CarbRate tells you exactly when to fuel during the race
Tired of doing math at mile 18 to work out whether you are behind on your gels?
On race day CarbRate counts down to every feed, tells you exactly what to take and where, and says it out loud over your music.
Nothing to memorize, nothing to check, and no math while you are running.
Why the fueling plan you memorized gets hard to follow in the last hour of your race
You know your plan perfectly at 7am. Gel at mile 4, drink at mile 7, the caffeine gel before the hills.
By mile 18 you are at race effort and trying to remember whether you took your last gel at 1:34 or 1:44.
It gets harder to keep track at the exact point your fueling matters most.
You do not notice a missed gel right away. You feel fine for twenty minutes, and then you start to fade.
Then there is the aid station itself. You have a few seconds to decide whether this is the one where you planned to take a gel, while other runners cut across in front of you.
None of that is a discipline problem. It is hard to run at race effort and keep track of a schedule at the same time.
Luckily, your plan already has every one of those answers. CarbRate says them out loud at the right time.
A structured fueling schedule was worth about eleven minutes
, runners given a structured fueling schedule finished in 3:38:31 against 3:49:26 for runners matched to them on fitness who fueled as they saw fit.
That is 10 minutes 55 seconds, or 4.7% faster.
The scheduled group took in 64.7 grams of carbohydrate an hour. The group fueling by feel took in 38.0.
Other studies show the same gap.
at real events, marathoners averaged 35 grams of carbohydrate an hour, roughly half of what a three to four hour race calls for.
And when , marathoners who planned 25.9 grams an hour actually took in 21.7. They took in less than they planned and thought they had taken in more.
Knowing your plan and following it at race effort are two different skills.
That is why CarbRate tells you when to take every gel and drink while you race.
CarbRate tells you exactly what to carry before you leave the house
You set up the guided run before you start.
CarbRate shows you how many cues you will get, the carb rate they keep you at, when the first one comes, and the exact list of what to carry: how many gels, and how much to mix in your bottle.
The list uses your actual products, so it says six of your gel instead of 150 grams of carbohydrate.
The full schedule is underneath, cue by cue, so you can read it once before you start.
You do not have to memorize any of it.
CarbRate calls each feed out loud so your phone stays in your pocket
About 45 seconds before a gel or drink is due, CarbRate tells you: take one of your gel, next fuel in 22 minutes.
CarbRate says it out loud on your phone and lowers your music instead of stopping it.
You also get a lock-screen alert with Done and Skip buttons, and both work from the lock screen.
CarbRate uses elapsed time instead of GPS tracking, and every cue is generated on your phone.
If something goes wrong, one button gives you the steps to take. An upset stomach, a bathroom stop, a dropped bottle: each one has ordered steps and a list of what not to do.
CarbRate guides your long runs the same way it guides your race
Race day should not be the first time you use live guidance.
So the same guidance runs on your practice runs, at that week’s carb target, for the distance you are running.
Your saved plan loads automatically, with nothing to import or set up.
By race morning you have already practiced with the voice cues, your products and the timing between gels a dozen times.
CarbRate uses your race to improve your next fueling plan
20 seconds after you finish, CarbRate asks two things: which gels and drinks you took, and how your stomach handled it.
CarbRate already knows what you marked Done during the run, so most of it is filled in.
You get back how much of your plan you followed, an estimate of the carb rate you held, and one change to make next time.
If you skipped the gels at miles 21 and 24 and still finished strong, CarbRate uses that for your next plan.
CarbRate saves it, so your next plan starts from what actually happened.
Phone in your pocket? No signal?
A fueling plan only works if you follow it on race day
You made your fueling plan in advance, calm and rested, with all the information in front of you.
Live guidance makes sure you follow it at mile 20.
- Fueling plan built on your exact course
- Personalized to your sweat rate, weight, and goal
- Adjusts when the race-day forecast changes
- Week-by-week gut-training practice schedule
- One prescribed change after every rough run
- The dress-rehearsal run, scheduled early
- Live guidance through every gel and drink
- All 163 gels, chews, and mixes built in
Julie Beaudoin“This app helped me test products throughout my training for Grandmas and put together a plan with more drinking. It was the first time I’ve finished with no stomach issues.”
See how CarbRate handles the rest of your race
A page for each one: