Runners-when do you REFUEL and what type do you use?

Hi,
I did a 10 mile race last Saturday and didn't eat use anything just drank water at the water stations. I think for 10 miles there is no need to take anything. Just make sure you eat before the race, I ate about 2 hours previous to the race and had a granola bar when I finished and ate later. One tip to I found useful also, lets say the race is in the morning it would be advisable to go for a walk in the afternoon. We did that and felt the benefit of it the next day as we wern't as achy as we expected.
The main thing is to enjoy it I enjoyed every second of the race, I hope you enjoy yours too!
Hope this helps.

I just use simple jelly belly jelly beans. I don't see any point in paying ridiculous money for essentially the same thing, and something that doesn't taste nearly as good. They are carb fuel, and it' works for me.. I eat about 100 cals every 5 miles or an hour.. I ran a half marathon, and all the training days leading up to it doing this and never ever hit the wall.

If I'm going to be running for more than 90 minutes, I'll take something about 40 minutes into it. There are different theoretical schools of thought on how long you need to be running before refueling in needed - IMHO, this falls into the "you're an experiment of one" category. (Within boundaries). Nobody physically needs refueling if running less than an hour. Some are fine up to 2 hours. With experience you'll figure out where you fall in that category.

As far as what to use. I do tend to use gels because they are so convenient and easy to carry. GU and Clif are what I would usually get. Jelly Belly's are ok, but gels are quicker to ingest. When I did my two 50 mile races, I went with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (LOL!) Mentally they were just satisfying and I tend to have an iron stomach.

No extra fuel needed for a half marathon distance. Some people like a gel or something just to make them feel like there's more in the tank.

If you eat well leading up to the event you will have no probs.

Maybe, maybe not... depends how long the run takes her. If she's looking at 2.5 hours and a steady, decent pace, she may very well need something. If she's talking about 1.5 hours, then you may be right.

Distance isn't the determining factor... effort/intensity and time is.

I did 8 miles last sunday and had a little extra cereal for bkfast about 90 minutes before I went out and a little coconut water and then drank about a half gallon of water when I finished and had a chicken breast when I got home for protein other than that nothing different

LOL! Great minds think alike...... and ours too. LOL! Wish you'd posted first - i could have simply posted 'what he said".

How long will the run take you? 10 miles... you may not need anything. Assuming you are properly hydrated/fed going into the run, most people don't actually need calories until at least the 60 minute mark, and generally not until 90 minutes in.

But to your question, it really comes down to knowing your body, which in your case is going to require some trial and error (i.e. going as long as you can without anything to figure out when you need something. Then, you have to figure out what your body likes best, liquid cals, gels, chews, etc).

Everyone responds differently, so you're just going to have to get something and try it. I'd start with whatever is easiest for you to get locally. No sense having to order something just to find out your body doesn't like it.

That said, if you need recommendations, I like heed for liquid cals and both rice crispy treats and clif shot gels for "food" cals.

I just use simple jelly belly jelly beans. I don't see any point in paying ridiculous money for essentially the same thing, and something that doesn't taste nearly as good. They are carb fuel, and it' works for me.. I eat about 100 cals every 5 miles or an hour.. I ran a half marathon, and all the training days leading up to it doing this and never ever hit the wall.

totally going to try this!

I ran 10 miles that Sunday(in a downpour) and my fueling was this: 1 Gu 15 minutes before i started, 1 Gu at 45 minutes in. I run an out and back loop, so i carried a 16oz bottle of water that i dropped after 3.5 miles. That's it. I drink a whey protein shake afterwards, within 30 minutes. Ran at a 9:48 pace, 1:38 total time.

I also use jelly beans. A couple every 5km or so. I practiced with them on my weekly long run first. Now I bring some with me for any runs over 10km. Love the red ones!

I've done 9 half marathons, 2 half Ironman triathlons, and lots of inbetween races. I agree that you need to find what works for you. I found that I was really underfueling myself after talking to a tri coach. Of course, a half IM is a LOT longer than a half marathon. I've run half marathons w/ no fuel which I can do, but the recovery seems harder. I've been using Power Gels now instead of Gu. The electrolytes and sodium are really what you need, not just the carbohydrates. And refueling after is very important.

Just my opinion!

For my longer runs (over 6 miles for me) I will usually try to get up a little earlier so that I can eat something and allow nature to take its course before I take the course. If I plan on being out for longer than an hour I will take water and enough Gu to get me through the run. After the run I will drink water as soon as possible, 2-3 cups, and eat a snack...banana, protein bar, etc. For shorter runs where I don't eat breakfast first I will go ahead and eat that after my run, usually oatmeal.

You don't really need anything working up to a half. Much of it can be personal preference though. I generally try and not take any fuel on my long runs all the way up to 20 milers. I'll take a couple runs to see what my stomach likes for raceday(marathon) but I try and do all the rest of my runs on only water.

As you can see by the replies, I think it varies a lot! I am training for a half and up to 13.5 on my long runs. I didn't need to carry anything to hydrate until I was running more than 6-7 miles, and didn't really feel a need to be refueling until around 9-10. My pace is on the slower side; I'll probably finish my half in about 2:10, maybe 2:05. The challenge for me is that I do NOT have an iron stomach, and typically on short run days I run first thing in the morning on a totally empty stomach (just a little water before heading out the door). I was going on long runs on an empty stomach at first, too, but then when I got to around 9ish miles on the distance I found I was running out of gas and needed something. But if I ate a protein or cereal bar right before leaving on the run, I'd cramp up. So now I eat a protein bar (about 175-200 calories) first thing when I wake up. I actually leave it on my nightstand the night before and eat it before I even get out of bed, while I'm laying there trying to wake up and watch the news, LOL. Then by the time I get up, dressed and out the door it's been about 20-30 minutes since I ate, and I don't cramp.

On the run itself, I carry the Honey Stinger energy chews with me. I like the Cherry Blossom and Fruit Smoothie flavors. I like that they're really portable and easy to chew, and that they are small "doses" if you will, which makes me a little less likely to cramp after eating them. I usually eat 2 at a time and may have 2-3 during the course of 13.5 miles. Lately I've been eating the first 2 chews at about mile 7-8.

Where does everyone purchase their fuel? On line or at sports stores? I've seen some on Amazon.

Like I said before... start out by getting stuff locally. Grocery stores are carrying more and more of this kind of stuff, sporting goods stores usually have some, and specialty shops often have some too (bike shops, running shops, etc). Until you know what you like and don't like, go with what's easier to get/try.

Once you find things you like, then you can order online for better selection of flavors, prices, etc.

Typically, I run 4-8 miles at a time... I've never carried water with me. If I do a race, I'll drink at the water stations, but when I run on my own, I never carry anything. Even on 10+ mile runs, I've never carried water... I run till the tank is empty and then go home lol.