~ Annie Bothma, Elite Athlete, IOPN Performance Sports Nutritionist (EQF Level 7. Masters), Running & Strength Coach
As you approach the final stretch of your marathon, ultra, triathlon, or other endurance event training, the taper phase becomes your best friend. Tapering—reducing your training load to allow your body to recover and recharge—is critical to ensure you arrive at race day fresh and ready. While your workouts taper down, your nutrition should adjust to maximize glycogen stores through a structured carb-load. What you eat in these final days can significantly impact how you feel and perform on race day.
In this post, I will guide you through key nutrition strategies for the taper and carb-loading phase to optimize your performance.
Avoid Drastic Dietary Changes
This is not the time to experiment with new foods or supplements. Sudden dietary changes can lead to digestive issues, which may negatively affect your performance on race day.
How to implement
Stick to familiar foods that you’ve tested throughout your training. If you've found foods that sit well with you before long runs or hard workouts, those should be your go-to meals in the taper.
Test race nutrition during your long runs. Don’t wait until race day to experiment with energy gels, chews, or drinks. The taper phase is a good time for a “dress rehearsal” with your fueling strategy.
Focus on Nutrient Timing
When you eat is just as important as what you eat. Spacing out meals and snacks ensures you maintain stable energy levels without feeling sluggish or overly full.
How to implement
Eat balanced meals and snacks every 3-4 hours to keep glycogen levels up and prevent hunger-induced overeating.
Practice pre-race meals in the week leading up to the event. If your race is early in the morning, practice having a similar breakfast around that time during the taper, so your body gets used to digesting it.
The Role of Carbohydrates During Taper
In the last 1-3 days before your race, shifting your focus to carbohydrates is crucial. Your body relies heavily on stored glycogen to fuel endurance activities, and carb-loading helps ensure that you start the race with full glycogen reserves.
Carb-Loading Goals
Target 8-12 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight in the 2-3 days leading up to the race. This approach ensures your muscles are packed with glycogen and ready for sustained energy during your event.
For example, if you weigh 70 kg, aim for 560-840 grams of carbs daily during the carb-load phase.
How to implement
Increase carbohydrates gradually. If you’ve been following a moderate-carb diet during training, start increasing your carb intake about 3 days out, ensuring most of your calories come from carbohydrates.
Lower fiber intake the last 1-2 days before the race. Focusing on low-fiber, low-fat options can help avoid gastrointestinal discomfort and bloating. Choose refined carbs like white rice, pasta, white bread, and sports drinks. Avoid large portions of whole grains, beans, and fibrous vegetables.
Limit high-fat foods like heavy meats, fried foods, and rich sauces, which can slow digestion and make you feel sluggish.
Maximize Glycogen with High-Glycemic Foods
During the last 1-3 days before the event, emphasising High-Glycemic Foods. These are quickly digested and absorbed, helping to elevate your blood glucose and replenish glycogen stores faster.
Here’s a quick list of carb-rich foods that will help you meet your carb-loading goals without leaving you feeling overly full.
Food | Carbs per Serving |
Pretzels | ~81g per 100g |
Plain Bagels | ~50-56g per bagel |
White Rice | ~45g per 180g cooked |
Cornflakes | ~24g per 30g |
Applesauce | ~22g per 240ml |
Powerade | ~40g per 500ml |
Bananas | ~25-27g per medium |
Chocolate Milk | ~21-31g per 250-300ml |
By focusing on these easily digestible, carb-dense foods, you’ll ensure your glycogen stores are topped up and decrease the likelihood of gastrointestinal discomfort.
How to implement
Spread out your intake. Rather than eating huge meals, aim for frequent, smaller meals and snacks throughout the day. This helps avoid that "stuffed" feeling while ensuring you hit your carb goals.
Don't overdo it at dinner: Instead, consider having larger meals for breakfast and lunch to prevent feeling overly full and uncomfortable before bedtime.
Liquid carbs for the win: Incorporate liquid carbs to boost your intake without feeling too full. Drinks like sports drinks, fruit juice, and chocolate milk are great for getting carbs and fluids simultaneously.
Hydration: A Critical Piece of the Carb-Loading Puzzle
During carb-loading, hydration becomes even more important. Glycogen binds with water when stored, so as your glycogen stores increase, so does your body's water retention. For each gram of carbohydrate you store as glycogen you store 3 grams of water. This is a good sign but can also lead to slight weight gain, which is normal.
How to implement
Drink regularly throughout the day, aiming for 2-3 liters of water daily in addition to any carb-rich fluids like sports drinks.
Incorporate electrolyte-rich fluids to avoid imbalances. Consider adding drinks like Energade or Powerade for quick hydration and extra carbs.
Important note: Avoid weighing yourself during carb-loading—water retention can cause fluctuations that may lead to unnecessary stress.
Balance Carbohydrates with a Little Protein
While the focus is on carbs, don’t completely neglect protein. Including small amounts of lean protein can help you feel satiated and support muscle repair.
How to Implement
Include 15-20% of your total calorie intake from lean protein sources like chicken, eggs, or low-fat yogurt during carb-loading. However, avoid high-fat meats or large portions that could cause digestive issues.
