Why would an athlete have a big pasta dinner the night before a race?

Because he/she needs to store large quantities of energy that he/she would require for the race. Pasta mainly consists of wheat which a carbohydrate. carbohydrates are primary source of energy in the body. once an athlete consumes pasta, starch in the wheat will digested to produce excess glucose which will be stored in form of glycogen in the live by the help of hormone insulin. during the race day, when an athlete uses all glucose in the blood, glycogen is converted to glucose through the help of hormone glucagon. glucose is transported to skeletal muscle cells where it is converted to energy.