Tag: Pasta party

A balanced, high-carbohydrate diet in the days leading up to an endurance event can improve performance by up to 3%. Knowing **what is the best meal to have the night before a run** is key to topping off these energy reserves and ensuring a successful, comfortable race or long training session.

According to sports nutrition research, a single pre-race dinner is often too late to be effective for maximal glycogen storage. In contrast to the popular 'pasta party' myth, the optimal window for carbo-loading begins 1 to 3 days before your event. So, do you carbo-load the night before? The answer is more nuanced than many believe.

Studies show that proper carbohydrate loading over several days can boost endurance performance by up to 25%. To fuel this effort, a popular meal the night before a marathon is designed to top off your body’s glycogen stores, providing the sustained energy needed for the grueling race ahead.

According to sports nutrition research, effective carb-loading can increase an athlete's stored glycogen levels by up to 50%. This is precisely why marathon runners eat pasta the night before, following a strategic dietary and training plan to maximize energy reserves for race day.