This is everything you need to know about what to eat the day before a marathon, the best meal to eat the night before a marathon, what to eat on the morning of a marathon and what to eat after a marathon (plus foods to avoid before a marathon).
WHAT IS CARB LOADING AND WHEN DO YOU START CARB LOADING FOR A MARATHON?
The reason we carb load is that carbohydrates are the body’s primary source of energy. We want to store as much energy as possible to help us through the marathon – like filling the car’s tank up with petrol before going for a long drive. That means eating extra carbs – or carb loading – in the days before running a marathon.
You’ll begin carb loading around 48 hours before your marathon. You should prioritise consuming carbs and aim for around 75% of your total calories to come from carbs.
You won’t necessarily significantly increase your overall calories, but the percentage that come from carbs will go up – that means reducing protein and fat for a couple of days.
WHAT TO EAT IN THE 24 HOURS BEFORE A MARATHON
During a carb load, the general range of carbs to aim for is 6-12g of carbs per kilogram of body weight a day. For a 75kg runner that’s 450-900g of carbs in each of the two days before a marathon.
That’s a big range, and the high end is very high (it’ll be far too much for many people), so test what feels comfortable for you ahead of long training runs. We’ve got a carb guide and carb calculator to help you out.
Some runners choose a wide variety of food ahead of a marathon, while other runners will stick to primarily eating just one thing, like white rice. You need to choose the approach that sits best in your stomach.
BEST CARBS TO EAT BEFORE A MARATHON?
These are some of the most common types of carbohydrates that people eat before a marathon. You should choose the carbs that you most enjoy eating (because you’re going to be eating a lot of them).
Bread (all types)
Pasta
Pizza
White rice
Risotto
Gnocchi
Noodles
Baked potatoes or sweet potatoes
Oatmeal
Sugar, honey, maple syrup
Candy
Energy drinks
WHAT BREAKFAST SHOULD YOU EAT BEFORE A MARATHON?
Breakfast ideas in the 24 hours before your race include what you eat the day before you race and also your pre-race breakfast. Your pre-race breakfast should be something that you’ve eaten before long runs:
Oatmeal / porridge
Overnight oats / bircher museli
Bagels
Bread or toast
Cereal or granola
Muffins
Energy bars, flapjacks or rice crispy bars
American pancakes
White rice
For the above, add toppings like banana, honey, maple syrup, dried fruit, nut butter, avocado, eggs
HIGH CARB SNACKS TO EAT BEFORE A MARATHON
You need to consume a lot of carbs during a carb load and that means you’ll need to have some snacks between meals. You should also drink additional carbs.
Energy bars
Toast and bagels
Crumpets and English muffins
Cereal
Cookies
Rice pudding
Dried fruit
Chewy candy
Energy drink
Soda
Fruit juice or coconut water
Alcohol-free beer
Add sugar to tea or coffee
BEST MEALS TO EAT THE NIGHT BEFORE A MARATHON
Have the below meals with simple sauces and lean protein, plus some low-fibre veg like tomatoes and spinach.
Avoid adding too many rich or fatty toppings so choose the pasta and marinara sauce over a lasagne, a margarita pizza over a meat feast, baked potato instead of fries.
Tomato pasta (add a side of garlic bread for extra carbs)
Carbonara pasta
Margarita pizza
Gnocchi with tomato sauce
Baked potatoes
Sushi
Poke bowl
Fried rice with egg
Chicken kebab with pitta and rice
Curry with rice and naan bread (avoid too much spice and legumes)
Tofu stir fry with rice or noodles (rice and noodles!)
Noodle soup (like pho and ramen)
Burrito (skip the beans and hot sauce)
Sweet potato tacos or quesadillas
Rice pudding
FOODS TO AVOID BEFORE A MARATHON
Before a marathon you want to avoid:
Foods high in fibre
Very spicy foods
Very rich, fatty or deep fried foods
Beans and legumes
Many runners avoid alcohol before a race
Ingredients which you know can cause you stomach issues (like chilli, onion, garlic, pulses, certain vegetables)
WHAT TO EAT THE MORNING OF A MARATHON
The final meal before the marathon is a final top-up of carbs after your carb-load. You aren’t try to eat one final massive meal to maximise your energy – in fact, you risk stomach discomfort by doing this.
