Energy gels
mpowers26
Posts: 9 Member
Looking to gather info on the best energy gels for half marathon racing. Wanting to go more organic-natural.
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Replies
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They are really either glucose or sometimes glucose & fructose and may also contain caffeine.
Can be isotonic (more diluted) or more concentrated. Flavours vary enormously from OK to revolting.
The base that the sugars comes from may or may not upset people's stomach.
Which is why you should experiment during your training rather than in the event.
If you are drinking fluids during your runs then adding them to your drink is more convenient - which is what I do with a sports drink powder so I can vary the dosage. I only carry gels as an emergency backup or to add to water if needed.
Define what you mean by this "Wanting to go more organic-natural" as carb gels are hardly natural so it's a bit of a contradiction....
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Salted caramel GU is delicious, don't think it's organic though.1
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TavistockToad wrote: »Salted caramel GU is delicious, don't think it's organic though.
Yes they are....whoever came up with that flavour deserves the Nobel prize for something....
OP if you really want to go organic/natural consider making your own. You need to get a gel flask (any running store / Amazon etc will have them) and there are ton of recipes out there. My favourite (tastes like Halloween candy) is 3 parts honey, 1 part molasses (regular or blackstrap) a little water to thin it out and (optional) a pinch of salt.1 -
Here are the organic gels that The Feed sells. Obviously the nut butter thing isn't a gel, I think their logic was that you can eat it on the go. That said, I'm don't see the point in an organic gel save for for marketing purposes.
Either way, try whatever you hoping to have during your race during training.0 -
Honey sticks1
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Organic: Pure organic honey, add some water if it's too thick. Add some powdered caffeine (carefully measured) if you want.3
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Honey Stinger has organic gels. I can't comment on them since I have not tried them (and probably won't since GU works fine for me). Not sure what the difference is compared to their normal gels (which I have used and like) but I'm sure you will pay more and probably get less.
Good luck.2 -
Honey stinger has organic products that are fine. I like the waffles when I'm biking, but I'm not sure how I'd feel about them when running. Bicycling magazine has a good article this month about different types of fuel. It's intended for cyclists, but the concept still applies for runners. It's worth a read. When I trained for a marathon, I tolerated Clif Shot Bloks the best. Definitely not organic.1
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There is no best. That's why there are tons of different kinds. Between taste, calories, textures etc, its a very highly individualized preference. Try a few and see which ones you like and can tolerate1
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Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »Organic: Pure organic honey, add some water if it's too thick. Add some powdered caffeine (carefully measured) if you want.
^^ This.
For my marathon and first 50K, I used honey, diluted with water (3:2 honey to water seem to work) and put in a soft water bottle like the one below. Cheap, easy, and much neater to use than sticky gel packets.
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If you prefer to have something solid, you may also like dried fruits like apricot, pineapple, etc.0
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lporter229 wrote: »If you prefer to have something solid, you may also like dried fruits like apricot, pineapple, etc.
Dates also work really well (at least for me), although runners who are sensitive to fiber will want to test carefully with dried fruits (I have some family members who had . . . interesting results).1 -
i like honey stingers. the waffle before. then w/e i have on hand during the run. the waffles sometimes i have for breakfast0
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I do the Honey Stinger waffles as well (they have organic). I cannot stomach the gels, the texture and I have tried some revolting tasting ones. Honey stinger makes chews (organic) and so does Gatorade (not organic).
I would just try out several and see which ones suit you better.0 -
I have also had good results from the GU gels. The fruit flavors aren't that bad and they keep me from cramping on long runs(10+miles)0
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Wondering if you will even need energy gels (assuming this is to combat glycogen depletion) for a half marathon. I am a woman so am more efficient at burning fat during endurance events. I would have only benefitted from gels close to 7 hours of exertion.
I hit the wall once at a long distance inline skating event (140 km skating) after 6.5 hours of continuous exertion. Someone from the organization saw me struggling gave me a hotel satchet of jam to suck on that cleared my mind almost immediately, so yeah having a packet of jam works too.
