Marathon fueling

G-Money

Just wondering what people here use during a marathon; gels, energy drinks, something else?

I know it's a bit of a case of trial and error during training to find what works and doesn't work and what doesn't cause you to be running for the nearest hedge with a handful of leaves. Although doesn't that take a long time to work out?

Has anyone tried doing a marathon and not taking gels and energy drinks and taking something else instead?

TheRoadRunner

G-Money wrote: »

Has anyone tried doing a marathon and not taking gels and energy drinks and taking something else instead?

I've done a few on plain old water. I use to have trouble stomaching gels and carbo drinks. Gradually progressed to glucose sweets (pissing into the wind with these) and eventually gels which I now use and find very good.

tHE vAGGABOND

Powerbar "fruit" gels - fruit juice based, so easy on the stomach, as opposed to the "goop" you get in many other gels

Muppet Man

High-5 non-caffeine gels for me for hydration. About 1 sachet every 10kms (~1 hr). But each to their own.

The caffeine stuff totally backfired on me, if you get my meaning. Trial & error

roro2

It took a long time for my stomach to get used to taking gels and felt pretty rotten after my first marathon - I reckon from a combination of lots of water, gels and the constant churning. This gradually improved and no problems now - I take 3 powerbar gels (seem to be more concentrated than others so pros and cons there) in half portions, whatever sports drink is offered & as much water as feels comfortable (but at least some every 2-3 miles) in a marathon. I find taking on small amounts of water/gel rather than gulping works best and should prevent any "issues".

dev123

I use Torq gels. They have a good selection of flavours including black cherry, strawberry yoghurt and rhubarb and custard.

The ones I use have guarana and come in banoffee or forest fruits flavour, both of which are tasty.

I started off with Lucozade gels (avoid) and moved on to GU which I found too thick.

The Torq gels are definitely thinner in terms of texture, thus easier to swallow, though they are not isotonic so still require water.

I think pre-LSR eating is nearly more important than in-running refuelling both in terms of energy supply and avoiding the hedge / handful of leaves scenario.

G-Money

Interesting replies.

Where do you folks buy your gels? I notice Wiggle sell them but seemingly only in multi-pack boxes.

BeepBeep67

G-Money wrote: »

Interesting replies.

Where do you folks buy your gels? I notice Wiggle sell them but seemingly only in multi-pack boxes.

Any bike shop and most sports shops sell, plus Tesco Xtra carry the SIS range.

shels4ever

I started using the isogels find them a lot easier to take, havent taken enough gels to get used to them yet, but the isogels go down very easy. Only down side is they are double the size and harder to fit in pockets, so have a batman style utility now.

Clearlier

A friend uses mini-flapjacks. I have used isogels and towards the end of my first marathon as I began to bonk absolutely anything I could get my hands on from the crowd (although the incredibly bitter orange segments and the jellies that left my teeth stuck together were probably a mistake).

There was a time when it was considered a bad idea to take anything on board at all. Flat coke was very popular in the 70's. I remember reading something about the marathon pioneers using alcohol and strychnine :eek: but I'd steer clear of that.

ultrapercy

G-Money wrote: »

Just wondering what people here use during a marathon; gels, energy drinks, something else?

I know it's a bit of a case of trial and error during training to find what works and doesn't work and what doesn't cause you to be running for the nearest hedge with a handful of leaves. Although doesn't that take a long time to work out?

Has anyone tried doing a marathon and not taking gels and energy drinks and taking something else instead?

Ive done a few marathons without taking on anything at all even water. Ive ran negative splits that way. Recently Ive started using a few gels and a little water and while it hasnt had any noticeable effect on times the recovery has been much qucker.I think you can go overboard with fueling but a little is a help.

EauRouge79

Bowl of porridge the morning of the race is the most important for me.

On the run:
Usually. 2 x High-5 Gels taken at miles 10&20. I take 2 nuun tablets with me and add then to water bottles as I collect them. That usally does me.

Always impartial to a banana if someone is handing them out along the way.

