When to use this
At the meet, the moment the schedule stops matching the clock — which is most meets.
- Heats have been consolidated, or a race has been held for an injury on the course.
- The meet is running ahead and your race just got called twenty minutes early.
- Athletes are asking whether to eat now, and forty of them are asking at once.
Advanced lab
Why three hours, and what to do when the two-race day slips
The sheet gives the placement. This is the reasoning behind it, and the one case where the rule has to be applied in two directions at once.
Recurrent nausea or vomiting tied to competition delays is a medical question, not a timing one — route it to a parent or guardian and a physician rather than adjusting the snack again.
Evidence sources
These references support the handout’s general education. Individual medical, supplement, laboratory, or injury questions should be handled by the appropriate qualified clinician.
- Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM. ACSM Joint Position Statement: Nutrition and Athletic Performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2016;48(3):543-568.
- Burke LM, Hawley JA, Wong SHS, Jeukendrup AE. Carbohydrates for training and competition. J Sports Sci. 2011;29(sup1):S17-S27.
- de Oliveira EP, Burini RC, Jeukendrup A. Gastrointestinal complaints during exercise. Sports Med. 2014;44(Suppl 1):S79-S85.
Where to go next
ToolSet the anchor timeWork back from the published start to the meal that survives a delay in either direction.
PrintableWhen the delay stops being a delayPast ninety minutes it is a different meet day and it needs the long-day plan.
PrintableWhy the late decision is smallNothing eaten at the line reaches the muscle inside a seventeen-minute race.
