2 hour training sessions for long MTB race - my experience

[dallenchaney]

Really enjoyed this thread as I transition from enduro racing to XCM this year! Thanks to everyone for such thorough comments

Just wanted to circle back to a comment further up —

@DaveWh

Just thinking about eating 4g/kg of carbs (260g in my case) per hour. Probably I did not reach that level, but also wondering whether it is possible to maintain this level for 5 consecutive hours?

This is totally possible. You just need to find the nutrition that works well for you. I use a combination of solids and gels. Others just go with a carb mix in their bottles. You just need to experiment a bit.

I think these units are off. My understanding of the research is that carb absorption generally tops out around 90-100 grams/hour (which equates to 360-400 calories/hr). These are the figures that SIS beta fuel, tailwind, maurten, etc, are designed around. I really doubt anyone, even a highly trained world tour gut, could absorb 260 grams of carbs in an hour… that’s over 1,000 calories an hour!