What to Eat Before A run To Maximize Your Mileage
So, what exactly do you eat before a run? What are the best food combinations? What food to avoid before a run? These are critical questions asked by runners. So, in today’s article, we will answer these questions and discuss important concepts and evidence-based information. The purpose is to help you make the most of your running sessions.
Just to give you a quick overview, you can fuel up on complex carbs and protein for 60-90 minutes pre-run to maximize running mileage. Oatmeal, whole grain toast with peanut butter, banana, eggs, and Greek yogurt provides slow-burning carbs and lean protein for steady energy. Hydrating with 16-20 oz of water or a sports drink boosts endurance.
Nutrient-dense choices like smoothies, sandwiches, and nutrition bars spare muscle glycogen, so you hit further distances without hitting the wall. Proper pre-run food keeps your tank full, so you log more miles before eating again.
What to Consume Before a Run in the Morning
Running in the morning can provide a great start to your day by boosting energy, mental clarity, and focus. However, without the right food, an early morning run may leave you feeling sluggish, lightheaded, or with an upset stomach. Eating the optimal pre-run meal is essential to power you through your workout comfortably and efficiently.
What does a balanced, smart early morning pre-run meal look like? Try combining complex carbs, protein, and fluids. Here are some examples:
• Toast with peanut butter plus banana slices and Greek yogurt.
• Oatmeal topped with nuts, chia seeds, and berries, plus an egg white omelet and tea.
• Quinoa bowl with almond milk, nuts, sliced fruit, and water.
Consume Slow-Release Carbs
Carbohydrates are the primary macronutrient that improves aerobic exercise like running. Choosing the suitable types of carbs that provide a slow, steady release of glucose into your bloodstream is key. Carbs help deliver sustainable energy and prevent blood sugar spikes and crashes. Good complex carb choices include:
Oatmeal: Steel-cut or old-fashioned oats provide an excellent source of slow-burning carbs. Top with fruit, nuts, or seeds for extra nutrition. Avoid instant-flavored oatmeal with lots of added sugar.
Whole grain toast with nut butter: Opt for 100% whole grains like whole wheat or seeded bread. Pair with peanut, almond, or another nut butter for protein and healthy fats.
Banana: Bananas contain complex carbs and potassium to assist muscular contractions and hydration status. They are easily digested.
Quinoa: This whole grain is higher in protein than most other grains, supplying all essential amino acids. It has a low glycemic index, resulting in a gradual release of carbs.
Drink Plenty of Water
Being well-hydrated is crucial before any physical activity, especially first thing in the morning after losing fluids overnight. Drink about 16-20 oz of water or unsweetened tea at least 30 minutes before your run. Sports drinks with electrolytes can also help hydrate. Avoid coffee and sugary juices, which are dehydrating.
Eat Lean Proteins
A 2022 study published by NCBI states that consuming a source of lean, high-quality protein before an early run has several advantages. Protein helps maintain muscle mass when running, which burns calories. It also keeps you feeling fuller for longer while supplying steady energy. Good protein choices include:
Eggs: Boiled, poached, or scrambled eggs work well. The protein in eggs may also enhance running performance.
Greek yogurt: Choose plain, unsweetened varieties. Greek yogurt provides protein, probiotics, and calcium. Top with fruit, nuts, and seeds.
Nut or seed butter: Almond, cashew, and sunflower seed butter offer plant-based protein options. Have it on whole-grain toast or fruit.
Cottage cheese: Low-fat or non-fat cottage cheese packs a protein punch. Top your bowl with fruit, flaxseed, and cinnamon.
Prioritize Light, Digestible Foods
A common mistake runners make is eating a large, heavy meal before running. This diverts blood from your muscles to your gut to help digestion. It can also lead to cramping, an urge to use the bathroom, or nausea.
Stick to lighter meals that are more rapidly digested and absorbed. Great options include smoothies made with fruit, veggies, and protein powder. Fruit and yogurt parfaits are also generally well tolerated.
