Whether you’re a beginner just trying to finish your first 5K or a seasoned runner chasing a PR, there are plenty of free and premium 5K training plans available online that give you specific workouts to prepare.
However, many of these training plans omit a key component of training—your nutrition. As a sports nutrition coach, I can’t stress enough how important it is to fuel properly during training and racing.
Although runners can usually get away with any diet when training for and running 5Ks, if you really want to maximize your performance and feel your best when you run, nutrition matters, especially what to eat before a 5K race.
Even if you typically follow a well-balanced, healthy diet, your food choices in the day or two before the race can potentially make or break the difference between a decent and a great 5K race.
If you’re hoping to get an extra edge and run your best race, keep reading for our guide to what to eat before a 5K race, which provides information and tips for dialing in your nutrition on race day.
How Should I Fuel When Training For A 5K?
Many runners make the mistake of thinking that nutrition plays a very small role in successful 5K running. After all, according to Running Level,1Running level. (n.d.). 5k Times By Age And Ability – Running Level. Runninglevel.com. https://runninglevel.com/running-times/5k-times the average race time for the 5K across both sexes and all ages is 23:58, meaning that most runners can finish the distance in 20-30 minutes.
As such, your body most likely has enough energy stores on board to provide any necessary fuel during the 5K, even if you have not eaten anything since the night before the race.
For the same reason, unlike long races like half marathons and marathons, most runners do not need to consume fuel sources such as energy gels or chews during a 5K, simplifying the race strategy and 5K nutrition plan.
However, the relative ease of 5K fueling practices shouldn’t be assumed to mean that what you eat before a 5K run doesn’t matter.
If you eat the wrong foods or the right foods at the wrong times before a 5K, you can certainly find yourself battling an upset stomach, side stitches, cramps, diarrhea, gas, bloating, low energy, and other digestive issues and physical consequences that affect your running performance.
General Nutrition for Runners Tips
Throughout your training program leading up to your 5K, you’ll want to fuel your body with healthy foods and a balanced diet to ensure it gets the nutrients it needs to fuel your workouts, recover from your runs, and maintain optimal health.
Your diet should consist of a variety of whole, natural, unprocessed foods, such as vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, legumes, seeds, nuts, whole grains, eggs, low-fat dairy, and healthy fats.
Processed foods, such as frozen entrees, canned soups, packaged cakes and cookies, candy, fried snacks, processed meats such as hot dogs and bologna, and foods with hydrogenated oils, artificial colors, sweeteners, and ingredients should be avoided as much as possible.
It’s also advisable to be mindful of your intake of foods high in salt, sugar, or trans fats and alcoholic beverages.
While many runners are getting into the good habit of scanning the nutrition facts panel on a food package before buying or eating the food to ensure it will fit in with their dietary goals, it’s an equally valuable healthy practice to read the ingredients label.
Although it may seem like an overused, trite saying these days, the advice to choose products with an ingredient list containing only foods you can easily pronounce and recognize (no long chemical-sounding names) still has merit.
In general, the shorter the list of ingredients, the better. The closer the food product is to its whole, natural form, the better.
For example, whole apples are better than applesauce and whole oats are healthier than quick oats.
This is because unprocessed or minimally processed foods retain more of the natural vitamins, minerals, and fiber and are less likely to have added sweeteners, oils or fats, salt, stabilizers, flavors, colors, or other unhealthy ingredients.
The recommended daily caloric intake and ideal macronutrient ratio for your diet will vary from runner to runner, depending on numerous factors such as your age, sex, body size, activity level, and body composition goals.
According to the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN),2Kerksick, C. M., Wilborn, C. D., Roberts, M. D., Smith-Ryan, A., Kleiner, S. M., Jäger, R., Collins, R., Cooke, M., Davis, J. N., Galvan, E., Greenwood, M., Lowery, L. M., Wildman, R., Antonio, J., & Kreider, R. B. (2018). ISSN exercise & sports nutrition review update: research & recommendations. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-018-0242-y most recreational athletes can meet their nutritional goals through a diet comprised of 45–55% carbohydrates (3–5 g/kg/day), 15–20% protein (0.8–1.2 g/kg/day), and 25–35% fat (0.5–1.5 g/kg/day).
