Marathon Weekend 2027

[jpholic]

SAFD:
I moved away from caffeine gels and switched to carb/sodium intake and its been a game changer. 60 min before my race I drink a 16oz of carb/sodium mix with extra electrolytes to cap me off. Liquid gel 10 min before race time and a gel every 25-30 mins during the race. I've found it to really help me to sustain my output during races with no dropoff and no GI issues... yet.

The brand is Neversecond if anyone is interested. Good flavors, mostly, and the gels are more liquid than gooey.

 

[WDW 4 ME]

SAFD: I like to switch between gels and something more solid on my runs so it gives me a break. Love cliff blocks. Sometimes I can tolerate honey stinger chews but other times they give me reflux, so they are a gamble. I havent done much real food while running, other than a banana. I wanted to love the nerd clusters but they just take way too much chewing for me and it really messes with my breathing. For gels, I like untapped and bpn go gels. My tummy seems to agree with those more than others.

 

[KellyKateri]

Best hack from me, train with your preferred Powerade color (start by mixing with water). It made such a difference to me that my stomach was able to handle noogs and yellow Powerade for each of my races. Plus, was easy to get easy electrolytes after each race since Disney is all Powerade.

Second tip, try noogs! They taste and look like sour patch kids. They just came out with a caffeinated version as well! My favorite flavor is the rocket pop.

 

[RuntheMouse]

SAFD: I have a few tried and true favorites when it comes to fueling. I start by having oatmeal with blueberries and flax before every run. I never run fasted. If I’m going longer than 90 minutes, I’ll have some Cranberry juice as well.

During the run I have diluted Liquid IV in a handheld. I’m a sweaty runner so this is a must. I also bring salt stick chews if it’s really hot out. For runs over an hour, I bring fuel. I like applesauce pouches, UnTapped syrup, Huma gels and Skratch chews. When my runs get up over 2 hours DH will sometimes bring me other snacks. I do love me some mid-run Froot Loops and tortilla chips!

 

[lhermiston]

SAFD: Some of my favorite mid-race fuels have included:
- beer
- tequila
- mimosa
- more beer
- bacon
- White Castle slider
- beer

Do I recommend those to anybody? Without a doubt. Is it sound fueling strategy? Absolutely.

 

[FFigawi]

SAFD: In addition to all the great advice that's already been given, I'm going to add a slightly different take: even if you find one or two things that work perfectly for you, keep testing and trying other things as well. You never know when your body is going to decide that Clif bloks or Tailwind or whatever you're using is not something it wants to digest anymore. Being able to adapt and not panic when this happens can make all the difference in a race. One mile into the marathon during my first Ironman, my stomach told me in no uncertain terms that sugar was no longer welcome. I ended up running the rest of the race fueling with potato chips, flat coke, and BASE salt. Not ideal, but since I had trained my body to accept many different fuels, it worked out fine.

 

[Barca33Runner]

SAFD: We’re all an experiment of one, so keep running your experiment until you find your solution. ETA: And feel free to run it again when variables change.

 

[Herding_Cats]

SAFD:
Echoing what others have said about practicing/trying new things in training. If you have an easily upset stomach plan your route accordingly.

I can eat just about anything (I’ve only had one issue with something ever, and that was an electrolyte) but have figured out that what I mostly need is a variety when I’m out for multiple hours on a run or walk.

Nerds gummies—I can fit a serving into a 2x3in ziploc and appreciate that it is both something I have to chew, and that it’s sweet AND tart.

Huma—raspberry, chocolate, or lemonade

Gu—too sweet for me, but birthday cake if I have to

Stroopwaffles—salty’s caramel; it’s nice to have a different texture and this has a little more sodium than others

Tailwind—I’m partial to raspberry or the “unflavored” (naked) if I am using my hydration vest.

Maurten gels—can force myself to eat them when nothing else sounds good, but they are $$$

Pretzels—make me extremely thirsty

I definitely like caffeine on the back half of long runs so I don’t fade too quickly.

Speaking of hydration vests, I (like a lot of others) don’t put anything in the main bladder other than water, and use soft flasks in the front pockets for coke, tailwind, liquid IV, etc. I had good luck concentrating the unflavored tailwind since it doesn’t get too sweet, but make sure to wash it down with water if you do try concentrating it.

Most of my runs are T shaped out and backs, and I like to stash a water bottle by a stop sign or power pole at the intersection when I’m running more than 4 miles or if it’s really hot out. I have carrying things in my hands while running.

 

[lhermiston]

SAFD: Some of my favorite mid-race fuels have included:
- beer
- tequila
- mimosa
- more beer
- bacon
- White Castle slider
- beer

Do I recommend those to anybody? Without a doubt. Is it sound fueling strategy? Absolutely.