When to Eat Before Morning Runs
A pre-run meal 60 to 90 minutes prior works well for most runners. This gives enough time for your body to digest and convert the foods to glucose while preventing hunger pangs. However, everyone has different digestive capabilities. Test out the optimal timing and food combinations for your individual needs. When you head out the door, you want nutrients circulating but not still sitting heavily in your stomach.
Foods for Runners to Avoid
Proper nutrition is critical for runners. The right diet provides the necessary macronutrients and micronutrients to increase energy for workouts, build endurance, speed recovery, and prevent injury. However, some common foods can wreak havoc on running performance. Knowing which foods to limit or avoid around training sessions is essential.
• Avoid fried and fatty foods which take longer to digest.
• Limit sugary snacks and beverages that cause extreme blood sugar spikes.
• Reduce dairy intake right before running if you experience GI troubles.
• Go easy on high-fiber foods a few hours pre-run to prevent intestinal issues.
• Choose leaner protein sources like egg whites, poultry breast, or tofu over fatty red meats.
• Enjoy spicy cuisine in moderation if you know you tolerate spice well.
• Limit caffeine to what you know your body handles comfortably.
• Abstain from alcohol, especially before key workouts and races.
Fried and Greasy Foods
Fried foods like french fries, chicken nuggets, and potato chips seem tempting for the quick energy they provide. However, these fatty foods sit heavily in the stomach and take longer to digest.
Blood flow is diverted to the gut to handle these dense calories rather than powering your working muscles. This leads to feelings of sluggishness and gastrointestinal distress. Pass on the fast food and opt for lighter, nutrient-dense carb sources instead.
Sugary Foods and Beverages
Simple carbohydrates from sweets like candy, cookies, sodas, and sports drinks provide rapid spikes in blood glucose. You may get a quick burst of energy from these sugary snacks, followed by an inevitable crash later.
Such extreme blood sugar highs and lows can leave you feeling shaky, irritable, tired, and unfocused during a run. Always check labels for added sugars, even in “healthy” snacks like granola bars. Limit sugary foods around workouts.
Dairy
Lactose intolerance is common among runners, making dairy problematic. But even if you usually tolerate dairy well, consuming large amounts immediately before running can be challenging to digest.
This may lead to unpleasant GI issues. While dairy foods like milk, cheese, and ice cream can be included in moderation in a runner’s diet, limit intake within an hour or two preceding exercises.
High Fiber Foods
Fiber is essential to a runner’s balanced diet, promoting gut health and steady energy levels. However, some high-fiber foods like beans, lentils, vegetables, and whole grains take longer for your body to break down. Eating large volumes of fiber too close to running may lead to unpleasant intestinal gas, bloating, cramping, and the necessity for frequent bathroom stops.
High Fat Foods
While healthy fats are important in a runner’s diet, consuming high-fat foods before working out can be problematic. Foods like red meat, sausages, bacon, dark meat poultry with skin, whole milk dairy, and fried items require longer digestion times.
Blood flow is shunted toward your stomach and away from working muscles. This may lead to stitch pain, nausea, or even vomiting for some athletes. Go for leaner protein sources before running instead.
Too Much Spicy
Some runners enjoy spicy meals and experience no adverse effects even close to race time. However, for others, spicy chili peppers and other savory seasonings may irritate the stomach lining or intestines.
So, this can prompt urgent bathroom stops or general GI discomfort when running. While tolerances vary quite a bit, it’s wise to avoid experimenting with highly spicy foods right before training runs or races, especially during warm weather.
Caffeine
Many runners rely on coffee, energy drinks, or pre-workout supplements for the performance boost caffeine provides. In moderation, caffeine improves speed, endurance, and mental alertness.
However, excessive intake too close to running may overstimulate the nervous system and digestive tract. Symptoms like anxiety, tremors, heart palpitations, frequent urination, or loose stools may impact running comfort and efficiency.
Alcohol
Avoid alcohol consumption close to runs. Alcohol is dehydrating and may impair coordination, judgment, endurance, and recovery. Even small amounts can hinder running economy and performance. While an occasional drink may be fine during off days, abstain before key workouts or racing.
