Originally Posted by
ba-ba
If you're doing it 'properly' you should probably have a good trough 2 nights before the race and a good lunch the day before the race, with a lightish meal the immediate night before. Otherwise you run the risk of starting with a load of food sat in your gut and feeling bloated, especially if it's an early start (think 4am BG start).
That said I know people who have had some excellent results off a big fish & chips the night before and that's often my go too.
Before my only marathon I tried a carb cut-down for a few days earlier in the week (nothing as advanced as some people do) before pigging out in the last 3 days and felt bloody magic. I was more controlling in what I ate the night before (chicken and rice based) - sometimes when I stay over at my parents' before a race we get lasagne, baked spud and garlic bread and the triple carb can lead to a very heavy feeling on race day.