What to eat to raise your running game
- Published
Whether you're starting a couch to 5K programme or training for your next half marathon, fuelling up in the right way can help improve performance and protect your body from your injury.
But it can be hard to know how much you need to tweak your diet – and what changes will be most beneficial.
This is exactly why we're about to break it down for you.
What to eat before a run
What you should eat in the lead up to your run varies, depending on distance and intensity.
Gentle jog, no longer than 90 minutes: No significant changes to your diet needed.
Faster-paced runs or longer distances: More carbohydrates required. Eat a small amount more at every meal in the days leading up to your run.
Carbohydrate is the key fuel source for aerobic exercise because it's broken down into glucose and used to provide energy for your muscles.
We can only store a limited amount of carbohydrates in the form of glycogen in our liver and muscles, so it's important that what you put in is nutritious.
Banana cocoa crunch overnight oats | Save to My Food now
You can toast a bigger batch of oats and nuts if you want to make this over several days
Choosing nutrient-dense carbs like porridge oats or wholegrains will help make sure your body is fueled with vitamins and minerals too. For example:
Wholemeal bagels contain more carbohydrates, gram for gram, than wholemeal bread, so you need less to get the same amount of carbs. Try a toasted bagel in the morning with banana or nut butter for added vitamins and minerals.
Sweet potatoes contain more vitamins and minerals than white potatoes, so try a baked sweet potato with black beans.
Wholemeal pasta contains more minerals such as zinc and iron than white pasta, try our easy one pot pasta.
Porridge oats come with a whole host of minerals, including manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, iron and zinc. Make overnight oats the night before you run for an easy breakfast on the go.
It's a good idea to trial a few different pre-run breakfasts before the big day. The last thing you want is an upset stomach!
Try to eat breakfast at least two hours before your run.
What to eat and drink during long runs
The amount of glycogen (carbohydrate) our bodies can store can give us enough energy for roughly 60–90 minutes of running (depending on pace and ability).
When these stores run out, we're likely to hit that wall.
If you're going long distance, you'll need to top up your carbohydrate stocks at a rate of 30–60g per hour.
To put that into context, an average banana has 25g and jelly sweets have an average of 5g each. Dried fruits and sports drinks can also be good ways to take on carbs quickly in a race.
Staying hydrated is also key. You'll need to take on around 150ml water every 30 minutes or so, although if it's hot or you're sweating more, you may need to up that.
Should you have protein after your run?
Protein has long been touted as the key to recovery after exercise, but does that mean we should all be reaching for protein shakes after a run?
Protein plays an important role in muscle building, repair and recovery, but whether you need to increase your intake depends on how much you're training.
Gentle jogger
If you're heading out for a couple of moderate jogs a week, you probably don't need any more protein than you already get from a healthy diet.
For moderate exercise, the recommended intake is around 0.8–1g per kg of your body weight each day.
This means that a woman weighing 57kg would need around 46g protein per day. This could be achieved by eating two large eggs or 400ml milk three times a day, or 75g chicken twice a day.
Scrambled eggs are a quick and easy way to increase your protein
Event trainer
If you are an athlete or training hard for an event such as a marathon it's important to think about how frequently you eat protein rather than just the quantity you eat.
All exercise leads to a breakdown of the proteins in your muscles, so you need to make good protein choices to promote muscle growth and repair.
It's recommended that athletes should take on 0.25g of protein per kilogram of their body weight, external three to six times a day. For an athlete who weighs 80kg, this means 20g three to six times a day (so 60-120g in total), which is equivalent to 240g (drained weight) chickpeas, 75g chicken or three large eggs.
Other nutrients runners shouldn't overlook
Calcium maintains bone density and prevents injury – both of which are crucial for runners. The NHS recommends, external adults aged 16–64 have 700mg of calcium a day through our diet. (It cautions that any more than 1,500mg a day could lead to an upset stomach.)
Dairy is the most common source, but soya products (when fortified) and small fish such as anchovies and sardines come with it too.
Simple miso, tofu and mushroom ramen | Save to My Food now
Tofu can be a good source of calcium
Originally published April 2019. Updated April 2026.
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