Fuelling long runs- help please!

The Kendal Mint co gels are not so gloopy and also don't contain the ingredient that has the potential to give you the 💩 s. A lot of other gels do. You'd probably be fine for a half with a high carb breakfast and a bit of something ( Kendal mint co mint cake is fab) but for longer you'd need to plan your carbs carefully. The Kendal gels also contain electrolytes which is great

I use High 5 energy drink powder. I do drink alot compared to others though so consume quite a few carbs. I then alternate a fruit pastille and mini jammy dodgers every km.

I agree lots of people underfuel but the 60-80g recommendation will be too high for a lot of women - it takes practice to be able to absorb that much without GI distress and many women are sufficiently carb adapted not to need quite so much anyway especially for aerobic paced events. A mix of sugar types (glucose and fructose) will be absorbed more readily than all glucose and having enough fluid is also important.

Either way it's important to practice in training and start taking it even before your event starts rather than waiting until an hour in. That way you can work out your own limits and what you absorb fastest.

I’ve been experimenting with gels as I’ve always avoided them but felt I needed to fuel my upcoming marathon better than I did my last one. Last time I used energy byte caffeine jelly’s. They worked but I felt a bit weird after.

ive tried a few ones and I think I like the Kendal mint ones the best. They’re a bit weird going down but leave you feeling quite fresh and not too sticky. They’re also easy to open when running at pace, unlike some of the others I have tried. So I’m going to order more of them for marathon day.

I have also tried voom bars and I like them for training runs when you can stop to eat them but for races when you just have to get them down with it stopping they’re just too much chewing.

I did my first marathon (in 2005) on 5 jelly babies - 1 every 5 miles. I dont remember even knowing about the existence of gels! I felt ok, but i wouldnt consider it now!!
I usually have a gel if im doing more than 10 miles, in training.i generally find 1 gel is enough, for me, for a half marathon. I have training buddies (who are faster than me at races) who dont eat breakfast, beforehand, or take any fuel for 10-15 mile runs, which i find discombobulating!

You’re welcome - it’s been a revelation to me too. I did lots of running pre kids but hadn’t done more than 10k until last October when I started training more seriously again. Previously, I did an 18 mile training run with only some jelly babies at mile 15 - I remember phoning my husband to tell him I felt really unwell. I did my only marathon with only a cereal bar at 18 miles when I hit the wall - it was awful! These days I’m smashing PBs I set in my 20’s (I’m in my 50’s now with four kids) and I think a big part of it is actually eating enough on my long runs.

I did 19 miles this morning and listened to a podcast on fuelling while I was running! Take homes were that most runners are grossly under fuelling. You should be aiming for 60-80g of carb an hour for runs over 60 mins so handfuls of sweets, Kit Kats etc while lovely are not going to be enough. If you want optimum fuelling and to avoid hitting the wall in marathon training you need to look at the amount of carbs in the whole foods that you are carrying and work out if you can eat enough of them to give you what you need.

I don’t mind the sis gels but I also take the high five ones and was going to suggest them - the orange ones taste like squash. I also love the Kendal mint cake ones but they are strongly flavoured so not sure they would be good for you. I think sis do a neutral flavour one which might be worth trying. I had some chocolate covered Kendal mint cake today which was delicious but I personally can’t really chew while I run so I so far have to stick to gels. I want to do an ultramarathon at the end of the year and have accepted I’m going to have to walk while I eat because I can’t face taking in all my fuel as gel for 50km!

I mostly do trail running/jeffing and not terribly fast, so I find I do need something as I'm on my feet for so much longer than faster runners. I tend to take flapjack bites and ready salted hula hoops for later in the run. Sometimes a small carton of apple juice for a halfway top up.

Dextro energy tabs are less disgusting, as they're a sort of chalky consistency but I've never found I needed anything on long training runs where the pace is easy. I'd use gels when actually racing a marathon though, but could only tolerate the SiS ones that you don't like.

I have https://veloforte.com/products

they work really well and have good flavours - lemon and mint is probably my favourite but I think all are okay

I have run marathons but at the moment im enjoying halfs and find the training is more manageable (and you don't need as much fuel!)
I take haribos....but actually when running i find it quite difficult to eat them, even jelly babies seem too much effort (once DH bought wine gums because there were no jelly babies available - they were a total disaster!! 🤣)

My favourite gels - if you did want to investigate any other gels - are torq (specifically black cherry yoghurt or rhubarb and custard) they do loads of flavours, and possibly a flavourless one ....and do a variety pack

I like the voom bars. I have quite a dicky tummy when I'm running but those are always good

I love the Torq gels but they're quite sweet and come in dessert style flavours so they might not be for you!

Lucozade do have a gel, which has 30g carbs and tastes a lot like actual lucozade. I tried one and liked it, but I can't remember whether I got it from Boots or Superdrug. It wasn't expensive.

There is a great website called X Miles where you can buy individual gels so you can try loads of different ones and see what works for you. They also do delivery to InPost lockers if that's easier as you can collect it from your local locker. And if you have any questions they have great customer service!

I’m a fan of Styrkr, really enjoy all there products

I’m a fan of real food but gel-wise I use High5 Aqua (berry) or KMC. What helps me is the KMC ISO mix drink, it has carbs and electrolytes and comes in lemon or raspberry flavours.

Food-wise I like flapjack or Kendal mint cake. Sometimes savoury works better, salt and vinegar fish & chips hit the spot for me recently!

Marzipan is actually genius, I love marzipan!

I can't cope with gels, messy and unpleasant to consume.

Decathlon do some fruit jellies that I really like, more fruit content than sweets but very tasty - you might like the strawberry one. They also do almond and honey blocks which are delicious but I basically slice up a block of marzipan and put it in a bag for the same result much cheaper! You could look at tailwind for nutrition you have in your water.

And finally if like me you start craving something savoury to offset the sweet, you can get salted roast giant corn in health food shops like grape tree, which taste like tortilla chips but don't smash so easily!

No they were more like a solid jelly gummy sweet, a bit like a wine gum but not as good 😂

Flapjack in your pocket or a couple of Kit-Kats. Carbs the night before.

I just take a small block of Kendal mint cake these days. Everything else tastes weird or has an unpleasant texture to me.

I really like Precision Fuel. Their gels have quite a neutral taste. Their chews are good too - a bit like Turkish delight.

I hate gels, so I tried Kendal mint cake and found this worked well for me. You can get them in smaller packs that are easy to carry.