What to eat before early morning races?

How long of a race? What do you normally do prior to a race or long run?

It's just a 5k. I normally just eat about 3 hours before a race, warmup and stretch 30 minutes before a race, and some srides on the starting line.

I would probably want to get up by at least 6:00, maybe 5:00 if it's an important race to me. Partly to digest some food, as you mentioned, but also just to give my body time to wake up. I am incapable of running fast if I haven't been awake and moving around for at least a couple of hours.

But some people can just roll out of bed and take off; maybe you're one of them.

Stick to your normal routine, don't change what is working. How much do you really need to eat before a 5K anyway?

a cup of coffee (just one so as not to upset my stomach) and a banana or a powerbar used to work for me before early 8k xc races. i needed the coffee because i'm not a morning person, and as long as you had a good dinner, you should be fine with just a powerbar. maybe sip on some gatorade an hour or two beforehand.

i'd second getting up at least 3 hrs before racetime if it's an important race.

if it's 10k or under, don't eat anything. except a fur burger.

Oatmeal works well for a short amount of time to digest.

If not, put some stuff next to your bed, wake up 3 hours before your warm-up, eat, and then go back to sleep.

The shorter the race, the less food you would need. Therefore, less time to digest. For a 5K, I might eat a couple of pieces of toast with PB or jelly and some gatorade a few hours before (powerbar, banana, etc.). If it's a more important race maybe eat another hour earlier. Even an hour and a half would work. Really shouldn't make a huge difference in 3 miles in the AM as long as you eat something.