As a running coach, I’ve seen it time and time again: a runner trains smart, puts in the miles, nails the workouts—only to have their race day derailed by stomach issues. Few things are more frustrating than dealing with GI distress, cramps, or side stitches after all your hard work.
Your pre-race breakfast plays a huge role in how you feel on the course. It needs to strike a balance—enough to fuel your effort and keep your energy steady, but not so much that you feel heavy, nauseous, or bloated.
The right pre-race meal looks a little different for everyone, but there are some tried-and-true guidelines that help most runners avoid bonking or bathroom emergencies.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through what to eat before a race so you can toe the line feeling confident, energized, and ready to chase your goal.
What Should I Eat Before a Race?
If you ask five runners what they eat before a race, you’ll likely hear a range of answers—“a bagel,” “toast with jam,” “a banana and peanut butter,” “oatmeal,” or “an energy bar.”
The specific choices may differ, but the takeaway is clear: most runners develop personal go-to options that sit well in their stomach and deliver steady energy.
Still, a common theme runs through most of these choices—carbohydrates. Pre-race meals tend to focus on easily digestible carbs, often as part of a broader carb-loading strategy.
Carbohydrates are the body’s preferred fuel source during exercise, especially for higher-intensity efforts. They break down quickly to produce ATP, the energy your muscles need to perform at their best.
On the other hand, fats take significantly longer to convert into usable energy through aerobic metabolic pathways. This is a major reason why runners experience the dreaded “wall” during long-distance races.
When your body depletes its available muscle and liver glycogen stores—typically around 1,500 to 2,000 calories of stored carbohydrates—it’s forced to rely more heavily on fat for fuel.
However, the process of converting stored fat into ATP is much slower than using carbohydrates, meaning your muscles can’t meet the same energy demands. As a result, your pace naturally slows because your body simply can’t generate energy fast enough.
This is why runners tackling longer distances, like the half marathon or marathon, need to pay close attention to their pre-race meal. A high-carbohydrate breakfast helps fully replenish glycogen stores and ensures your energy levels are topped off.
It’s especially important because much of your liver glycogen—and some muscle glycogen—is depleted overnight during sleep, leaving you with an empty stomach come race morning.
Another reason glucose and carbohydrates are the focus in most pre-race meals and snacks is that they are digested quicker and more easily than high-fat and high-protein foods.
You don’t want to step on the starting line with a full stomach.
Once you start exercising, the digestive system slows significantly,1PETERS, H. P. F. (2001). Potential benefits and hazards of physical activity and exercise on the gastrointestinal tract. Gut, 48(3), 435–439. https://doi.org/10.1136/gut.48.3.435 basically to the point of stopping unless you are running at a very low intensity (which is likely not the case during a big race!).
The body shunts blood away from the digestive tract and diverted towards the working muscles in order to ensure they have the oxygen and nutrients they need to support your activity.
As a result, any undigested food sitting in the stomach or intestines will remain undigested, waiting for blood flow to the digestive system to resume after exercise.
If you eat a pre-race meal that takes a while to digest, such as fried foods, lean protein, or leafy veggies, you’ll be stuck with a full stomach when you’re trying to race. This can lead to nausea, bloating, indigestion, diarrhea, gas, and simply feeling sluggish and heavy, weighed down by all of your food.
Moreover, if your pre-race breakfast hasn’t been fully digested, you won’t have all of the nutrients and energy available during your run.
In other words, your fueling won’t be available; it’s stuck in a holding pattern rather than circulating in the blood to be used by the muscles for energy generation.
The gastric emptying rate is also slower for meals that are high-fat, high-protein, and/or high-fiber.
For this reason, when deciding on your nutrition strategy pre-workout or pre-race, focus on simple carbs and complex carbs, while also keeping it low-fat, fiber, and protein.
The only exception to this would be if you are doing an ultramarathon where you plan to run quite slowly but for a long time. In this case, your muscles may be relying more heavily on fat for fuel; plus, if you’re running rather slowly, your digestive system will be working a bit more effectively.
It’s important to note that it also takes longer to fully digest a high-calorie meal, so you don’t want to overdo it in terms of pre-race calories.
Have enough energy to support your race distance, but not so much that it’s an enormous pre-race meal.
As mentioned, the body stores about 1,500-2,000 calories in the form of glycogen (which is about 400 grams of carbohydrates), and even if you are very lean, you probably have tens of thousands of calories of energy available as body fat.
