What to eat the day before a marathon (and race morning)

The day before a marathon is the heart of race-week eating. Your training is done; what's left is to arrive at the start with your muscles and liver full of stored carbohydrate (glycogen) and a stomach that won't cause trouble at mile 18. That comes down to three things: plenty of carbohydrate across the last day or two, a plain dinner, and a tested breakfast.

This is general information for healthy adult runners, not individual advice. If you have diabetes or prediabetes, a GI condition such as IBS or celiac disease, kidney disease, a history of disordered eating, are pregnant, or have any other medical reason to be careful with large changes in carbohydrate intake, work out your race-week plan with your doctor or a registered dietitian.

Why the day before matters so much

A marathon is long enough that running low on glycogen is a real risk. Sports nutrition researcher Louise Burke's review of marathon nutrition notes that carbohydrate loading can help by letting you run at your optimal pace for longer before fatigue sets in. For well-trained runners, she describes how: taper training over the final days and eat 10 to 12 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight per day over the 36 to 48 hours before the race. Her later review table lists the same protocol (36 to 48 hours at 10 to 12 g/kg/day plus a taper) for events usually longer than 90 minutes, naming the marathon as an example.

So the day before is the core of the load, not just one dinner. Our marathon carb loading guide covers the method and the math in detail; here's what it means for your plate.

What to eat the week before a marathon

Most of race week is normal eating. Your mileage is dropping in the taper, so you don't need to eat more early in the week, and there's no benefit in starving yourself of carbohydrate first: Burke's 2007 review says there is no evidence that a low-carbohydrate "depletion" phase before loading provides any benefit.

Cleveland Clinic's marathon advice suggests starting to lean on carbohydrates three to five days out. The research protocol concentrates the big intake in the final 36 to 48 hours. Our practical blend of the two:

Cleveland Clinic notes that carbohydrate is stored with water, which is a reason to drink well during the load. It's also why a small rise on the scale during race week is nothing to worry about.

What to eat the day before a marathon

The target is high, so it's easier with small, frequent meals and snacks than with three big ones. For a 150 lb (68 kg) runner, 10 to 12 g/kg works out to roughly 680 to 820 g of carbohydrate for the day. That's far more than most people eat, which is why the low-fiber, low-fat choices matter: they let you get the carbs in without feeling stuffed.

Foods that work well (several come straight from Cleveland Clinic's race-week list):

• White bread, bagels, English muffins, rice cakes with honey or jam
• White rice, white pasta, potatoes without the skin
• Low-fiber cereal with milk, pancakes or waffles with syrup
• Applesauce, bananas, canned fruit
• Juice, sports drinks, chocolate milk
• Pretzels and plain crackers

A sample day before:

• Breakfast: pancakes with syrup, a banana, a glass of juice.
• Mid-morning: a bagel with honey.
• Lunch: a turkey sandwich on white bread, pretzels, applesauce, sports drink.
• Afternoon: rice cakes with jam, a glass of chocolate milk.
• Dinner: see below.
• Evening snack: a bowl of low-fiber cereal, if you're still under target.

Keep protein to normal portions and go easy on butter, cheese, cream sauces and fried food. If you need help with the numbers, the carb loading guide has a full worked example in pounds and kilograms.

What to eat the night before a marathon

Dinner the night before should be familiar and plain. Cleveland Clinic suggests white pasta with marinara sauce or rice with a small amount of lean protein, and lists four things to limit: high-fiber, high-fat, spicy and dairy-heavy foods. The International Society of Sports Nutrition's ultra-marathon position stand gives similar advice for the pre-race meal: a familiar, easily digested meal, avoiding food high in fat or fiber to minimize gut discomfort during the race.

Night-before dinners that fit:

• Spaghetti with marinara, grilled chicken, a slice or two of white bread
• Rice with a small piece of baked fish, soy sauce, well-cooked carrots
• Gnocchi or potatoes (skin off) with a light tomato sauce
• Plain pancakes with syrup, if that sits best for you

Eat at a normal hour so you have time to digest, and don't try to cram the whole day's carbohydrate into this one meal. Leave the celebratory steak, the spicy curry and the beer for after the race.

Marathon breakfast

Breakfast tops up the liver glycogen used during the overnight fast. Burke's review table recommends 1 to 4 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram, 1 to 4 hours before the start. A sensible way to use that range: eat bigger when you have more time, smaller when you're closer to the gun.

An example of about 130 g, close to 2 g/kg for a 150 lb runner, using USDA FoodData Central values:

• A 100 g (3.5 oz) plain bagel: about 52 g (USDA)
• 25 g (0.9 oz) of honey on it: about 21 g (USDA)
• A 120 g (4.2 oz) peeled banana: about 27 g (USDA)
• 60 g (2.1 oz) of white toast: about 30 g (USDA)

Bagels and bread slices vary in size, so check your labels. Cleveland Clinic suggests a light race-morning meal such as a plain bagel or white toast with a little peanut butter. Oatmeal, waffles with syrup, or a rice bowl also work if you've tested them.

If your race has an early shuttle to the start, you may eat breakfast long before the gun and then wait. Pack a small, tested top-up (a banana, a bagel, or a bottle of sports drink) for the start area. Our marathon packing list covers what else to bring. (In an ultra, food for later in the race goes in your drop bags instead.)

Fueling during the marathon

Breakfast won't carry you to the finish. Burke's table recommends 30 to 60 g of carbohydrate per hour for events of 1 to 2.5 hours, and up to 90 g per hour beyond 2.5 to 3 hours, which covers almost every marathoner. A Gatorade Sports Science Institute review notes that at 60 to 90 g per hour, glucose-fructose mixtures are preferable. Asker Jeukendrup's review stresses practicing your race fueling in training to reduce stomach problems.

Use the long runs in your marathon training plan to rehearse the whole sequence: the dinner, the breakfast, and the gels or drink at race pace. The carb loading guide shows how to work out how many gels you need for your finish time.

Mistakes to avoid

• Trying anything new. No new foods, gels, supplements or restaurants in race week.
• One giant pasta dinner as your whole carb load. Spread the carbohydrate over the last two days.
• A big salad, beans or bran the day before. Save the fiber for next week.
• A high-fat "carb" meal. Fettuccine Alfredo, pizza and fries come with a lot of fat; plain starches are better.
• Skipping breakfast because of nerves. Even a small amount, or liquid carbohydrate, helps.
• Too much alcohol. Cleveland Clinic suggests cutting back in the weeks before the race.

Running a half first? See what to eat before a half marathon for the shorter version.