Athletes who are engaging in moderate and high-volume training need greater amounts of carbs and protein (e.g., 2–3 h per day of intense exercise at least 5–6 times per week) and typically require a diet consisting of 5–8 g/kg/day of carbohydrates).
Still, for most 5K runners, this is unlikely to be a necessity.
If you want to be sure you are fueling correctly, make an appointment with a sports nutritionist or dietitian to calculate your specific needs.
What Should I Eat The Night Before A 5K Race?
Most distance runners are indoctrinated with the benefits of carb-loading before an endurance event, but this doesn’t pertain to running a 5K, simply because the duration it will take you to run a 5K is not long enough to necessitate needing to overload your muscle glycogen stores.
Therefore, as much as you might be inclined to dish up a huge plate of pasta or potatoes to eat the night before the race, this will ultimately not improve your 5K performance and may actually detract from it.
The body stores 3-4 grams of water for every gram of stored glycogen, so a carbohydrate-rich dinner can leave you feeling bloated, sluggish, and even nauseous.
Instead, eat a well-balanced meal with complex carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fat, relying on foods your body is accustomed to eating.
A balanced meal can have lean protein (such as fish, poultry, tofu, eggs, etc.), vegetables, a starchy carbohydrate (sweet potatoes, barley, quinoa, etc.), and healthy fats (avocado, olive oil, etc.).
What Should I Eat Before A 5K Race?
Depending on what time your 5K race starts, what time you typically get up, and how well your body tolerates running after eating, you’ll want to eat a small pre-race meal or snack at least 1-2 hours before the 5K, but ideally, 2-3 hours before the race start.
Running too soon after eating can result in cramping, bloating, indigestion, and food sloshing around in your stomach, making you feel miserable during your race.
It’s impossible to give one-size-fits-all guidelines for what to eat before a 5K because everyone’s body and digestive system are different.
The best advice is to stick with foods your body is used to and has responded well to in training. In other words, don’t eat anything out of the ordinary on race day morning, or leading up to the race for that matter.
You should be able to maintain your standard diet, perhaps with a few modifications.
If you tend to eat a high-fiber diet or lots of greasy, heavy, rich, or high-fat foods, you will want to opt for simple carbohydrates and less fat in your pre-race meal or snack since fat and fiber can slow digestion and may lead to digestive distress during your race.
Examples of good pre-race breakfasts for a 5K include overnight oats, oatmeal, toast with nut butter, yogurt and granola (if you aren’t sensitive to dairy), bagel, banana with peanut butter, a breakfast bar, cereal or muesli, waffles, a smoothie, or an egg on an English muffin.
What Should I Eat Before An Evening 5K Race?
Not every 5K race will necessarily be scheduled for the morning. When your race is later in the day, you have more time to enhance—or possibly derail—your nutrition.
If your 5K race is in the afternoon or evening, eat a healthy, well-balanced breakfast that you’re accustomed to. Your last full meal should be eaten at least 3-4 hours before the start time.
This meal should consist of some carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fat, but it might be lighter in fat, protein, and fiber than your usual meals to reduce the risk of digestive distress.
Some examples of the best foods include a turkey breast, chicken, tuna, hummus, tofu, or nut butter sandwich, quinoa or rice with lean protein and veggies, oatmeal or muesli with seeds and fruit, sweet potato with almond butter, or crackers and crudités with hard-boiled eggs.
If you tend to be a fast metabolizer and don’t have a sensitive digestive tract, you should consider a snack 1-2 hours before getting to the starting line consisting mostly of simple carbohydrates.
Examples include a banana with a tablespoon of nut butter, a piece of toast with jam, a low-sugar, natural granola bar or energy bar, or a handful of dried fruits and almonds.
This pre-race snack might fall in the 100-250 calorie range, depending on your body size.
Regardless of the time of day, hydrate well with water or a sports drink with electrolytes, aiming for pale yellow urine. If you have a sensitive stomach, avoid coffee or caffeine on the morning of the race unless you’re used to caffeine pre-run.
Finding what to eat before a 5K often requires a little experimentation. However, use your training runs and workouts to experiment with different combinations of foods and nutrient timing to see what feels best.
Now that you know what to eat before a 5K, how about a training plan to get you there? Check out our 5K training resources for whatever your goal may be.