TFBubendorfer

I found out via trial and error that I much prefer sports drink to gels, but unfortunately big bottles of sports drink don't fit into my shorts pockets (no innuendos here, please lads). Unless I can organise a drop-off, it's gels.

I found the Lucozade sports gels very nice. I loved the taste. The SiS isogels on the other hand were so bad I nearly gagged trying to get them down. Others absolutely swear by them. Just goes to show that you really have to find out for yourself.

opus

Hi-5 gels as well for me, they're easy to knock back & don't need you to drink water at the same time. I tried a different brand (can't remember the name) before & although they tasted better it was a bit too viscous to be trying to suck out of a sachet in the closing stages of the marathon.

Having experimented a bit, seems 5 gels is a good number for me starting around 7km & then roughly every 7km after that. YMMV of course!

az2wp0sye65487

Training for Belfast at the moment. For my last couple of LSR's I just brought a couple of squares of chocolate and a handful of Jelly Babies. Seems to have done the trick.

I know when I first started running a couple of years ago I went way overboard.... Going for runs between say 18K - 30K.... and bringing:

• water
• sports drink
• gels
• sweets

As time has gone on I've discovered that it's not necessary to take that much. Proper fueling & hydration leading up to an event is probably more important.

Although I'm due to do 35K this weekend so I'm curious to see how I'll get on with no gels!

G-Money

I think I had heard something similar about old school runners back in the day drinking flat coke and I'm almost certain I heard on marathon talk that some old guy used to take slices of bread with jam and would just roll them up. Although that might have been when he biked.

Was just wondering if people always use gels and sports drinks or whether something like coke/water and jelly babies or chocolate or something would do the same job.

TFBubendorfer

G-Money wrote: »

Was just wondering if people always use gels and sports drinks or whether something like coke/water and jelly babies or chocolate or something would do the same job.

I've used flat coke on occasions, it worked ok. Would try again.
I've used jelly babies once. Got cramps in my stomach. Won't try again.
I've used chocolate once. Got cramps in my stomach. Won't try again.

In short, whatever things you may consider, try it out before your goal race. There's no telling in advance what will work for you and what won't.

az2wp0sye65487

That's what I've been experimenting with myself...

There may be an advantage to gels & drinks in that they won't just cause you to crash after a while.

If you are doing longer distances and relying on chocolate and sweets there may be a risk of a sugar crash when the energy they give you runs out.

I don't know any of the science behind it... I'm just going by my own experiences. But, so far I've had no problems using jelly babies & chocolate!

menoscemo

G-Money wrote: »

Was just wondering if people always use gels and sports drinks or whether something like coke/water and jelly babies or chocolate or something would do the same job.

Coke and jellies would of course do the same job and if I had a choice that's what I would be taking.

Problem is jellies harder to carry around with than gels and most races hand you Sports drinks, rather than Flat coke at the watersations. I Believe that they hand out flat coke in marathons and Ultras in South Africa though.

When i get the option to drop my own drinks I Drop off Flat Coke and Mountain dew.

Bruncvik

GU caffeinated gels for me. I simply got used to them, and don't want to experiment with anything new for fear of getting the ****s. Take one every hour. I also tend to drink two Emergen-C drink, one each 10 miles. Other than that, whatever is offered on the marathon - Lucozade drinks in Dublin were very appreciated, as were bananas and dark chocolate in Bratislava 2 weeks ago. And a good protein shake (50g protein or so) after the run for recovery.

To each his own, though. It took me a long time to settle on something that makes me more comfortable, and to get there wasn't as easy as the summary above would suggest. As such, I appreciate that everyone has different preferences and probably went through a similar process to fine-tune them.

az2wp0sye65487

Went out for a 35K run yesterday, I flew the first half. felt great... had to make a conscious effort to slow it down in fact!

I brought 1.5l of water, a Mars bar and a bag of Jelly Babies.

I had the water in a Camel Back so I was sipping that the whole time. I stopped after 18K & had half the Mars bar and a handful of jellies. Stopped again around 27K and had the rest of the Mars bar and another handful of jellies.

