Example of high carb intake during racing

The Big Alta

I am a big proponent of high carb intakes during training and racing and research backs this up also. Recently I ran the 28k at Big Alta by Freetrail and Daybreak Racing in beautiful Marin County, California and wanted to use my race as an example of high carb intake during racing. ​

5 of my friends from Portland at the finish of the Big Alta.

First of all, the Big Alta is an amazing weekend of trail running and I would highly encourage you to go race or watch next year. 2024 was the first year of the race and it amazing. Race weekend was so fun with the 50k on Saturday and the 28k on Sunday. I watched some friends race the 50k on Saturday and hung out at some aid stations and the finish line and it was such a great vibe. Sunday I raced the 28k with a bunch of friends and had a blast. 

The best vibes

Freetrail and Daybreak brought in Mountain Outpost to do the livestream of both races, had Dylan Bowman or Tim Tollefson on the finish line mic most of the weekend, and so many spectators were there to watch the action. The whole weekend was beautiful weather, had a great mix of fast pro trail runners there running and watching, and grassroots feel to the race. Anyone who was there will tell you the Big Alta had the best vibes! ​

@tonywithasony - Tony Dipasquale captures Matt expressing the Big Alta vibes.

The race plan

Sunday I raced the 28k and since I'm a midpack runner and hadn't been putting in a lot of miles or training, I just planned to run with friends, go out easy, slow run the ups, enjoy the views, and see how I felt after the second big climb and maybe push the final descent because I'm a downhill person (the reason I love mountain biking, roller coasters, fast cars, and anything exciting!). 

The nutrition plan

I had my typical prerace meal of a Clif Bar (Cool Mint Chocolate always!) and banana and then ate a Spring Energy Awesome Sauce right before the start. I had two 500ml soft flasks with LMNT in each (Watermellon Salt my favorite!), 2 extra LMNT and 8 Spring Energy Awesome Sauces in my pack. I wasn't sure how long it would take me to run the race (maybe 3-4 hours?) so could grab more stuff at the halfway point aid station if I was going slow and through I needed more carbs or to refill my soft flasks. My goal was to consume 100-120g carbs per hour and 500ml water with 1000mg sodium per hour. Each Awesome Sauce has 45g of carbs, so I was planning on having 2 an hour and 1 soft flask per hour (500ml water and 1000mg sodium). I love Awesome Sauce because of the high carb content, no fat, 2g protein, and they are so easy to eat and I have yet to get sick on them. I can slurp one down in 2 seconds, don't have to drink any water afterwards, and I've never had GI distress with them. ​

Matt racing the Big Alta 28k. Photo by Steven Mortinson.

How it went

Wrappers from my 7 Spring Energy Awesome Sauces I consumed during the Big Alta.

I stuck exactly to my plan and everything worked out great. My legs ended up feeling pretty good and I finished the race 2:51. I consumed 7 Spring Energy Awesome Sauces and 3 bottles with LMNT. I would have consumed another Spring Energy but it got lost in my pack and I couldn't find it. I consumed about 1400ml of water with 2800mg sodium and 110g carbs per hour - all exactly as planned! 

If I wouldn't had lost my last Spring Energy in my pack, I would have consumed it for a total of 126g carbs per hour! 

Takeaways

If you have not tried high carb intake during racing, I would highly recommend it. Experiment with different products and foods to see what works for you. You want something that tastes great, doesn't give you GI distress, and is easy to consume. Practice on long training runs and interval workouts and then doing it during racing will be second nature and easy. 

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Spring Energy Awesome Sauce Controversy: So it has come out that Spring Energy Awesome Sauce probably has about half the carbs (and calories) that the label says. In one way this makes sense because for the number of supposed carbs it contains, it has been the easiest to consume and digest compared to other gels with the same carb contents. There has still not been an official explanation from the company, but realistically, Awesome Sauce probably has half or less of the advertised grams of carbs per gel. Our friends at Sport Hunger sent a package of Awesome Sauce to the lab to get tested themselves and it came back having only 16g of carbs (english writeup by Electric Cable Car here). 

If we go with 16g carbs per gel that means in this race I consumed only 39g carbs per hour. Still felt great in the race, but not going to rely on Spring Energy for big carbs anymore.