My SIMPLE Race Day Nutrition For Running FASTER Marathons And Half Marathons

Race day nutrition is the last piece of the puzzle to running a fast half marathon or marathon. As long as you’re training has been good, your day to day nutrition is on point, your sleep is decent, you have shoes that work for you, and you have a positive mindset, you’re in a good position come race day. All that’s left, is to put the icing on the cake with getting your race day nutrition right.
I’m not a professional runner or nutritionist, but I have run over 30 half marathons and 5 marathons over the years. During this time, I’ve experimented with a range of race day nutrition options and strategies. Some have worked well, and some have been catastrophic failures. In this video, I’ll breakdown exactly what I eat and drink before and on race day itself to allow me to run the fastest times I possibly can.
Nutrition is highly personal to everyone, so it’s worth experimenting with different options to find out what works well for you.
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Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
00:58 - A few days before race day
02:11 - Eat something!
02:29 - Breakfast
03:19 - Drinks
04:55 - Mid-race
06:07 - Liquids
06:52 - Post-race
07:42 - Conclusion
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[@VanessaHollamby-fw1et]

Hi.As for gels, I like "Dextro Energy Gels ",they are liquid and come with a screw top.so don't have to consume in one hit.(which my stomach likes.) Pre race... toasted Brown bread with peanut butter and sliced banana. Plus a mug of Strong coffee. Also a coffee a hour before race.

[@joshbennett5119]

Just ran my first half-marathon yesterday. These tips certainly helped!!!

[@runningcafe1]

Congratulations! Great to hear they helped!

[@markg99]

This all rings true for me mate. For my half marathon I had a banana and some porridge before driving to Macclesfield. Had 2 SIS gels out on the course, and it went great 👍🏻🏃‍♂️

[@runningcafe1]

Sounds like we have a near identical routine Mark. You smashed your half, so it obviously helped do the trick there 👍

[@tworunningbrooms]

Good advice, Craig. Can I ask what editing software you use as we're looking to upgrade.

[@runningcafe1]

Thanks, John & Dawn. I use Adobe Premiere Pro. It's about 20 quid a month, but I think it's worth it

[@tworunningbrooms]

@@runningcafe1 thanks Craig

[@conradburdekin722]

Craig, I’ve read brown bread has more fibre so more likely to make you need the loo than white on race day?

[@runningcafe1]

It takes about 4 hours for brown bread to digest I've heard in terms of giving you the energy, but it takes a lot lot longer for it to pass through the digestive tract. You should have enough time to get through the race without needing to go if you have the brown bread about 2-4 hours before the starting whistle. I've never had any issues myself, but if it has the tendency to cause trouble I would certainly avoid it. Cheers for that Conrad, it's a really interesting point.

[@conradburdekin722]

@@runningcafe1 oh that’s great thanks Craig

[@runningcafe1]

@@conradburdekin722 Really great point, and made me double take for a second. Good to hear concerns from a fellow runner

[@Critchy39]

Have you ever considered doing more races abroad Craig?

[@runningcafe1]

Yes! I'm actually looking to book one tonight or tomorrow, on a Spanish island...