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[Posting on behalf of /u/Percinho who I presume is busy building a garlic fortress to keep out the vampires on this spooky night]
I was deeply & confidently incorrect when answering a question about gels/marathon nutrition this weekend. tldr; I was like “6-7 gels is a lot for a marathon and seems like it would be really hard on the stomach, 1-3 should be fine” but apparently textbook advice truly is 30-60+ grams of carb/hr.
Which left me baffled–how many gels are you guys taking in on a half/full? I ran my marathon PR on <1 package of Cliff Shot Blocks plus a Gatorade or water swish-n-spit every 2 miles at aid stations. And I mean yeah, I was fighting severe leg fatigue in the last few miles, but isn’t that just… part of the marathon? Or was that an entirely unnecessary thing that I put myself through? I also asked my (much larger than me but similar speed) partner what he plans on doing at his upcoming marathon and he said he plans on bringing 3 gels (each gel has 18g of carb), but only plans to take 2 unless there’s some sort of catastrophe. I didn’t go out of my way to reach out and ask random other people I’ve trained with how many gels they usually take during a marathon, but like… you can only fit so many gels into spandex short-shorts and a crop top??? And I feel like I’ve never seen people around me with gels bulging out of all available stash spots.
Are we all just fucking stupid? Have I been fighting through crazy long run/long race leg fatigue for like, no reason whatsoever? I just assumed that’s like, in the cards when you sign up for long races.
You do you nutrition-wise–whatever works works. But man the idea of needing to take in that many energy gels is… truly horrifying.
I use Tailwind for marathons and aim for 600 calories (~200 cal/hr) so which would equate to 6 gels.
My last marathon i took 5 with 1 right at the start for a 3:19 marathon. I probably could have taken one more. I also have a stomach of iron and is basically impossible to upset. My legs felt pretty good at the end, sore and what not but not the fatigue and dragging feeling i get when i occasionally do a longer hard training run and underfuel.
Practice fueling on your long runs. You can “train your gut” to handle more. And definitely find what works for you. Some people prefer more liquid carbs, some chews, some real food, some gels. Also fueling on your long runs will help you to perform better and recover better thus improving your fitness. I have shorts with multiple pockets and a spibelt and I carry a handheld water bottle that has a sleeve with two pockets.
Definitely need more carbs, i take 2 gels for a half race (not for training runs). In my last marathon I also ate a sandwich, a packet of crisps, 2 oranges. I get really sick of sweet stuff 🤷🏼♀️