The truth about carb loading for runners  Emma Barraclough lays
out some truths on the often complicated world of carbs...  by
Emma Barraclough  Pasta Getty images  1 of 3   What is carb
loading?  Emma Barraclough is a Sports Nutritionist at SiS ( She
has worked with Great Britain Ice Hockey since 2006 and provided
nutritional consultancy support to athletes in a range of sports
including running, triathlon and rugby. She regularly represents
Great Britain as an age group triathlete and has completed six
Ironman.  What is carb loading?  Carb loading is the process of
maximising your glycogen stores in preparation for a long
endurance event, usually something longer than 90 minutes in
duration. You can only store so much carbohydrate in the body,
so it makes sense to maximise those stores to delay fatigue and
optimise your performance.  During your event, you will be able
to maximally uptake 60g of carbohydrate per hour. This only
equates to 240kcal, which will not meet the amount of calories
you will burn as