As a health coach supporting men and women—including many runners—in achieving their health and fitness goals, I’ve heard of just about every diet out there. My clients frequently come to me after reading an article on Facebook or their favorite fitness website wondering if diet X or Y would work for them for weight loss or for better running performance.

If you've been training for the Baltimore Running Festival or another fall half or full marathon, your big race is just weeks away! Hopefully you've been training smart - like with one of the Charm City Run training groups - and logging plenty of miles. But have you been paying attention to what you're eating before, during and after your runs? Your last long run before the taper is coming up, so it's time to consider these questions as you enter the final days of training:

Whether you’re running a 5K or a 50K, the breakfast you eat on race day is an important factor in how you feel out on the course. Make a good choice and eat it at the right time, and you’ll feel energized and powerful. Make a poor choice and you may experience an uncomfortable finish, unpleasant GI issues, or both.

Runger often occurs several hours after a tough run, but frequently occurs a day or even two after the run. If not mitigated, runger can result in weight gain for runners, even those who are crushing serious miles. However, I have an effective strategy for minimizing runger