Seems ti have done the trick for me anyway!

Bugsy2000

An excerpt from Barry Murray's blog / race report where he has competing in a 40mile ultra through the Brecon Beacon mountain range. I have tried making & using these 'Baz Balls' & I have to say that they seem to work so far. I have used them a handfull of times on runs from 12 - 15 miles. The biggest problem is how to store them / carry them. Trial & error again.


'Just a little note on my nutrition during: So I start on empty, then within 30mins I have a banana, for the glucose and fructose, plus ease of digestion. At the 1.5hr mark I had a “Baz Ball”, usually have these on any climbs as I have more time to eat. The Baz Balls are a mix of protein, fat and carbs in the form of ingredients like peanut butter, coconut oil and oats. I was sipping on water and Elete electrolytes but found that I didn’t need that much fluid due to cool temperature and low humidity. My other nutrition aid was “Baz Gels”.. simply made using honey and salt. Again, the honey is a glucose/fructose mix and the salt has all the sodium needed, along with a little potassium. I had about 3-4 of these made up in a small container and just sipped on them when I felt like I needed a quick hit. I did also have a caffeine gel which I used about 4hrs into the race, but that was it. I didn’t use any sports drinks, I find no need for them in general, especially if your fuel needs can be met through food. My approach now to nutrition during races is the same as my normal nutrition, eat clean whole natural foods. Sports drinks, gels, bars etc are essentially “junk” foods. It’s almost hypocritical to eat healthy whole foods as part of your normal diet and then pig out on junk during races. Sports supplements contain all the things I try to strictly avoid when eating foods, things like refined vegetable oils, wheat flour, soya, inverted syrups, synthetic vitamins, artificial sweeteners, flavourings and preservatives. Sure they are convenient and the odd one or two is not going to hurt. But if you train and race a lot and use these products all the time, then you are essentially consuming a lot of junk. There are some companies that use natural ingredients but they are few and far between. Since I’ve studied the nutrition content and requirements of sports supplements I have realised that pretty much everything you need can be sourced from real food. So that’s what I do now, I eat things like banana’s, oats, honey, salt, peanut butter and coconut. All real food that nutritionally provides you with everything you need without any artificial or processed crap. The amount you need to consume is completely individual. There is no set standard amount that we all need to follow as it is totally dictated by the persons fuel efficiency, fat adaptation, race pace and gut tolerance. I know some people that can get through 2-3 gels and bars per hour and others that might only get through 2-3 bars during the same 50mile ultramarathon with similar finishing times. So when it comes to ultrarunning, nutrition during really is a case of listening to the body and going on feel. You might need very little and feel good, you might need big amounts of sugars to feel good, you might function better on more savoury foods. It’s all a case of what suits you. I blend the eating on feel tactic with what I know about the science. I try to get carbs in from a mix of glucose and fructose as I know the transport systems are more efficient. I get medium chain triglycerides in as I know they can be easily used to produce energy. I get some protein in as I know this can protect muscle and possibly reduce metabolic fatigue. I get sodium along with some potassium and magnesium in as I know these help with hydration and neuromuscular fatigue.

TFBubendorfer

Bugsy2000 wrote: »

An excerpt from Barry Murray's blog / race report where he has competing in a 40mile ultra through the Brecon Beacon mountain range.

The nutrition required for a 40 mile race and for a 26 mile race is completely different.

NoGutsNoGlory

i use high 5 gels + the caffine ones.. great buzz from them . 2 gets me through a marathon.. took 4 in connamara ultra though.

nellocono

I am just wondering what the general conscensus is as to how many gels to carry on a marathon. I am just back from a long run for me which was 14 miles. Obviously I was running slow approx. 30 -40 secs slower than marathon pace. Now at half way I got a bottle of Lucozade sport and a packet of Jellys and gobbled them down.

Throughout the run and at the end I never felt low on energy or that I needed gels etc. so I am wondering how much I would actually require on a marathon...

