A Guide to Pre & Post-Run Nutrition

Whether you’re aiming to set a new PB, preparing for your first half marathon or just increasing movement to lose weight or improve wellbeing, a healthy nutrition plan will help you achieve your goals and benefit your running.

This article covers the fundamentals you need to consider and specifically focuses on the optimal pre and post-run feeding strategy.

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Why is nutrition important for runners?

Nutrition is what fuels the body for exercise performance and helps our bodies recover.

An essential element of a nutrition plan for runners is their calorie and macronutrient needs.¹

Running will significantly increase your daily energy expenditure and your energy intake needs to match according to your goals.¹

It’s also important to consider where these calories come from and, for most runners, carbohydrates should make up the majority of their diet.

Carbohydrate recommendations for runners range from 4-10g/kg/d.¹ This will vary depending on your goal and training program but as a general recommendation, those aiming to maximize performance should aim at the top end of this. For those running with fat loss in mind, a lower carbohydrate intake will be more appropriate.

For recovery, it’s important to replace the glycogen used during a run, consume protein to help repair muscles, and adopt a well-balanced diet to consume a wide variety of micronutrients.¹

What to eat before a run

In addition to the daily calorie and macronutrient requirements required to optimize running performance, timing your nutrition around your training is the best way to get the best out of each and every run.²

There are a number of factors that determine which is the best pre-run meal. These include the length of the run, the intensity, and the overall goal of the session (e.g. improved performance or fat loss).

The time you choose to run will also heavily affect the feasibility of a certain nutrition strategy. For example, an early morning run may be best done fasted or after a light snack and a late afternoon run should be performed approx. 2-3 hours following a meal.²

For those focussed on performance improvements, as a general guide, it's best to include a meal or snack high in carbohydrates which is also low in fat and fiber to make it easy to digest.

Examples include:

• Banana and snack bar
• Cereal and milk
• Porridge with fruit
• Chicken sandwich
• Tuna and a jacket potato
• Toast and jam

If running for fat loss, performing a run with low glycogen availability will increase the amount of fat used as a fuel during exercise.3 So, running fasted or after a low carbohydrate meal may be best.

In these circumstances suitable meals include:

• Omelette
• Chicken salad
• Grilled salmon and vegetables
• Whey protein shake