Running longer and getting better at it, I’m also reading lots on marathon nutrition, especially during the actual run. A friend who’s run a few doesn’t really stress about it and just goes, machine like, taking whatever is offered by race organisers. I didn’t feel l needed anything during my three HM distances but l do know and feel that I’ll need a proper menu for the big one.
Google offers a vast array of advice through massive lists of experts many of whom contradict each other. Running shops push their products. Some say l should experiment. Some urge to stick to their advice. Some don’t fill me with any confidence although they smile at me nicely.
Given that I always run alone with a note around my neck ‘if found please dump at the nearest hospital’ l want to get closer to nailing one of the last grey areas and create my own à la carte menu. So. What do you normally take, how often during the course and how does it affect you? Thanks!
Written by
mrrun
Ultramarathon
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
It depends on the type of marathon, but for flat road ones I have tended to go for the equivalent of 1 gel per hour (about 23g of carbohydrate), plus regular sips of some sort of energy drink. I like to have something every half an hour from the first hour onward, and my "half gel" equivalents have been variously: 3 jelly babies; 3 Mars Bites; 1 fig roll. I have had chocolate covered coffee beans too, although they were an unknown quantity! I chose them to replace the caffeine from the gels. Where I had gels as well I still took them on the half hour, so I got some extra carbs at that point 😊
For my first road marathon, Brighton, I think I had something like 2 Gu gels, 9 Jelly Babies, and 3 Mars Bites, and I was carrying half a litre of Lucozade Sport in my belt. There was water and High 5 electrolyte stuff at the water stations. I felt fine on this, although pretty sick of sweet stuff by the time I'd finished!
The following year I did Brighton again, and London, and at both I replaced the gels with fig rolls, and the Mars with chocolate covered coffee beans. Everything melted in London! I mixed up the Babies and coffee beans (a very nice flavour combo!). London took me longer to get round (injured), and I don't think I ate enough food actually - it was harder to eat food in the heat, gels would have been a better option I think. I will be using them again for my next road marathon 😊 I like the Clif gels these days - "Expresso" ftw!!
Just left the local shop. I bet their security guard was thinking “why’s that geezah so picky around the sweets?!” And that was before l ended up in aisle 9 with energy drinks. Lots of explaining to do next time l visit my dentist for hygiene treatment, l fear....
Doesnt stress about it and just scoffs what's on offer. Sounds like a plan. What if there was nowt there though? Imagine that! No don't.
What do you like to eat? That's a starting point. Something you can tote for 26 miles that's portable. Tailwaind powder sachets are all right. I like em, but I like some real grub too. I make the peanut power bars as per the recipe posted up here yonks ago I also, at the closing tough stages of the marathon, like to eat one of those small bags of Hula Hoops at about the 20 mile stage or before if I'm struggling. Haribo's are usually stashed around my person as I buy leggings with plenty of pockets for this reason
I don't do gels at all! On my last two marathons vegan choc brownies have been on the food table and I ate several of them as they were so flamin lush. You have to remember though you don't want any gut distress nor do you want to keep running to the loo There might not be one handy.
there is lots written here about this so do have a look back as well
I’ve read lots and you’re right, l shouldn’t overcook it. Generally l try and avoid too much analysis and given that l already eat well and I’m naturally slim, I’ll practice with some basic stuff to get me over the line.
You won’t need much for your half if you’ve eaten a good breakfast beforehand The salty snack I’d save til the last third when you might need to replace lost salts. They also give you something to look forward to 😋
Thanks you...I planned on taking nothing at all after our last conversations re -sustenance....but the idea of a savoury nibble...on that last leg sounds good to me
C3PO eats actual cheese! I keep meaning to try it myself. I've taken Hula Hoops with me on runs (and races) several times (thanks again to Wobble for the tip). Mini Cheddars would be nice, although possibly a bit crumbly - Hulas are very sturdy. I had a dill pickle with me for the Beachy Head Marathon last year, it was REALLY NICE!!!
Because many have reported that pickles, or more specifically "pickle juice" (the liquid from a jar of pickles) helps with cramps, and there has been a little scientific evidence to support this, I thought I'd give it a go 😊 I was having some trouble with cramp in my abs, so I ate my pickle when that happened at Beachy Head. No idea if it actually worked, but it was really tasty - a welcome change from all the sweet stuff I'd been eating up to that point!
