I don't use food fuel anymore. My first 2-3 marathons I tried a lot of different "shots" "gus" "gels".. I hated it. Mainly because I never got the hang of chewing while running and it always left me thirsty!

Since I cut out the whole "fuel" thing... I've ran 4 marathons (all of which I qualifed for Boston) and all training leading up to it with nothing but water and powerade.

I ran an ultra (50k) with nothing but water & powerade.

Its not a "requirement" to use gu or bananas or whatever lol. Experiment around if you like.. You'll find something that works for you!

What have you tried?
I haven't had to fuel during runs but ive heard some gels can be wretched.
Could try gummy bears Or similiar food
Doug eats pretzels on the treadmill and hes crushing his races (imo anyway lol). Idk how he does that lol

I don't eat anything when I run (except I did grab some fruit during the 1 marathon I ran). If I'm running 8 or fewer miles I won't bring water with me either. Maybe you could try fueling up a bit more prior to your run?

Also there seem to be a lot of Minnesotans in this group

Annieminnesota wrote: »

Ok, I know water and powerade isn't enough for me. I tried doing a long run while training for a half marathon a couple years ago and fainted. I had run 14 miles and I just think my body needed something else to keep going. I'll try and experiment with different stuff, thanks.

That's interesting. Despite what I posted above about marathon fueling, I don't tend to find I need anything for 16 miles or less. I subscribe to the theory that the body is carrying enough fuel for a couple of hours of running.

Were you fasted when this happened, or unwell?

I never eat anything before 13 miles or less and I'm weaning myself off eating before my long runs too. This last weekend I started my 17 mile run fasted. I had a gel at mile 9 and another at mile 13. I plan on cutting them out totally unless I'm doing a faster finish. Mostly I enjoy the higher caffeine gels.

In the past I was eating something before the longer long runs but I think that's counterproductive based on advice here and other sources online.

I had a lot of trouble taking gels on the run so I switched to shot blocks and my stomach can handle them a lot better. I also skipped gatorade on my last marathon, just did the chews and water and it worked great for my stomach. Just try different products until you get something that works.

I remember the days when people handed out wedges of orange on race routes. I always found that pretty palatable. It isn't a lot of food, but it is a jolt of sugar. And it isn't as heavy as Gu and those yucky things.

tufel wrote: »

I remember the days when people handed out wedges of orange on race routes. I always found that pretty palatable. It isn't a lot of food, but it is a jolt of sugar. And it isn't as heavy as Gu and those yucky things.

I love those oranges. Especially late in the race. A little slice of heaven. FWIW, people still hand them out, at least in the last two marathons I did.

Unfortunately experimentation is really the only way to find out. After struggling with a lot of GI issues at the beginning of my training, I learned that too much fruit/sugar, dairy or fiber before a long run is a big no-no (I have to start being careful the night before). So, too, is consuming nothing but water on my long runs. Simple carbs (plain bagel) and/or vegan running snacks before the run work for me (I have been really happy with PocketFuel brand nut butters and energy shots) and I usually have some Gu during, although I finally ran out of my limited-time peppermint flavour, so I need to experiment again. (Booooo)

Learning to eat & drink while running took some practice. I race half marathons with no snacks, but planned to eat every ~5 miles during my marathon. Now that my first marathon is out of the way I'm practicing more fasted runs, but I'll still eat during my races and the longest training runs.

You just gotta be careful about overdoing the carbs. If you spike your blood sugar, your body will burn glucose rather than fat (easier), and it won't go back to the fat, which is more of a long term fuel.

I was using SIS Gels last year, and they're fine, they work better for me on the bike though. I dud try the SIS energy bar when I was cycling but found them very chewy and I had to hoover a lot of water to get them down, so ended up not musing them much. The snag I found with the gels, particularly on the bike, was that they didn't have much effect, I got a spike of energy then it died again. That might have been more about fueling strategy than anything else though, perhaps leaving it too late to start feeding.

This year I've tried honey stinger chews, which seemed to work well at HM distance long runs, I about a third of the way into a marathon plan at the moment.

Wasn't able to pick them up at the cycle shop last weekend so ended up trying an OTE bar last weekend. Settled easily enough but I had the same problem as the SIS bars, had to slow down to a walk whilst eating it and had to swallow quite a lot of water. It was lighter than the SIS, and the flavour/ texture was easier.

I'm finding myself stuck between the concept of training without fuel at the moment, increasingly finding that I don't need the fuel and experimenting so that I don't fall foul of a problem on race day.

All in, honey stingers seem to be my preference at the moment.

On a half marathon I normally take one or two gels, marathon training I experimented taking more gels but could only ever take 3. Sure enough on my one and only marathon to date I took three gels and tons of water. I also had pistaschio nuts & jellies on me.
However I did feel I hadn't enough - I eat literally every two hours, 4 and a half hours plus on my feet with nothing but nuts a few jellies & water was not enough.
With that in mind I have been experimenting again its great fun - last weeks long run I had a small bottle of flat coca cola and a couple of Jaffa cakes ( do you have them stateside, they are lovely orangey biscuits with dark chocolate topping) next week I am going to try fig rolls again with flat coke. I will let you know how I get on.

As you can see, everyone has their own perspective and experience and it depends on what you can handle.

I tended to take in less carbs during a race than I do now. However, I don't train the same way. I often run the long runs (anything over 12 miles) with just water and maybe one or two gels. Sometimes I consume them, sometimes I don't. I tend to consume less in training, choosing to let my body to become accustomed to using what is "onboard." Just like mutiple distances and training cycles, you can use a fuel cycle to train your body for a variety of circumstances. And if Fitzgerald is to be believed, you can become fuel dependent if you rely upon certain high carb sources throughout your training.

In the end, I generally have started feeling better at the end of the race than when I took in a gel every 6-7 miles or so. I find that I can tolerate gels fairly well, though some don't really like them towards the end of a race. I also tend to tolerate bothe Gaterade and Powerade fairly well and so usually plan to incorporate them into the race day fuel cycleat water stations between those where I consume a gel.

YMMV!