When to eat before a race??

Your last meal should be at dinner the night before. Allow yourself to properly digest and visit the bathroom the morning of the race in order to minimize the your body weight.

Lighter is faster; look at the East Africans.

Okay but if I have to eat?

Okay, then choose an item that will surely give you diarrhea, and be sure to eat it 4 hours before the race to ensure ample time for body cleansing.

Don't eat for at least an hour before your race, probably a little more. You can do a gel or similar if you'd like within the hour, though.

It's okay to eat a normal breakfast 3-4 hours before the race. I agree, no food within an hour of racing. You can probably get away with eating a banana around 10 or 10:30.

Hmmmmmmmm wrote:

Okay, then choose an item that will surely give you diarrhea, and be sure to eat it 4 hours before the race to ensure ample time for body cleansing.

+1 on taking a shit before you race -- hopefully not an explosive one.

Finley30 wrote:

I have a 5k tomorrow at 11:45am. When should I eat my breakfast (cereal&yogurt) and should I eat like a banana or a granola bar when I get nearer to my race?

A serious answer would be 4-5 hours before the race. No food closer than that.

Last BIG meal one week before the race. After this you only eat foods that give food poisoning. You will lose a lot of weight, thus you will be faster on race day.

Everyone is different on this issue. You will have to find out what work best for you. For me, it would be a light breakfast about three hours before a race that starts at 11:45am.

I prefer yogurt and fruit juice. Liquid, easy-to-digest stuff is preferable to solid stuff like bagels and pasta.

Yogurt might not work for everyone though, since it tends to make some people want to go to the bathroom.

I like me some a cup of McCann’s oatmeal, a banana and a cup of black coffee about 1:30-2 hours before start. Gives me wings... Never had GI problems during races;)