Ahh, that's interesting! I tend to get cramp in my calves after about 15K, so I might give this a try...although I can't imagine eating much worse than this on a run...
Cheese cubes about every 2 miles works well in the colder season. As I discovered during last year's London Marathon - they go a bit oily in the heat. Not as pleasant, but they still did the trick. I guess I needed the salt.
Yeah and i nearly choked to death. It was vile. It was one of the branded ones. I gagged on it. Bleuuuuuuuugh I had run out of Tailwind so the marathon guy gave me some gels to get me to the end. I was coughing that thing up for miles. It even came down my nose ! Texture, taste, mouth feel, consistency made me wretch. Noooooooooooooo!
If you can find endurance tap maple gel packs you may never turn back. Nectar of the gods I tell ya. Just maple syrup, sea salt and a bit of ginger. They are a bit pricey so I save em for any run over 20k.
I think one of the easiest, simplest solutions would be to turn pro and have your team work around you as and when you find fit. That would sort out all dilemmas. Oh, hang on!?....
This is really interesting. I haven't eaten anything on my half marathons and I just drank water. Should I have been eating? I'm guessing I need to for the Marathon?
It's a personal thing, and depends upon how long you take to do a half marathon. If you didn't need anything then you were fine without. For the marathon, yes you will need some food.
There is a lot of conflicting info out there - and also info that is not relevant. For example, is info relevant to a 3 hour marathoner relevant to a 6 hour marathoner?? I think not - and so do others. I have read that a slower runner will need around 200 cals of energy ( in the form of carbs) every hour after the first hour. I have found that bars like these are suitable for me clifbar.com.au/products/cli... I have tried gels and energy chews - but they taste a bit too extreme to me. The bar above is the kind of snack bar that you might choose to eat when you are feeling a bit "munchy" - they are of course sweet (would like to find something similar which is savoury) - but are easy on the palate. Each bar is around 200 cals so I will be carrying 4 of them . I will also get some energy from the energy drink served oncourse.
I used gels on my marathon but I don't bother for HMs. At no point in the 9 HMs I've run this year have I felt like I was crashing or running out of energy. My marathon last year was a different story however. It's a long way / long time to be running and your body runs out of (easily tapped) energy about halfway round. From memory I think I ate 2 crappy tasting gels 20 mins before the start (one with caffeine to wake me up), then one at 10, 20, 30, then another one at about 32-35km when I was feeling a bit low. Take them before you need them tho. I don't like sweet things so most sickly sweet stuff tastes a bit yucky to me. The High5 banana gel was tasty though/slight salty taste too. I'm going to use that flavour only in future. No fan of gels really but they do pack a punch calorie-wise and they are small and handy. I did experiment with putting a glucose syrup and water mix in a bottle with some Dexal hydration tablets for flavouring and that made a nice lemon energy drink. ( do the calorie/ml calculation based on the nutritional data on syrup bottle and amount of dilution). I started with this bottle in the marathon but had to dump it after a few kms because it was a cheap flip-top bottle (non screw type) and the extra density syrup solution kept lifting the lid with all sloshing about. Should be ok in a normal screw-top tho. Might experiment with that again in my next marathon (so I can have a diy energy drink I like). Fizzy vitamin tablets might also give a good taste to a glucose syrup solution etc...I also took anything and everything offered at the water stations (rasins and banana slices).
Also lookup carb stuffing to make sure you are topped-up nicely the day before (but don't over-do it).
Edit - Forgot to say that worrying about how crappy a gel tastes will not be one of your concerns in the slightest once you are running on the day. When I took the gels in the race they could have tasted like drain cleaner/ the worst medicine in the workd but I'd still have gulpped 'em down! Momentarily thinking how shitty something tastes at least means you are not focussed on how much your legs/neck/back/feet/knees hurt
Oh god, l get confused if offered 7, let alone 100 recipes, lol. Thank you for you suggestion! We’ll see how it all goes in my twisted plans because l never run/walk, it’s either running non stop throughout or going home if stopping so I’ll defo need proper booster during my ordeal. I did 25k training run on Sunday and carried a Lucozade Sport and some protein bars. It worked but I’ll also try a few more things.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Half Marathon training going well 😍
Existential threat. 😲🤯😯
Looking for direction...
Becoming a Grandpa 👴🏻 and getting the Runs 🏃♂️
