What to Eat Before an Obstacle Race: 19 Pre-Race Meals

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If you’ve been training with a purpose, then you know the importance of proper obstacle race nutrition. Fueling adequately and properly plays a critical role in helping you endure your rigorous workouts and recovery afterwards. But what you eat before the race is just as critical.

Your pre-mud run nutrition will vary depending on your race length. If your run is less than one hour, what you normally eat before your workout should provide enough energy for your event.

A longer race like the Tough Mudder requires more sustenance. You may need to have both a pre-game meal and a snack right before and/or during your race like an energy shake or gel.

Overall, your pre-race meal is not the time to focus on getting ripped or weight loss as you will need more carbs than protein to fuel your race. Try to have your pre-race meal about 3 hours before your event. Be sure to keep in mind your travel time.

Here are 19 pre-race meal ideas.

Pre-Obstacle Race Meal Shakes

If nerves may get the best of you before a race, you may consider having your pre-game meal in liquid form. I prefer making my own at home. You can get better, less processed nutrition from a homemade shake.

Keep in mind your pre-race meal isn’t the time to experiment with new foods and food combinations. If any of these shakes are new to you, I’d recommend trying them as a pre or post-workout meal first to make sure they sit well with you.

These are some of my picks.

1. Banana Shake

1 Banana
Protein Powder
1 Tablespoon peanut or almond butter or 1 Tablespoon flax or chia
1 c low-fat milk (cow, soy, or almond) or 1 c water

Bananas are often listed as the go-to food to include in most pre-event meals. Why? They have a high potassium & carb content, and you’ll need both to fuel your obstacle race.

If you decide to substitute another fruit for your pre-race meals, keep in mind these two components. There’s about 422 mg of potassium in one medium banana. Other high potassium fruits:

Cantaloupe (473 mg per cup)
Kiwi (520 mg per cup)
Honeydew (404 mg per cup)
Fresh apricots (401 mg per cup)
Papaya (360 mg per cup)
Oranges (300 mg per cup)

For protein powder, I usually use Jay Robb Whey Powder.

2. Nutella Shake

½ -1 whole Banana
1 T Nutella
Protein Powder or ½ c low-fat cottage cheese
1 c low-fat milk (cow, soy, or almond)

3. Kiwi-Blueberry Shake

1 c Kiwi
1 c Blueberries (frozen or raw)
Protein Powder or ½ c low-fat cottage cheese
1 Tablespoon Flax or Chia
1 c low-fat milk (cow, soy, or almond) or water

You can also substitute a banana in place of kiwis.

FYI: 1 c of blueberries have about 100 mg potassium.

Read more on Melissa’s website, MyExerciseCoach.net.

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