What & When to Eat the Week Before a Marathon

After months of training, your marathon is now just a few days away. There is a lot to consider in the days before your race, not least of which is your diet.

Studies have shown that a well-planned food schedule can significantly impact marathon performance. So, taking the time to think about your meals can really pay off.

In this blog, you will learn about why marathon food preparation is important, how to prepare, plus examples of food you can eat on a day by day basis.

Why it's important to think about food the week before a marathon

Thinking about what and when you will eat in the seven days before a marathon is important for a number of reasons.

The week before a marathon is often known as the ‘tapering period’. In most conventional marathon training plans, you will significantly reduce the distance you run during this week. The aim here is to give your body time to relax and allow glycogen stores in your muscles to build up. Glycogen is essentially a source of energy in your muscles, and you can build glycogen levels up by eating more carbohydrates. That will mean you will have more energy reserves for the race day itself.

Other reasons to think about your pre-marathon food include:

• Can help avoid emergency bathroom visits

• Avoids unnecessary weight gain

• Helps with feeling mentally prepared

Marathon prep: Read our marathon running gear checklist

Experimenting with diet in advance

The ideal for pre-marathon eating is to experiment with your foods a few weeks in advance. We know that this isn't always possible, but if you do have a month or so left before the marathon, take the opportunity to test different meal plans. Try out different foods before your longer training runs to figure out what kind of meal does - and doesn't - help with your running.

For instance, some people find that they can eat most types of food before a long run, while others find that certain meals leave them bloated or lethargic. 

What foods should you eat before a marathon?

Here’s our breakdown of the kinds of foods you should eat in the week before your marathon.

Days 7-5

This is the beginning of your tapering period. At this stage, your goal is to increase the amount of carbohydrates you consume as a proportion of your regular meals. The goal here is to increase glycogen levels in your muscles. 

What you don't want to do, however, is to gain weight. Rather than simply eating more food overall, you need to make sure that the proportion of carbohydrates in your diet is higher than usual, while the proportion of fats, proteins, and roughage is lower.

As a very rough rule of thumb, on days 7-5, you should be eating about six grams of carbohydrate for every kilogram you weigh. For example, someone who weighs 60 kilograms, should be eating about 360 grams of carbohydrates per day.

Example meal plan:

• Breakfast. Muesli with a small amount of milk or yoghurt

• Lunch. Sandwich on wholemeal bread with smoked salmon and cream cheese

• Dinner. Baked potato with beans and cheese

• Snack. Baked protein cookie

Days 4-2

As your tapering period continues, you will want to gradually increase the proportion of carbohydrates in each meal. If, for example, about half your diet was coming from carbohydrates before, now aim for around 60%.

Example meal plan:

• Breakfast: Porridge with honey

• Lunch: Brown rice with roast chicken and broccoli

• Dinner: Poached salmon with new potatoes and salad

• Snacks. Cereal bar

The day before

During the final day before your marathon, you want to continue eating high levels of carbohydrates, while also cutting out most roughage, fats, red meats and fried foods. You don't want to have much fibre in your diet at this stage, to avoid any urgent loo breaks in the middle of your race.

Example meal plan:

• Breakfast: Toast with honey

• Lunch: Seafood risotto

• Dinner: Pasta with pesto

• Snacks: Rice based cereal bars

What to eat for breakfast before a marathon

On the day of your marathon, aim to eat a light breakfast at least two to three hours before the starting gun. This will give your body enough time to digest your breakfast. Most people opt for a light meal containing complex carbohydrates that release energy slowly. Example marathon breakfasts include things like:

• A wholemeal bagel with peanut butter

• Wholegrain cereal such as muesli or granola with skimmed milk

• Porridge with honey

What foods to avoid before a marathon

When it comes to foods to avoid before a marathon, the most important thing is to avoid eating anything you’re not used to.

Everyone is different, but in general:

• Reduce the amount of foods you eat that contain a lot of roughage (such as fruits, vegetables, beans, and other pulses)

• Avoid any high fat foods including fried foods, fatty cuts of meat and oily meals

• Avoid having large or heavy meals that make you feel bloated – especially the night before the race

• Avoid eating red meats in the 24 hours before your marathon

• Many people find that spicy foods affect their digestion

Finally, while all high carb foods are good, those containing complex carbs (which release energy more slowly and steadily) are best. This includes things like brown rice, oats, and wholewheat cereals.

By thinking about the food you eat before your race, you can improve your overall performance and feel comfortable throughout the marathon.