If I can be serious a moment ... jello shots are also vital.

 

[The Expert]

SAFD: Thankfully my stomach has been pretty tolerant of most fuel, even on long runs and marathons. I usually run in the afternoon, so I'm sure to eat a decent breakfast (during the week, oatmeal and berries; weekends often eggs with spinach) and something small about 15-30 minutes before a run (applesauce pouch most often).

I'll fuel for any run an hour or more. I used to use Tailwind, but got tired of having to deal with liquids all the time. I was also not great at estimating how much I needed, so I often ended up with some sloshing and a LOT of bathroom stops (sorry for that @Herding_Cats). I started randomly adding in waffles but again, not really paying attention to much aside from how I felt.

A few years ago we moved to Vermont and I came across Untapped as it is produced very close to me. I liked that it was so simple, so I switched entirely to their products. For less than two hours, I'll just use the "gels" and alternate between salted raspberry and classic or mint. Two hours or more and I add in a waffle. I fuel every 25 minutes and take sips of water as I feel like it, then after every workout I have something with pretty high protein within about 30 minutes and a recovery or electrolyte drink.

Now that I'm starting to dial in my training for Chicago, I'm paying more attention to what I need and my coach is helping me to calculate and test that. I've probably been taking too many carbs and not enough salt or liquid. So I just ordered a mix of products from Maurten, LMNT, Skratch and Precision to try from The Feed. Paying close attention to all these responses!

Side note: I'm also now deep down the rabbit hole of researching hydration belts and (maybe) vests. I do most of my runs on a treadmill, but tried an outdoor run this weekend and actually enjoyed it -- despite all the hills in my area and the bouncy (NOT running) vest that I decided to stuff all my things into. Mixing some of these hilly runs in will definitely help me figure out what will work for me on the course in Chicago. At Disney I rely entirely on what rD provides for hydration, but I don't want to have to do that. I'm leaning toward belts because I get hot easily and Chicago doesn't allow vests with back bladders (but you can have bottles in the front pockets).

 

[matt and beth]

Personally tend to not fuel much during training runs except the long runs. Gels sometimes but really like raw fruits. The following comment takes the cake

SAFD: Some of my favorite mid-race fuels have included:
- beer
- tequila
- mimosa
- more beer
- bacon
- White Castle slider
- beer

Do I recommend those to anybody? Without a doubt. Is it sound fueling strategy? Absolutely.

you win

 

[Psymonds]

SAFD:

listening to one of the panelists at the CIM expo in December, they noted, especially for us longer time runners, it's hard to really over-fuel mid race, but easy to under fuel, I'm mostly a gels guy but I do love a stroopwaffle. I have to say... I have a softer spot for sportbeans than most, as I've had them at the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield.

 

[jenljeffers1989]

I just “Sawe” that the 2-hour barrier was broken by 30 seconds today at The London Marathon. Sabastian Sawe ran 1:59:30. Absolute insanity.

Absolutely wild that the top 3 male finishers all broke the world record marathon time and the female finisher broke the female world record time. Amazing race!!

 

[Dopey 2020]

SAFD Great timing on this one @camaker obviously we are all very different but I can say from very recent experience that Tailwind is a game changer for me. I was taking a Honey Stinger gel every 3 miles along with salt tabs which were getting difficult to stomach and water when I could. As much as I didn’t want to be carrying water I tried out a new method on a long run and then race tested it yesterday with fantastic results.
Cut back to a gel every 3-1/2 miles and carry an 18oz handheld with two generous scoops of tailwind mixed and another two in a ziploc bag. Throw the salt tabs in the trash. With my run walk intervals at 4/:30 every break equals about 3/4 oz of drink. The bottle lasts a half and got refilled at mile 14. Having consistent hydration as opposed to stopping at random aid stations was so much better and I never hit the wall. My carb intake went from ~60g/hour to ~85 with much better hydration and more electrolytes while being easier on the stomach.

 

[DianaMB333]

SAFD
Continuous small sips is what works for me. I carry two 8oz bottles in the belt, mixed with Skratch - unsweetened or sweetened depending on how hot weather or long the run will be (1.5hrs + I use the sweet)

Sometimes I take a 1/4 water cup with liquid iv unsweetened if temperature is above 70F but my stomach doesn't like it very much

As for nutrition, I do oatmeal/ whey protein/ blueberries/ almonds mix about 45-60mins before long runs. In the week, I trained early then a 1/4 of that mix about 15mins before.

In long runs or races every mile either a honey stinger waffer or skratch chews, aiming to get 30-45grms of carbs per hour. I dislike very much the (warm) gels.

