what's your expected finish time? that would help us.
how long before your run are you taking these gels?
if i'm doing 10miles in the morning, i'll have some coffee. i may have a gel or i may not.
for an open half i usually take a gel 20 minutes before the race and maybe one water cup at mile 8. that's about it unless it's hot. then i'd adjust liquids, not gels.
you should have enough stored energy in your body to make it thru the half without gels on the course.
sorry, your 17k run takes 2hrs? i didn't read that right. you'll need maybe one gel during the race and take some liquids.

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Fruit snacks are for winners

Are you carrying food with you, relying on course nutrition?

I just ran my first half this past weekend. 1 gel before the race. 1 gel every 30 min (took me 1:42 to run it so I actually just ended up doing 2 gels, I didn't see the need to do another 12 minutes before I finished). The gels I brought with me. Otherwise I just took the water or Gatorade that was provided on course. Seems that was every 3 km or so? I didn't care what they handed me, I just took, probably 3 cups of water and 4 cups of Gatorade in total, and I drank as much as I could without choking on it.

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Ian

maybe 1 gel

and on course gatorade when you feel like it.

you don't need a fuel belt

you are just running for a couple hours. don't overcomplicate it.

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

I am not great with the metric system, but it looks like you might want two gels for the race. If you have a good breakfast and fluids beforehand, a couple gels and water as needed will be plenty.

Eat a small, easily digested breakfast 3 hours prior.

Race.

Eat whatever the hell you want afterwards.

You don't really need "nutrition" for a 1.5-2hr race, other than maybe a gel or 2, or a cup or 2 of gatorade and some water along the way.
I take in zero calories during a HM race (or a training run of ~1:30 or under, for that matter), and I haven't bonked yet.
YMMV.

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float , hammer , and jog

It's way too much food on your training runs. 17 km or 10 miles, you shouldn't need anything except maybe a sip of water. You have 32 oz of fluid? That's a LOT.

I used to take in nothing but drinks on the course during a half marathon, but now I like to take two gels, one at :40, one at 1:00. I finish in about 1:21. I take caffeinated gels, so I'm not sure if it's the caffeine or the calories that does it for me.

In general, though, your caloric needs shouldn't be too high. Sports drinks on the course might be enough. Experiment with gels and see if you like them.

I take in zero calories during a HM race (or a training run of ~1:30 or under, for that matter), and I haven't bonked yet.

+1 . . . almost, I take a half mouthful of fluid at around 8 and 11 miles just to cut the scum out of my mouth.

None. If you are under two hours, a few sips of water and/or gatorade along the way may be nice on a warm day, beyond that, nothing.

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Portside Athletics Blog

Personally, (I'm about the same weight as you at just under 6'2" tall) for a half marathon I need more than a sip of water. I ran one this past weekend where I took in five gels, a couple cups of Gatorade and a few cups of water. I also discovered that for racing I'm best to have a good size breakfast (I prefer oatmeal) a few hours before the race. I'm not sure about taking in gels prior to starting the race as I've read that spikes your insulin levels making you feel sluggish. I have no personal experience with that though.

I have found over the years (I haven't been at this very long) that I need less and less nutrition while racing as my fitness has improved. I suspect some of the other posters are at a much higher level of fitness than I am. You'll have to assess where you fit in the spectrum.

To the OP: I think this is great advise. Just because someone else doesn't need anything that doesn't mean that you don't.

You should know from your training what you need to compete. The biggest difference between training long and racing long is that your glycogen storage should be nearly maximized before your race so you may not need as much nutrition to complete the distance effectively while racing.

From what you wrote I would take 3 gells with you and use them as you feel they are needed. I would leave the Fuel belt at home and use water/gatorade on the course if it agrees with you.

Good luck

jaretj

you are just running for a couple hours. don't over-complicate it.

Bingo, Jack. We have a winner!

Everyone is a bit different, but the basic physiology is that the body has about 2 hours worth of stored carbohydrates, working out at moderately hard efforts( 1/2 marathon type of effort) - assuming everything is topped up and normal heading into the effort.

