Race Day Nutrition Mistakes 

Coach Elizabeth: I am here to thank you and your colleagues for the valuable information you have provided for the amateur runners. In 2019, I had a disappointing DNF result for my first attempt at a marathon. I resolved to understand and correct the mistakes I made and try again. To do that I turned to a few running related channels, and yours was one of them. On May 1, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, I successfully completed my first marathon with a time of 7hr 7min, at the "young" age of 78. I appreciate the breadth of information your channel provides.

on raceday; wake up and the first thing to do; drink a glass of water and do a little warming up... the body will release perfectly. My experience! no IG probs

Telling me not to stress on the race day multiple times just stressed me out. Thx!

Free beer on course screwed me up bigtime at mile 18. Was feeling on top of the world then.... mile 22 came like a freight train! BONK! Lesson learned 😎

Outstanding. Heard the ibuprofen myth from other runners as well. Never thought it was a good idea. Props for you are my sunshine!

My favorite hydration product is dihydrogen oxide.

Always look for your videos. Info with a smile! I love running on an empty stomach. Easy to do at 6am on training runs, but need to practice eating small for when the races start at 9am or later.

Some very high quality tips for sure! Keep up the great work guys!!

Loosing sleep from carb loading happen to me the night before my first race. UGH. Then I spent the next day recovering with a fever cuz I had completely depleted myself of electrolytes. Thanks for the tips!

I’m fat adapted. Ran my first Marathon last weekend (aged 51, 4hrs 22mins With 4630ft of elevation) fasted! I ate bacon and eggs for dinner the night before and didn’t fuel during the race. I was amazed at the majority of runners fuelling gels!! Crazy! From mile 19 to finish I was passed by 4 runners but passed 63! Clearly no sign of any bonk!

Thanks for this, I've got a race next week and it has made me think about the nutrition preparation, plus helping out a friend doing her first 10k next week as well. I did have to smile when you mentioned the G.I. issues, I do remember doing a marathon just after some dehydration issues, mile 18 was a scary one as I had passed a toilet stop the mile before, let's just say it was a false alarm and one of the funniest sighs of relief I've ever had. Thanks again for the video Elizabeth. (more singing)

Really in depth. I love the info I got (I am not a runner, I'm a bodybuilder who is running my first 5k in years.)

Super helpful! Thank you 🤙🏻 first Spartan race tomorrow!

Your Info Was Very Helpful. Thank Yiu So Much

I just completed my 1st marathon and it was difficult as I totally went out too fast and didn't hydrate properly.. I completed the event, but with so much struggle after mile 19. Thank you for these great tidbits in your video.. 👍

I ran my first 8km race last weekend. I did heaps of spin bike training for cardio fitness, but it was all undone when I had the equivalent of 1 pieces of bread for breakfast. The last 3 kms was burning me bad, I was running on empty! Definitely will learn from the experience. Nutrition was missing from my while paradigm!

I start every run (including ultra events) in a fasted condition. If I'm going 15 miles or less, then I don't eat. If I'm going longer than 15 miles, then I begin to add calories at a rate of 500-700 per hour starting about 40 minutes into the run. It works for me.

I wish races started at 12 - 1 PM

I generally go into an event having eaten lightly a few hours prior, as some people have mentioned here I like my stomach to be pretty close to empty as it seems to help with calming queasiness and G.I. issues - fight or flight mechanism can be tough just prior to the race.

Tried a new hydration product whilst out cycling, 10 miles in to the ride had a drink. The fluid hit my stomach and it went no way 🤢🤮 had to stop cycling. Didn’t just have a bottle of water with me, lesson learned

Thank you for all your tips! I am a diabetic and finding the right foods to eat before my runs are challenging. I often have to have a gel or a sugary drink with me just in case my sugar goes low. I would be very interested if you have any advices on nutrition for someone like me.

About to set out on my first trail marathon! Couldn't go to sleep last night

Perfect Farmers Blow in the background at 4:16.

