Marathon - Hydration and Fuel

Triathlon Forum
1

For a 3:00 marathon (stand alone, so no swimming and biking before), which of the following nutrition strategies would you suggest:

  1. Take 3-4 gels in the jersey and chase with water from the aid stations
  2. Take a running belt with 5 small bottles (about 0,75 l) of sport drink
  3. Train to race without fluid and nutrition
  4. Drink only water from the aid stations (no gels)

The marathon will be cool (10-12 degrees C), other drinks from the aid stations are not an option.

Other ideas?

My calculation: Marathon uses 3000 cals. 1/3 from fat makes that 2000, so adding 200-400 cals during the race would be beneficial. Thats 0,75l of sports drink or 3-4 gels. I like the fuel belt for training, but it adds a full kilo. On the other hand, taking water from aid stations destroys the rhythm.

2

Do what you’ve done in practice, or practice what you plan to do on race day.

I did a 3:10 at R&R NOLA with a fuel belt of InfinIT. It worked well, but I won’t be repeating it for next time. I learned to hate the fuel belt at my next two HiMs following NOLA.

I am now training with a gel flask and plan to take water from aid stations.

3

Dialing in marathon nutrition is super tough even with practice during the long training runs because well you don’t run a full 26 in training so it’s easy to bonk or dehydrate. Check out the aid station locations and see if it works with your plan.

Personally, I have carry my nutrition so it reminds me to take it and I can get more fluids in at a faster pace as compared to aid station cups.

Good luck…

4

For me I aim for maybe 400-500 calories. If I like the on course fluid it helps.

What this generally means is a mouthfull of sports drink at most aid stations. Then I carry either a couple gels or a pack of shot blocks or something like that. I know what flavors I like and don’t want the crap shoot of trying to grab them at an aid station.

Usually have one gel around 1 hour with some water and another around 2 hours with some water. So sports drink at most aid stations and some sort of calories around 1/3 and 2/3 of the way through.

I’d rather be a touch hungry than even a little bit full. Running at intensity for 3 hours when you are full isn’t fun.

5

I think you’re good to go. I can’t do the fuel belt thing but I do hand carry a skinny 20 oz bottle of water (591 ml). This way I can skip all the water stations until about mile 15. In my experience, those first 10 aid stations can be crazy with runners dashing in and out (in no logical pattern) and collisions are likely. By mile 15, the pack thins out a bit and I can easily get my drink without straight-arming some poor novice. Yes, getting water from the volunteers is an art - as is running and drinking from the cup. 3-4 gels is perfect.

Good luck!

6

If I can give any advice from my past 7 marathons (not including IM). I’ll lay down my nutrition plan for the 2:57 I ran in Chicago last weekend.

AM(pre-race)
Granola (couple handfuls) and banana +immodium tablet. (The immodium stops my stomach from getting gassy or bloated) I’ve used the immodium before and it helps stop any discomfort.
Made sure I was empty and headed to A corral.

I’m not one to “carb up” 15-20 before so I don’t hit a gel before I race. I do however swish my mouth with gatorade, and then hit a little water right before I get to the start line (they usually have cups before the race)

In my training I always try to hit nutrition every 4-6 miles, I have a very active and high metabolism so I burn through things quickly.

I use Hammer gels and shot blocks. I have a spibelt and it doesn’t bob at all and is very comfortable.

I throw in 4 gels into the belt and then a pre opened package of shot blocks. (have you ever tried to open cellophane with sweaty hands? IMPOSSIBLE)

I took my first gel at 8.5 miles when the aid station was in sight, this allows me to get the gel down and then follow it with gatorade. I take sports drink every aid station up until 15.

Second Gel: 14.5 (again within sight of an aid station). I switch to water at this point because I’ve found no extra help from the gatorade (it only makes me have to pee).

Third Gel: 18-19 This gel is usually espresso with extra caffiene which helps me get over that 20 mile hump.

