What should I eat before I run?
It’s an age-old question faced by many runners both new to the sport and those who have been training seriously and are looking to fine tune their training diet.
While you won’t find one specific super food that works for every runner, by providing some simple guidelines on nutritional requirements and timing, this article will help you find the perfect food for your pre-run snacks or meals.
Step 1: Timing Your Pre-run Meals
The most critical variable in the equation is timing – how long before your run can you, or should you, eat.
Here’s the deal:
Like most aspects of training, finding the optimal time to eat before a run is an individual preference.
I can run within 15-20 minutes of eating almost anything short of a full meal and have no stomach issues whatsoever.
Conversely, my wife can’t muster a step out the door if she’s eaten anything within 2 hours or the run. You need to find work works for you.
Here’s how:
Conduct an experiment
To find your optimal timing window, try eating a medium sized snack 90 minutes before your next run (see the last section of this article for what constitutes a medium sized snack).
If your stomach handles it well, try moving the same snack forward 15-20 minutes.
Likewise, if you experience stomach issues, push back the timing of your snack 15-20 minutes.
Keep moving forward or backward 15-20 minutes per run until you find the closest time you can eat before you start experiencing stomach or cramping issues.
Now you have a concrete number for how close to your run you can eat, which is the first step in determining your optimal pre-run meal or snack.
This is important: In general, the harder you have to run, the further back your snack should be from this time threshold. Likewise, the larger the meal or snack, the further you’ll have to push back from your closest pre-run eating time.
Step 2: Determine the Nutritional Demands of Your Run
I think most runners severely over estimate the number of calories they burn and the amount of carbohydrates they need to complete runs under 90 minutes.The body has enough glycogen stored in the muscles from your normal diet to run at marathon pace for right around 2 hours.
This means that you don’t need to load up on carbohydrates or calories before most of your normal training sessions, but might want a little extra fuel for harder workouts or long runs
Demands of a Normal Easy Training Run
A 155 pound runner will burn between 500 and 600 calories on a 60 minute run depending on their pace and effort level.
To see how many calories you burn while running, you can try our running calorie calculator. Since you already have enough fuel in your muscles to run for 2 hours, and you might only burn between 500-600 calories, you don’t need a huge snack or meal before you head out the door.
Remember this: For normal easy run days, a small snack 30-90 minutes before your run is all you need to stave off hunger and provide a small boost to your blood sugar levels.
Long Runs and Harder Workouts
If you have a long run or workout that is going to take more than 90 minutes to complete, you should try and get a little something in your stomach to give you some extra fuel.
A medium sized snack or small meal 30-120 minutes before your run is optimal. The amount of time you need to eat before your run is dependent upon your timing experiment from step one.
Morning Runners
For early morning runners, you might have a little less glycogen stored in your muscles since you’re coming off 6-8 hours of not eating, but unless you have a long run or a really hard workout, you don’t need to worry too much about eating something before running.
If you do have a longer run scheduled, try a small snack about 30 minutes before you head out the door. Otherwise, you don’t have to worry too much.
3. Find a Food That Sits Well in Your Stomach
The most important aspect of a pre-run meal is finding something that agrees with your digestive system.
While bananas may be perfect for your running friend, they give me heart burn, so I avoid them. Likewise, you need to experiment on your easy training runs to see what works best for you. This way, on important workout days and race day, you’ll know exactly what foods sit well with you.
Here’s the deal: You’re looking for easily digestible foods. Avoid fatty or high fiber foods, which sit in your stomach and take longer to digest. Ideally, you want a snack with a good blend of simple and complex carbohydrates and maybe a dab of protein to help you feel more full.
Need Some Pre-run Snack Ideas?
Small Snacks
Energy bars – These tend to be light on the stomach and easy to digest. Avoid diet products, as these often cut the carbs, which is exactly what you’re looking for.
Natural energy bars – A Granola bar is a great way to eat more natural, but still stick with a light snack filled with carbs.
Banana – High in carbs and potassium
Small bowl of oatmeal – while oatmeal tends to have a good amount of fiber, it can be a good solution for runners who can’t eat close to running, but need something small to sustain them.
Medium Snacks
Toast with peanut butter and jelly – There is a reason your mom always gave you toast when you had an upset stomach. It’s easy to digest and light on the stomach.
Wheat bagel with Peanut butter or cream cheese – A little more substantial than the toast with a small dab of protein to stave off hunger.
Yogurt and granola – A power pack of simple and complex carbs.
Final Suggestions
These are just some sample ideas of what you can eat before a run to stay energized and prevent stomach cramps. While eating before a run is highly individualized, with a few simple experiments, you can find the optimal pre run meal or snack for you.
By fueling properly and not eating too little or too much before you head out for your long training runs, you can maximize your training and start seeing results sooner.
