Jane Griffin knows how to get the most out of your body.

As sports dietician to London Irish Rugby Club, London Wasps and Harlequins England Rugby Academies, the Rugby Football League and the English Women's Golf Association, she is in a
good position to know what you need to put in to your body to get the best out of it.

Timing can be everything, so as a follow-up to the information on what to eat, Jane now helps runners prepare by telling them when to eat.

"Vigorous exercise should be accompanied by plenty of wholesome and filling meals. When training for the Leeds 10K, you need to make sure to keep your energy levels up, and this means eating the right food at the right time," says Jane, who is also an adviser to race sponsors Morrisons.

Jane offers the following tips to runners on knowing when to eat and why, in order to be best prepared for race day:

Start the day right

Make sure that you have breakfast every day, especially if you are running in the morning. Get into the habit of having breakfast before a morning run if you are a runner who tends to go out on an empty stomach.

Remember that the race starts at 9am on the Sunday, and you will need to eat before the race. This meal should be something familiar and enjoyable – something that you have tried and tested as a pre-race meal already.

Comfort in training

As you increase your mileage over the coming weeks, you may notice that your legs start to feel heavy, and that you lack energy towards the end of your training runs.

This is a sure sign that you need to up your intake of carbohydrate. You can do this by:

Increasing your portions slightly.

Eating more frequently.

Try to get into the habit of refuelling as soon as possible after your training run – this is when your muscles take in carbohydrates easily.

Little and often

You know that you've overdone it if you're bloated and uncomfortable. To stop this, try to eat little and often, as well as;

Cut back on fibre-rich foods – your digestive system will probably be working quite well this week as you begin to feel nervous.

Keep the fat content of your meals down – avoid fatty foods, pastries, chips and fatty meats.

Snack time

Increase your carbohydrate intake slightly over the final week of training. As well as making sure you have a good serving of carbohydrate-rich foods at every meal, snack on carbohydrates – grapes, bananas, cereal bars – even Jaffa cakes.

Stay hydrated

Drink what you would normally drink – just more of it. You should know that you are keeping well hydrated if you are urinating frequently, in reasonable amounts and your urine is pale in colour.

Sleep tight

To help ensure you get a good night's sleep the night before the race, include carbohydrates in your evening meal. This helps to increase serotonin levels, which, in turn, can help
to induce sleep.



On race day, work backwards

The key to success is organisation. Make sure you work out your schedule for the day of the race well in advance. Try working backwards and noting the times for each of the following;

What time the race starts.

What time you have to leave.

What time you will need to eat.

What time you will need to get up.

Allow for any diversions (alarm clock not going off, traffic etc) – this helps to ensure that you arrive at the start line as calm as you can be. Remember you must eat, so make sure this is a key part of your schedule.

And the most important rule of all…enjoy yourself.


The Leeds 10K "Run For All", on June 22, takes place through the streets of Leeds, passing many key city-centre landmarks.

Inspired by Jane Tomlinson MBE, the event is aimed at all abilities, and whether you run, walk, wheel or watch, the Leeds 10K will provide opportunities for thousands of people to participate
in a fantastic, charitable event.

The Leeds 10K "Run For All" is supported by Morrisons, Asics, Leeds City Council, Leeds Metropolitan University, Real Radio, Gatorade, Yorkshire Post, Clarion Solicitors and Logistik.

For more information on the Leeds 10K, visit http://www.runforall.com

For more information on Jane Griffin, visit www.eatwellperform
better.co.uk