Race-week carb load.
Top up muscle glycogen before your A race. Hit 8–12 g of carbs per kg per day for 2–3 days, spread across 5–6 meals. Cut fat & fibre, lean on familiar foods.
Eat lots of
- • White rice (45 g / cup)
- • White pasta (43 g / cup)
- • Bagels (48 g each)
- • Bananas (27 g each)
- • Pretzels, white bread, sports drinks
- • Honey, jam, dates, applesauce
Avoid race week
- • High-fibre veg (broccoli, kale, beans)
- • Whole grains the last 24–36 h
- • Fatty, greasy, fried foods
- • Anything new — only foods you know
- • Alcohol (dehydrates, hurts sleep)
Common questions
How many carbs per kg should I eat when loading?
Target 10–12 g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight per day for 2–3 days before your race. First-timers start at the low end (10 g/kg), experienced loaders can push 12 g/kg.
When should I start carb loading?
Begin 2–3 days out. Modern research shows longer loading windows give no extra benefit and often cause GI discomfort. Hit the daily total, then taper fiber and fat the last 24–36 hours.
Will I gain weight from carb loading?
Yes, 1–3 lb (0.5–1.5 kg) is normal and expected. Every gram of glycogen binds ~3 g of water — the scale gain means it worked. Don't restrict the night before.
What about race morning?
3–4 hours pre-race: ~3 g/kg of carbs from familiar, low-fiber sources (white bagel, oatmeal, banana). 15–30 min pre-race: 25 g quick carbs (gel + water).
Do short races need a carb load?
No. Anything under about 90 minutes runs fine on normal glycogen stores plus a solid pre-race meal. Loading for a 10K mostly buys you a heavy, sluggish start line.
What foods make hitting the target realistic?
White rice, pasta, bagels, potatoes, juice, sports drink, jam, honey and low-fibre cereal. Cut fibre, fat and protein volume back so the carbohydrate actually fits.
Should I train the gut before loading?
Yes. Practise both the load and race-day fuelling in at least two long sessions so nothing on race week is a first attempt.
Breno MeloHead Coach · USA Triathlon, Road Runners Club of America, TrainingPeaksEmail me my carb loading plan
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One-day high-carbohydrate loading protocol with in-race intake guidance
Loading: 10–12 g carbohydrate per kg body mass per day for 24–48 h pre-race. In-race: up to 60 g/h from a single transportable carbohydrate, up to 90 g/h from a 2:1 glucose:fructose blend.
- Your event exceeds roughly 90 minutes, below which loading confers no benefit.
- Training volume is reduced during the loading window.
- Your gut has been trained to the intake rate you select.
- The 90 g/h ceiling requires multiple transportable carbohydrates and deliberate gut training; untrained athletes commonly fail above 60 g/h.
- Loading adds roughly 1–2 kg of water weight with the stored glycogen.
- Guidance is per kilogram of body mass and is not appropriate for anyone managing diabetes without clinical advice.
Trained male cyclists and runners in the underlying trials; the one-day protocol was tested on trained males and generalises less well to female athletes, who are under-represented in this literature.
Formula, constants and cited sources last verified on . Spotted something wrong? Email breno@brenoamelo.com and it gets corrected and dated.
How the carb load is calculated
Loading works by supercompensating muscle glycogen. Below about 8 g/kg/day you do not reliably supercompensate; above about 12 g/kg/day you mostly buy GI distress.
Event duration sets the target inside that band: a 90-minute race needs the low end, a full Ironman the high end.
Training volume drops during the load. Same food, less burning, is the mechanism.
References
Every physiological claim on this page traces to one of the primary sources below — the original paper, textbook or governing-body standard, not a secondary write-up.
- 01Bussau VA, Fairchild TJ, Rao A, Steele P, Fournier PA (2002). Carbohydrate loading in human muscle: an improved 1 day protocol. European Journal of Applied Physiology 87(3):290–295. doi:10.1007/s00421-002-0621-5
- 02Jeukendrup AE (2014). A step towards personalized sports nutrition: carbohydrate intake during exercise. Sports Medicine 44(Suppl 1):S25–S33. doi:10.1007/s40279-014-0148-z
- 03Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM (2016). Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians of Canada, and the American College of Sports Medicine: Nutrition and Athletic Performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 48(3):543–568. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000000852
Marathon Fueling Strategy
Carbs per hour, gel timing and the gut training that makes it work.
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Bottle-by-bottle fueling for four hours and up.
The Marathon Taper, Week by Week
Exactly what the last three weeks should look like.
How to Train for Your First Marathon
The 16-week structure that gets a first-timer to the line healthy.
Fuelling is one session. Apex plans the other 200.
Carb loading is 72 hours of a season. Apex builds the months in front of it — the sessions, the gut training and the race-week structure the load is supposed to top off.
- Fueling attached to the sessions where it matters
- A week of training built around your race, not a generic template
- Adaptive re-planning and in-app coach messaging
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Race-week fueling, dialed in by your coach.
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