Half Marathoners...Gellin' like a Felon?

Hi! I did my first half this past summer and I'm running another one this June. I finished my last one at 2:49, I hope to finish this year under 2:30. CROSSING FINGERS!

So gel... yes I use GU Octaneon my long runs. My favorites are chocolate, island nectar and pineapple. I took them around mile 7 and it helped give me that boost. My other favorites are the peach GU chomps, Clif Shot Bloks (tropical).

I found them to help me get past those last few miles.

Best of luck!!!

You could do the gels (try to see what you like). Or take gatorade instead of water at the stops. But also defintiely make sure you've tried that on a long run too. That little mishap made for some uncomfortable miles during my 1st half.

absolutely this - try anything you plan on doing at least once before your half... for instance, i found out that drinking gatorade for the first time (ever - don't judge - i'm just cheap ) at mile 10 resulted in an unanticipated need to sprint from the finish line to the nearest bathroom... which i couldn't find...

always embarrassing to do the "potty dance" when you're 40... but congrats on your first half! you'll do great! :flowerforyou:

I am training for my first at the beginning of May and have been experimenting too.. On a 12 mile run, I ate some of the sport beans at half an hour intervals. The GU sort of grosses me out but I plan on trying that too..

I think you need to experiment and see what works best for you. I don't like to take gels or anything (or drink water) during a half marathon, and I think Gatorade is gross.

I think you need to experiment and see what works best for you. I don't like to take gels or anything (or drink water) during a half marathon, and I think Gatorade is gross.

Agree with the first part. Just ran my 1st half last Saturday. I was in the mindset that I wouldn't want anything and wasn't even going to try really. However, on our 12 mile training run, our running group leader left gels and water at the 1/2 way point to try. I had an awesome run, ran all 12 in a 9 min pace on a route I had NEVER been able to complete because of hills. On my 13 mile run, I didn't do this and totally conked at 9 miles. I managed 11.75 miles and finally said forget it.

Fast Forward to Saturday, I used the gel at mile 7.5. There was a very long hill from 8-9.5 and my legs were dead so at about 8.5 I had to take a short walk and then I could feel my energy returning and ended up running very well and finishing in 1:59:45.
A friend I ran with didn't use anything and finished fine so it really and truly is very individual. Give them a try and see how you do. You may not be able to stomach them, you may not see a difference, or you may find they are beneficial!

Good luck!

Depends.

For your long runs, no one else is going to provide it, so if you think you're going to want a boost, you better bring it with you. I like Gu and I also like the Honey Stinger Waffles (if you have a larger pocket and can carry it). If I'm running significantly over an hour, I'll carry something with me and pop it half-way.

On the race course, most half- and full-marathons will have at least one water station with gel or some other quick fuel. Disney's races have gels at every other station, the last local one I did had their mile 8 station designated with gels, but there were gummy bears and a couple other things along the way, too. Check the course map, a good race planner will let you know where it it.

You will get a wide variety of answers to your question. There are some runners who won't use anything. I believe that for me personally, fueling during a long run or a race is extremely important. A good rule of thumb is to fuel every 45 minutes or so. There are a lot of brands of gels & chews out there. Pick some that sound good to you & try them out on your long runs. Good luck!