Eating before runs

[Shuffledaway]

Any advice on what / how much to eat before going on a run?

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

It really depends how far you are running... if you have a healthy eating regime and great hydration every day, then you should be fine for anything up to 5K and even 10K... anything longer is a different matter... and we are all very different too...

This may be helpful.

runnersworld.com/nutrition-...

[Roxdog Graduate]

I run first thing in the morning and just eat half a banana. Big breakfast when I get back though! Much more than that, and I would get stomach cramps. On a long run I take some raisins with me to boost energy half way through.

[GermanRunner Graduate]

I run first thing in the morning, before breakfast. I usually have two glasses of water before my run. Without the water, I don't do so well 🙈

[bradders0807 Graduate]

I try to do my runs early morning. I don’t eat before I go out, but I drink around 1/2 litre of water before I go, and I find that about 45 mins of pottering about, a bit of stretching and essential morning ablutions sets me up for my run.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

This is taken from the guide to C25k

Whatever time of day you run, it is best not to do it on a full stomach. While one man’s large meal is another man’s snack, the general guidance is that you should wait two to four hours after a large meal, before you run, and thirty minutes to two hours after a snack. My favourite running time is first thing in the morning, with half a banana for 5k and a whole banana for 10k run and a pint of very diluted 1:6 apple juice immediately before I go out of the door. It doesn’t work for everybody, so experiment, but if you ate normally the previous day, you don’t need to fuel up specially for C25k workouts.

I wrote that three years ago and have now dropped the banana from my pre run and feel no different.

[CherryCore Graduate]

I personally can't run, or swim, or ski if I had any food. If I'd had something, that would mean waiting for five to six hours. I do drink up to a litre of water though, in sips, an hour to hour and a half before leaving.