Daniel - if you have a 9 or 10 am start then you could probably get away with breakfast up to 2 hrs before the start. For me that would be toast and honey and maybe a jam sandwich. If the race is at say 3pm then I would have cereal or porridge/toast for breakfast and then a small portion of pasta at about mid day.

Drinks could be tea or coffee, water or energy drink up to an hour before the start.

If I had a really early start then I would move my cereal and toast to a short while before I go to bed the night before. I usually aim for 8 hrs sleep every night and don't change that routine much......wake up time is simply the time working backwards from the start to enable you to get there, park, register, warm up, visit the toilet(s), get rid of your kit, travel, eat etc etc.

As a guide I had a 9:45 am start for VLM and woke up at about 6:00 am.....from then on I was either eating, travelling or getting prepared as above.

I hope this helps - btw, lay all of your kit out on the floor the night before right down to the safety pins and then have a mental check. That way you sleep better!

I keep changing my approach to race day, sometimes I will eat on the day and othertimes I do not. What I would like to discuss is the general concensus the night before race day and race day itself. What time should I sleep until Should I eat really early in the morning etc... I have had stiches and its painful I would like to avoid it so any tips would be good.