As race day approaches, what you do in the final 72 hours can significantly impact your performance and enjoyment. This critical window is not the time for last-minute intense training or dramatic changes to your routine. Instead, these final days should focus on rest, proper nutrition, smart hydration, and mental preparation. Understanding how to optimize these three days gives you the best chance of arriving at the starting line feeling fresh, confident, and ready to perform your best.
Three days before your race, the most important action is eliminating alcohol from your diet. Many runners don’t realize how significantly alcohol affects hydration status and recovery capacity. Even moderate consumption can leave you dehydrated and impair your body’s ability to store glycogen—the primary fuel source for endurance activities. While it might be tempting to celebrate the upcoming race with friends, saving that celebration for after the finish line serves your performance goals much better and ensures you’re not fighting unnecessary dehydration on race morning.
Two days before the race, your focus should shift to quality sleep and light activity. This is the night when sleep truly matters—many people find they’re too anxious to sleep well the night immediately before a race, so banking good rest two nights out provides a crucial buffer. Keep your activity level low with perhaps some gentle stretching and a very short, easy run to keep your legs loose without depleting energy. This is also the day to finalize your race outfit, laying out everything you plan to wear and ensuring it’s all gear you’ve tested previously during training runs.
The day immediately before your race should be almost entirely devoted to rest. Resist any urge to do a “shakeout run” or test your fitness—trust the training you’ve already completed. This is the day to begin serious hydration efforts, sipping water and electrolyte drinks consistently throughout the day. Avoid any activities that could cause muscle soreness, including that deep tissue massage you might think would help you relax. While gentle movement is fine, anything more vigorous just depletes the energy reserves you’ve been building. Focus on mental preparation, reviewing your race plan, and visualizing a successful experience.
Race morning brings the culmination of all this preparation. Keep your breakfast light and familiar, eating at least two hours before the start time to allow for digestion. Have a banana, apple, or dates about 45 minutes before the start for quick energy. Double-check that you’re wearing only tested, comfortable clothing—never something new that could cause problems. Stay calm, trust your preparation, and remember that the goal is to enjoy the experience and finish feeling good. The 72 hours leading up to race morning might seem less important than the months of training beforehand, but they’re actually when you convert all that hard work into race-day readiness.