What to Eat the Night Before a Race, Whether You’re Running a 5K or a Marathon

You’ve been training for weeks, perhaps even months—and finally, the night before your big race arrives. Only one question remains: What should you eat that night so you’re prepared for tomorrow and can cross the finish line without any major fueling hiccups?

Whether you’re running a 5K, 10K, half marathon, or full marathon, what you eat leading up to the event—including your pre-race dinner—can significantly influence your performance and how you feel on the big day. Keep reading for tips from two seasoned marathoners on what to eat the night before a race to help you (pardon the pun) go the extra mile.

What to Eat the Night Before a 5K

What you eat the night before a 5K race will vary from what you should eat before longer distances, such as a half or full marathon. Still, it’s important to be mindful of your menu.

“As race day gets closer, you always need to be extra vigilant on what you’re eating and drinking,” says experienced marathoner and Peloton instructor Becs Gentry. “The night before the race, you should eat the meal you’ve been practicing eating before your long runs: the meal you know sits well in your belly and provides your body with the fuel it needs to complete the distance the next day.”

All things considered, you should keep your 5K menu simple and balanced. “Leading up to a 5K, you want to have some good fuel for those faster-twitch muscles to utilize,” Becs says, which includes easy-to-digest carbohydrates like potatoes and rice. You’ll also tap into your slow-twitch muscle fibers, which use fat in addition to carbs for fuel, so adding lean protein (such as chicken breast or tofu) can round out your meal. However, you won’t need to go all in on carb loading, which is ideal for races of 90 minutes or longer.

Hydration, too, is crucial, and paying attention to electrolytes can help balance fluid retention in your body. Becs prefers adding electrolyte supplements to one or two glasses of water daily starting a couple of days before a race and continuing straight to the morning of the big run.

Also important to note: Hydration needs will vary from one person to the next. One standard rule of thumb is to drink half your weight in ounces of water daily. Another, per the Mayo Clinic, is for men to have 15.5 cups of fluids and women to have 11.5 cups of fluids daily—yet these needs often increase for runners, athletes, and those who sweat a lot. At the same time, it’s important to avoid overhydration, which can strain the kidneys.

What to Eat the Night Before a 10K

What you should eat the night before a 10K won’t differ too much from your pre-5K meal plan. There’s typically no need to carb load, and a standard blend of carbs and lean protein at dinnertime should suffice to provide energy and fend off discomfort during the race. 

“Choose foods that are easily digestible, well-tolerated, and familiar to you for your pre-race dinner,” suggests Kristy Baumann, RD, a registered dietitian and marathoner who specializes in helping runners fuel before races. (This general rule applies across races of any length.)

However, you may want to add a pre-bedtime snack into the mix as a tasty insurance policy of sorts. “As the 10K is slightly longer, you may need some extra energy stores to pull from,” Becs explains. “My go-to snack is a toasted and buttered English muffin with peanut butter and banana or strawberry on top.”

Again, keeping tabs on your hydration status is also crucial. “Hydration-wise, it is the same for all distances,” Becs says. “You want to ensure your body is supported in every way, and adding electrolytes will cover that off for the additional sweat you are about to lose while running.”

What to Eat the Night Before a Half Marathon

If you have a half marathon on the books, your nutrition plan—for the night before, the days leading up to the race, and the weeks or months you’re training—will need some extra finessing. “As soon as you start training, you will start to adapt your nutrition to support your extra output,” Becs explains.

This is when carb loading will be immensely helpful. “Carbohydrate load leading into a half marathon can help you feel energized on race day,” Baumann says. “This helps to fully stock your glycogen (carbohydrate) stores, which is your primary source of fuel for your body and muscles.” 

As such, she recommends eating 8–12 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight daily for one to two days before a half marathon. (Following that guidance, a 150-pound runner would opt for 544–816 grams of carbs each day for a day or two before the race.) It’s also important to spread out your carb intake evenly between meals and snacks, rather than eating them all at once.

“Long-distance runners traditionally eat a lot of carbs to sustain energy over these high miles,” Becs says, which is why she recommends prioritizing carbs that will fuel you well on race day. Her pre-race meal of choice is actually a Hawaiian pizza, but Becs’s other go-tos include:

Meanwhile, she advises against eating carbs in the form of fried or processed foods. (Stay tuned for more pre-race foods to consider avoiding.)

That said, carbs don’t need to be the only food group to nourish your body before a half marathon. “I personally like to add in a decent amount of protein to give my muscles the recovery tools they need,” Becs says. This may include foods such as grilled chicken or plant-based protein options such as tofu or tempeh.

As always, don’t forget your handy duo of H2O and electrolytes. “Your need to keep on top of hydration is huge, especially as mileage and intensity increases,” Becs says.

What to Eat the Night Before a Marathon

Now, for the big one: a full marathon. Like with a half marathon, focus on your nutrition strategy not only the night before but also in the days leading up to your big race. As you get closer to the marathon, carb loading will be key.

“What you eat the two to three days before your marathon will determine if you ‘hit the wall’ or cross the finish line feeling energized,” Baumann says. “Eating simple, refined carbohydrate foods helps to fully stock your glycogen stores in your liver and muscles.” 

The carb-rich foods that make it onto her pre-race eating list include:

While these foods are often problematically deemed as “bad carbs” to steer clear of, Baumann clarifies that these simple carbs can serve a useful purpose in sports nutrition. “When glycogen stores are fully stocked [by eating these simple carbs], it provides up to 90–120 minutes worth of quick energy that your muscles can use,” she explains. In other words, you’ll be in prime condition to keep at it when the going gets tough in the later stages of your marathon.

