Robyn

I would go carbohydrating - if that's a word from Thursday evening. You could have meals based around rice, pasta and baked potato if that is your thing or cous cous. Carbo before and protein afterwards is the way to do it - I would definitely dump the steak on the night before. Cooked meat takes along time to go through the digestive tract and I wouldn't want to carry that around a HM course. 

If you have a good tolerance to milk then porridge is good on the morning of the race. If not go for brown bread and honey or jam/marmalade. You might sneak half a banana about an hour before the off. Above all, again from Thursday afternoon, stay within 6 inches of a sports drink and sip regularly. You might get through two between Thusday and Friday but the small amounts of energy will be tucked away in the crevices for you to draw on during the race and you will be properly hydrated.

I have a sweet tooth so again before a race I will munch a few jelly beans or liquorice allsorts - just 3 gives you 90 calories, so great on the run!

Good luck - let us know how you get on and what you chose to do. 

Spot on, Mike!

1) Water.

2) Carb loading for a few days (not just the night before).

3) Water.

4) Carbs before and during, protein after - & the sooner the better.

5) Water.

And don't forget the water!

Hi Robyn,

Post race choccy milk and Mars bar always does it for me, and again don't forget the liquids whether be sports drinks for salt replacement or plain water the key is rehydration and sip regulary for the rest of the day. Bars are usually carb based and I can't think of any protein rich bars at the moment unless you get a yoghurt based bar.

Also a post race banana never goes amiss.

Beat me to it Kate!!!

Personally I'd suggest you don't deviate too much from your usual diet Robyn. Obviously having a 'cleaner' diet for a week up to the race will help a little, but you've been training for a half marathon, and fuelling your body in a way that's felt right, so I wouldn't make any sweeping changes. The last thing you want is an 'incident' mid-race because you've eaten something that's different from usual.

My personal pre-race eating routine (and pre-long training run eating routine):

Day before race - breakfast bacon & eggs; lunch quinoa & peanut butter (this is my key meal!); dinner meat and salad.
Day of race - plenty of water, a couple of energy drinks, a couple of strong coffees - and off I go!

Personally no food for me before a run, but that's not for everyone. Whatever has worked best for you in training will work well in a race.