked to hear the author of one of its chapters suggest a DAY-OF-RACE meal should contain about 800 calories worth of carbohydrates. The chapter's author, Liz Applegate, Ph.D., who  didn't specify for what race distance she advised such a feast, recommended consuming the carbs about 4 hours before the gun.

Maybe it's because I am much more of a 5k racer than a marathon runner, but I hardly eat anything the day of a race. My experience has generally been that the less I consume, the better I feel and the faster I race. Angela Colarusso, one of my runner friends with much more experience racing 26.2 miles than me, seems to agree with Applegate's suggestion, however.

Colarusso is a true weekend warrior when it comes to long-distance racing. With a marathon PR of 3:11:56 and half-marathon PR of 1:28:52, Colarusso is clearly someone worth taking advice from on how to eat on the morning of a big race!

“I eat as soon as I wake up (bagel, banana) and will top it off with a Clif Bar about an hour before the race. I also have to have coffee in the morning before I race,” writes Colarusso.

She adds that she avoids peanut butter on her bagel due to a bad experience (I hear you on that one, Angela! PB killed my stomach the one time I ran the Boston Marathon.).

Similarly, Mike Anderson, who has completed 20 marathons and myriad of other races, enjoys a cup of joe, bagel and Clif Bar before a race. But Anderson's prerace eating regimen differs from Colarusso's in that he says YES to PB!

If Anderson is racing somewhere between a 5k and 10k, he will consume less. Before competing at such shorter distances, Anderson says, he will eat a Clif Bar or Kind bar with no peanut butter, or just the peanut butter, 45 min to one hour prior.

Prerace Dinner

 As for the night before, Colarusso always eats pasta, ideally with a non-meat protein, like shrimp or fish, she writes.

Anderson enjoys something like pasta with bolognese, focusing on not overeating.

“I drink a lot of water and will indulge in a glass of wine (sometimes 2) since I enjoy wine with a pasta meal (good to stick to routine!) and it keeps the jitters down,” writes Anderson.