It's just works for me on the whole marathon nutrition thing. I take one every 4 miles and really don't drink gatorade during the race but if it's hot I'll probably grab some here and there. I've usually carry 6 and it's not a big deal at all. Heck I usually go with a 4 bottle nathan belt but since Boston is just for fun I'll take the extra time at various aid stations to get the needed water for the gel. I'm an outlier when it comes to nutrition but after numerous crash and burns nutrition wise this works for me. My goal is an easy 3:10-3:15 marathon depending on how long it takes me to get through Wellesley or if I feel fast anytime during the race. It usually breaks down to a gel every 30 minutes or so for me.


Lucky, I'm a PowerGel guy so it works for me. Any hopes for them having caffeine PowerGels at the aid station? Like Strawberry-banana or one of the other caffeine flavors?

Same here on the nutrition front: 4 gels in the flask, 1 on the side. No Gatorade unless it's super hot. PowerBar gels are fantastic. And I'm almost positive that they will be caffeinated on course. But that's why I'm bringing the spare caffeinated one as a safety valve.

As for the singlet business: I'm going to be "that guy" in the tri top. Why?

1. More comfortable than any other singlet or shirt that I own
2. Rear pockets to toss the flask and the spare gel
3. Does a better job cooling me off
4. Don't care if I dump a whole bunch of water over my head
5. Doesn't chafe
6. Sponsorship dictates a few things that I wear. Don't own complying other garments.

That, and running shirtless at Boston? Poor form. :P

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I'll probably be the only one in a long sleeve shirt. ;) But will you go with conventional running shorts? I'm going with tri-shorts under my conventional running shorts. I've got problem hammies so the compression of the Desoto tri-shorts will help plus keep them warm.

Same here. Tri short under the splits to reduce chafing. I'll go the tri top with arm warmers if it's chillier.

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I go with the 4 pocket Desoto's and put my gels and salt in those. I'm not sure what the heck I'll do on top if it's going to be 80. I hadn't planned on a tri top but it does work better for me if it's really warm.

For nutrition, I like gel flasks on the bike, not to carry on the run so I wear a race belt with 4 gels fastened there.
Plan to pick up 2 at PowerGel station, probably will only need 1 of those.

I used to use PowerGel only, but I need a little protein these days.
Not sure if it's age or what, but I usually feel like stopping for a sandwich after about 20 miles of running. And no, it's not because I'm out there longer.
Protein helps stifle the hunger.

What starting corral are you guys in?
Expected finish time?

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Has anyone ever tried to spectate the race by bike? I've come up with a general plan, starting around mile 6, by looking at maps etc, but if someone has actually done it (and gotten around all the road closures) that would be great to know. I haven't come up with another plan to see my runner more than twice since the trains aren't going to be allow me to get from one place to another quick enough.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I'm with Uli on this one - you guys with the 4 gels are practically having a buffet. Is this an ironman phenomenon or something? I just do gatorade. The math works really simply based on calories burned and consumed, and the fluid keeps me hydrated, so it's a 2-for-1 benefit. I just dont see the need for the gels. To each his own I suppose though....

I don't think you wouldn't be able to bike on the course or the sidewalks (too crowded), but in some parts, they only close half the road, so you could bike on the other side. You'd have to figure out where those spots are--I know in Wellesley the whole road is closed, but I think they only close half of Comm Ave in Newton and half of Beacon Street in Brookline. Make sure you know what side your runner will be on (or what side you will be on so they can try to run on that side) you'd be amazed at how many people there are, especially in the first 16 miles.

It's just a bonking thing for me. I've failed to numerous times during the marathon to consume enough calories. The other bonus is the caffeine for me late in the race really helps me feel stay focused. For me another thing is drinking out of the mini-cups on the fly doesn't work too well for me.

Thanks for the info. I was definitely not planning on biking on the course :-) . But more like detouring away from course, then back to course intersection, away from course, back to course, etc .. so I can stop and spectate, then bike on to another spot 4 miles up the road.

You should definitely be able to do that. The roads tend to close right at the end before they hit the course--they only really close the roads that the race is on. The hard part would be getting from one side to the other--pretty much impossible, even on a bike.

Getting from one side of the road to another is apparently NOT that difficult.

Some d!ckhead (name withheld to avoid derailing) had an entourage that leapfrogged me several times in '08; getting from one side of the road to another for many spectators apparently means just running out in front of anyone that gets in the way of taking a picture...had that happen several times.

