American Journal of Sports Science

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Macronutrient Consumption Prior to, and during, a Mountain Marathon

Received: 10 December 2013    Accepted:     Published: 20 January 2014
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Abstract

Participation in ultra-endurance events such as mountain marathons is increasing, yet analysis of the nutritional intake and requirements of this group of athletes have received relatively little attention. This field study examined athletes’ food intake prior to, and during a mountain marathon event to assess compliance with recommendations and to identify associations with performance. Nineteen male athletes competing in the Longmynd Hike (LH) completed a 7-day food diary in the week prior to the event and a weighed food inventory of all items consumed during the event. Despite reported intentions to increase carbohydrate (CHO) consumption in the week prior to the event, there was no significant change in consumption across the week. The mean daily CHO intake of 4.5 g/kg/d was below that recommended to effectively enhance glycogen stores. CHO and energy consumption prior to the event were positively associated with performance [energy (kJ/kg/d): r = .56, p = 0.03; CHO (g/kg/d): r = .54, p = 0.04]. Energy and CHO consumption during the event were also positively correlated with performance [energy (kJ/kg/h): r = .80, p < 0.001; CHO (g/kg/h): r = .75, p = 0.001)], despite most participants again failing to meet recommendations for intake. Further research is needed to determine reasons for non-compliance with nutritional guidelines and to investigate to what extent type and timing of macronutrient intake during such events impacts on performance.

DOI 10.11648/j.ajss.20140201.12
Published in American Journal of Sports Science (Volume 2, Issue 1, January 2014)
Page(s) 5-12
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Ultra-Endurance, Exercise, Carbohydrate, Fat, Running, Hill-Walking

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Author Information
  • Faculty of Education, Health and Community, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom

  • Faculty of Education, Health and Community, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom

  • Faculty of Education, Health and Community, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom

  • Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom

  • Faculty of Education, Health and Community, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom

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  • APA Style

    Elizabeth Mahon, Allan Hackett, Timothy Stott, Keith George, Ian Davies. (2014). Macronutrient Consumption Prior to, and during, a Mountain Marathon. American Journal of Sports Science, 2(1), 5-12. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20140201.12

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    ACS Style

    Elizabeth Mahon; Allan Hackett; Timothy Stott; Keith George; Ian Davies. Macronutrient Consumption Prior to, and during, a Mountain Marathon. Am. J. Sports Sci. 2014, 2(1), 5-12. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20140201.12

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    AMA Style

    Elizabeth Mahon, Allan Hackett, Timothy Stott, Keith George, Ian Davies. Macronutrient Consumption Prior to, and during, a Mountain Marathon. Am J Sports Sci. 2014;2(1):5-12. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20140201.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajss.20140201.12,
      author = {Elizabeth Mahon and Allan Hackett and Timothy Stott and Keith George and Ian Davies},
      title = {Macronutrient Consumption Prior to, and during, a Mountain Marathon},
      journal = {American Journal of Sports Science},
      volume = {2},
      number = {1},
      pages = {5-12},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajss.20140201.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20140201.12},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajss.20140201.12},
      abstract = {Participation in ultra-endurance events such as mountain marathons is increasing, yet analysis of the nutritional intake and requirements of this group of athletes have received relatively little attention. This field study examined athletes’ food intake prior to, and during a mountain marathon event to assess compliance with recommendations and to identify associations with performance. Nineteen male athletes competing in the Longmynd Hike (LH) completed a 7-day food diary in the week prior to the event and a weighed food inventory of all items consumed during the event. Despite reported intentions to increase carbohydrate (CHO) consumption in the week prior to the event, there was no significant change in consumption across the week. The mean daily CHO intake of 4.5 g/kg/d was below that recommended to effectively enhance glycogen stores. CHO and energy consumption prior to the event were positively associated with performance [energy (kJ/kg/d): r = .56, p = 0.03; CHO (g/kg/d): r = .54, p = 0.04]. Energy and CHO consumption during the event were also positively correlated with performance [energy (kJ/kg/h): r = .80, p < 0.001; CHO (g/kg/h): r = .75, p = 0.001)], despite most participants again failing to meet recommendations for intake. Further research is needed to determine reasons for non-compliance with nutritional guidelines and to investigate to what extent type and timing of macronutrient intake during such events impacts on performance.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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    T1  - Macronutrient Consumption Prior to, and during, a Mountain Marathon
    AU  - Elizabeth Mahon
    AU  - Allan Hackett
    AU  - Timothy Stott
    AU  - Keith George
    AU  - Ian Davies
    Y1  - 2014/01/20
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajss.20140201.12
    T2  - American Journal of Sports Science
    JF  - American Journal of Sports Science
    JO  - American Journal of Sports Science
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-8540
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajss.20140201.12
    AB  - Participation in ultra-endurance events such as mountain marathons is increasing, yet analysis of the nutritional intake and requirements of this group of athletes have received relatively little attention. This field study examined athletes’ food intake prior to, and during a mountain marathon event to assess compliance with recommendations and to identify associations with performance. Nineteen male athletes competing in the Longmynd Hike (LH) completed a 7-day food diary in the week prior to the event and a weighed food inventory of all items consumed during the event. Despite reported intentions to increase carbohydrate (CHO) consumption in the week prior to the event, there was no significant change in consumption across the week. The mean daily CHO intake of 4.5 g/kg/d was below that recommended to effectively enhance glycogen stores. CHO and energy consumption prior to the event were positively associated with performance [energy (kJ/kg/d): r = .56, p = 0.03; CHO (g/kg/d): r = .54, p = 0.04]. Energy and CHO consumption during the event were also positively correlated with performance [energy (kJ/kg/h): r = .80, p < 0.001; CHO (g/kg/h): r = .75, p = 0.001)], despite most participants again failing to meet recommendations for intake. Further research is needed to determine reasons for non-compliance with nutritional guidelines and to investigate to what extent type and timing of macronutrient intake during such events impacts on performance.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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