During an endurance event lasting longer than 60–90 minutes, the recommended carbohydrate intake to maintain b

Concept understanding — Pre Competition Meal Timing

Imagine you have a big presentation or an important exam tomorrow. You wouldn't eat a heavy, greasy meal right before walking into the room, would you? Your body would be busy digesting that food, making you feel sluggish, drowsy, and unable to think clearly. The same logic applies to an athlete before a competition, but the stakes are physical performance, not just mental focus.

Pre Competition Meal Timing is the strategic planning of when an athlete eats their last significant meal before an event. It is not about what they eat (that's meal composition), but about the precise window of time between eating and competing. The core idea is to finish digestion before the starting whistle blows, so that the body's energy is fully available for muscles and the brain, not tied up in the stomach.

Why does this timing matter so much? Digestion is an active, energy-consuming process. It diverts blood flow to the stomach and intestines. If an athlete competes with a full stomach, that blood is split between digestion and working muscles. The result is often cramps, nausea, side stitches, and a feeling of heaviness. The athlete feels slow and uncomfortable. On the other hand, if they wait too long, their blood sugar may drop, leading to weakness, dizziness, and poor concentration. The goal is a "sweet spot" where the stomach is empty but the fuel from the meal has been absorbed and is circulating in the blood.

Important

The fundamental principle is "empty stomach, full fuel tank." The meal must be fully digested before the event starts, so the body can focus all its resources on performance.

For most athletes, this sweet spot is typically 3 to 4 hours before the event. A meal eaten at this time allows for complete digestion of a balanced meal containing carbohydrates, some protein, and very little fat or fibre (which slow digestion). A smaller snack, like a banana or a sports bar, might be eaten 1 to 2 hours before, as it digests much faster. The exact timing depends on the individual and the size of the meal.

Here are the key practical points to remember: …

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Stored glycogen fuels only about 60–90 minutes of hard continuous exercise.

Past that point carbohydrate must be taken during the event, at 30–60 g per hour.

Less than that fails to defend blood glucose; far more than that cannot be absorbed and causes gut distress.

Correct option: (b) 30–60 g per hour.

Concept understanding: why the 60–90 minute mark matters

Carbohydrate is stored as glycogen in two places:

Muscle glycogen — fuel for the working muscle itself.
Liver glycogen — the reserve that is released into the blood to keep blood glucose steady, which is what the brain runs on.

Both stores are small. In hard continuous endurance work they last roughly 60–90 minutes. When they run low:

blood glucose begins to fall;
the muscles must shift to burning fat, which yields energy far more slowly and needs more oxygen per unit of energy;
pace therefore drops sharply — the classic "hitting the wall" or "bonking";
the brain, starved of glucose, produces heavy fatigue, poor decision-making and loss of technique.

Important

Feeding carbohydrate during the event does not put glycogen back into the muscle mid-race. Its job is to supply glucose to the blood so that the muscles have an external fuel source and the liver's store is spared. That is why the intake is spread evenly over each hour rather than taken in one large dose.

Why the ceiling is around 60 g per hour

The limit is not the muscle's appetite — it is the gut. Glucose crosses the intestinal wall through specific transport proteins, and those transporters saturate. During exercise, when blood is being diverted away from the gut to the muscles, absorption is slower still. Push more carbohydrate in than can be absorbed and the surplus simply sits in the intestine, drawing water in, which produces:

stomach cramps and bloating,
nausea,
diarrhoea — and a ruined race.

So the practical, absorbable window is about 30–60 grams per hour.

How the athlete actually takes it

Source	Rough carbohydrate content	Note
Sports drink (6–8 g per 100 ml)	~30–40 g in 500 ml	Delivers fluid + carbohydrate + electrolytes together — usually the best choice
Energy gel	~20–25 g each	Must be taken with water, or it sits heavy in the stomach
Banana	~25 g	Familiar, cheap, easily tolerated
Dates (2–3)	~15–20 g	Practical Indian option

Practical rules:

Start feeding early, before fatigue arrives — not once you already feel empty.
Take small amounts frequently (e.g. every 15–20 minutes) rather than a large amount at once.
Practise the feeding plan in training. The gut adapts, and race day is never the day to try a new gel.

Why the other options fail

(a) 5–10 g per hour — a trivial amount, roughly a mouthful of sports drink. It cannot defend blood glucose over two or three hours of work; the athlete still depletes and still hits the wall. …

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Q.During an endurance event lasting longer than 60–90 minutes, the recommended carbohydrate intake to maintain blood glucose is:

Concept understanding: why the 60–90 minute mark matters

Why the ceiling is around 60 g per hour

How the athlete actually takes it

Why the other options fail

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