Best energy gel during long runs

I figure this should probably go in the food forum, but all I saw there were healthy recepies and things of the sort.

I'm training for a marathon and wanted to know what are the best energy gel/blocks/shots/beans that people use during training and the race itself. Also, how often throughout the run do you take them. Every 10K, 15K or when you think you need one?

Cheers!

I have found that I like the gu brand gels the best for running. They are smaller, easier to fit in a pocket or pinned to your pants.  I really like clif shots and use them for biking and skiing, but I find them too much to chew while I am running.  I want something quicker and easier when I am running.  My sister in law once brought along these jelly bean things while we did a long run and they were way too sweet and harder to eat. 

Another good trick is to see what kind of gel they are going to have during the race.  Then if you plan on using it, you can train with it. 

It is also important to have water to wash it down.  Either bring along a camelback, or the water belt thing.  Or waterbottle in the hand. 

I usually take them every 45 min-60min.  It depends on how long the run will be.  Say it is a 2.5 hour run.  I might take one at 1hr, then at 2 hours.  or more often. 

They help so much.  When I was marathon training and feeling sluggish I realized I hadn't taken my gel on time.  And you seriously feel your energy go up.  It is totally worth it. 

the most important thing is to use what works best digestion wise, and then use what you train with during the race.

Good luck!

They all work about the same. Only difference is really personal taste and what your stomach/taste buds can tolerate. When I used them I went for Hammer Gel stuff. Mainly because you can buy them in jars and use the flask. Easier to use and no need to carry empty wrappers around. I freaken hate when people litter with them.

UD

I agree with smader about gu for running gels, if you can tolerate them. I actually prefer to use Sport Beans and mini pretzels for long runs myself. You need to drink water or a sports drink with the gu, though, and more often than not, I cannot stand to have that much water sloshing around in my stomach on a long run.

The pretzels have the bonus of having a bit of salt on them, too, which helps with keeping up sodium stores in a stressed body (from a long run.)

I only use the pretzels for the last part of a long run (last few miles of a half etc.) As for the sport beans, I eat them after my first hour and then again every half hour or so - but I don't eat a full pack at one time. My stomach can't handle it.

Good luck in your marathon!

The GU brand is my favorite as well. I take the first one about 1:15 into my run, then every hour after that, with water. I prefer the GU with caffeine. It may be all in my head, but it does feel like the caffeine gives me a little extra boost.

As was mentioned, the important thing is to try them out during your long training runs and see what works best for you.

Chia seeds when wet are like jello seeds

I ran my first marathon back in 1980. (Unfortunately, due to injuries and other life events, that has been my only one so far).

I was, as it turned out, a little undertrained, but was feeling really strong and controlled. I was running with a group from our running club. One guy in the club was a shorter man in his early 40s (seemed so old at the time ;-), who was kind of stocky and barrel-chested and whose running style made him look like the pipefitter he actually was. He was ungainly and (compared to the rest of us) a little slower, but he was tough and willing to gut it out to achieve his running goals.

We had planned to run together until at least 20 miles. We were running what to me was an almost uncomfortably slow pace, but he was complaining the whole way that it was too fast for him. At 13 miles, I was tired of listening to him and I was feeling strong, so I increased my pace and went ahead.

As I said, I was undertrained and this was my first marathon, so I didn't realize that, at 13 miles the race is NOT half over. I "hit the wall" at 24 miles and hobbled in the rest of the way--it took me 24 minutes to cover the last 2. Somewhere near the end, this guy passes me, red-faced and gasping, and proceeds to the finish (where he proceeded to set a PR).

We ran into each other afterwards and, as runners are wont to do, spent the time going over every detail of the race. I asked how he felt at the end and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a little plastic bag full of sugared gum drops. He said he always brought these along to a marathon and started sucking on them  starting at about 17-18 miles.

I was a lttle POd that he had not shared that information (or the gumdrops) with me BEFORE the race, but this was my first exposure to the potential benefits of supplementation during a marathon. At the time, the common scientific consensus was that eating such concentrated sugar would not work because the high concentration would delay gastric emptying.

So every time I read about this topic, I always smile at the thought of Danny, chugging along like a fireplug with legs, sucking on his gumdrops as he completed another marathon.