18 Responses
I’ve noticed that on race days I become very nervous and that seems to affect my digestion. That makes it hard because even with a small snack I still feel like it gives me little cramps. Is the best option just to eat even earlier on race days?
Good question, Daniel. Yes, on days of a race, you may need to eat farther away than your normal runs. The higher the intensity of the run, the less close you can usually eat your pre run meal.
I always gave myself a 2 hour window when racing. I had my last food of substance 2 hours before – usually a light sandwhich or bagel with jelly. If I got hungry for some reason, I might munch on an energy bar, but once I was within 1 hour, I didn’t eat anything.
Hope that helps.
Daniel – This is something that every runner struggles with during their running career so you are not alone. The best rule is to find what works for you. I never had a meal within 5 hours of a race. The only exception was for early morning races where I would have an energy bar or half of a bagel with a coffee about 2 hours in advance. Your issue is probably more than nerves because of how the body shunts blood away from the digestional tract during intense exercise. It’s our body’s way of getting blood where it’s needed most – the muscles. Unfortunately, that’s not good news for whatever you had for breakfast because it will sit in need of attention somewhere along your digestive system. That’s probably more than you want to know but there are three possible solutions – 1. Eat/drink less before you race. 2. Eat/drink farther from the start of the race. 3. Find a more easily digestable energy source. I look forward to following your progress!
Jeff,
I’m an ultra runner and when I hit the 50 – 70 mile mark in a 100 miler I usually suffer from an upset stomach. I’m thinking it’s too much sodium doing that. I’m not sure if you’ve done any ultra running but you have to eat to get your carbs so I was wondering if you have any suggestions.
Hi Jeff,
I am afraid we do not really specialize in the ultra marathon right now (but this can be something we can look into in the future!), but we can try and see if we can help you from a general fueling perspective, what fuel do you usually consume during your ultras? Do you get stomach upsets any other time during your regular training?
I tend to eat my Bonk Breaker bar (full size for long runs & bite size for shorter )and I also use Vega pre-workout.
I was just curious if I’m actually taking in too much, but according to this I think I might be on the right path.
Thanks. And I’m like your girlfriend no way could I eat a meal and go running. I have to be careful with what I eat before running, but found these two fuels seem to sit well in my gut thankfully.
That should be fine Brooke, and if it works for you, then keep it up! It is better to be a little over fueled then under. A bar and vega sounds like a great pre workout meal!
I just started jogging after 2 years of being lazy(Starting of with 10-15 min. Jogs)
I’m a 21 year old male and I was a short distance runner in school, so it’s save to say I was never a fan of long distance running
I got myself ProNutro but I don’t know if it will be sufficient.
Should I opt for the banana or oats option or should I brave it and go jog
Hi Jean, I am not familiar with ProNutro myself, but any of the options you mentioned should work. Test out some different options to see what works for you! Hope that helps!
I am a beginer athlete and i have less than an years expierence .
In the past year i have under gone 3 injuries , one is pattelar tendonitis,the second one is oblique injury,and at present lower left back injury.Due to the above reasons my practice sessions are breaking . I am 6’2 tall and weigh 65 kgs , and am 15 years old and i am sprinter .
please help me make myself through these obstacles
Hi Saathwik, sorry to hear about your injuries, it is likely you have some major weaknesses in your body that are preventing you from staying healthy. You should check out our course on supplemental training that is critical to a runners training, especially in the earlier stages and if you keep getting injured, this becomes even more important. http://strength.runnersconnect.net
You should also make sure you are not increasing your training too quickly, this article may also help you. https://runnersconnect.net/running-injury-prevention/why-runners-get-hurt/
Hope this helps! We would love to have you join us on the strength course!
I have been running on and off for a little while now and I find if I go to the bathroom just before I run I still need to go within 5-10 mins of starting my run, what would you recommend to help this is there any foods this or anything else?
Yup, if you read the article we tell you how to specifically address this issue.
Hello. I am new to jogging so I am doing the walk/run thing until I build up my fitness. I go first thing in the morning for about 30 minuets. By doing this I am not eating before I go. I have been told that my body will take the energy it needs from my mussel mass rather than body fat? Is this correct?
Hi Narelle, thanks for reaching out. It is good to hear that you are being smart, and there is nothing wrong with walk running until you get used to it a little more (we actually believe in that https://runnersconnect.net/coach-corner/dont-shun-runwalk-method-experienced-beginners-alike-can-ultilize-runwalk-smarter-training/). As for eating before, we actually have a different article that will help you with this 🙂 https://runnersconnect.net/running-nutrition-articles/carbohydrate-intake-overnight-fast/ Hope this helps!
@ Brooke…. How Do u like the vega pre workout??? I’ve been wanting to try it but I’m iffy about preworkouts… I hate the ones that make me feel like I want to rip my skin off…. I’ve found a few that get me thru but they taste like crap….