Why Fuelling Practice Matters as Much as the Plan

Race day nutrition isn’t just about knowing your carbohydrate target.

You might have a plan that says 60g, 70g or 90g of carbohydrate per hour.

Great.

But there’s another question that matters just as much...

Can your gut actually handle it while you’re running?

That’s why race nutrition needs to be practised during training, not just written down on paper.

Start With the Plan, Then Practise It

Your long runs are where you test how your race fuelling strategy actually works.

During training, practise:

how much carbohydrate you take in each hour
whether that comes from gels, chews, sports drink or food
how often you fuel
when you take water alongside it
how your digestive system responds

For example, if your target is 60g of carbohydrate per hour, work out which products will provide that amount, how often you’ll take them and how much fluid you’ll have alongside them.

The aim is to know what works before race morning.

Be Careful With Gels and Sports Drink

One important point I keep coming back to:

Avoid taking concentrated gels or chews with sports drink at the same time.

Why?

Gel + sports drink → a more concentrated carbohydrate load → greater chance of gut upset

A better option may be to take your gel with water, then use sports drink separately at another point.

Trust me, trying to find a portaloo halfway through a marathon is not part of anyone’s ideal race strategy.

What If Your Stomach Starts Feeling Too Full?

Sometimes, even with a plan, things don’t go perfectly.

If your stomach starts to feel overly full or uncomfortable, skip the next fuel intake and sip water for a while to give your digestive system a chance to catch up.

Slowing down slightly may also help digestion, although I know that isn’t exactly what most runners want to hear in the middle of a race.

The important thing to remember is this: Carbohydrate sitting in your stomach isn’t helping you yet.

It needs to move through the digestive system and be absorbed before your body can actually use it.

Why Do Sports Gels Use Different Carbohydrates?

You may have noticed ingredients such as glucose, fructose and maltodextrin on sports gels and drinks.

That’s deliberate.

The gut can absorb around 60g of glucose per hour through one transport pathway. By combining glucose or maltodextrin with fructose, which uses a different pathway, athletes can absorb a greater overall amount of carbohydrate.

This is known as using multiple transportable carbohydrates.

It’s one of the reasons modern endurance fuelling strategies can reach 60–90g of carbohydrate per hour, and sometimes higher.

But being able to consume that amount on paper doesn’t mean suddenly trying it for the first time on race day.

Your gut still needs practice.