Therefore in theory, for a 2 hour ride/run/race with it ending at the 2 hour mark, you could get by with no ingestion of any calories, but that's cutting it a bit close. To be safe, and also to help with recovery post effort, it's best to take in some calories during a 2 hour session. This would be in the realm of a gel( about 100 calories) or a typical bottle of Gatorade or similar( again, about a 100 calories)

However, for some reason, many athletes these days seem to want to way over-complicate this, but I always have to keep in mind this is triathlon, so everything has to be different, and complicated! ;-)

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

This has been my experience (30 years old, 5'10", 150 lbs./68 kg, for reference)...

I've run my share of half marathons and long running sessions. I'm a heavy sweater so I drink mostly sports drink and water on occasion. The calories in the sports drink has always been more than enough for me for 13.1 or sessions two hours or less.

Race-eve, I'll eat normally but replace most of the protein and fat with carbs (I finish this meal early in the evening). Race morning, I'll have a cup of coffee, a banana and/or oatmeal. I'll bring a PowerBar to the race in case I get hungry waiting around for the gun. I'll also bring one gel to the corral for the caffeine.

For full marathons, on the other hand, I will focus on nutrition the whole week leading up to the race, eating more carbs than usual. Three to five gels, some salt tabs, lots of sports drink and water normally does the trick.

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Trample the weak. Hurdle the dead.

For a HM, for me, an easily digested breakfast, and (maybe) one gel somewhere around the 10 mile mark. Water on course as needed, and maybe some Gatorade from on the course if I feel like I want it.

No need to go more complicated than that really.

Thanks everyone. Since i plan a 2.20 race, ill use my rule of 1 gel per 50 mins + fluids. Fb stays at home this weekend. Ill use whats on course ans look foward to the pancakes at the finish line.
Angelo

Even though your body may have enough stored energy for a 2 hr race, there are other potential benefits to bringing along some liquid carbs for the run.

http://www.nytimes.com/...ion/20best.html?_r=1

Interesting read!

back when I started racing, there would be Coke or Pepsi as well as water on the course. This is ideal race food - simple sugars and caffeine. I didn't need gels or other nutrition on any distance, up to and including ultras. Gatorade is for football players, not nearly so good for runners..

It seems like way too much, but honestly, why does it matter what other people say you need? Unlike shoe choice, bike choice, wheelset choice, etc., how many gels you take on a HIM probably isn't going to slow you down (unless you stop to eat it). Look at the guy downing 5 gels and Gatorade, assuming he runs somewhere around 2 hours, that is likely 800+ calories. But go with what works.

My personal preference is to travel light, the ONLY reason I can tolerate running (easily my biggest weakness) is because of the ease of throwing on my running shoes and going for 1-2 hours. No drive to the pool, no air in my tires, no gear. On runs approaching two hours, I bring one gel that I may or may not eat and I drink water from spigots on buildings downtown (maybe unsanitary and my lead levels may be a tad high).

I don't pretend to know what your body needs (I'm 25lbs lighter than you), but I would experiment with less to just make training easier (and less expensive).

Just to say on my half marathon I use a run formula from infinit

If you or anyone wants to try it use the code ER2011 for 20% off

enjoy

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Follow me on Twitter @CK21TRHC
I use what I love: ISM, Blue70, Trek, FLO

That was supposed to be pink, right?

Use on-course for liquids. No need to add weight with a fuel belt. I used to have a hard time drinking from a cup while on the move. Practice it a little.
Around mile 8, I grab a drink of either water or gatorade at the first hand up. Then, I grab a water and pour it on me (if it's hot, maybe do this sooner.).
I bring 2 gels with caffeine. I take one right before I hit the mile 8 aid station, so I can wash it down.
The last few that I have run, I did not take the 2nd one.
Did I "need" the gel to avoid a bonk? Probably not. But I do feel like it gives me a little surge to finish strong. It gives me something to look forward to.