Free Calculator

Race-Day Fueling Cheat Sheet

Enter your distance, weight, and target finish time. Get instant carb targets, fluid targets, fueling interval, and bonk risk — no account needed.

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This tells you what. The full plan tells you when.
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What's in your race-day cheat sheet

The cheat sheet gives you hourly targets you can stick to from the start line to the finish, plus a pre-race breakfast number, the timing of your first in-race fuel, and a caffeine plan tuned to your habitual intake.

Sample numbers — 70 kg marathoner aiming for 4 hours

For a 70 kg runner targeting a 4-hour marathon in moderate weather (15–25 °C), with average gut sensitivity and daily caffeine use, the cheat sheet returns roughly:

TargetNumber
Carbs / hour~50 g (range 43–68 g)
Fluid / hour500–800 ml
Sodium / hour~450 mg
Pre-race breakfast~140 g of carbs, 2–4 h before the gun
First in-race fuel~30 min, then every 30 min
Caffeine~56 mg/hr after the first 60 minutes

Half marathon, ultra, 70.3, and 140.6 athletes get different numbers — run the calculator above for your specific race.

How these targets are calculated

Carb targets follow Asker Jeukendrup's carbohydrate oxidation research. A trained athlete can absorb up to ~60 g/hr of glucose alone, and up to ~90 g/hr when glucose is combined 2:1 with fructose (multi-transportable carbohydrates), because the two sugars use different intestinal transporters and don't compete. We bias targets down for athletes who flag high gut sensitivity, and shift them slightly lower in the heat where blood flow to the gut drops.

Fluid targets follow the ACSM exercise-fluid position stand: replacing 70–85% of sweat losses, scaled by body mass and ambient temperature. Sodium ranges (300–800 mg/hr depending on duration and heat) are based on observed sweat sodium losses across endurance athletes. Caffeine guidance follows IOC consensus: 3–6 mg/kg total dose, split across the race, only for habitual caffeine users.

Frequently asked questions

How accurate is this calculator?
The numbers are evidence-based starting points calibrated to your weight, distance, finish time, and conditions. Individual tolerance varies — practice your exact race-day fueling in long training sessions before race day.
Why are bike and run carb targets different?
You can absorb more carbs on the bike (less mechanical jostling of the gut). Triathlon plans bias higher carbs on the bike and taper down going into the run.
What if it's hot on race day?
Set the temperature to Hot (>25 °C) in the calculator. Carb targets drop slightly, fluid and sodium targets rise. The cheat sheet also shows a heat-protocol note — pre-cooling, ice slurry, and splitting gels with extra water.
Should I start using caffeine for the race if I don't now?
No. If you mark caffeine use as “never,” the calculator does not include caffeine in your plan. Race day is the worst day to introduce a new stimulant.
What do I do if I bonk mid-race?
Walk, take 30–60 g of fast carbs (a gel + cola at the next aid station), 500 mg of sodium, walk for 5–10 minutes, then resume at a pace you can hold to the finish. The cheat sheet shows this as the bonk-rescue summary.