JRF 10K2026Race-week eating
Not a feast — a tilt to carbohydrate, Fri + Sat. A small scale rise is glycogen water, not fat.
- Thu dinner — tilt to carbohydrate: rice, noodles, bread up; oil and fibre down
- Fri — carbs at every meal. Reduce fibre deliberately — no beans, peel the fruit
- Sat — last substantial meal at lunch. Dinner early, small, boring
The common error is eating more, not eating differently. A heavy Saturday dinner before a 02:35 alarm is worse than being slightly under-loaded.
Breakfast
40–60 g familiar carbohydrates, 15 minutes after the alarm — 1¾ h or more before your gun. Low fibre, low fat. Nothing you have not eaten before a run. The gap is your toilet window.
| Works | Avoid |
|---|---|
| White bread + jam or honey | Anything wholegrain or high-fibre |
| Plain white rice | Fried food, coconut milk, heavy sauces |
| Banana | Large dairy servings |
| Plain biscuits | Anything not eaten before a run before |
Coffee only if it is your habit. Not the day to start it, not the day to stop it.
300–500 ml with breakfast, then stop — sips after that buy nothing but a toilet queue.
Drinking
| # | km | your clock | note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2.5 | 05:38:05 | hydration station |
| 2 | 5.0 | 05:55:25 | hydration station |
| 3 | 7.5 | 06:12:41 | hydration station · optional — 2.5 km out |
Drink at the stations — how much is yours to learn in training. Fluid needs vary too much between runners for Race Buddy to prescribe volumes. On a hot morning, slow down and take an extra cup.