Carbohydrate Loading
Many athletes know that they should carbohydrate load prior to endurance events. Very few athletes know how to properly do this. In sport medicine terms, carbohyrate loading is a “practice that aims to maximize muscle glycogen stores prior to competition”. Muscle glycogen is the storage form of carbohydrates found in the muscle.

Carbohydrate loading is beneficial for events that last longer than 90 minutes. Itʼs said that it can improve an athletes performance by “2-3%” through prolonging the time to exhaustion. Carbohydrate loading includes 3 days of a high carbohydrate diet, in addition to very light or no training or exercise.

Choosing Your Carbohydrates
The amount of carbohydrates needed for carbohydrate loading ranges between 7 to 10 grams per kilogram of body weight per day, or between 400 to 800 grams per day.

Many athletes normally choose higher fibre breads and cereals, and whole fruits, and limit their intake of fruit juices and sweets. Due to the amount of carbohydrates needed while carb loading, the amount of fibre consumed can be higher than a person is used to and can cause increased gas, bloating, and potential problems with diarrhea on race day. So itʼs a good idea to choose foods that are lower in fibre in sources of carbohydrates such as white cereals, breads and grains, juice instead of fruit. Drinking sports drinks or regular pop is an easy way to increase the amount of carbohydrates consumed during the day.

Race Morning Nutrition
The meal consumed on race morning should be considered fine tuning the nutrition preparation youʼve done over the last 72 hours. The meal should be low in fat and fibre, and moderate in protein. The goals of the meal are: 1) to continue to fuel muscle glycogen; 2) ensure optimal hydration; 3) prevent hunger.

It is a good idea to try and consume the meal 2 to 4 hours before the start of the race, to ensure there is adequate carbohydrates in your meal.

Hydrating for the Big Day
Additional fluid is required to store carbohydrates as muscle glycogen, it is therefore important to keep well hydrated throughout the carbohydrate loading phase. You may gain 2 to 5 pounds during the carbohydrate load, due to fluid weight that is gained. Not to be concerned the benefit of carbohydrate loading is greater than the consequence of a small weight gain, by the time you are on the run portion of the race, your weight will have likely decreased to near normal status.

During the 24 hours prior to race, place more attention to your fluid intake. Monitor how often youʼre going to the bathroom and ensure that it is very light in colour.

On race day it is important to ensure you are well hydrated prior to the race start. Your hydration consumption should be between 14 to 21 ounces of fluid at your pre-race meal and 8 to 14 ounces at the race site.

It is advisable not tot ry any new diet strategies on race day. If youʼve never tried carbohydrate loading before, it is a good idea to try at least one day of eating a carbohydrate loading diet 24 hours before a race or a long training session. Race day meals and hydration strategies can be practiced before early morning training sessions.