Fourth Gel: I take this religiously at 5K to go, I usally take another caffienated gel just to keep my blood sugar and the caffiene helps give me that last kick. (I’d say it works with my last 2 miles under 6:30 pace :D)

I only had 3 shot blocks the entire race. This was mostly between 9-15, it was a long stretch and I wanted soemthign solid to chew on and I always pack more then I need for a marathon. I have celiacs and I can’t have most on course nutrition (GU clears me out (not in a good way AT ALL)). I always pack 1 more gu’s worth of nutrition then I need. for 2 reasons: I drop shit, alot… 2. In my first 3 marathons I’ve had people hit the wall and have been able to help them out. 2oz of nutrition ain’t gunna slwo your roll and it’s always nice to get a thank you after a race…

As for fuel belts and other drink carriers: I’ve used them all, back packs to belts and I like my amphipod belt well enough but it’s only really necessary if your in a trail ultra or mary and there are only 1-2 aid stations or it’s VERY HOT.

IMHO the course is setup to provide plenty of hydration and you should be fine. Do yourselfa solid and review the course nutrition/hydration layout. I’ve tried it all in 7 marathons and this method of gelling every 4-6 miles worked extremely well. I had a very comfortable race and I had the energy and kick to put it down the last 3 miles.

I’m no guru but, I’ll do what I can to help.

If it’s a local race and you can manage to grab a water bottle from someone around 18-20 (don’t rely on it bieng there), try something a large group of us used in Kzoo this spring: 1 redbull+ gatorade powder (or gatorade) mixed with a little water (just to get it to titrate fully). when you get it shake it and slug it. Caffiene +electrolytes +hydration, it’s a kick in the ass and it’s awesome!

7

Ran a 3:04 a couple weeks ago and this is what I did (it was the same as my training)

Begal with pb the morning of with my coffee and a stinger waffle right before the start. Then 3 shot blocks with caffeine every 45 minutes (as close to the aid as possible). I drank a cup of water at every station and gatoraid when I felt like it (only once or twice). I kept this up until mile 24 or so when I didn’t feel like drinking and just pushed to the finish

8

How did you carry your shot blocks? I like the PowerBar ones. One package isn’t enough but 2 is too many.

Thinking about just throwing a bunch of blocks in a small ziploc bag.

My only complaint about the PowerBar blocks is that a package is an odd number of calories (like 190 or something). I wish they would make it 25 calories per block, or 40 calories for 2 blocks or something simple like that.

9

I use the shot blocks (in the tube shape) and I open then before I start. For them, each pack has 6 blocks and 3 blocks is 100 cal so it’s easy to do the math. I leave them in the original package because they are easy to squeeze out one handed whe running, no need to deal with opening a bag, I thought about putting them loose in my pocket but it was raining at my race and it wouldn’t have worked. I have a pair of under armor shorts with a small ass pocket that can hold them. Until you eat the first 3 blocks they bounce a little but not bad. Aside from the ass pocket I hate the shorts because they tear me up but they are only ones I have that can hold the blocks, I need to find a new pair.

10

Unless you have dietary restrictions, carrying your own fluids doesn’t make too much sense. Personally, 3-4 gels (1 every 45 min) with fluids at every aid station has worked well for me, but u gotta find what works for you, which is what ling rubs are for. Wheb is your marathon?

11

For a 3:00 marathon (stand alone, so no swimming and biking before), which of the following nutrition strategies would you suggest:

  1. Take 3-4 gels in the jersey and chase with water from the aid stations
  2. Take a running belt with 5 small bottles (about 0,75 l) of sport drink
  3. Train to race without fluid and nutrition
  4. Drink only water from the aid stations (no gels)

If you can pull off #3 or 4, then you’ve got the rest of us beat.

#2 is a matter of preference. Most 3-hour marathoners will find any sort of race belt to be cumbersome, and most of them don’t carry enough to get you through the entire race.

The best success I’ve had with marathon nutrition was a 2:57 in Boston where I started off with a 6oz gel flask that had 1 diluted gel in it. That got me through the first 5-6 miles. Then, for the remaining 20+ miles, I refilled my gel flask with water at the aid stations every 2 or 3 miles so that I could take in roughly 2oz of water every mile. (FTR, I’m not coordinated enough to gulp water out of a cup while running.) Add in a gel packet every 40-50 minutes, and I was good to go.

