Do Women Need More Protein During Menopause?
August 26, 2025
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What’s the one thing your race nutrition is missing? It depends on the person, but generally speaking, the one thing an athlete’s race nutrition is missing is planning.
A lot of athletes focus on what to eat during their race day, or what to eat just before race day. But the foods you’re eating in the weeks and days leading up to race day are also important in helping you reach your peak performance level. Not to mention the importance of your post-race nutrition so your body can recover.
Let’s dive into how to plan your training and race nutrition from the months before to the day of your race.
If you’re looking to test out new ways of eating, pre-run meals, or fuelling techniques, now is the time to do so. You have lots of time to adjust your strategies if certain foods or brands do not work well for you, particularly when combined with strenuous exercise.
If you’re unsure where to begin, we suggest strategies such as: follow Canada’s Food Guide, enjoy foods that your body can easily digest, and ensure you’re getting enough carbohydrates, fats, and protein. An example of what this looks like is outlined in Canada’s Food Guide where it suggests half of your plate should be a variety of colourful vegetables, and the other half should be equally divided between lean proteins and whole grains. If your training sessions are longer and more intense (greater than 1hr), consider increasing your lean proteins and whole grain amounts.
As you prepare for race day, it’s important at this point to have a pretty good idea of what nutrition works for your body for the distance you’re able to run. Now is not the time to try new diets; rather than trying a lot of new foods or drastically changing your macronutrient ratios, stick to what you know works well with your body and perhaps test out your nutrition routine during a training session. To properly do this, try and mimic race day; eat the same meal the night before you intend to, wake-up at approximately the same time as you will on race morning, and eat the breakfast you plan on having. Then head out and do your training run at roughly the same time the race will be starting, to see how your body is feeling. At this point, if anything feels off, tweak your routine accordingly.
Think of the day before your race as an opportunity to prepare your body by providing enough fuel for the distance and duration you’re able to run.
Slightly increase your carbohydrate intake with bread, pasta, or rice to provide your body with its main energy source. Ensure you’re hydrating throughout the day with water and electrolytes.
We recommend avoiding anything heavy on your stomach – like a big steak (unless you have a stomach of steel and can handle it!). Stick to foods you normally eat while slightly increasing the carbohydrates.
About 2-3 hours before your race, eat a snack that contains complex carbohydrates, moderate protein, and low fat.
Carbohydrates are your main energy source, protein will preserve and build muscle, while fat will slow down digestion and could even cause stomach discomfort during an intense race.
Examples of good pre-race foods are:
It’s also very important to hydrate with water before your race, as dehydration can impair your performance. Aim for about 500mL (16 ounces) of water two hours before your race, and another 250 mL (8 ounces) 15 minutes before.
Depending on your race length and average times, your race may be more or less than an hour.
A good rule of thumb is that if your race lasts less than an hour, you don’t need to eat anything during your race, as long as you ate well before. However, if your race is longer than an hour or on very intense terrain, you can replenish your carbohydrates and electrolytes to stave off fatigue and dehydration.
You can do this by drinking a sports drink that contains carbohydrates, sodium, and potassium, or by eating a small snack that is easy to digest, such as:
Aim for about 30-60 grams of carbohydrates per hour of exercise, depending on your body weight and the race’s intensity. You should also drink some water regularly during your race, about 4-8 ounces every 15-20 minutes.
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