Fuel & hydration Advice

[Lucyintheskywith]

Hi All

I'm looking for your advice for fuelling and hydration for 21km distance. What to use..what's best the day n evening before & the morning of 21km. How often to fuel ..what do you do.. any advice as I'm a novice at this.. training is going well.. 8miles yesterday slow and steady.. i had 250ml x 2 of active root ginger to drink and a few candy kitten jellys sweets too. Looking forward to your tips n help.. Great North Run September 11th is hopefully going to under 3hrs .. which for myself will be fantastic. I've already booked onto Edinburgh 21km May 2023 too.. any help better thàn none. Thankyou

[linda9389 Administrator Marathon]

Hi and welcome! We have a pinned post with all sorts of helpful bits of information for HM training here healthunlocked.com/marathon... One of the links talks about fuelling and hydration. It's a very personal thing though - what you can tolerate, how much you need - and the only way to find out your requirements is to keep experimenting while you are training. Little and often and before you realise you need it are probably the main things to bear in mind. The other obvious thing is that the conditions of the day will affect hydration, so prepare to adapt. Enjoy the training, do ask any questions and let us know how it's going. Have fun 😊

[cheekychipmunks Half Marathon]

Hi Lucy. Well that’s the $64,000 question. 💰 Everyone is so very different and of course it all depends on weather conditions too.

It’s crucial to hydrate well for at least a week before your long runs, as well as making sure you eat as healthily as possible. No experimenting close to the day or it might not end well! I personally love pasta on the evening before, so that’s an easy one. On the morning I have a small breakfast - something like porridge - but again don’t go for anything you’re not used to, and for a long run like a HM it’s wise not to run on empty. I’ve done that and regretted it.

During the run itself, assuming the weather isn’t a factor (overly cold, wet, hot), I personally start taking sips of water from around 12k onwards. Either carry in a hydration vest (loads on the market), or a bottle belt (mine has 2 small bottles and a little zip pocket). I like Tailwind or SiS tablets in my water for added oomph (worth Googling those if you’re not sure), as well as munching a few jelly babies. Some people swear by gels, flapjacks, Haribos, peanut butter sandwiches, dates ….. again, so personal.

So I hope I’ve helped a bit. September can be fairly warm, so bear that in mind. Have a play around to see what works for you. 😀

[GTFC Marathon]

This ... 'training is going well.. 8miles yesterday slow and steady..' is brilliant preparation. You're got awesome advice already and there'll be more to come. A good thing is you've time to practise fuelling and eating on the go. 'Nothing new on race day' is a good mantra. I've done lots of HM's without fuelling at all and lots with. I think that giving yourself the best chance each and every run is my top tip. I also like Active Root 😊 Maybe take a gel with you (SiS are affordable, and in supermarkets) as a little boost. I like to take small sips every 2 miles or so and that has served me well. I'd only use Tailwind if I was going more than 15. Coffee and Belvita in the morning (1 hour before) work well for me. Look forward to hearing how it goes. Slow and steady is absolutely my philosophy and you can sit in then as the miles pass. Well done on your achievements so far 👏👏👏👏

[RunWillie Metric Marathon]

Hi Lucyintheskywith

As others have already suggested the best thing is to trial fuelling on your long runs. I’ve done a HM on a banana & on nothing which didn’t help me at all. I now just use gels (Maurten or SiS) every 45mins if I’m running 90mins+ & just water. I like gels and the water combo for road running so I can just wear my flip belt. I only use a hydration vest for trail running as we have to carry more kit for that in Australia. I tried Tailwind & it made me feel really sick but others love it. What works for me might be terrible for you. Hope that helps. Have fun experimenting 😍

[Cowladyrunning Marathon]

👋 Hello - I can only add what I have tried but I'm still at practicing stage!! My first half I took water and jelly babies but needed more! Second one I tried a Precision Hydration sweat test (as I sweat a lot) - its just an online questionnaire, though you can do a proper test with them. They told me what I could use to hydrate so I did.... a 1500 electrolyte sachet 1 hour before race, water and a small bottle of 1000 powder half way. I had porridge for breakfast, a cereal bar just before race and trusty jelly babies through race. I took water in my hydration pack and was fine this time. I haven't tried gels yet. Enjoy experimenting!