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It did snow there last weekend. Tim

Gatorade on its own makes me vomit. And I'm not exaggerating. It just does a number on me. So I do water and gels instead. Same electrolyte balance, probably the same number of calories. Just what works for my stomach to get from point A to point B.

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I do four gels for the marathon distance. Tim

I also try to take around 4 gels but I don't do it for the calories really. You can't keep up with the calories no matter what you do. That's not really the point of it for me.

I don't "take a gel at mile X". I have a gel in my hand for probably at least the first 20 miles of the race. I take a little bit from time to time, just to get the sugar on my tongue (try to grab a little water with it when I can). It's amazing the boost that gives me. It took me many marathons to notice it but simply getting some sugar on my tongue always seems to give me a short boost of energy, even before my body could possibly process it.

There's long been the theory (popularized by Noakes who is a bit of fanatic about it) that in endurance competitions like the marathon, your body is trying to keep you from releasing available energy reserves in its effort to protect you. So I figured that maybe frequently just getting some sugar on my tongue would "trick" my body (what Noakes calls the "Central Governor") into releasing energy reserves it was trying to protect. I remember seeing a Pub Med Study or two that reported good results from a similar approach. So I tried it. I'll be damned if it doesn't work. It certainly seems to work for me anyway.

Even if there's nothing to it, the approach of constantly taking little bits of gel works better for me anyway: After too much gatorade, I start to retch. And I have found I can't just take a full gel over a short distance or I start getting cramps. So I just keep the gel there all the time. I even try to do all my training runs with my keys in my hand, to keep me used to always holding something while running.

One side benefit is that the approach even tells me if I am pushing too hard: I've noticed that when I do, I tense up, my hand squeezes, and I end up with gel all over my hand. It's a good warning signal

I take a caffinated one (Carb-boom van-orange) about every 40 minutes. I find that it keeps me focused, doped and positive thinking. It's also a nice reminder to make sure that I've consumed some fluids every 40 min. I've had success with that formula and I haven't crapped myself yet, so I sticking with it.

A kinda neat tradition is that a ton of people bike the course early morning. Last year we left from the finish line, rode to Hopkington and then back to Boston. No one gives you a hard time. You get a nice 52mi ride in on roads that are pretty much closed. I don't remember exactly what time we started but it was pretty early. You could do that and then rove around the course by bike. Agreed with the other posters that you won't be able to be on the sidewalks of the course, it's too crowded, but with a map you should be able to get around.

Spot on!

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I hear you. And no doubt you can't replenish the lost glycogen calories. I just grab 3-4 oz of gatorade at every mile up to about mile 24. That's about 75-80 ozs during the entire run. With gatorade that's about 450-475 calories consumed during the race, which is enough based on my expected % calories from fat. I might carry one gel strictly for insurance but I usually don't need it. On my longest training runs of 24 miles (typically done at MP + 60-75 sec) I consume zero calories with no problems.

WOW!! You must process what you have really well. I'd be on the side of the road crawling home if I tried that. No wonder you think we're piggin out with 4 or in my case 6 gels. ;)

JoeO, that's an interesting approach. I tried sipping a little each mile but it upset my stomach for some reason so I just go with the whole gel w/ water per 4 miles instead. Maybe in my next training block, I'll try it again as I agree that from a mental standpoint having some sweet caffeinated goodness regularly seems like a good approach.


Latest round of weather checks have Sunday being the warmest day with Monday in the low 70s. The best part IMHO is it shows a nice warm morning on Monday so as we wait in our corrals for race start there shouldn't be any shivering.

On a lot of my aerobic pace days, I'll just go with water. Stomach gets a touch unsettled, but I never feel like I'm bonking or anything.

I'm more of a sip every 30 minutes or so, which is why I prefer the flask over the individual packets.

Across the forecasts, a bunch more variability in temperature ranges: Weather Channel still suggests the highest peak, of about 74 degrees. Wunderground goes a bit cooler at 58, with AccuWeather at 61. All are including a wind from the west to northwest at 15 MPH+. But all are also suggesting pretty warm overnight temps from Sunday. Light morning clothes, it seems.

What're people doing in terms of time-line for breakfast? This is a pretty tough start time by my standards, as I'm used to being up on race morning at 4:15 to have breakfast for a 7 AM start...

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I'm bringing my liquid Infinit pre-race drink with me to the start area. 300 cals is all I do and nothing solid because I always have the pre-race butterflies.

I'll probably go with normal long-run breakfast in the morning, then try and nab half a bagel and a banana around 9 depending on how I'm feeling. It's just such a weird time for me nutritionally that coupled with the bus ride timing, it'll be interesting.

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