Pre-Race Meal Planning
The day before the race, taper down both your food intake and your training intensity. Your largest meal should be lunch or breakfast rather than dinner. This allows for better digestion and can help improve sleep the night before the event.
Pre-race meal tips
Timing: Eat 2-4 hours before the race.
Amount: Your pre-race meal should include 1-4 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight, focusing on low-fiber, low-fat options to minimize digestive discomfort.
Stick to your usual pre-run meal. If toast and a banana with peanut butter have worked well for you, that should be your race-day breakfast. Avoid any last-minute changes.
Consider sipping on a sports drink or water in the hours leading up to the start. This ensures you’re starting well-hydrated and fueled.
Using Caffeine To Your Advantage
Caffeine is a well-known performance enhancer, boosting endurance, increasing alertness, and reducing perceived effort. Many athletes wonder if they need to "taper off" caffeine before a race to heighten its effects, but recent research shows this isn’t necessary.
A study titled "Caffeine Withdrawal and High-Intensity Endurance Cycling Performance" by Richard E. Whittle et al. (2021) found that caffeine tapering provided no additional performance benefit. Whether athletes consumed caffeine regularly or withdrew for a few days before an event, the performance-enhancing effects of caffeine remained consistent.
Key Takeaways
You don’t need to taper off caffeine to get its benefits on race day. Regular caffeine users still experience the same ergogenic effects without needing to cut back before the event.
Caffeine is effective in doses of 3-6 mg per kilogram of body weight. For a 70 kg athlete, this translates to 210-420 mg of caffeine (about 2-4 cups of coffee and/or a caffeine supplements).
Caffeine take about 45-60 minutes to peak in your bloodstream, so take this into consideration when timing your caffeine intake before and during the race.
Stick with your usual sources of caffeine source of choice, whether it's coffee, caffeinated gels, or sports drinks, and avoid trying with new forms of caffeine right before the race.
Likewise, if you are someone who never drinks coffee or uses caffeinated products, race week is not the time to start experimenting!
For more on caffeine read my blog post: From Cup to Finish Line: Using Caffeine Correctly for Peak Performance
Final Thoughts
Your taper nutrition, especially carb-loading in the final 1-3 days before the race, is key to unlocking your best performance. By prioritizing high-quality, low-fiber carbohydrates, staying well-hydrated, and managing nutrient timing, you set the stage for race-day success. Remember to listen to your body and stick with familiar foods to avoid any unwanted surprises on race day.
Fuel smart, and let your hard training shine through on race day!
When it comes to tapering and carb-loading before an endurance event, many athletes struggle with finding the right balance of nutrition, hydration, and timing. Overloading on carbs or neglecting hydration can lead to stomach discomfort, bloating, and poor race performance. Navigating these last few days before a race can feel overwhelming, which is why working with a professional is key.
With expert guidance, you’ll get a personalized carb-loading plan that suits your individual needs, ensuring you're fueled, hydrated, and ready to perform at your best. Don’t leave it to guesswork—reach out for tailored support to achieve optimal nutrition and peak performance on race day.
Contact me at anniesathletes@gmail.com to schedule a consultation and take the next step in optimizing your race-day performance and health.
Resources
Whittle, R. E., Coleman, D. A., & Tuttle, N. S. (2021). Caffeine Withdrawal and High-Intensity Endurance Cycling Performance. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 31(5), 395-402. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.2020-0401
Asker Jeukendrup, Micheal Gleeson, Sport Nutrition, Third Edition, 2019
Close, G. L., Kasper, A. M., Walsh, N. P., & Maughan, R. J. (2019). ‘Food First’ but not always ‘Food Only’: Recommendations for using dietary supplements in sport. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 29(2), 178-184. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.2018-0265
Amawi, A., AlKasasbeh, W., Jaradat, M., Almasri, A., Alobaidi, S., Abu Hammad, A., Bishtawi, T., Fataftah, B., Turk, N., Al Saoud, H., Jarrar, A., & Ghazzawi, H. (2023). Athletes' nutritional demands: A narrative review of nutritional requirements. Frontiers in Nutrition, 10, 1132. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2023.1132181
Murray, R. (2018). Fundamentals of glycogen metabolism for coaches and athletes. Sports Science Exchange, 29(193), 1-7.
Impey, S. G., Hearris, M. A., Hammond, K. M., Bartlett, J. D., Louis, J., Close, G. L., & Morton, J. P. (2018). Fuel for the Work Required: A Theoretical Framework for Carbohydrate Periodization and the Glycogen Threshold Hypothesis. Sports Medicine, 48(5), 1031-1048. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0867-7
Jeukendrup, A. E. (2011). Nutrition for endurance sports: Marathon, triathlon, and road cycling. Journal of Sports Sciences, 29(sup1), S91-S99. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2011.610348
Burke, L. M. (2011). Carbohydrates for training and competition. Journal of Sports Sciences, 29(sup1), S17-S27. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2011.585473
Jensen, R., & Richter, E. A. (2014). Regulation of Muscle Glycogen Metabolism during Exercise: Implications for Endurance Performance and Training Adaptation. Sports Medicine, 44(1), 33-49. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-014-0154-1
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