Half Marathon - Nutritional Needs during the Race

7 watchers

RedAlex76 Sep 2015 1:29pm, 15 Sep 2015 183 posts	0 RedAlex76 Hi Everyone, I have enter my first half marathon in November and was wondering what advice you could give regarding drink / gel / food usage throughout the race? Is it necessary to have a strategy for this in a half marathon? Do you need to carry any sort of Gels etc etc to take during ??? Are the water stations enough to keep liquid intake at the right levels?? Any advice would be most appreciated cheers RedAlex
fetcheveryone Sep 2015 1:35pm, 15 Sep 2015 16,429 posts	0 fetcheveryone It's worth finding out what's on offer at the half. Some will just have water, others will have energy drinks. The latter can be troublesome if you start downing something you're not used to. How far have you got with your long runs, how have you been feeling, and what have you drunk/eaten along the way?
Nellers Sep 2015 1:37pm, 15 Sep 2015 30,065 posts	0 Nellers Sorry to say but the answer is "It depends". When you did your 10 mile PB what did you do then? Did it work? 3 miles further but I'd suggest you don't do much different. Make sure you've eaten well in the days before, have whatever pre-race meal works for you, make sure you're well hydrated and use the water stations on the way round and enjoy it. The frequency of water stations and what else is available depend on which race you've entered. Some have very frequent water, others are more sparse. Whether it's enough depends what you're used to.
JustDistracted (JD) Sep 2015 1:46pm, 15 Sep 2015 1,840 posts	0 JustDistracted (JD) Personal strategy, opinions may vary ! A good brekkie first - beans on toast or porridge. Maybe a banana 45mins or so before the start. Not too much to feel heavy, but with fuel on board. Gels - I would take 3 with me and have one at intervals - 4, 8 and 11 miles or so. The last one might be a caffeine one. They say something like one every 20 minutes on them but I'd have to carry and eat 7. Yuk! I just like a little boost here and there, possibly even the distraction. If you can time it to take one just before a water station then you can wash the taste away. (so looking at the course map for my next HM, 5, 8, and 10m maybe) Water - make sure I'm drinking enough for a few days before the race. On the route will be enough unless it's hot (unlikely!) but check how many stations there are and what distance. Do not stand around drinking water between the last loo break and the start. Learned that the hard way last year! Decathlon / Sweatshop / other running shops sell individual gels so you can try them out and see what you like. I know that my HM does the gels I like at 8m so I only need to carry 1 on me I don't normally take gels when training but it's worth finding out what suits you.
MzG Sep 2015 1:50pm, 15 Sep 2015 366 posts	0 MzG Porridge for breakfast, Water from stations during. No gels/food during. Agree with the others - what have you done in shorter races and longer runs? For long runs (usu up to 13/14 miles - up to about 2 hours or so) I don't eat anything beforehand, usually go out before breakfast.
Autumnleaves Sep 2015 2:05pm, 15 Sep 2015 6,912 posts	0 Autumnleaves Largely to echo others, whatever you think you might need - try out on your long runs. I did my first half marathon on jelly beans every mile from mile 3 and water from the two water stations. Since then I've tried various gels and caffeine sweets. Personally I have found a gel at around the 5 or 6 mile point in any run over 10 miles gives me a boost, but after than I've been best having the odd sweet. A second gel doesn't seem to make any difference to me - but I know plenty of runners that do take more. You just have to try really
RedAlex76 Sep 2015 2:12pm, 15 Sep 2015 184 posts	0 RedAlex76 My longest run has been a ten miler and have only ever taken some water with me. I generally run early morning before breakfast as well and the area I live definetly undulating where are the HM I'm running (Gosport) is meant to be flat. So that means that the average pace is a lot slower than I would expect I could and should be able to run. I don't have much experience with using gels etc etc but as I'm planning to try some runs along the Bracknell Half course I may see if I can pick some up and see how I go with them.
Autumnleaves Sep 2015 2:18pm, 15 Sep 2015 6,913 posts	0 Autumnleaves If you get on ok on just water I wouldn't feel under any obligation to use them - but it could be worth at least seeing how they make you feel (some of them truly taste hideous!) in case you want one for the race 'just in case'. Fuel really varies from person to person - I couldn't run very far on no breakfast, Mr AL prefers a 'fasted' run, although will usually eat porridge on a race day.
fetcheveryone Sep 2015 2:21pm, 15 Sep 2015 16,431 posts	0 fetcheveryone Yeah, like everyone has said, your best bet is to try to replicate the race conditions on your training runs. Some folks find that particular brands of gels will go straight through so it's good to see how you react when you're within dashing distance of a latrine It's also a fun exercise to weigh yourself before and after a long run, to see how much weight you've lost through sweating. Might also be worth trying some flatter runs, just to see it feels when there are no hills to punctuate the monotony. Good luck
StuHolmes Sep 2015 2:21pm, 15 Sep 2015 222 posts	0 StuHolmes I just did the New Forest half, but considering it all nearly fell apart over the last 3 miles I may not be the best person to ask, but; Porridge + banana+coffee+Imodium for breakfast Caffeine gel 15mins before start. Regular gel @ 5.5 miles (40mins) Double caffeine gel @ 8.5 miles (70mins) Water on course was ample as it wasn't hot. Nearly choked several times as it was in cups though!