Eating Right Before a Run for Energy
Eating properly before running is vital for maintaining energy, power, and stamina throughout your workout. The proper nutrients provide the calories and micronutrients to energize your muscles while avoiding hunger, fatigue, or gastrointestinal issues while running.
Eat Fiber-Rich Foods
According to the National Library of Medicine, consuming fiber-rich complex carbs that break down slowly helps provide a steady supply of glucose to working muscles over a sustained time period. This prevents energy crashes later in your run.
Some great high-fiber energy sources include oatmeal, quinoa, brown rice, whole-grain pasta, beans, lentils, fruits, and starchy vegetables. The fiber helps you feel fuller longer while slowing the rate of carb digestion and glucose release for maximum endurance.
Combine Carbs and High-Quality Protein
Pairing fiber-rich complex carbs with a source of lean protein makes an optimal food combination before running. The protein further delays gastric emptying to maintain steady energy levels longer while preventing fatigue later.
It also helps maintain muscle mass during endurance activities. Enjoy beans, lentils, edamame, tofu, nuts, or whole grains like quinoa for quality plant-based proteins. Eggs, turkey, fish, and Greek yogurt also work well.
Time Your Pre-Run Meal
Properly timing your pre-run meal and allowing complete digestion helps prevent stitch pain, cramping, nausea, and urgencies to use the bathroom mid-run. That said, you also want to avoid starting on an empty tank.
Most runners do well when they eat a light meal roughly 60-90 minutes before shorter, easier runs and at least 2 hours before longer endurance workouts. Pay attention to your body’s signals.
Eat Familiar Foods
While gels, chews, beans, plant proteins, or bars work for some runners, they may cause GI distress in others. Stick to familiar foods and fluids you know your body handles well under exertion. Race day is not the time for experimentation. Here are a few food combinations:
• Oatmeal topped with nuts/seeds, maple syrup, fruit + electrolyte drink.
• Sweet potato toast with nut butter + hard-boiled egg whites + herbal tea.
• Bean burrito with whole grain tortilla, veggies, salsa + water.
• Smoothie bowl with milk, banana, nut butter + juice. • Whole grain bagel thin with turkey + Greek yogurt + sports drink.
Eat Right for Your Run Distance and Intensity
Energy needs differ based on running speed, duration, and personal capabilities. The longer or more intense the run, the earlier you need to eat. This ensures complete digestion and full muscle glycogen stores to start. For most people:
• Easy runs under 60 minutes: Eat 60-90 minutes pre-run.
• Endurance runs over 90 minutes: Eat 2-3 hours pre-run.
• Sprint or race-pace runs: Eat at least 90 minutes before.
Pay attention to your individual gut responses. Also, focus on your energy needs for different run types and eat accordingly. With the proper science-backed nutrition, you’ll notice more consistent energy stores, better gains, and faster recovery between challenging workouts.
Post-Run Eating & Recovery
What you consume after intense or long runs helps determine how quickly your body replenishes energy stores and repairs exercised muscles. Follow these post-run nutrition tips:
Replenish glycogen: Enjoy carb and protein-rich foods like Greek yogurt with berries, a peanut butter sandwich, or sweet potato with black beans and avocado.
Rehydrate: Drink 16-24 oz of water or sports drink for every pound lost through sweat. Rebuild muscles: Consume 15-25 grams of protein like eggs, fish, chicken, pork tenderloin, Greek yogurt, or protein powder within 45 minutes post-run.
Reduce inflammation: Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables high in antioxidants, like cherries, pineapple, leafy greens, berries, and beets, to ease swelling and soreness.
Restore nutrients: Replace electrolytes, including sodium, potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, and B vitamins, with mineral-rich foods like nuts, seeds, beans, leafy greens, sweet potatoes, and bananas.
A Final Recap
Proper nutrition before, during, and after running sessions is key to powering strong, consistent mileage and faster recovery. Eating complex carbs, lean proteins, anti-inflammatory fats, and fluids approximately 60-90 minutes before running helps delay fatigue, so you can log extra miles without hitting the wall