Having crashed for the last few k of last week’s 19k run, I decided to try fuel in my 1.5l hydration bladder for this week’s long run. Hearing good reports about their natural contents being gentle on the stomach, I’d ordered in a mixed pack of Tailwind to try out, and promised roseabi I’d let her know how I got on.
Perhaps I should first mention that when isotonic sports drinks appeared in the shops 30 years ago, I bought some thinking they’d be great for a 38 mile challenge walk. I then gave them away, after discovering I couldn’t stand the taste. So this was another reason I thought I’d try Tailwind, as the “light” natural flavours reviewers seem to rave about sounded like my best shot at stomaching the taste of anything which contained “balanced electrolytes”.
Before running this morning, I took the caffeinated Raspberry Buzz flavour Tailwind stick, and mixed it in 500ml of water. I then took one sip, instantly gagged, and realized there was no way that was going in my water bladder!
Instead I stuck in a good slug of sugar variety Ribena, which I enjoyed sipping on, and which definitely helped get me round my first HM distance today.
For good measure I also stuck some fizzy cola bottle sweets in a pocket of my running vest, and munched 4 of these from about the halfway point. (I left my usual emergency Jelly Babies at home. I used to use fizzy sweets to counteract dry mouth effects of certain painkillers. I find they encourage saliva, making them far easier to eat.)
So my conclusion is that I’m donating all the Tailwind to my OH, and I don’t think I’m going to try any more sports drink mixes! I’ll stick to sugary Ribena, and if I find I do need additional salt when the weather heats up then I’ll investigate carrying a small pouch of homemade gel (I’m thinking salted peanut butter mixed with banana or some jam) or possibly a pouch of a savoury vegetable juice to sip - such as tomato juice with a bit of salt added to it. I’ve found Amazon do packs of reusable pouches for homemade baby food, so think they should work fine for adding homemade mixes to. 😋❤️
I guess nutrition for running is all about experimenting. I don’t think I’m going to have much luck with anything unless my tastebuds like it.
Written by
mountaindreamer
Half Marathon
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I've made a few homemade concoctions that taste ok. I've used cheap fizzy vitamin tablets for years and had always liked the lemon flavour one from my local super market. I found that banging one of those in with a huge squirt of glucose syrup (50g = 150 Cals) and enough water to make it like a drink makes something cheap and drinkable. The lemon cuts through the sweetness so it doesn't taste too yucky. I prefer plain water though in warm weather as it's more refreshing and you can squirt it on your head/neck!
Thanks Lordi - I think I’ll stick with Ribena when I’m in a rush. Homemade lemonade might be a good simple option to try too. (I add boiling water to a sliced lemon and dissolve a load of sugar in it, then cool and dilute.) I’ve never been a fan of fizzy vitamin tablets either sadly. Sounds like a good addition if you like them though.
I’ve not tried tailwind so can’t comment on that. I currently use water in my camelbak and have clif bloks when I need some carbs/salt. These are yum and are like eating jelly but a bit softer 😁. I prefer these to gels anyway..
Thanks Macmac, I might give those a go. It looks like I can buy one to try at our nearby Snow&Rock shop. When looking them up, I also came across these sweets - Jelly Belly ones for Sports - with added electrolytes and vitamins. Both are pricey, but might be worth trying out to use for convenience just for race day.
The jelly belly look nice 🙂. I bought my clif bloks in tesco to try and then bought a box online for a good price as the strawberry ones were no longer in tesco although they still had berry flavour I knew I liked the strawberry one.
It’s not the flavour bit that gets me, roseabi , it’s the added salt etc taste that I remember from older sports drinks. I think it’s just the way I taste them. My husband drank a glass of the stuff and said it tasted fine to him.
I actually really enjoyed having Ribena in my water, so think I’ll stick with that and a few cola bottle sweets for HM distance. It definitely made a difference to my energy levels later into the run.
It sounds like you’d hate the aero tablets I’ve got from Cotswold outdoor too. I have sent you a recipe by PM for energy bars, which you might find handy as you run further. 🏃♀️👏👏👏
Clif bloks are good, but maybe stay away from margherita and possibly some of the other flavours as they are also salted and I suspect you might not like that! Black cherry is nice. That's my favourite flavour of the non sodium ones, they're trickier to find than some other flavours but you can get them in Evans cycles usually. The only issue with them is they're not very practical, as I discovered on the gnr when they stuck to my pocket. Also, theoretically you need quite a lot of them if they're a sole source of rejuvenation.
Tailwind do a naked variety, presumably for mixing with other flavours or just drinking au natural but I suspect that would taste funny to you too 😐 It's a shame, they're really good, and the least horrid tasting fuel I've tried so far, though they do need to be cold. If it warms up I'm out 🤢 Raspberry is not one I like much, I find it cloying. I like the green tea one, that's quite refreshing (though tastes nothing like actual green tea).
