Confluence Running · Nutrition education
Choose an amount you tolerate, then build a practical way to carry and consume it.
Evidence → explanation → your plan
During prolonged exercise, carbohydrate intake helps maintain blood glucose and carbohydrate use. Gels, chews, maple syrup, and drink mixes are delivery formats. The serving and tolerated intake matter more than the format alone.
Read the evidence ↗Glucose-type carbohydrate and fructose use different intestinal transport pathways. Blends help support higher carbohydrate intakes in prolonged exercise. Higher numbers still need a trained, comfortable gut.
Read the evidence ↗| Your session | Carbohydrate during exercise | How to apply it |
|---|---|---|
| Under 45 minutes | Usually unnecessary | Arrive fed. Cover warm-up and waiting time with normal meals or a familiar snack. |
| Hard effort lasting 45–75 minutes | Small amounts, including a carbohydrate mouth rinse | Optional support for a sustained hard effort. An entire gel schedule is unnecessary. |
| About 1–2.5 hours | 30–60 g per hour | Start with a tolerated amount. Count drinks, gels, chews, and food together. |
| Longer than 2.5–3 hours | Build toward 60–90 g per hour when appropriate | Use mixed carbohydrate sources at higher rates and practice. A new athlete should not jump straight to 90 g per hour. |
Total carbohydrate per hour = carbohydrate from every product consumed ÷ exercise hours. Sodium and caffeine need separate totals. Calories are not interchangeable with carbohydrate grams when a product contains protein or fat.
| Example hourly menu | Carbohydrate | Practical detail |
|---|---|---|
| 2 × Maurten Gel 100 | 50 g | Each sachet supplies 25 g. Plan fluid separately. |
| 1 × Maurten Drink Mix 160 + 1 × Gel 100 | 65 g | 40 + 25 g. Use the labeled 500 mL mixing volume. This suits an hour only if the fluid volume suits you. |
| 1 × Tailwind Endurance Fuel stick pack + 1 × Gel 100 | 75 g | 50 + 25 g. A stick pack equals two 25 g carbohydrate scoops. Follow the packet mixing directions. |
| 2 × Maurten Gel 160 | 80 g | Each sachet supplies 40 g. Different from Gel 100. |
| 1 × Maurten Drink Mix 160 + 2 × Gel 100 | 90 g | 40 + 50 g. An advanced practiced option for prolonged exercise. |
At higher intake rates, combinations of glucose-type carbohydrate and fructose use more than one intestinal transport pathway. Check ingredients and practice the blend. A brand name, a special texture, or a higher price does not guarantee better performance or a comfortable stomach.
A 2026 review proposes higher intakes for some trained athletes while describing remaining evidence gaps. Those intakes are an advanced individual strategy. Our starter plans use established ranges up to 90 g per hour and do not ask beginners to copy elite intake rates.
Research discusses intake above 90 g per hour in trained athletes. Greater carbohydrate oxidation does not automatically establish a better race result for every athlete. Keep intake above the established starter framework as an advanced, individually supervised experiment rather than a new minimum.
Build from repeated training evidence: the amount consumed, gut comfort, fluid intake, pace, and whether the plan remains practical late in the session.
Source: Morton and colleagues. From Metabolism to Medals. Journal of Nutrition, 2026. Open access, CC BY.