Great tips first half marathon on Saturday!! So many nerves 😂

Take Shilajit as an electrolyte/mineral boost and the Master Amino Acid Pattern 30 mins bevore your run. Magnesium Bicarbonate is also a recommended addition!

covered everything important and useful!

Thank you. Awesome video.

THANK YOU! This will be a focus for my next race. I noticed what messed my GI up a bit last time was the amount of stress/excitement/anxiety leading up to the race. Perhaps discussing tips on de-stressing or addressing anxiety before and during the race could also be an interesting video!

I'm already tuned in yo

Is water a hydration product

Thank you

Thanks for the tips!

Your videos on race / pre-race nutrition are great. Hydration fluids upset my stomach, so I drink only water. But I totally agree with you regarding salt pills (I took 2 pills in a 10 hours race... And only when I felt that I needed them). Many foods are not good for me, train your stomach like you train your legs...know what works for you. Thank you for your advice!

Thanks for the advice. Most books and experts won't even talk about gi issues. It's not very glamorous I guess. They prefer nutrition and hydration, for obvious reasons. The short answer is don't overeat the night before a race. As you noted, carb loading the day before isn't going to do anything for you except put you in a portapottie line. Same goes for over hydrating. But we all want to perform well so eating and drinking seem like a good idea. Simply put: You don't want to train like heck and then sabotage it with too much intake.

Good advice. Thank-you, I am so hooked, on caffeine, energy shots. With out them just feel to lazy to run five miles, don't know what other stuff has a nice pep me up before a run, need to get away from the caff, an shots. Like they say in moderation. Thank-you.

"Hydration product"?!?! By that I HOPE you mean water, right?

Great Video!

Very helpful video and suggestions. I get a spoon of honey before long trainings or races and it really works, pure natural fuel. Greetings from Campeche, México.

Don't re heat a tuna past a bake the night before a marathon - its re heated its not a light weight meal to run for 26 miles with... Now I eat a 15" pizza the night before and thats light weight enough and packed with calories... and a Gel or two every 1/2 hour (well works well for me)

carb loading only works after severe glycogen depletion. this allows for storage of double the amount of glycogen for the event. what most people are doing is fat loading. piling in the carbs when the glycogen stores are full only allows you to store it as fat. not helpful if you are not fat adapted.

Bruh for swimming once I tried to not eat anything for a race for 2 days straight just cause and it was cancerous

"don't take anti inflamatory drugs" I take them daily because of my chronic illness, does that mean that make me perform worse? My doctors don't tell me anything and I am just getting more and more discouraged with running. Everything in my body is trying to make me worse.

Doing my high run days, I started with no preparation for my 100k days and felt depressed afterwards, I now rest and plan the day before. I was living on protein bars but have found its better to carb load for high cardio output days. Thanks for the info

I don't have time to pop salt pills. I run the 200m and 400m sprints.

I liked the video other than the Carbo loading part that has my mixed up are you saying to increase the amount of carbs being eaten for the week or not? Because you saying you don't have to carbo load but that's the exact definition contradicting. Basically don't eat a big bowl of spaghetti and meat balls.

For anything half marathon or less no special meal prep or race nutrition is necessary as your body has plenty of glycogen. No need to eat race morning unless it helps calm you. I eat low carb one meal a day and am a coffee drinker, and I eat normally the night before with no breakfast race morning, just coffee, water, and some electrolyte solution. Only for marathon distance will I carry two gels (same brand I trained with) and might eat them after mile 18 or so just to put something on my stomach and give a little psychological boost. I will also take electrolyte tabs along the way. I used to overthink nutrition. I felt I had to eat race morning, do something special the night before, and eat a gel every 3 or 4 miles in a marathon. A morning 5k is now a cup of coffee and adequate pre-race hydration with no food until after. No GI issues and much less marathon nausea.

Hydration, does Powerade works?