If you snack on dried apricots during the race, you can probably keep the gels on hand only if you have an emergency situation. Glycogen depeletion (your brain can only run on glycogen) means you suddenly get totally confused and are unable to coordinate your movements.3 -
I ran my first half marathon with raisins. It works just fine if you're able to not choke yourself. I did drop a few raisins around mile 10, and I nearly cried. Every raisin tastes like ambrosia at that point.1
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Wondering if you will even need energy gels (assuming this is to combat glycogen depletion) for a half marathon. I am a woman so am more efficient at burning fat during endurance events. I would have only benefitted from gels close to 7 hours of exertion.
I hit the wall once at a long distance inline skating event (140 km skating) after 6.5 hours of continuous exertion. Someone from the organization saw me struggling gave me a hotel satchet of jam to suck on that cleared my mind almost immediately, so yeah having a packet of jam works too.
If you snack on dried apricots during the race, you can probably keep the gels on hand only if you have an emergency situation. Glycogen depeletion (your brain can only run on glycogen) means you suddenly get totally confused and are unable to coordinate your movements.
you don't 'need' gels for a half, most people have enough glycogen to get round. in my experience fueling just helps make it feel a little easier.
not sure where you got the 7 hours from as i don't see many people running a full marathon without some sort of fuel?1 -
Thank you everyone, I'm reading and taking notes. Getting ready for my first ever marathon in August (coastal/trail)... so any advise of this kind welcome here too
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Misiolinka wrote: »Thank you everyone, I'm reading and taking notes. Getting ready for my first ever marathon in August (coastal/trail)... so any advise of this kind welcome here too
Fueling for a marathon is quite different than fueling for a half. Unless you are super fast and can complete a full marathon in under 3 hours, you are likely going to need to have a fueling plan in place or you risk depleting all of your glycogen stores and "hitting the wall" as they say. Most people choose to have a gel or equivalent (~100 calories) every 45 minutes to an hour to avoid glycogen depletion. It is important to do this from the onset of the race and not wait until you feel like you are running out of energy. It's also a good idea to have some trial runs with your fueling strategy to see what types of fuel work best for you. Good luck with your marathon!1 -
Cliff does have organic blocks, and they are delicious if you like gummy things!! They can be purchased both as caffeinated (my go-to) or uncaffinated (my husbands go-to).
Personally my favorite energy supplement for running are the GUs with caffeine, even though they aren’t organic. The best flavors are the chocolate, salted caramel, and the espresso love. If I’m feeling something fruity I always go for a cliff block instead bc the fruity GUs are not good in my opinion.1 -
Wondering if you will even need energy gels (assuming this is to combat glycogen depletion) for a half marathon. I am a woman so am more efficient at burning fat during endurance events. I would have only benefitted from gels close to 7 hours of exertion.
I hit the wall once at a long distance inline skating event (140 km skating) after 6.5 hours of continuous exertion. Someone from the organization saw me struggling gave me a hotel satchet of jam to suck on that cleared my mind almost immediately, so yeah having a packet of jam works too.
If you snack on dried apricots during the race, you can probably keep the gels on hand only if you have an emergency situation. Glycogen depeletion (your brain can only run on glycogen) means you suddenly get totally confused and are unable to coordinate your movements.
The science suggests that fueling helps to improve performance for activities that will last longer than 45 minutes or so. I can find the source study if needed but it's easily findable on the internet. Radiolab also did a great episode on this.
Interestingly enough, one of the biggest benefits of fueling is to 'trick' your brain into allowing the body to continue to deplete your glycogen stores. Around the 45 minute mark the brain will start asking the body to stop moving in order to save energy even though the body still has plenty of energy left in reserve. The brain is trying to prevent the body from reaching a critical situation. This is what many recreational athletes perceive as 'bonking'...it's all mental.
True bonking won't happen until much later (I think the body can store 90-120 minutes of glycogen on average) and when it does happen it's ugly. I'm sure that youtube has some videos of marathoners, triathletes, etc. experiencing that nightmare.
Fueling during even shorter races may not be technically critical but it lets your brain know that more calories are coming and as such, it will not send a signal to the body encouraging it to stop moving. The great thing is anything will work...gels, dried fruit, bananas, or even sips of sports drink (assuming you drink one that contains calories).
