RACE
DAY
The morning meal of race day is vital. The food you consume prior to your race will be an
important part of your actual race fuel
It’s best to consume a meal which will provide you stability and give you the energy requirements
you need during the event. This meal should be a sustainable meal carbs, protein and fat in the
mix. It should be a meal that does not spike your blood glucose levels but provides balance. If you
are caffeine intolerant you will be able to benefit from taking in caffeine at this point.
Your meal should be consumed at least 2 hours before the event and have a volume of around
+-400 Calories. It’s recommended to look at the following types of meals as a pre-endurance
event meal of course it’s a matter of preference and taste.
- Rolled Oats, Peanut or Almond butter, Half Banana (aim for +-400 calories)
- Low GI bread such as Rye, Oats or Seed Load, Peanut or Almond Butter, Honey Banana
- Low GI cereal or porridge with some fruit and nut butter.
- Sweet Potato, Brown rice or Quinoa with peanut butter, soya milk banana and some honey
- Oatmeal Pancakes
- Eggs on toast
When heading off to transition always carry a little snack with you and a drink to ensure you keep
your levels topped up before the event. Don’t take in too much fluid as the bladder becomes
loaded. It’s recommend to have some light snacking with little sips of fluid in between.
One should not consume anything heavy within 60 minutes of the race start as swimming with
food in the stomach can cause digestive discomfort.
There is a lot of advocating by some companies to consume heavy or blood glucose spiking
products just before the event starts to maximize liver glycogen levels.
We are against this, as it’s NOT a sprint or Olympic distant event where you will hit a high level of
pace closer to anaerobic threshold.
The best way to spare glycogen in an endurance event is proper carb consumption and to use
your fat stores as energy and this is done by correct pacing and consuming the correct foods to
insure your insulin spike is not excessive. Fat will be your main natural fuel for the day, never forget
that in an endurance event.
Secondly, consuming a high GI concentrated solution requires a minimum amount of liquid to
ensure a proper dilution ratio to minimize the risk of GI distress on the stomach. This is not really
appropriate before the swim as it can fill the bladder up making it uncomfortable.
RACE DAY | FUEL GUIDE