Nutrition for EARLY races

I disagree with the eat big the night before.  Eat normally, so that you're not feeling stuffed.  I'd eat something the moment you get up.  Clif Bar is a good choice or anything else that's going to give you around 300 to 500 calories.  After your bike ride, and right before your 5K take a gel.  That should do you fine.

When you get to doing a triathlon you'll want to adhere to the 3 hour rule.  Some people wake up, eat, and go back to sleep.  I don't find it difficult since I'm one of these neurotic people who likes to be at the race venue 1.5 hours ahead of time.  So to do that, I need to get up early enough so that I can eat, load up the car, and drive to the race.

Yeah, I didn't say eat big, I said eat decent.

Word of caution, I wouldn't try any of this (cliff bar, gel) on race day unless you've tried it in training first. Gels particularly don't sit well with people the first time. Really, your body has more than enough energy stores (glycogen) to get you through your bike ride and your 5K (even a sprint triathlon, for that matter).