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lporter229 wrote: »If you prefer to have something solid, you may also like dried fruits like apricot, pineapple, etc.
Personally I would be hesitant to go the solid food route (I do like to snack on dates but hate running with food in my stomach) but no matter what you decide to try train with it before race day....nothing like a gastrointestinal surprise to ruin your day.1 -
I use honey stinger gels because that’s just about the only thing my stomach can handle without some sort of revolt. I believe they are organic. But I get awfully tired of chewing after 14-15 miles, so I’m experimenting with Tailwind (I’m going to take a wild stab and guess that it’s not organic-but I have no idea).0
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The ultra runner / trail groups I'm on swear by salty potatoes. Think baby potatoes roasted w/ a little oil and sea salt.
ETA: I definitely like the idea of "real food" while running. I've done GU and Sport Beans for caffeine. Also, PB&Honey sammies.
ETA: My next race is a road HM. I'm going to eat a big breakfast and run with sport beans and that will probably be it in terms of race fuel. My Sept HM is on trail and I will not only have the big breakfast, but bring actual snacks for the run. The exertion on trail, even at the same distance, far outweighs the road. I'm bringing a whole extra sandwich for that and maybe some potato chips + electrolyte drink.0 -
Not organic but vegan, I like tailwind in my water when doing anything above 14km, it tastes quite nice and has all the salts you need which if you sweat like I do need replacing a lot quicker than actual energy (although each sachet also has 200 calories). I also use shot bloks (again vegan) which are like cubes of concentrated jelly (English version of jelly). Both of these could also have caffeine in depending on the flavour.
The important thing though is to incorporate these in to your training. Some people can't stomach gels, drinks etc and it's better to find out on a training run. In fact it took me several long training runs to find out exactly how brat for me personally to fuel.0 -
Duck_Puddle wrote: »I use honey stinger gels because that’s just about the only thing my stomach can handle without some sort of revolt. I believe they are organic. But I get awfully tired of chewing after 14-15 miles, so I’m experimenting with Tailwind (I’m going to take a wild stab and guess that it’s not organic-but I have no idea).
Pretty sure that Tailwind is organic, at least some of the ingredients. My sister uses it and she's passionate about things like that.0 -
WickAndArtoo wrote: »Cliff does have organic blocks, and they are delicious if you like gummy things!! They can be purchased both as caffeinated (my go-to) or uncaffinated (my husbands go-to).
Personally my favorite energy supplement for running are the GUs with caffeine, even though they aren’t organic. The best flavors are the chocolate, salted caramel, and the espresso love. If I’m feeling something fruity I always go for a cliff block instead bc the fruity GUs are not good in my opinion.
Cliff blocks are good, though I like the Pro Bar blocks a little better if you’re into gummies.
My current favorites are chocolate gels, though. I like the Clif chocolate and Gu s’mores. Haven’t tried the Gu plain chocolate yet, but I’ll eat just about anything chocolate.
I’m totally with you on fruity Gu tasting gross.
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WickAndArtoo wrote: »Cliff does have organic blocks, and they are delicious if you like gummy things!! They can be purchased both as caffeinated (my go-to) or uncaffinated (my husbands go-to).
Personally my favorite energy supplement for running are the GUs with caffeine, even though they aren’t organic. The best flavors are the chocolate, salted caramel, and the espresso love. If I’m feeling something fruity I always go for a cliff block instead bc the fruity GUs are not good in my opinion.
Cliff blocks are good, though I like the Pro Bar blocks a little better if you’re into gummies.
My current favorites are chocolate gels, though. I like the Clif chocolate and Gu s’mores. Haven’t tried the Gu plain chocolate yet, but I’ll eat just about anything chocolate.
I’m totally with you on fruity Gu tasting gross.
Glad I’m not the only one! I bought every flavor just to mix it up, and have been choking the fruit ones down. I haven’t tried the s’mores yet but I do have that flavor! I’m waiting to try it for when I start training for a full marathon since it’s a non caffeinated one (I am going to try doing every other so I’m not investing too much caffeine).0
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