Thanks Sqkr. I guess I’m weird, but salt in something solid is generally fine with me, even if it’s a sweet/salt combo! (I LOVE salted caramel things / honey roast salted peanuts etc). I’m the same with rehydration sachets. I could force it down, but would be fighting the urge to throw up, and that’s not going to work while running for 2hrs +...😖
I’m not sure I’ll need the salt for HM anyway, so Ribena is my new friend. I think I’ll give the Jelly Belly Sports sweets I mentioned to Macmac above a go though (our nearby Snow+Rock seem to have them in stock), as they may be more convenient that making something up myself. I was only going to try the Clif Bloks for sodium and electrolytes, in case I needed that, so guess I’d have to try the sodium flavours.
I think I read on one of roseabi ’s Strava posts that she took hula hoops for long runs. Perhaps just having a salty snack like that stashed in my vest would be cheapest and simplest. A few Hula Hoops should go down well with all my Ribena. 😊❤️
Interesting - I changed from gels to clif bloks as you get roughly twice the carbs and energy from a pack than a similar sized gel, and I am planning a marathon later in the year so want to carry sufficient for that. I’ve not had bloks stick together at all so don’t know what happened to yours..
Oh they didn't just stick together, worse was that they stuck to my pocket, to the packet...I had no hope of getting them out whilst running. It was a really hot day, and I got very wet from helpful bystanders throwing water over me (😖 I hated that, but they were trying to be helpful) so they just melted to bits. Since then I have started wrapping them individually in greaseproof paper, but it's a real faff! I do like them but for training runs when I can stop, not races, and only in combination with a solution as I just don't have anywhere to stow them all. The blurb suggests you're meant to eat 1-2 packets an hour I think? That's a lot of individually wrapped clif bloks 😂
"Half a packet of CLIF SHOT BLOKS can be eaten 15 minutes prior to activity to increase blood sugar levels, followed by 1-2 packets per hour during activity. Consumption of CLIF SHOT BLOKS should always be followed with a mouthful of water." say Clif. That's an awful lot of bloks! Not to mention being somewhat expensive unless you buy in big boxes. They are tasty, but it just turned out are just a bit impractical for me personally compared to a drink or gel. And gels are super horrid so I only ever have one in a race, when I'm going a bit harder. So trusty Tailwind is my fuel in training, with the occasional blok as a treat.
I’d only seen reference to bloks, not packets, Sqkr, and had assumed they meant of the 6 bloks per packet... If they mean whole packets then that does sound a lot! 😳
I had 3 bloks (not packs!!) on my HM long run on Sunday which felt plenty for me. I was fine the next day and ran another 11k so my legs were not shredded. When I race I shall up it a little but certainly won’t be having any before or for the first 30 mins or so.. If you read some gels, they also say upto 3 per hour etc. but I would not have that much myself.
Just read my bloks and it says ‘12 pieces per day depending on activity. Eat 3-6 pieces every hour during activity. Always follow consumption with water’.
That's interesting, I did wonder if they were rather overstating their necessity—a bit like when you read how much food the manufacturers suggest for your cat. Mine would be the size of a house if I gave her what it says on the back of the packet 😂 Weird that Clif information varies so much! You'd think they'd at least be consistent.
Are you sure you can't face trying any of the other flavours? Maybe when your OH is mixing one up anyway so you don't waste it? I tried all the flavours and Berry is the only one I really liked - have a huge sack of it now! I'm going to try making some homemade drinks to save money though - got to look back through the posts for that link you gave before (I think it was you! 🤔)
That's weird, I have never noticed the salt! You must be extra sensitive to salt! Anyway different strokes and all that... Hope you hit upon the right solution for you 😊
DId you put a whole sachet in 500ml of water MD? I make mine up with 1 sachet in a litre of water, the taste at that dilution is quite mild but you can sort of still taste the salt, they remind me of those rehydration drinks for diarrhoea, not a great association! As Roseabi says, it’s worth trying the different flavours before giving up, I am still working through my mixed pack but so far not very keen on the orange but liking the berry flavour.
