Do I eat that massive pasta meal before a long run? Is carbo-loading all it’s cracked up to be? What should I have during a run? What should I eat after a run?

This interesting article by Dr William Henderson answers all your questions!

In summary:

• Eat well leading up to a big race and don’t do anything crazy with your diet. Make sure you are eating good quality carbohydrates with your meals (brown rice, good quality breads, whole wheat pasta etc)
• Eat a meal rich in complex carbohydrates 3 -4 hours before a run.
• For runs over 1.5 hours, ingest carbohydrate source every 45 minutes. Gatorade/powerade/gus etc are all good sources, easy to have on the run.
• Eat a meal rich in protein and amino acids after a run – preferably within the 30 minutes after.