feeding time....(mind the rush!)

hi guys
i'm trying to make sure this race doesn't go down the same tubes as the last one. i got cramps and a stitch.

on saturday i have a rather important (televised on sky sports) XC race. it's 5k for me, but i don't know exactly how to prep for it in terms of eating the night and morning before.

any experienced runners who can help me with their ..well.......more experience?

what works for you?
least offensive foods?


any help and suggestions welcome,

and btw, the race starts at 1.30pm so i have time for breakfast. should i just fuel up then, or eat up the night before and have a light brekfast?

I would have a normal dinner, and then a decent sized breakfast, otherwise I'd be hungry again by the time the race started. I'd probably have my normal cereal or some porridge - depends how well you know your digestive system. I have to leave about 3 hours between eating solids and being able to run, so I would aim to eat breakfast about 9.30...

I always eat pasta or risotto the night before a race - that seems to work well.

Porridge always works a treat for breakfast - what I do before a lunchtime start is have a good-sized bowl of porridge about 3 hours before, then an energy bar about an hour before the race, and a banana right before the race if I'm feeling hungry, or an energy drink if not. My favourite way to eat porridge is with a banana and about a dessert spoon of honey mashed into it - gorgeous, and packed with energy!! I find bananas easy to digest as well - haven't ever had a stitch even if I eat one 10 minutes before a race. I guess it's different strokes for different folks tho - you need to eat according to what your digestive system can deal with.

thanks, any foods definitely to avoid?
i only became wary of this after the last race feeling a twinge, but i thought nothing of it until i got the mother of all stitches during a mid-week 10k, kicked me in the balls to say the least, but i ran thru it and the time was ok, it's just an uncomfortable feeling every runner has to deal with. just want to make sure everything goes well tomorrow.

thanks for the advice FANY, sounds like if it's simple complex carbs then i shouldn't have much of a problem. just don't have a curry an hour before the race, right! ;-P

When I was a student we always had a fry up or at least a bacon butty before XC races. I don't think I would try that now, although I did get puke of the year after one of the races.

Nowadays its the boring old porridge, with jaffa cakes closer to the race.