Over in Toronto, while Julio may be munching on red Super Nibs, I am sticking to a more healthful race day convention:

Dippies.

Remember when you were little and your mum made you a soft boiled egg and then cut the toast into strips so you could use them to eat the yolk? Some called this meal technique “Soldiers.” Some called this “Frog Fingers.” At my house, we called this “Dippies.”

Back in 2003, a cold November morning at 5 am, I was nervous. It was several hours before I was to run my first marathon. I decided to channel the happy calm of my childhood by making myself some Dippies.

It’s been my race day tradition ever since.