12

I’m trying to polish up my plan for the exact same thing right now. I want to go light and minimal, but make sure I’ve got the fuel I need. I’d like to avoid a race/fuel belt if possible.

Some folks don’t care for it, but I’m going with Hammer Product’s Perpetuem drink which has around 250cal/serving. I plan to hand carry two plastic gel flasks each with a serving pre-mixed with water. This makes it somewhere between a gel and sports drink in consistency. It’s still very easy to swallow even if you don’t have plain water at hand. Once the flask is empty I’ll trash it. For the race, I’ll down one 16oz water bottle with a serving of Perpetuem 10-minutes before the start and then carry the two flasks planning to consume one at 1hour and the second at 2hours. I’ll get down water from the aid stations as available and possible. Shooting for around 16-18oz/hour so all I need to get is a couple ounces per aid station. I’ll also carry one gel in the shirt pocket for insurance over that last hour.

Nothing to eat on race morning except for a starbucks doubleshot about 2-hours pre-start.

13

Do #3 then #4. (3 is about race prep, 4 is about execution).

14

Gel every 45 minutes.
Gatorade and water at aid stations.

15

I don’t hear anyone mentioning salt tablets. Am I the only one who found these helped me turn the corner? I always suggest to start with a bottle in the early going - if you’re not well hydrated at the beginning of the race, that’s going to catch up with you and become a very long day. Empty a couple salt caps into a sports drink - about 20 oz. Carry it as you go. I agree, early aid stations are always a mess, avoid them. Also, salt tablets first thing in the morning. Pop a few. I know you say it’s a cool race, but you’ll still need them. From there, I rely on the gels I’m carrying and aid station water - or have someone hand you a fresh bottle around mile 14 - not always an option, but if it is, think about it. It takes a lot to set yourself up for success in the last 6 miles.

16

I carry a handbottle with two gels in its pouch. This evolved over the years basically to keep me out of the aid stations. If you get tired of the bottle late in the day just ditch it at an aid station, which I once retrieved at lost-and-found.

For me, my nutrition evolution went from don’t carry anything and use aid stations, to a Fuel Belt which I loathe, to a handbottle which has worked over the last several.

I really like to only use an aid station every 45-60 minutes. Too much going on and they seem to suck the life out of me.

I was once afraid of handbottles, no more. You can fill the bottle halfway to reduce weight, and you would rarely be carrying two gels, only in the first 45 minutes.

That is my personal plan, and its what I do in training, carrying electrolyte tablets for the water fountains.

17

I ran a 2:56 at the National earlier this year, which I’ll be trying to lower in New York next month.

I always have a bagel+ almond butter 3hrs before gun time, i’ll sip on something like Clif Shot electrolyte drink for a couple of hours.

For racing, I use the Fuel Belt sprint bottle holder. I’ll put 3-4 gels in there, diluted, and take a small sip every 20ish min. Its a little easier on the stomach than 100 cal at once. All I need to do is grab some water at the station to wash it down a little, if I want. I try to keep it very simple. For a cool-weather marathon, I don’t need to stop for extra water or anything else, generally.

If you’re looking for more salt, one nifty thing i’ve been doing over the last couple of months (it is labor intensive, preparation wise) is putting 5-6 tabs in “mini” zip lock bags (about 1in x 1in) and safety pin them to your shots. Tear one off and pop it.

18

x2. OP is over thinking fuel for a marathon. Bring a couple gels and hydration/water gatorade on the course. It’s funny to me when triathletes run open marathons, they’ll stress about saving 1/2 ounce on their sneakers, but load themselves up with one of those fuel belts.

one thing to consider… unlike triathlons, outside assistance is generally allowed in most races in terms of fueling (perhaps not elites, but they get special tables in which they can get their own personal choice). I’ve had my wife give me bottles with the squirt top so that I could make sure to get one good drink around the half way point.