Do runners really need gel?

Personally, I don't bother with them for any running events/training that isn't going to be well past an hour.

Not for a 5K. You shouldn't have to "carb up" or have special gels for 30-45 minutes of exercise. Just eat normal and make sure you are hydrated

I have only used them when running distances over 7 or 8 miles. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't need them for 5K (plus they taste icky!).

I can't see the need for gels for a 5K or 10K run, even without carb loading (assuming you're eating a reasonably balanced diet) you've got plenty of glycogen in reserve. Most of my training runs are early in the morning in a fasted state and I don't feel unusually fatigued after a 10km run but everyone is different - if it gives you a psychological boost why not?

Here's an interesting article you may want to read:

"Similarly, another study published in the Journal of Physiology demonstrated that during a cycling time trial, participants were able to complete the exercise significantly faster when they rinsed their mouths with a glucose or maltodextrin carbohydrate solution than when they rinsed with an identical looking and tasting placebo."



http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=21020

I used goo when I used to paddle outrigger. That was only for >4 hour competitions though.

I've run 20 mile training runs w/o gels with no issue.
I took a couple runs to make sure my stomach had no issues for race day, but otherwise trained as much as possible without them
Certainly no need on distances under a half

Back when I could run longer than 90 minutes....I needed something after that point. I tried several things and the thing I loved best was the honeystingers energy chews they are a little pricey but I didn't use them often. Still have some that I bring on long hikes. Hope to use them running again sometime!

You only need gels when you are running past the point of glycogen depletion in your legs. This takes 90 to 120 minutes to happen. Taking gels on shorter runs serves no real purpose except to add calories to your daily total.

This.

And even after depletion, you don't "need" the gels. They just provide energy that is easier to use. I believe in deprivation training. Let the body get used to running without giving it additional calories. Then, on race day, use them to give you a boost. I do one or two practice training runs with the gel I plan to use on race day, but other than that, I don't use them for any training run of any length, up to 22 miles.

For races on Half Marathon and longer, I'll use gels. HM, usually one 15 minutes prior to the start and one at an hour. Marathon, one 15 minutes prior and then one every 45 minutes.

I'm a big fan as well of deprivation training. I take it a step further and even eat low carb during the week and carb-up on the weekends. There are confounding variables at play, but I feel like I'm on a PED when I carb-up for a run after several days of lower glycogen stores.

You don't need any electrolyte supplementation for a 5k. I only eat when my runs go longer than 1.5 hours. And I never use Gu (gels). I don't like the taste and it upsets my stomach. I usually bring a Clif bar and eat it in small pieces along the way.

I am training for a half marathon (race day in 1.5 weeks!! Eeeeekk!!) I have taken gels last weekend on my long run, to make sure it did not upset my stomach. Other than that, i train without them. On Race day, I will have one after 45 min, then another after the next 45 min! i might bring a third and see if I need it!

I burn about 15 calories per minute running an 8 minute mile. At this speed I would take a Gel at about 7 miles, knowing that I would start to feel the impact around mile 8 - i.e about 960 Calories into the race. I would then Gel about every 30 minutes/4 miles/450 calories - so in a half marathon I would take my second gel at around mile 11.

Gels are about 80 calories, which means that I'm still getting a significant amount of my energy from my body's reserves: I'm just supplementing some 'easy' calories as my sugar (carb) reserves will be depleted but I will still have plenty of energy stored as fat, which is harder to process but still perfectly valid.


An alternative strategy for me is to take a sports energy drink (I use High Five 2:1) which is about 200 calories in 500 ml of water. This spreads the calorie consumption more evenly across the run, but has two disadvantages: when its hot you either get through it too fast or have to alternate with water... its a lot to think about. Also, carrying liquid means carrying weight - so you are sometimes better to use water stations.

In cooler weather I tend to use sports energy drinks - when it gets hotter I go with gels.

Note: when its hot I still carry about 500ml of sports hydration drink (i.e. electrolytes with 0 calories) This is really important on longer races as you will sweat out a lot of vital minerals & salts.


By the way - in training I normally just take the sports energy drink for up to 18 miles but carry a couple of gels in case I have a bad day (everyone has them occasionally) - conditions (heat & humidity) dramatically impact how you feel and I have had days where a steady 10K run in the heat has wiped me out completely: And I do twice that distance as a minimum on my weekly long run.


Oh yes - and I normally eat a Clif bar for breakfast 2hrs before any run (195 cals and very compact: I hate feeling bloated when running)

Anyway,

Paulwgun - it sounds like your situation is slightly different again. I would say that under normal circumstances people don't need any sort of energy supplement for a 10K distance but as you are at around 250lb (Congratulations on the 62lb loss by the way!) and will be exercising for about an hour and a half it might make sense to take something, although its not strictly necessary. I recommend taking an energy drink rather than gels for all the reasons mentioned above. If you think you need more than 500ml and want to carry it with you rather than using drinks stations I suggest you dilute the drink more so you have the same number of calories in it total. Staying hydrated through the race will have a far bigger impact on a race this length than an energy drink will.

if your only running a 5k then theirs no need to use gels or take water with you. Even for a 10k race you wouldnt need any gels.

I use jelly beans for anything over 10 miles but i can quite comfortable run 10 miles without jelly beans or water. Even when running a half marathon i use half a pack of jelly beans and for full marathons i use about 1 1/2 packs x

ive never crashed yet and have ran many 5k's x

In fairness I was trying for my first sub 20 in 26 degrees C on a humid day and the weather had only just gone from up 12 Degrees the previous week... The thing is I crashed at 3K and I was completely, utterly gone - Its a combination of the conditions and how hard you are pushing as I said.

The body will not shut down in 20 minutes or less because of dehydration. That bonk is just not having the fitness, under those adverse conditions, to handle the pace you were running. 5K pace can go up by as much as 30 seconds per mile under extreme heat conditions.

in a 10k race i take on water as i do tend to push my body and it would be silly not to x