The final 72 hours before a marathon are about arriving at the start line fuelled, hydrated, recovered and ready to perform. That means topping up your carbohydrate stores, staying on top of hydration, prioritising sleep and, importantly, resisting the temptation to change everything at the last minute.
3 Days To Go: Start Topping Up
Three days before race day, start shifting your attention towards fuelling and hydration.
Increase your carbohydrate intake
Carbohydrates are stored in your muscles and liver as glycogen, which provides an important source of energy during endurance exercise.
In the days before a marathon, your goal is to arrive with those stores well stocked.
Begin increasing the proportion of carbohydrates in your meals and snacks with familiar foods such as:
- Rice
- Pasta
- Bread and bagels
- Oats and cereal
- Potatoes
- Fruit
- Crumpets
- Sports drinks and other carbohydrate-containing fluids
This doesn't have to mean eating enormous meals. Adding carbohydrate-rich snacks and drinks throughout the day can make increasing your intake much easier.
Get ahead on hydration
Don't wait until the night before your marathon to start thinking about hydration.
Drink regularly throughout the day and pay attention to factors that may increase your fluid needs, including warm weather and travel.
Including electrolytes can also help replace key minerals lost through sweat and support your overall hydration strategy.
RHISE® Hydration is an easy addition to your pre-race routine to help you stay on top of fluids and electrolytes in the lead-up to race day.
2 Days To Go: Fuel, Hydrate, Rest
At 48 hours out, keep things simple.
Your training volume should have dropped significantly, so use the extra time to focus on eating well, staying hydrated and keeping unnecessary stress to a minimum.
Keep the carbs coming
Continue prioritising carbohydrate-rich meals and snacks throughout the day.
Think carbohydrates first, then build the rest of your meal around them.
If increasing your food intake significantly leaves you feeling overly full, carbohydrate drinks can be a useful way to add additional carbohydrates without another large meal.
Don't overdo your final sessions
You've already built your fitness. You're not going to gain meaningful marathon fitness in the final 48 hours.
Keep any planned runs short and easy, follow your taper and resist the urge to squeeze in one last hard workout because you're feeling restless.
Fresh legs are the goal.
Prioritise your sleep
One poor night's sleep immediately before a race isn't necessarily going to undo months of training, which is why prioritising sleep across the whole week — and particularly these final few nights, matters.
Give yourself time to wind down, reduce late-night screen time where possible and stick to a familiar evening routine.
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1 Day To Go: Keep Everything Familiar
The day before your marathon isn't the time to try the new restaurant everyone recommended, or the new supplement.
The golden rule is simple: Nothing new before race day.
Eat familiar, carbohydrate-rich foods
Continue prioritising carbohydrates while choosing foods you know sit comfortably in your stomach.
Depending on what you've practised during training, you may also choose lower-fibre options as you get closer to the race to reduce the likelihood of gastrointestinal discomfort.
Your final dinner shouldn't be enormous. You should have been building your carbohydrate intake over the previous few days rather than relying on one giant bowl of pasta to do all the work.
Hydrate throughout the day
Sip fluids consistently rather than suddenly drinking litres of water before bed.
Continue including electrolytes as appropriate, particularly if it's warm or you're someone who tends to sweat heavily.
The aim is to wake up feeling hydrated, not to spend the entire night getting up to use the bathroom.
Get everything ready
Remove as many decisions as possible from race morning.
Lay out your kit, charge your watch, attach your race number and organise everything you'll need.
That includes your race nutrition.
Make sure you know:
- What you're having for breakfast
- When you're eating it
- What you're drinking before the start
- Which gels or carbohydrate products you're carrying
- When you're planning to take them
- Where the aid stations are
Race day isn't the time to invent your fuelling strategy.
Make recovery part of your evening
Your final evening should be about slowing everything down.
Put your feet up, relax and give your body the opportunity to recover from the training you've put it through.
Make your evening routine something you actually look forward to.
Rhise® ReCharge Sleep Hot Chocolate can become part of your pre-race wind-down routine, a warm evening drink before you switch off and get ready for the morning ahead.
Race Morning: Start Ready
Race morning should feel familiar. Eat the breakfast you've practiced during your long runs, ideally allowing enough time for digestion before the race begins.
For many runners, this means eating a carbohydrate-rich breakfast around 2–4 hours before the start, although your individual routine should be based on what you've successfully practised during training.
Keep sipping fluids rather than drinking a huge amount immediately before the race.
Fuel early and consistently
A marathon requires a significant amount of energy. Don't wait until you feel tired before you start fuelling.
Use the strategy you've practised during training, taking in carbohydrates regularly through options such as:
- Energy gels
- Carbohydrate drinks
- Sports chews
- Other familiar endurance fuel
Your exact carbohydrate requirements are individual and should ideally be something you've tested during your long training runs.
Rhise® Endurance and Performance Fuel can form part of your endurance nutrition strategy, helping you stay fuelled when the kilometres start adding up.
Your Pre-Marathon Checklist
3 days out:
Increase carbohydrates. Start paying closer attention to hydration. Follow your taper.
2 days out:
Keep carbohydrate intake high. Hydrate consistently. Keep training easy. Prioritise sleep.
1 day out:
Stick to familiar foods. Hydrate throughout the day. Prepare your kit and nutrition. Wind down early.
Race morning:
Eat your practised pre-race breakfast. Start hydrated. Follow the fuelling strategy you've trained with.
Three days out isn't about getting fitter. It's about giving your body everything it needs to use the fitness you've spent months building.
Start ready. Stay fuelled.
