What an athlete consumes before an event could mean the difference between making the podium or not! It is important to adequately fuel your body and avoid any negative effects such as GI upset or feelings of sluggishness.

Eat to Meet Your Needs
Fueling for an endurance event will look quite different than fueling for a golf tournament. High-intensity events or those that last longer than 90 minutes require more fuel. For shorter events or low-moderate intensity events, focusing on a balanced meal is typically adequate without the need for additional carbohydrates. For higher-intensity sports and endurance events, athletes benefit from an additional serving of healthy carbohydrates leading up to the event. Be sure to include a source of protein as well to promote feelings of fullness and improve energy availability.

Promote Energy
Eat your main meal 2-4 hours before the event with an optional snack of an easily digested food 30 minutes prior. This snack should be simple and relatively small such as a granola bar. Avoid fatty, greasy, rich, spicy, or high fiber foods as these will promote GI upset. Foods that take longer to digest will sit in the GI tract causing potential issues, leaving the athlete feeling like they have a brick sitting in their gut, or running to the bathroom during the event! Both are things that you want to avoid.

Don’t Sabotage Yourself!
The day before, or the morning of an event is not the time to try out new foods! Stick to foods that you know well; foods that you know provide you with energy and are easily digested. It is always a good idea to try out your meals/snacks on a training day before the event. See how you feel after fueling. Are you hungry? Are you overly full? Do you feel signs of potential GI upset? Did you feel adequately energized for your training session? These are all important questions to consider making changes to your event day meal plan. Use your training sessions to tweak your pre-event meal plan.

Not Feeling Hungry
For some athletes, nerves before an event reduce their appetite. Even if you are not feeling hungry, your body requires fuel. Try to stick to simple, somewhat bland foods (although you don’t want to skip the salt). Pureed foods or smoothies are convenient and easy-to-digest options. Even baby food pouches can help to get in fuel.

Bottom Line
Stick to foods that your body knows.
Eat your main meal 2-4 hours before the event with the option of adding a snack such as a granola bar 30 minutes before.
For low to moderate intensity events lasting less than 90 minutes, a well-balanced main meal should be sufficient without the need for additional carbohydrates
High-intensity events or those lasting longer than 90 minutes, adding a serving of healthy carbohydrates to your main meal can provide you with more energy.