Race Day Nutrition Guide
This is a guide on how to approach nutrition leading up to a race or main event. Its important to refine it to your own individual needs and foods, but its the basis to ensure that optimise glycogen stores and reduce other influential factors that may have a negative impact to performance.
Race Day -2
Race Day -2: (lunch time onwards)
LOW FIBRE – as little as possible/without veggies, legumes, dried fruits, seeds, nuts, whole grain foods.
Lunch: Moderate CHO intake. Approx. 1.5g/kg of CHO approx. ½ to ¾ + approx. 25g of lean quality protein or approx. ¼ of plate. Include some low oil sauce or dressing for flavour and/or a smoothie.
Dinner: Moderate CHO intake. Approx. 1.5g/kg of CHO approx. ½ to ¾ of plate + approx. 25g of lean quality protein or approx. ¼ of plate. Include some low oil sauce or dressing for flavour.
Race Day -1
Race Day -1: Pre-race/course recce
It’s important to eat plenty of carbs today with low fat and fibre. Include these at each meal, but there is no need to stuff yourself, try get the majority of intake throughout the day then you can have a light-ish dinner and no need to over fill yourself on any of the meals. Below is an approximate guide using the plate diagram, but stick to foods you are familiar with.
Breakfast: High CHO + 20g of quality low-fat proteins.
Example
- Cooked rice/rice pudding + a fructose source such as honey/jam or cacao + at least 1 glass of Juice or Ice- tea + quality proteins (like scoop of whey).
- White/toast bread with jam/honey + juice + banana + quality proteins (like low fat yogurt)
- Cornflakes/cereal with low- fat/protein milk + fresh fruits + juice (+ quality proteins).
Lunch: High CHO + 20g of (low-fat) quality protein.
Example
- White rice, pasta, couscous, gnocchi etc with lean protein (turkey, white fish, LF cottage cheese, Tofu + a fructose source (fresh fruit, juice). If you want, you can include some tomato sauce or non oily dressing such as low sodium soy sauce.
1x Snack: 1 g/kg of CHO
Example:
- White bread/toast/bagel + jam/honey, and/or gummy sweets (Haribo) + juice.
Recovery drink/meal (within first 20 min after the training/course recce)
Example
- 0.8-1g/kg CHO + 25g protein. (If you don’t have a protein containing meal within 1 hour, add some quality proteins to the recovery meal, but then adjust (reduce) the amount at the next meal.
Dinner: High CHO + 20g of (low-fat) quality proteins.
- White rice, pasta, couscous, gnocchi etc with lean protein (turkey, white fish, LF cottage cheese, Tofu + a fructose source (fresh fruit, juice). If you want, you can include some tomato sauce or non oily dressing such as low sodium soy sauce.
Race Day
Big breakfast (3-4h prior if possible): High CHO (~2-4g/kg) + 20g of quality low-fat proteins.
If its an early race and you need to eat in the 2h prior no need to go heavy with the carbs as most of the glycogen storage will have been done the day before. Same composition applies.
Example
- Cooked rice/rice pudding + a fructose source such as honey/jam or cacao + at least 1 glass of Juice or Ice- tea + quality proteins (like scoop of whey).
- White/toast bread with jam/honey + juice + banana + quality proteins (like low fat yogurt)
- Cornflakes/cereal with low- fat/protein milk + fresh fruits + juice (+ quality proteins).
**2-4g/kg does not mean just carbs from solid food, but also from juice/fluids, honey, syrup etc.
1x Snack: 1-2 g/kg of CHO (optional if racing in the afternoon 2-3h prior)
Example:
- White bread/toast/bagel + jam/honey, and/or gummy sweets (Haribo) + juice.
Warm-up: 40g of CHO If, possible have 5-10 min before the start one gel.
RACE: 15g of CHO on every 15 min OR (90g over the course of the race)
Recovery drink/meal as soon as possible after the race: 1 g/kg of CHO + 25-30g of quality proteins
Eat good quality and no need for as many carbs the rest of the day.