Just stick to your normal routine and food/amounts you know, if you start changing things the day before it's not going to help.

thank you for your tips

What do you think about using liquid ketones? I'd like your thoughts on using this for long runs or half to full marathons. Thanks.

If you have IBS, don't eat onions the night before. Lol.

If the race is 7am am I supposed to wake up at 4am to eat? Doesn’t make sense. I have covered 21 K distances early morning without eating something. Don’t see an issue there!

Breakfast : Oatmeal 20 minutes before hard run/race : 1 banana During hard run/race : 1 gel every 30 to 45 minutes depending on intensity After race : Treat yourself you deserve it !

hi i am not familiar with any of the hydration product....can you recommend anything? how many kinds of hydration products are there in general? thanks! very good video!

Your issue with salt pills ignores the fact salt pills are an alternative type of hydration product!

any help with cramping for ironman. everyone says salt, not working?

Not a moment to soon. Thank you soooo much for posting this the afternoon the day before my 5k. I hope to get a PR of 18:00. Also, you guys should get me a jacket like coach Elizabeth's because I've been a fan for a year I think I don't remember but ya one for you fan? Or you can feature me, either works. I'm joking but you could if you want. Who is reading this btw? Love the Advice, Videos, Channel, and you guys. Till next time, bye.

I stick to my plan on long runs over 8 miles hidratación is important on a consistant pace 👍🏻💪🏻🙏🏻

First marathon....oh the carb loading...late night and 5am bus ride...

Is icy hot considered an anti inflammatory drug?

You said not to carb load then you said to do it just in a different way. To load is to increase the amount you need to prepare for time that you need large amounts. By doing 70% over 60% for calories. doing it a week out you would have 40%-70 more carbs then normal so did you not just carb load. You say not to carb load but from what you shared it sounds more like don't over eat because that would stress you body making it process it especially since it has a limit to how much it can process in an hour.

Click on this because I thought it was Brandi love in the thumbnail 💀

I'm starting to run again. In 2007, I ran my 1st marathon. On the 12th mile my left thigh started cramping to the point that my leg would not move. I tried to to run after a couple of minutes but the cramp would come back. After going through that 3 times I decide to walk the rest of the way. There was no way I was quitting that race. I spent to much time training to end up quitting. I often wonder if coffee at breakfast was a bad idea. BTW not once through training did I cramped. It was some what disappointing. Any thoughts?

STRESSS

Before my run, I have a cup of plain instant coffee and two cigarettes

All great advice but I disagree with the salt pills comment. Since I started supplementing with Sport Legs before and during long events I have way fewer leg cramping issues and shorter recovery time after really long runs. Sport Legs capsules aren’t just salt, tgey include magnesium, lactate which supports muscle function and calcium and vitamin D. Im 54 and this has really improved my ability to get through long events, along with proper hydration nutrition.

Running 1 km for 1k views would be 100km for this video.

"white rice" , if anyone ever reads this , make sure it's Jasmin rice .

Nooo carb loading is the worst thing you could do for... Pretty much anything healthy! Just look up any success story from athletes who switched to keto after having tons of issues while eating carbs, both with general health and poor performance

My race start at 7am, so should i eat at5? -

I cannot get why people take drugs in amateur sports for 2 reasons: 1) no one cares about you running a minute slower or faster 2) it is your body you destroy, and it does things (pain, exhaustion, ...) for a reason. Maybe the answer to all of this is called "clever pharma marketing".

Here’s the Top 10 mistakes: #1-10 are all blended together, there ya go! In summary, don’t do too much, don’t do too little, do do the wrong things and just do what works for you.

Some people excrete more salt than others, so they will need more.

Salmon ....? Easy to digest?

You don't really need to carb load has to be some of the worst advice I've ever heard... You are asking for energy depletion. Respectfully

I think drinking the hours before the marathon is a terrible mistake You will want to pee every 15 mins, and specially just before the race

Go vegan!

Thank you