GLOSSARY

Running Nutrition Reference Table

Running nutrition depends on event distance, intensity and weekly volume; gastrointestinal practice is particularly useful for long races.

Running Nutrition supports running, where pace, duration, impact and gastrointestinal tolerance influence eating opportunities. The plan should be tested while running rather than assumed transferable from cycling.

Prolonged exercise increases the importance of starting carbohydrate stores, practiced in-event intake, fluid management and access to food. Ultra-endurance adds longer exposure, changes in appetite and tolerance, and greater logistical complexity. The aim is a sustainable plan rather than a maximal intake at every moment. Terrain, pace and movement mode affect eating opportunities. Food texture, palatability and variety can become important as the event continues, even when laboratory nutrient targets appear straightforward.

Carbohydrate requirements vary with the intensity, duration and importance of the work. Daily intake relative to body mass describes a different quantity from an intake rate during exercise, which is commonly expressed per hour. A larger daily target does not mean the same amount should be consumed in every session. Match supply to the schedule, starting stores and practical tolerance, and distinguish grams eaten from grams absorbed or oxidized when discussing a fueling plan.

Muscle and liver glycogen have related but different roles. Muscle glycogen supplies the muscle in which it is stored, while liver glycogen helps support blood glucose. An overnight fast can reduce liver carbohydrate availability without producing the same depletion in every muscle. Starting concentration, recruited fibers and exercise demand affect use. An estimate of total stores does not directly describe the availability of every local glycogen pool during a specific movement.