The anchor
Three hours, published start
At three hours a 45-minute delay or a 20-minute early call both still work.
Familiar, carb-forward, low fat and fibre, normal portion.
Put the real meal where a delay cannot hurt it, and keep the late decision cheap.
Three hours, published start
At three hours a 45-minute delay or a 20-minute early call both still work.
Familiar, carb-forward, low fat and fibre, normal portion.
One small thing, held back
Half a bagel, a fig bar, some pretzels, a few ounces of sports drink.
Its job is stopping hunger at the line, not fuelling the race.
Watch the race two ahead
Delays propagate forward almost perfectly; the printed schedule does not.
Give one person the job of reporting it back to the tent.
Do not try to catch up
There is no version where food going in at 25 minutes out helps.
Skip the float, sip water, compress the warm-up, race.