How to Eat & Drink Before Competition

By Melinda Burris

A hard and fast rule for competition day preparation is to make sure your body is well-fueled and properly hydrated. After all, you’re asking your body to do its best for you, a feat that simply isn’t possible unless its basic needs are provided for, leaving you strong, energized, and focused on the challenge ahead. This article discusses some standard best practices for what to eat and drink prior to the big event, also a few don’ts, solutions for the common problem of upset stomach on game day, and a look into the diet followed by internationally renowned Irish hurdler Thomas Barr.
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Some Simple Rules to Follow:

1. Fuel up to make sure your muscle glycogen stores are loaded up and ready to go. When training, you need to make sure you eat meals high in carbohydrates each day to allow your body to build up those all-important glycogen stores that you will need to optimize your performance in the sustained effort and that final push competition so often requires.¹
2. Eat what you know! Experts agree, event day (or even the day before) is no time to try new foods that you don’t know how your body will react to; the last thing you need is to feel ill because of something you ate just as you are facing a big competition.¹
3. Stay hydrated: Don’t wait until the last minute to start hydrating your body. The day prior to the event, be sure to consume an additional amount of water, drinking 2-3 glasses before retiring and consuming another 1-3 glasses in the final 5-10 minutes prior to the official start of the event.²
4. Be vigilant: Dehydration has serious side effects including dizziness, lack of focus, nausea, and in severe cases, kidney failure, and even death.

Proper fluid intake is also beneficial: retaining a proper hydration level aids the body as it works to deliver necessary nutrients to and from your muscles. It is also necessary to allow your body to sweat as needed so you can naturally cool down. Hydration also aids in recovery.²

5. Recommendations for Making Sure Your Hydration Level Stays in the Ideal Range:

The following are some suggestions regarding the proper timing and amounts of water intake to maintain ideal hydration and avoid dehydration. There are also instructions for how to check your hydration level based on the color of your urine output. This information was researched and compiled by the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS):

*2-4 hours prior to the start of competition, drink between 14 to 20 ounces of water.²

*Check the color of your urine two to four hours before competition is set to begin; doing so will tell you if you are properly hydrated. Ideally, the urine ought to be light yellow, akin to the color of lemonade.²

*If you have no urine output or your urine is dark, be sure to drink an additional eight ounces of water two hours before the start of the event.²

*Be sure to continue drinking throughout the competition to avoid dehydration due to sweating.²

*Continue drinking after the competition has ended to replace the water weight you lost through sweating. The experts at UCCS recommend consuming a minimum of two cups of water for each pound lost during competition. (Weigh yourself at the conclusion of the competition so you know how much weight you need to replace.) Up this H2O intake to three cups for each pound lost if you are participating in another event that day.²

*For events that have a duration exceeding one hour, athletes are advised to consume Sports drinks rather than water to assist in replacing the electrolytes your body is losing as a result of sweating and to provide carbohydrates needed to revive your muscles.²

Upset Stomach?

Research reveals this is a common ailment among athletes, with an estimated 30-50% of competitors complaining of having an upset stomach on competition day when they eat beforehand. This is important for hurdlers to note as studies show that athletes who compete in high-intensity sports or events “that jostle the insides” are more susceptible to this problem.¹ It is worth noting that dehydration has also been cited as a contributory factor.¹

Solutions:

1. If you suffer from upset stomach when you eat prior to events, try eating a small portion “of a low-fat protein” such as cottage cheese or milk along with a carbohydrate. Consuming this combination of foods has been shown to ease digestive distress and has the added benefit of being slow to digest, which means you won’t feel hungry while you are competing.¹
2. Another option is to stick to a liquid diet prior to the event, protein shakes would be a good choice.¹

What Does a Champion Hurdler Eat?

Irish hurdler Thomas Barr has certainly made his mark in the sport, having won numerous titles. He has earned international acclaim for his performances at the 2015 World University Games where he took the gold in the 400-meter hurdles and at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio where he broke his nation’s record for the 400-meter hurdles, twice.³ In an interview last year, this hurdling champion revealed the details of his eating habits for training and competition.

Barr has a set dietary regimen, as he puts it, “I cook to live and eat for a purpose.”⁴ And that purpose is clearly to keep his body fueled and ready for competition; he eats four meals per day: a light early breakfast with protein prior to his morning training session, then a second, heavier breakfast (with more protein) once his first workout of the day is complete. He has a lean protein sandwich for lunch and then consumes a nutritious snack, such as a rice cake, before beginning his afternoon training. His evening meal is a balanced one, made up of a lean protein – usually chicken or salmon, and then a carbohydrate such as pasta or rice and a mix of vegetables on the side. Barr makes no contention that he is trying to eat a gourmet diet; he explains his approach to food is simple: “I eat regularly and make sure I eat all the healthy stuff!”⁴

When asked if he eats anything special the evening before a major event, Barr replied he doesn’t make any major alterations to his diet on the eve of an event because he doesn’t want to chance eating something he isn’t used to and having to compete with an upset stomach.⁴ As noted previously, maintaining food intake that your body is used to aligns with expert advice.²

Barr does note that he generally eats a larger amount of carbohydrates, a move that is also recommended by nutritionists, coaches, and trainers to ensure your body has the appropriate amount of glycogen reserves to get you across the finish line.^4,1

References:

1. Swearingen, D., Central Washington University. (n.d.). Eating Before Competition.
2. (n.d.). Pre-Competition Nutrition.
3. Athletics Ireland. (2019). Thomas Barr: 400M HURDLES, 4X400M RELAY.
4. Taylor, P. (4 March 2014). Battling A Nervous Stomach.

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