White bread gets a lot of stick. Nutritionally bankrupt. Ultra-processed. The devil in loaf form. And yet… it just keeps showing up. Especially in the bellies of runners.
Here’s the thing: not everything you eat before a run needs to be soaked in chia seeds and moral superiority. Sometimes you just need a slice of toast to get you out the door without feeling like your legs are running on fumes.
White bread, yes, the plain kind your granny used to buy in a plastic bag, is actually a decent pre-run option. It’s light, low in fibre (which is a good thing before a run), and gives you quick-release carbs without upsetting your stomach. If you’re aiming for performance and not a nutrition lecture, that slice of toast is quietly doing the job.
What Should You Put on It?
This is where people go wrong. Lashings of peanut butter and half a banana? Fine. A thick slab of butter and three sausages? Maybe not.
For short runs or morning sessions, try:
- Toast + honey (classic)
- Toast + jam (equally classic)
- Toast + banana slices (posh)
Basically, you want a bit of simple carbohydrate with just enough flavour to stop you dying of boredom.
The Myth of Brown Bread Superiority
Look, wholegrain has its place, just maybe not 20 minutes before a 10K tempo. It digests slower, which means more time in the stomach, and if you’re the type who gets stitchy or gassy mid-run, you’ll quickly learn to respect the power of the plain white slice.
You can always go back to the seeded, wholesome stuff after you’ve showered.
Final Word
White bread isn’t going to win any awards for nutrition, but it might just get you through your next session with minimal fuss and zero toilet stops. And sometimes that’s the real victory.