Depending on your race distance and how many hours before you are running, you eat your pre-race meal; the general rule is you may need anywhere from 300-800 calories.
The closer it is before your race, the more important it becomes to eat just simple carbs that digest quickly and easily.
For example, if you are having your pre-race breakfast 2-3 hours before you race, you can aim for a more substantial meal with complex carbohydrates and a little bit of protein and fat.
If you only have an hour or so until the gun goes off, the best foods to focus on should be high in simple carbohydrates like a banana, granola, energy gels, or sips of a sports drink (with electrolytes if it’s hot out).
In both cases, again, it’s a good idea to limit fiber because it slows digestion and can cause digestive distress while running.
Although foods like vegetables, legumes, and high-fiber whole-grain cereals are ideal for everyday nutrition, before a race you want low-fiber carbohydrates like bread, oatmeal, or bagels.
What To Eat Before A Race: 10 Pre-Race Ideas
Now that we’ve covered some of the basics, let’s look at some ideas for what to eat before a race:
#1: Oatmeal
Oatmeal, or porridge, is one of the most common go-tos for what to eat before a race.
It is satisfying pre-race breakfast and strikes the perfect balance of having the right type of carbohydrates without too much fiber.
You can doctor it up with fruit, nuts, seeds, and plant-based milk, but don’t go overboard with toppings that might upset your stomach.
The longer your race, the more you may want to add some nuts, seeds, or coconut so that the oatmeal is filling for longer.
#2: Hot Cereals
Cream of wheat, one of my childhood favorites, and grits are also great hot cereal options to eat before a race, especially if you’re looking for something warm, simple, and easy to digest.
Both are high in carbohydrates and low in fat and fiber, which helps provide steady energy without causing digestive issues. You can customize them with add-ins like a spoonful of honey, sliced banana, or a dash of cinnamon for extra flavor and fuel.
#3: Cereal and Milk
Cold cereal with milk—or a plant-based alternative—can also make a great pre-race breakfast.
Opt for low-sugar, whole-grain cereals that are low in fiber to keep digestion easy and energy steady. If you’re short on time, a small serving of dry cereal like Cheerios, Chex, or Kix can be a quick, gentle option to fuel your run without weighing you down.
#4: Fruit and Nut Butter
Some runners with very sensitive stomachs—especially those racing shorter distances like a 5K—may opt for a simple piece of fruit, such as a banana or orange. Plain fruit is also a great option when you have less than an hour before your run and need something light and easy to digest.
For a bit more staying power, pairing fruit with a small amount of nut or seed butter (like peanut, almond, or sunflower seed butter) can help you feel fuller longer.
Just keep in mind that because nut butters contain fat, it’s best to allow at least 90 minutes to 2 hours before racing to ensure proper digestion.
#5: Toast or Bagel With Nut Butter
Any combination of toast with nut butter or fruit/jam can be a great pre-race meal.
Simple, carb-rich pairings like a bagel with peanut butter, toast with banana and almond butter, crackers with jelly and peanut butter, or an English muffin with butter and jam are all solid choices.
The longer your race and the more time you have to digest, the more calories—and a bit more fat—you can comfortably include.
#6: Energy Bar
An energy bar makes a great pre-race snack because it should digest quickly and is portable, which is good if you’re driving to the race start.
#7: Fig Newtons
Fig Newtons are energy-dense and digest fairly easily, making them a convenient pre-run snack.
They’re rich in simple and complex carbohydrates, which help provide quick fuel for your muscles while also offering a bit of staying power. Their soft texture makes them easy on the stomach, and because they come in individually portioned servings, they’re easy to pack and eat on the go.
#8: Dried Fruit
If you don’t like the feeling of having anything heavy in your stomach, you can try dried fruit before your race. You will still get lots of carbohydrates, but won’t have to deal with the bulkiness of fresh food.
Raisins, craisins, dried apples, dried pineapple, dates, dried apricots, and figs all work well for many runners.
#9: Smoothie
Fruit smoothies made with ingredients like bananas, almond milk or coconut water, berries, and yogurt are a fantastic pre-race option because they offer a balance of carbohydrates, fluids, and electrolytes in one easy-to-digest package.
#10: Waffles
Waffles or pancakes can also be a great pre-race meal, especially when you need a reliable source of energy-sustaining carbohydrates that won’t upset your stomach.
They’re typically low in fiber, fat, and protein—meaning they digest relatively quickly and provide steady fuel without weighing you down.
What do you like to eat before a race?
If you are looking to improve your overall nutrition, check out this next guide:
