Half marathon bib? ✅
Running outfit? ✅
Shoes? ✅
Knowing exactly what to eat before your half marathon tomorrow? Um…❓
Cue the frantic Google search.
Is it a carb free for all? Should you eat a mountain of pasta?
Let’s make your pre-race meal planning less stressful, so you can focus on running your miles, not regretting your snacks.
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Start with what you normally eat
Race nerves make us second-guess everything because we all want race day to go well, right? But the day before your half marathon?
✨Don’t try anything new and stick to what you usually eat.✨
(We’ll talk about the details in a bit.)
So if you usually have a protein smoothie for breakfast, don’t suddenly switch to pancakes and syrup because “carbs.”
If rice sits better than pasta, go with rice.
The entire goal here is to avoid surprises.
Eat the carbs you usually eat (with an extra helping)
You won’t need to stuff yourself with carbs for your half. If you’re finishing around 2 to 2.5 hours, you’re already good to go.
You want to be fueled, not stuffed.
Sneak peek: My own list of snacks + carbs list that keeps me fueled and my taste buds happy.
- Boba milk tea mochi (chewy, carb-y, and not too sweet)
- Toast, avocado, fried egg + chili crisp
- Mango ginger granola bar (a tropical twist on a classic)
But be aware of how fiber and fat will affect you
That kale salad piled with raw veg or your go-to comfort meal — like beef chow fun, mapo tofu, or burgers and fries — are totally delicious…but not always race-day friendly (unless you eat them all the time before long runs).
It’s not because they’re ‘bad’, but they can be harder to digest when nerves are already doing a number on you.
Just know that high fiber + high fat can be a gamble, if you’re not used to it.
Don’t count on dinner to do all the work
We hype up the night-before dinner like it’s the star of the show. But real talk?
Race-day energy comes from everything you eat the day before, not just one plate.
So instead of banking on a giant carb-y dinner to save the day:
➡️ Eat more of your carbs earlier, when digestion’s easier
➡️ Keep meals + snacks steady every 2–4 hours
➡️ Don’t wait until dinner to “start fueling”
It’s less about one big meal and more about dinner as topping off your tank.
What (and when) you eat matters—for sleep and race day
Race-night sleep is less “rest easy” and more “What if I sleep through my alarm? Should I have trained more? Okay, relax…if I fall asleep right now, I’ll still get 5 hours.”
Your dinner doesn’t need to be another thing stressing you out.
Aim to eat at least 2–3 hours before bed so your body has time to digest…because nobody wants that heavy, stuffed feeling keeping them from falling asleep.
➡️ If you’re still a little hungry later, a light snack can top you off without weighing you down.
➡️ Too nervous to eat much? Liquid calories (like a smoothie, sports drink, rice porridge) can help if solids aren’t appealing.
The goal: go to bed comfortable, not stuffed.
Hydration isn’t just a race-day thing—it’s a day-before thing, too.
A little water or a sports drink is perfect here.
Keep sipping, but don’t drown yourself. Hydration is key, but you want to feel ready, not waterlogged. ⚠️Drinking too much too fast can cause discomfort or dilute your electrolytes.
If you sweat a lot or expect warm race day weather, add some electrolytes—especially sodium—to keep fluids balanced and cramps away.
Finally, when it comes to half marathon nutrition, what you eat the day before your half marathon probably won’t look like anyone else’s. And that’s good.
Because the best pre-race meals aren’t the ones that are most ‘runner-y’.
They’re the ones that work for your body and taste buds, so that you can keep your eyes on the miles, not the porta potties.
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