FOOLPROOF pre race food to prevent cramps (5k-half marathon race)

Might I add i never cramp in training.

Try eliminating the coffee and OJ. I usually eat a banana and have some water. If you're really hungry, try another banana and/or some toast.

letmekno wrote:

Might I add i never cramp in training.

Do you eat those same foods 3-4 hours prior to training time too? If so, then it's not the food. I'd guess it's the sustained level of race effort.

A side stitch is not a cramp, it's gas. Stop eating bananas.

Do you eat the same things before your training runs?

Are you taking any GUs or Gels, etc before or during the races?

What do you do for hydration from the time you wake up until the race finishes?

Honey is worth a try. I've never seen anyone modern recommend it, but I have read Lydiard recommend it several different times. I would also also anything acidic (like OJ), and who knows - maybe the complex grains could bother you too (grain bar, toast).

You could also try: 1) nothing; 2) liquid only (like a non-acidic juice... Apple Juice, grape juice, or Endurox, etc...)

side stiches are in your RIBS. I'm referring to stomache cramps in my STOMACHE.

I'll try eliminating acidic juices.

stitches are in your intestines, and they occur almost exactly where the stomach is, at the top of the descending colon. As shown in this picture:

http://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/your-digestive-system

Most of the time intestinal gas is not noticeable, but running is just like shaking a bottle of soda. Dissolved gas is released from food and rises, collecting at the highest possible point, which becomes bloated and puts pressure on the tissues around it, creating the "stomach" cramp.

you probably have magnesium deficiency

try using -Pure Magnesium Oil- spray all over your legs

then the night before take ...product..-Natural Calm plus Calcium-....a drink balance of magnesium and calcium

Among the things you've mentioned, I would ditch the coffee. That sometimes causes problems in my stomach during hard efforts. You could try tea or a caffeine pill if you really feel like you can't go a day without coffee. I would also avoid OJ.

But it may not be food related. The stomach knot feeling is pretty common for me in all-out race efforts, and it may simply be an indicator that you're racing at your limits. The only way to control it is either back off or build more tolerance in workouts.

RuKiddingMe!! wrote:

drink balance of magnesium and calcium

Both have a valence of +2 so they inhibit each other's absorption. Better to take them separately.

5k to half marathon? Why not try skipping eating altogether and seeing how you get on? Adequate fuel should not be an issue at these distances. Have nothing 10-12 hours out from the race and that should guarantee that your stomach and small intestines are empty.

Be careful of the caffeine too. Plenty of people are sensitive to it.