Im sure I would have lasted up to 20 miles just fine had I kept running where then I could have taken one gel which would have prob gotten me through the last 6 miles along with some more water/lucozade...

Am I underestimating my nutrition needs of a 26.2 mile run?

G-Money

There are much smarter people on here to advise you than me nellocono, but what about just sticking with what you are doing to see how it goes? I'm not sure what your training plan is or if you have longer runs planned but I'd maybe say if what you are doing now is working, stick at it and see how it goes.

RayCun

nellocono wrote: »

Am I underestimating my nutrition needs of a 26.2 mile run?

Yes.
Your body contains a certain amount of glycogen (from carbohydrates) which is burned off as you run, and burned at a faster rate during a marathon compared to a long training run. The chances are that you'd get to 18-20 miles in the marathon then suddenly run out of energy. You run out of glycogen and have to burn fat for energy, which is much less efficient. This is "hitting the wall", it can be a very sudden and dramatic crash.
Most people take 3-6 gels during a marathon. The first one is taken before the ten mile mark (I took mine at 6) to give the body time to absorb the energy. If you do it right, you'll take in enough carbs during the race to stop yourself running out of glycogen before the finish line.

nellocono

Thanks, I will give the Gels a go on the longer training runs in future...

TFBubendorfer

nellocono wrote: »

I am just wondering what the general conscensus is as to how many gels to carry on a marathon.

As many as you can take. How many that is, you will have to find out yourself.

I find I cannot take more than 2 or 3; I usually carry 3 or 4 with me and bring 1 or 2 back home. It's a very individual thing.

I can stomach sports drink much better than gels but unfortunately I can't fit 4 of them into my pockets. :rolleyes:

G-Money

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

I can stomach sports drink much better than gels but unfortunately I can't fit 4 of them into my pockets. :rolleyes:

What about putting sports drinks into a camel pack thing?

TFBubendorfer

G-Money wrote: »

What about putting sports drinks into a camel pack thing?

I have seen people running with camel packs in races. Not at the faster end of the field, though.

Marathons provide drinks stations. Anyone who slows him/herself down by carrying their own drink round the course is an idiot in my eyes (apologies to anyone who does that and just read that :rolleyes: ).

Clearlier

Nell, it depends upon how hard you run and how well trained your body is to use fat. I have completed two marathons and learned quite a bit about what my body needed from them both.

For the first one I took the advice of somebody who suggested early and often. I took them every 4 miles which for me was about every 30 minutes. Unfortunately I didn't pick up 2 that I had arranged to pick up on the course. I started spreading them out and felt myself starting to crash at about 18 miles. It was the Dublin marathon so I got my hands on absolutely every piece of food I could while backing off the pace slightly. I felt ok again at 20 miles. I wasn't particularly well trained and my ability to use fat at that pace was pretty poor. I needed plenty of carbs. If I were advising me then I'd tell myself to take a gel just before the start of the race, every 25 mins thereafter and not to arrange to pick up gels en route from somebody you've never met before... The key for me in this race was to get in as much carbohydrates as possible from as early a stage as possible because your body can only process so much and I needed lots.

The second marathon I did I was much better trained but a small baby was leading to badly interrupted sleep. It was in London and I was so tired I actually tried to take a nap on the grass whilst waiting for the start. I ran 5 miles at around my target pace taking a gel after 2 miles before my quads gave in. I backed off and started to think about how to get to the finish line. I decided to just try and enjoy the day - high fiving spectators etc.. I started a second gel at around 10 miles but realised that I didn't want it so I left alone. Later on in the race I started accepting jellies etc. from spectators and I quickly got a sugar buzz. I never thought I could get that feeling when running but when I thought about it I realised that although my quads and hips were trashed my heart rate was probably around 60% of it's max if that and I simply didn't need any carbs.

BTW - I did a form of carbo-loading on both occasions.

The point of all that is to say that you have to be aware of your own situation. TFB offers good advice in suggesting that you take one more than needed. Far, far better to have one extra than to need one more.