Carboloading isn’t about the night-before binge; it’s a multi-day scientific strategy to top off your energy stores without weighing you down.
- Forget the binge: Eating too much pasta the night before the race only leads to poor sleep and feeling sluggish at the start line.
- Start early: True loading begins 2 to 3 days before the event, not at the last minute.
- Switch fuels: In this phase, prioritize “white” and refined foods, drastically reducing fiber and fats.
- Accept the weight: If the scale shows an extra couple of pounds, it’s a good sign: it means you’ve stored glycogen and water.
- Internal hydration: The water bound to glycogen will be your essential fluid reserve during those final miles.
- The math matters: Aim for 7–10g of carbohydrates per kg of body weight, spreading them across small, frequent meals.
The Night-Before Pasta Party Isn’t Enough. Here’s How Real Loading Works
On the eve of a major marathon, you might see runners with wild eyes staring down plates of pasta that defy the laws of physics in both quantity and sauce. It’s called a “Pasta Party,” and it’s a wonderful social moment. But if you think that’s carboloading, we’re heading down the wrong path.
Stuffing yourself the night before has only one certain effect: taxing your digestion when your body should only be thinking about resting. The risk is waking up on race morning feeling like you’ve swallowed a whole set of china instead of pure energy. Carboloading—the real kind, the kind that saves you from the Wall at mile 20—is a strategy, not a banquet. It’s a slow, almost boring process, but it’s incredibly effective.
The Science of Glycogen: Filling the Tank to 100%
Imagine your muscles as a sponge or, to use a more high-tech image, the battery of your smartphone. During your training, you’ve drained and recharged this battery a thousand times. Now, for the big day, you need the indicator to read 100%, not 98% and certainly not 99%.
Muscle glycogen is the form in which your body stores carbohydrates to use when energy demands get intense. If you start with a full tank, you have enough autonomy for about 90–120 minutes of intense effort (or much more at a leisurely pace). If you start with the tank at three-quarters, that moment when your legs turn to wood and your head starts suggesting alternative hobbies like gardening will arrive much sooner. The goal of carboloading is to saturate these stores. Not just “eating a lot,” but “storing everything.”
When to Start: The 2–3 Day Rule
The math helps us here. You can’t fill a tank in five minutes without fuel spilling everywhere. The scientific protocol suggests starting to increase carbohydrate intake 2 to 3 days before the race.
While your training volume decreases (you’re in the tapering phase, remember?), your fork needs to work harder. You don’t necessarily need to eat double the volume, but you must change the proportions. The goal is to ingest between 7 and 10 grams of carbohydrates for every kilogram of body weight. If you weigh 70 kg, we’re talking about a significant amount of carbs. Doing it all in one night is impossible. Doing it over three days is strategy.
What to Eat (and What to Avoid): Yes to “White,” No to Whole Wheat (for Now)
This is where a common health myth crumbles. Usually, we tell you to eat whole grains, look for fiber, and vary your diet. Forget all that for 72 hours. In this phase, fiber is an obstacle: it fills the stomach, giving you premature satiety (preventing you from eating enough carbs) and—a detail not to be overlooked—it can cause unpleasant intestinal surprises during the run. No one wants to be looking for a porta-potti at mile 10.
So, what should you eat?
- Yes: White rice, non-whole wheat pasta, white bread, potatoes (peeled), bananas, honey, jam, rusks.
- No (or very little): Whole grains, legumes, fibrous vegetables, fatty foods, or excessive protein that slows down digestion.
Think of simple, almost “bland” foods, but in generous quantities. It’s the triumph of white rice with a drizzle of oil.
Feeling Bloated? It’s Water, and It’s Your Friend
You’ll arrive at Saturday afternoon feeling bloated. You’ll look in the mirror and think you’ve ruined months of training because you look “soft.” Don’t panic. This is exactly what’s supposed to happen.
The biochemistry is clear: every gram of glycogen stored in the muscles binds with about 3 grams of water.
If you gain a pound or two, it’s not fat. It’s water and energy. That water is precious: it will be released into your system as you consume glycogen during the race, helping you maintain hydration from the inside. Being “dry” at a marathon start often means being dehydrated or depleted. Feeling a bit like the Michelin Man is the sign that you’ve done your homework.
A Sample Loading Day
There’s no need to overcomplicate things with five-star recipes. Simplicity is the key to not stressing the digestive system. Here’s what a typical day might look like 2 days before the race:
- Breakfast: Oatmeal (if you tolerate it well) or toasted white bread with honey or jam, fruit juice.
- Snack: A banana or rice cakes.
- Lunch: A large plate of basmati rice with a little oil and parmesan, perhaps accompanied by a small portion of chicken breast (small, because protein is too satiating right now).
- Snack: Rusks with jam or a carb-only energy bar.
- Dinner: Boiled or baked potatoes (without overdoing the fats) and some white fish, with bread on the side.
On race day, your breakfast will only be the final top-off of a tank you’ve wisely and patiently filled in the preceding days. And when others fade at mile 20, you’ll still have high-grade fuel to burn.