What Runners Actually Eat When Carb Loading for Race Day

I always like to kick off the beginning of a race week with a standard routine. I pull out my hand-me-down Kitchen Aid mixer, preheat my oven, and spend hours whipping up my favorite foods and baked goods, ones perfect for my prerace carb load.Among my go-to homemade staples are chocolate chip banana bread, homemade Rice Krispie treats spruced up with funfetti cake mix, and even bagels. At dinner, I switch out the mixer for pots and pans to concoct pasta dishes. And once race day arrives, I step in my race corral knowing that I’ve got a full fuel tank, ready to take on the miles ahead of me.Because your body turns to carbohydrates—which get stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles—as your main source of energy, loading up on the macronutrient in the days ahead of your goal race helps ensure you hit the start line prepared for the demands of your race distance. Glycogen is the most easily accessible source of energy, and it’s what your body uses to efficiently power your more intense efforts like speedwork, tempo runs, and long-distance races.Support stronger miles with the right fuel. The Runner’s World Guide to Nutrition and Fueling provides you with expert advice on understanding your nutritional needs as a runner.The longer you run, the more glycogen you burn. Having adequate glycogen stored away in your body for races, especially ones that last longer than 90 minutes, can help you mitigate the energy depletion that occurs as the miles go by. “Proper carb loading—or filling your muscles to the brim with glycogen—won’t make you faster, but it will allow you to run your best, and, if you race smartly, avoid the wall,” Benjamin Rapoport, MD, PhD, a neurosurgeon, previously told Runner’s World.You can turn to plenty of carb-rich options to meet your needs, everything from rice to vegetables. And you don’t have to wait until the night before to top off your tank. Take a closer look at the foods you can turn to for a successful prerace carb load.Best Food Sources for Carb LoadingYou’ve likely already been consuming a large volume of carbohydrates to support your training mileage. But with the carb-loading period, you’ll want to increase your daily intake even more to stockpile glycogen for use on race day. Ideally, that should look like consuming at least 4 grams of carbs per pound of your bodyweight each day, at least two to three days before your race.But where should all of those grams of carbs come from? When you think of carb loading, a big pasta dinner may be the first meal that comes to mind, but filling up on spaghetti isn’t the only way to increase your glycogen levels.Some experts say they stick to the basics when it comes to their preferred sources of carbohydrates. “I’m very utilitarian,” Rapoport previously told Runner’s World. “I eat rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.” You can also turn to other healthy, nutrient-rich carb sources such as:Whole grainsSweet potatoes and other starchy vegetablesSprouted breadsFruit and dried fruit (but be wary of the fiber and sugar content closer to race day)But you don’t need to restrict yourself to whole foods and more complex carbs—especially in the prerace loading phase. Refined carbohydrates or simple carbs serve as smart, easy-to-digest choices for carb loading. Some examples include:White breadPancakesWafflesTortillasOatmealBagelsBecause they’re more easily absorbed, refined carbs convert into glycogen more quickly than complex carbohydrates like starchy vegetables, whole grains, and beans. So if you want to indulge in some banana bread and Rice Krispies like I do as part of your carb load, go right ahead!Timing what and how much you eat plays a crucial role in a successful carb load. Two to three days before your race, swap out some of the fats and proteins in your diet for more carbs, and prioritize the macronutrient in both your meals and snacks.The day before you toe the starting line, keep your meal portions normal in size, but rich in carbs and lower in protein, fat, and fiber. Finally, on race morning, eat 2 to 3 grams of carbs per kilogram of bodyweight at breakfast three hours before your start time to top off those glycogen levels. For a 130-pound female, that would be about 118 to 177 grams of carbs, which could look like:Bagel, peanut butter, banana, and a sports drinkPancakes with syrupOatmeal, toast, and a sports drinkThat may seem like a lot of carbs to consume, but when you find the foods that make your body feel the best, you’ll likely enjoy both the process and the results on race day.My best-executed carb load to date came before my last marathon, and I credit that to prioritizing foods I like, refusing to shy away from refined carbs, and ramping up my carbohydrate diet three days before my race. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that I crossed the finish line with a shiny new marathon PR.Foods to AvoidThe last thing you want as you navigate the race course is a heavy stomach, or constant stops at the porta-potty. A smart carb-loading plan can help you avoid the dreaded midrace bathroom breaks and feel strong through the finish line.You won’t want to make the same mistake Michael Scott does on The Office by downing a huge plate of fettuccine Alfredo as part of your carb loading. Though pasta provides plenty of carbs, a creamy sauce spells trouble for your digestive tract. Foods high in fat such as butter, oils, and cheese fill you up and take much longer to digest than carbohydrates, as do protein-rich foods. If you load up on high-fat food sources the night before or morning of your race, you may notice a heavy feeling in your gut or GI issues while out on the course.Now, you don’t have to completely avoid foods higher in fat and protein during your carb-loading phase, but dial back your intake in the hours before your race to keep any GI concerns at bay. You should also stick to what you know, and not introduce any new carb sources or other foods into your diet immediately before race day.And although fruits are packed with carbs and a great source of other nutrients important for runners, they’re also full of fiber and fructose, which could upset your stomach and lead to GI issues if consumed too close to your race start. You can eat fruits and other fiber-rich foods in small quantities during most of your carb-loading period, but consider skipping the fruit bowl on race morning. I almost always eat berries with my breakfast each morning—key word almost—but I purposefully leave them out of my prerace meal (and, knock on wood, I haven’t experienced a midrace sour stomach).The Bottom LineCarb loading doesn’t have to feel like a chore. Incorporate your favorite carb-rich foods into your meals in the days leading up to your big race, and you’ll likely find some enjoyment in the process. Food is fuel, and embracing that mentality leading into race day can pay off in the form of a sustainable race execution, well-paced race, or an effort that feels strong.Ashley is Editor of Content Hype at Hearst’s Enthusiast & Wellness Group. She is a former collegiate runner at UNC Asheville where she studied mass communication. Ashley loves all things running; she has raced two marathons, plus has covered some of the sport’s top events in her career, including the Paris Olympics, U.S. Olympic Trials and multiple World Marathon Majors.