Long Run/Marathon Nutrition

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Do energy gels really work? How do I use them and how many will I need for my marathon? Should I try them before the race? Where do I put them? This article can help you find these answers.

If there is one time that eating smart pays of well, then long runs and marathons are it! One of the biggest and most easily avoided mistakes new runners make has to do with not eating enough during long training runs and/or marathons. Reality is that the human body will run out of glycogen (sugar) in less than 2 hours unless replenished. It is true that when you run slow long runs at a fun conversation pace that you are burning fat as a major source of fuel, however, you are still burning glycogen as well. For this reason it is very important to implement the habit of eating carbohydrates during training runs or races longer than about 75 minutes.


What To Eat
Hmmm, so what would you eat? Well most runners prefer one of two things. They use either energy gels or high quality energy drinks. Most often, the popular choice is energy gels because you can easily carry these little gel packs with you. Often there are places to get water during the run to wash it down with, so you do not have to carry a water bottle. However, there are times when water wont be available during a long run, so one would have to carry a water bottle in a special runner friendly waste pack. In this case, it would be easy to fill that bottle up with an electrolyte/energy drink and not carry gel packs too. It really is up to you. The important thing here is that you experiment with what you are actually going to use during the marathon.

If you are used to a certain energy gel, then make sure you bring some with you for the marathon. It is never a good idea to rely on what any race is supposed to supply. Sometimes they run out, or dont have what you need when you need it. So, again practice how you will carry these packets/bottles of energy needs. There are many pouches or packs that are very useful, but please practice with it first.

As for meeting water needs during a marathon, that is usually not a problem with what is supplied at the aid stations. Hence the reason for being able to carry the gel packets without extra water to wash them down, there should be plenty on the course.

Where to Get Gels and Drinks
It is very wise to first go to a running specialty store that has a good selection of the different gels and drinks. Make sure you speak with an experienced runner on this issue who can give you a run down of the different products. Each brand is different with different ingredients, electrolytes and other additives. Ask some runner friends too because you will hardly ever get the same answer on which is their favorite brand/flavor. That is where you get to have fun and try different ones.


When To Eat
During a long run or race the general rule is to take your first 20 gram dose of carbohydrate at about the 45-60 minute mark and then every 30 minutes thereafter. It is OK if you time the gel intake with the location of the aid stations.

If the times are not spaced exactly then it is no huge deal. Your body is hungry either way, so to feed it at 25 minutes apart is not going to be a bad thing. The only warning here is to make sure that you are eating before you bonk. That means that if you are at mile 18 in the race and the you have not had a gel for 35 minutes, then take one even if there is not aid station for another mile (another good reason to have them with you.) You can get water later. Take in nutrition earlier rather than later. This will help you to avoid some serious misery.

If you weigh over 175 pounds, you may consider taking in more grams of carbohydrate each time. There are some companies that make bigger packs of gel (e-gel) or you could get gel in the bulk packages and fill your own gel squeeze bottle to control how much you want at one time.

Just make sure you experiment on your training runs to find the brands and flavors that you like and agree with you. Also, spend a few minutes the day before your long run/marathon thinking about how many gels or how much drink you will need and stock up. It is a good idea to bring one extra as being over prepared is far better than being under prepared and you might make a friend for life if you donate that one extra to someone in dire need of a little bit of carb. right at about mile 20.


Debbie Perry Co-owner of Salt Lake Running Co., Certified Sports Nutrition Advisor and Power Program Strength Trainer. Member of 2005 U.S. Amateur National Triathlon Team.