I was watching the women’s Olympic marathon and heard the announcers talking about the Chinese imitating the Japanese in eating their main meal three hours before the start of the marathon.

Hmm, that sounds familiar. Hammer Nutrition recommends this same protocol in their Endurance Sports Nutrition - Fueling Handbook. Check out the Pre-Race Meal chapter to get all of the details and here is the overview from this chapter below:

1. The title is somewhat of misnomer,
   because you don’t really need a
   full-fledged meal, just a snack to top
   off your liver glycogen. Your muscle
   glycogen, the first fuel recruited
   when exercise begins, does not
   deplete overnight.
2. You don’t need a big meal. You
   don’t need much protein, if any.
   You don’t need fiber. You need
   little, if any fat, and you want zero
   saturated fat. This isn’t the time
   for a fully-balanced, healthy meal.
   You primarily want easy to digest
   complex carbs.
3. Whatever you eat, finish a
   good three hours before race
   time to allow adequate time for
   digestion, absorption, and your
   blood glucose regulation system
   to normalize.
4. Pre-exercise hunger is not a
   sign of depleted glycogen; you
   can begin a workout or race when
   hungry. Once you get going, the
   hunger will stop. You do, however,
   want a full load of muscle glycogen,
   and that only comes from months
   of endurance training and proper
   recovery nutrition. You will not gain
   anything (except weight) by carboloading
   before a race.
5. A good pre-race snack might
   consist of a serving or two of
   Hammer Gel, a serving of Sustained
   Energy or Perpetuem, a bagel, a
   baked potato, or some combination
   of these.

For all longer events like a marathon, this protocol has worked for me. I also like a liquid carbohydrate breakfast. For shorter events, the recommendations differ a bit as noted in the guide.

Happy Training!

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