In my one and only marathon I trained and planned for a CocaCola and potato chips around mile 20-21 and it worked.. this as I was doing 16min/mile meant doing that after 5hrs and still had two hours more to go.

Ps edit to add.. i put chocolate milk or protein shake at the checked bag (rD)

 

[accm]

SAFD: I've been using a mix of Skratch energy chews and maple syrup gels from Brix. I also ordered some chews from Brix, but I'm not sure I'm fully sold. Unfortunately it's getting really hard to find the Skratch energy chew flavour I like in Canada.

I think my bigger issue right now is fueling outside of the run. I've had a few runs that felt awful, and I think it's because I wasn't properly fueled going in. I want to meet with a sports nutritionist to try and get my diet in shape.

 

[FFigawi]

Cut back to a gel every 3-1/2 miles and carry an 18oz handheld with two generous scoops of tailwind mixed and another two in a ziploc bag. Throw the salt tabs in the trash. With my run walk intervals at 4/:30 every break equals about 3/4 oz of drink. The bottle lasts a half and got refilled at mile 14. Having consistent hydration as opposed to stopping at random aid stations was so much better and I never hit the wall. My carb intake went from ~60g/hour to ~85 with much better hydration and more electrolytes while being easier on the stomach.

It's fascinating to see how carb intake has increased for endurance athletes over the past several years. It used to be that 25-50 grams of carbs per hour was considered all you needed to run a solid marathon or long distance triathlon. Now, the top athletes are ingesting 150-175 grams per hour, and us mortals are even up to 80-100 grams per hour. Mars Blackmon aside, it's not all about the shoes.

 

[The Expert]

an 18oz handheld

I always thought I'd hate carrying something in my hands, but after keeping that prop umbrella for the entire MW half a few years ago, I'm starting to consider this. What brand are you using? I know @nancipants has one too -- Nathan iirc?

I carry two 8oz bottles in the belt

Details, please!

Also I can't believe I forgot about the magic of a mini Coke about halfway (or more) through a marathon!

 

[Dopey 2020]

I always thought I'd hate carrying something in my hands, but after keeping that prop umbrella for the entire MW half a few years ago, I'm starting to consider this. What brand are you using? I know @nancipants has one too -- Nathan iirc?

I went with Nathan speed draw 2 insulated. Non insulated has less bulk to it but I went with insulated not to keep water cold but to keep my hand from getting cold in the event that the drink and weather were. It has a nice small zipper pouch for keys/ID and an open pouch where I kept a bag ready to mix and refill. Pulled the strap tight and pretty much forgot it was there.

 

[PrincessV]

SAFD:

1. NOTHING NEW ON RACE DAY! Test everything in training: fuel, hydration, gear, clothes, shoes, using your phone to take pics, earbuds, playlists, watch, apps - the time to learn that your wireless ear buds can’t connect without WiFi, or the tag on your pants is insanely annoying, or your new shoes have a squeak that will drive you mad after 10 miles is NOT race day.

2. Plan for the unexpected. I like to pad my marathon training plan by planning 3 longest runs so that I’m not too far off if I lose long runs due to weather, injury/illness, life, etc. Best case, I just make the final one shorter if all goes to plan; worst case I’ve got time to readjust if a hurricane comes along and messes things up.

Know what drives me NUTS at work?

When people don’t read my email before responding and then respond answering a question I did not ask.

I owe this thread an apology… because I DID THE THING I HATE!!! So sorry: in my defense, I was rushing to reply while my salmon cooked. While I stand by my previous post, it did not answer the actual question asked, and I’ll take my shame deservedly.

Let’s try this again:

SAFD - FUEL:

I’m as basic as it gets: gels work for me, so I use gels. they’re all fine - I buy whatever’s on sale during training. I prefer GU for marathon distances, though, because the packaging is smaller and takes up less space.

I guess if I were advising someone, it would simply be to test things out and see what you like and what works best for you. I’ve found that despite being small and slow, I churn through come serious calories and need a lot more fuel than my pace might indicate. I need a meal before long runs: 2 slices of whole wheat toast with PB, honey, and a banana. I like to start with a 12oz bottle of Tailwind, then switch to plain water in cooler weather, or Nuun in the FL summer heat, when that’s gone. A gel every 45-50 mins will keep me going almost indefinitely, but then I need protein STAT after finishing. A protein shake with soy milk within 30 mins of finishing, then a high-protein snack or meal within the next 1-1.5 hours. And I’ll echo @GollyGadget: I fuel for anything lasting an hour or longer. For some reason, I won’t do a gel mid-5-6 miler, though: I prefer to do 12oz of Tailwind instead. 7 miles or longer? Gel time. No reason other than my brain decided 6 was the cutoff lol!