You should only eat foods which you’ve tried during your training and which you know sits well in your stomach.
In general, aim to eat at least two hours before the race, but some runners may want to eat three hours before. This is something to practise before your long runs.
Try to drink additional carbs (like energy drink), plus plenty of water on the morning of a race. A lot of runners also like caffeine on the morning of a race.
Popular breakfasts before a marathon include the following:
1-2 bagels
2-3 slices of white bread toast
Bowl of oatmeal or overnight oats
Cereal
Bowl of white rice
1-2 energy bars
Energy drink
With your carbs you can add toppings like banana, nut butter, jam, honey, maple syrup, dried fruit, avocado.
One tip: foods which contain some protein and fat will help you to feel more satiated alongside all the carbs, as can adding some additional salt to food.
WHAT TO CONSUME DURING A MARATHON
We need to consume more carbs during a marathon to help avoid hitting the wall. Gels are the most popular carb source for people to take in a marathon as they are easy to carry and very convenient.
Try to take a gel every 3-4 miles or 5-7k during a marathon. Most runners should aim for a minimum of 30-60g of carbs per hour in a marathon, but faster runners (sub-three hours) should try to get 50-100g per hour (especially if you’ve practised high carb fuelling).
You can get those carbs from gels or energy drink, or we’ve got some great alternatives to energy gels.
It’s really important that you practise taking gels or energy drink during training to figure out what amount of carbs works for you, and what carbs sit best in your stomach.
WHAT TO EAT AFTER A MARATHON
It’s important to consume some protein and carbs as soon as possible after finishing the run. A high protein drink or milkshake is ideal here and is something you should put in your drop bag for after the run.
Continue with high protein and high carb for the rest of the day – we carb-load before the run but we should also carb-reload to help recovery. Rehydrating with water and electrolytes is also very important after the run.
You may find that your stomach feels unsettled after a marathon, and you might only want simple foods for a few hours, but at some point you’ll find you get extra hungry. Eat whatever foods you really want to eat – you’ve burnt a huge amount of calories and you need to refuel.
If optimising recovery is a priority for you then focus on lean protein, whole foods and good carbs. Drink plenty of water and electrolytes if you feel you need some. Alcohol can negatively affect your recovery after a run, so consider avoiding a post-run pint.
Each runner is different but you may find that you are extra hungry for a few days after the race, so you may want to eat a little more than usual on those days – it’s going to help with your recovery.
Here’s Sarah talking about how to recover after a marathon.
AUTHOR BIO
Mark has run more than 20 marathons and ultramarathons and is obsessed with getting his carb load right!
FAQ ON WHAT TO EAT THE NIGHT BEFORE A MARATHON?
What’s the best meal to eat before a marathon?Choose a meal that you really like to eat. It should also be something that you’ve eaten before a long training run so that you know it sits well in your stomach. Have something like pizza, pasta or rice (and avoid too many fatty toppings).
Is it OK to drink alcohol the night before a marathon?That’s a personal choice. Many runners find that having one drink is a nice way to relax before a race. Others prefer to avoid alcohol in the days before the race. If you want to drink then don’t have more than one or two as it can affect your sleep and your hydration levels. If you’re a beer drinker then alcohol-free beer can be a good drink for carb-loading, so having a few of these is actually good.
Why do you need to eat carbs before a marathon?Carbohydrates turn into glycogen in your body and that’s the primary source of energy that your body uses when running. That means without carbs you don’t have the energy you need to run. Marathons are hard enough without starting them with low energy – like going for a long drive with only half a tank of fuel. Carb loading means filling your tank with energy for the run. It’s really important in a marathon.
READ MORE