“When athletes do a proper carbohydrate load for the first time, they are amazed at the difference it makes once they get to mile 20–22 in the marathon,” Baumann says. She speaks of clients who were able to shave as much as 20 minutes off their PRs solely by changing their nutrition strategy, which illustrates the power of a solid pre-race fueling plan.

More specifically, when it comes to what to eat the night before a marathon, broader dinner suggestions include:

In addition, Baumann generally suggests choosing electrolyte drinks with higher sodium levels to ‘hyper-hydrate’ the night before a marathon, as well as sipping on the same option on race-day morning. “If you’re a heavy or salty sweater or the weather on race day is looking warm, be intentional about adding extra salt to your food the days leading into your race,” she advises. (But as always, follow any individual dietary guidance from your doctor or dietitian.)

Foods and Drinks to Avoid the Night Before a Race

To ensure you can stay as comfortable and well-supported as possible on race day, there are a few foods and drinks generally worth avoiding the night before. Here are some of the main ones that have the potential to curb your stride:

1. High-Fiber Foods

While high-fiber foods are beneficial for gut health, metabolic health, heart health, and beyond, it’s best to steer clear of them right before your race. “Eating high-fiber foods such as lentil pasta and cruciferous vegetables—such as raw broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts—can increase bloating and digestive discomfort going into race day,” Baumann warns.

If you’re going to eat plant-based foods before your race, she recommends opting for lower-fiber alternatives, which include:

2. Fried or Fatty Foods

“Fried or fatty foods can sit in your stomach and slow down digestion, leaving you feeling sluggish during your race,” Baumann explains. As such, she recommends avoiding deep-fried foods (like French fries and fried chicken), fatty meats, and greasy burgers.

3. Spicy Foods

While some people will tolerate the heat better than others, it’s usually best to opt for more mild foods the night before a race. “Spicy foods can irritate the stomach lining, increasing the risk of acid reflux and heartburn,” Baumann cautions. “That’s the last thing you want to experience on race day.”

4. Large Portions

It’s ideal to avoid eating a huge pre-race dinner, especially before longer runs. “Eating large portions of food the night before a race can leave you feeling overly full, bloated, and uncomfortable on race day,” Baumann explains. On this point, she underscores the importance of being intentional about portioning out your food intake throughout the day, rather than trying to, say, squeeze all your carb loading into one single dinner the night before your race.

“I generally eat my big meal two days before the race in order to allow my body time to process the food,” Becs adds.

5. Alcohol

You don’t want to overdo it on alcohol the night before a race, as it risks dehydration, headaches, and (the horror!) even sleeping through the start time. 

However, some runners—Becs included—sometimes opt to treat themselves to a bit of vino the night before a race. “If you have alcohol, have a small glass—nothing more,” she recommends. Of course, everybody is different, so if you know that even a few sips will impair your sleep or throw you off track, it’s best to avoid alcohol entirely.

What Time Should You Eat the Night Before a Race?

“The timing of your pre-race dinner will vary depending on the distance of your race, personal preferences, and usual eating habits,” Baumann explains. That said, her general recommendation is to have your pre-race dinner about two to four hours before you go to bed, which allows enough time for proper digestion.

If you’re running a 5K or 10K, she says this eating window can be pushed back to two to three hours before bed. But for those who are running a half or full marathon—or those who choose to eat a carb-heavy dinner or late snack—she suggests building in a four-hour buffer time, at minimum, to allow your body time to digest before crawling under the covers.

Again, personal preferences (including your desired pre-race bedtime) will also factor into things. For instance, Becs says that she prefers to eat her dinner as early as possible before a big race, which gives her enough time to digest and hit the hay for a full night’s quality rest.

The Takeaway

The best practices for what to eat the night before a race will vary based on a handful of factors, most notably including how long the race is. Most often, a healthy balance of carbs and lean protein will do the trick. If you’re running a half or full marathon, consuming simple carbs will help ensure your glycogen stores are fully stocked to fuel you for the (literal) long run.

With these points in mind, both Becs and Baumann emphasize that your pre-race dietary regimen should start well before the evening before the big event.

For long-distance races especially, both seasoned marathoners suggest testing out your pre-race meal plan. “Before a long run or trial run, practice your pre-race dinner, [the] timing of your meals, and how you will fuel on race day morning,” Baumann advises. “Stick with foods you are familiar with and work well with you to feel prepared on race day.”

Moreover, staying hydrated for race day requires long-term effort and attention. “Your everyday hydration during the weeks and days leading into race day is what keeps you hydrated—not simply what you drink the night before or race day morning,” Baumann continues. She adds that electrolytes are non-negotiable leading up to the race, which will allow you to better absorb fluids.

If you need a friendly reminder to take these hydration heroes, Becs recommends integrating electrolytes into your pre-race routine. “Before you go to bed, put a spare glass of water on your nightstand with some electrolytes nearby, so as soon as you wake up you can pop it into the water and start race day super well,” she suggests. 

And remember, what to eat the night before a race is a personal decision. “These are food and hydration suggestions that I have discovered—through trial and error—that work for my body type,” Becs says, “so explore what works for you!”

This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute individualized advice. It is not intended to replace professional medical evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment. Seek the advice of your physician for questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition. If you are having a medical emergency, call your physician or 911 immediately.