I still carry jelly babies too, they are like a reward for running more than 10k, every 2k from 10k I am allowed a little reward 😁 Great tip about the fizzy cola bottles, will have to give those a try and maybe a few others from a bag of tangfastics 🍬
I decided I’d not be able to breathe if I put a whole big Tangfastics sweet in my mouth. The cola bottles are quite small. You can get small packs of them from Morrison’s at 3 for £1. The fact I only seem able to breathe through my mouth for running maybe limits sweet size though! 😊❤️
You sound just like me Linda! I’m running along trying not to accidentally inhale bits of cola bottle, thinking how mad my dentist would be if he knew I was holding sweets against my teeth like this! 😂😂😂❤️
I’m thinking the before and after fuel are just as useful Tasha99 . I just mentioned in Abi’s post that my legs don’t ache at all today, which really surprised me - but I’d read a New York Times article about nutrition that recommended protein within 20mins of finishing a long run (to keep insulin levels high...), then a meal with plenty of carbs within 2 hrs.
Apparently that gives your muscles the best chance of recovering. I had a pint of hot milk with chocolate powder in straight after I stopped running, then plenty of carbs later, and am now thinking maybe there’s something in it. Will certainly keep doing it after my long runs!
Having given my body nothing at all, apart from water, until yesterday’s run, it’s probably just so grateful to get extra fuel of any variety that it’s not going to risk complaining! 🤔😊
That's too bad on the Tailwind md. It is definitely my go to; I use it for all long runs and found it much easier to take in than the sickening sweet gels. I don't use the satchets but have the large bags with a scoop and make the strength up based on the intensity/duration of my run and how much energy boost I think I'll need. I've been using 1 scoop per water bottle (500 ml) but have bumped it up to 1 1/2 or more in the hot summer runs. I haven't tried any of the caffeinated versions, just the Berry and the lemon which I enjoy mixing together. On my run last week, I was peckish before the run so took some raisins with me that I nibbled on mid run. They were frozen by the time I got to them (it was a chilly -13 that day) and they were AMAZING! Just a nice little chewy snack mid run. I'm glad you have found something that works for you, everyone is so different. I know Decker has found a maple syrup/salt product that is really good. I haven't tried it.....yet 😋. It really is about experimenting, isn't it? It sounds like you have a bit of time before your race so will have it all figured out by then, I'm sure.
Thanks SaskAlliecat - Mmmm, maple syrup / salt products to eat sound good...😋 My race will be mid May, so nothing’s likely to freeze. I’m not confident my hydration bladder wouldn’t freeze up in those temperatures! (We switch to wide-necked bottle for the hills here in winter.)
In case I sweat more in warmer weather, and salt is a real issue, you’re right that I’ve got plenty of time to experiment. (Definitely going to get some Jelly Belly Sports Sweets to try out!😊)
I liked the bland flavour of Tailwind. I hate overly sweet stuff. I used one of the caffeine ones, or maybe two, in second half of my marathon and I managed fine I sipped on a non-caffeine one during the first half. It says mix between 500 to 700 ml I made the first one 600 ml and the other two were 500 MLS, made on the go in my 500 ml water bottle No gels 🤢
I make my own bars, and the recipe on here for the peanut power flapjack is ace marathon grub, nom nom Oh, and a small bag of Hula Hoops is what I look forward to most 😋. You don’t need grub with Tailwind but having a treat is something to look forward to when the going gets tough.
I missed this.... huge well done you! You are going great guns it makes me feel lazy!
I think all this talk of drinks and things makes me feel a tad sickly.... I shall stick with water... ! Trouble is I hate anything sweet in any form at all....
I am going along with advice from misswobble and this
Thanks - that’s an interesting link Oldfloss . I’m not sure I need as many carbs per hour of running that they recommend, though. 😊
While we normally eat fairly “clean” food at home, I think long runs maybe the one time I go more for sweets and convenience. I know from hillwalking that what I choose to eat varies, and anything not longlife often gets thrown away after. So mashed up bananas in plastic bags would probably be wasted. I do eat lots of dates normally, but feel I’d not risk doing that without toilet facilities available for hours! 😂
I love sweet stuff, but if you don’t then one simple option could be peanut butter? We were given single serve pouches of peanut butter after our Tatton 10k. Having read about the maple syrup natural gel that Decker uses from Canada, I’m actually thinking I’ll simply try mixing some peanut butter and honey together for a homemade salty gel if I need salt in the hotter weather.
I think you’re braver than me misswobble . 😊 I eat tonnes of nuts normally, but would worry I’d start chocking trying to eat them while running. I think the fact that I can only breathe through my mouth when I run means I need to be careful to have food I can’t accidentally inhale while chewing! I do keep meaning to try making up homemade energy balls with blitzed nuts etc - they’d probably be less risky.
I’m trying to make myself keep moving until HM starts to feel like a regular ok distance. I still fear not being able to get moving again if I stop! 😂❤️
You can practice eating drinking on the run. I have lots of little stops too, to blow my nose 🤧. I like a little stop It’s a treat to eat a goodly snack It makes you feel better all round I like to take in the view as well 🙂
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