Long Run Fuelling

19 watchers
Sep 2019
9:38am, 5 Sep 2019
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geordiegirl
So you amazing knowledgeable people of fetchland.

I made the leap to become an ultra fetchie on Saturday. I have done 5 marathons previous to this and every time I fail on fuelling. Last weekend was no exception although I did manage better than previously.

What I have found works for me: Active root as a fuel drink, topped up with one or two sweets (jellies, squashies, Kendal mint cake, fudge, shot bloks) every now and again (normally at aid station). In total I probably ate the equivelant of 8 haribo jelly babies, 4 squahies a small piece of mint cake, 1 fudge and 1 shot block over the 31 minkes and I managed 1/2 a chicken bake this time too.

But I am not consistent with eating and if I cant easily access said munchies I fail.

If we go to this last run it was ok for the most part and struggled to eat after 15-16 miles which is exactly the same as kielder marathon, but I did manage almost 2 sachets of active root in 1ltr of water. I find I cant be bothered to take off my backpack but haven't found a suitable waist belt to use instead.

So my questions for you who do this kind of thing regularly are:

What do you carry your snacks in? I have a backpack with 2 bottle holders at the front, I had the active root in one and the other had my phone & sweet snacks in. I had the chicken bake cut up nicely in a little box in the back pack but as I say I struggle with the effort of taking it off and I only stopped briefly once about the 13m mark - do I need to make more stops?

What other things do you eat that you find help - I feel I need more real food as the sweet stuff gets a bit urgh after a while

I also had some nuts, fruit/date bar, other stuff in my backpack that I didn't touch as I couldn't face them.

Do I need to practice the eating thing on short runs too and build up from there? I know I don't need fuel on a short run but if I'm not used to it is that why I struggle on a long run? I have Loch Ness coming up in a few weeks.

thanks in advance.
Sep 2019
9:46am, 5 Sep 2019
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Derby Tup
Practicing is good

Cold boiled potatoes have their following on here but aren’t for me because I’m not a big fan of spuds per se. Shot bloks suit me best out of ‘sports stuff’. Those sour Squirm things are good. Never overlook pork pie cut up into pieces or a moist tuna/mayo sandwich, maybe again cut up into ginger food/ kids sided bits
Sep 2019
9:48am, 5 Sep 2019
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Derby Tup
Finger good not ginger :-O

There was some discussion about baby food I saw once. Can’t aay I’ve tried it or fancy it mind
Sep 2019
9:53am, 5 Sep 2019
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Gromit
hmmmm not sure about Ginger food DT ;-)

Salted mini roast potatoes I like , but also depending on length of race and the pack your using I also like to run with a small flask of sugary tea , mini cheddars and pepperami also are staples in my pack

Sweet stuff , fizzy cola bottles or those strawberry shoelace type sweets but I have also recently drifted back to shotblocks , I used to use them when road marathon running then fell out of favour when I went trail , not sure why tho so had some in my pack for UTMB but didn't get around to trying them again but will do in the near future on a long training run to try them out again.
Sep 2019
9:57am, 5 Sep 2019
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Sam Jelfs
For me on ultras a lot of my fueling comes from Tailwind - Alternating between flavours with and without caffeine. Other than that I know that I am very susceptible to textures when it comes to what I can and can't eat once I get beyond a certain point. A lot of things like flapjack are far too dry and cloying for me, end up having to wash them down with water which can be an issue depending on how much water you have available... Some of the nakd bars are good, I like the ginger ones and the blueberry ones, otherwise mini stroopwaffles go down well.

I tend to avoid gels, but have some SIS ones stashed away just in case I bonk more than anything else.
Sep 2019
10:11am, 5 Sep 2019
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K5 Gus
I think your point regards accessibility of food is important - although it's not really much effort to take off a vest/pack, it does seem so when you're knackered. So loads of easily reached pockets is key - some vests only have the front bottle holders and then the big back pocket - not much good imo, always go for one with side pockets and extra front pockets as well.

If you need extra reachable pockets and don't want to buy a new vest, then a small bumbag along with the vest is an option that some people use.
As far as foods are concerned, it really is a personal thing to experiment with on long training runs - for me "real food" I find works is moist fruitcake for sweet, and pizza slices for savoury. Then shotblokz as "sports food"
Sep 2019
10:40am, 5 Sep 2019
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HappyG(rrr)
My vest (Ultimate Direction PB) had enough pockets for the 2 bottles (700ml, not 500, I think) and lots of food, accessible. I like to carry water in one, because I hate the idea of not having water when I need it. Probably 0.7kg of unnecessary weight!

What foods / drinks is very personal isn't it? Also, changed depending on distance, temperature on the day, how I was going (both mental and physical!) etc.

Bizarrely, thinks that I didn't think would be good, were, at times - on the longest and at lowest points: coke (full on fizzy. Go figure!), milkshake, samosa (spicy, savoury, just hit the spot for some reason!). Sports fuel (gels, shot blocks etc.) just didn't do it for me later (12 hours plus) into ultras.

Remember a few haribo, jelly babies etc. just ain't going to keep you going. Count up the actual calories in these things (100 kcals) and remember you burn 100-150 kcals EVERY mile (doesn't matter if walking or running - more if it's hot. More if it's hilly, more if you are a big person etc.). It's a huge amount to replace!

Very best of luck. Glad I'm not doing ultras any more!! :-) G
Sep 2019
10:43am, 5 Sep 2019
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geordiegirl
So much help thanks all !

Thank you. I have tried potato’s and hummus wraps both great completely forgot about them however I struggle to carry them as they get squished / maybe I need to not worry about squashed food

Baby food heard that too but not for me I think I’d vom 😬

Gromit how you could do UTMB I’m in awe well done on your run will you go back? I do like red laces may be another option thanks for that.

Gus I don’t mind buying a new best but it’s a minefield any recommendations? I might get a bumbag thing anyway as it might help for the training runs. It isn’t a hard task to take the vest off but it is an inconvenience and if I’m not hungry and maybe tired it is an extra level of effort.

Sam Jelfs that is me 100% I make a mean but date and oat bar all great wholesome fuel but cannot get it down mid run
Sep 2019
10:46am, 5 Sep 2019
8,937 posts
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geordiegirl
Yeah my calorie deficit was ridiculous 😃G I brought back half what was in my pocket and the rest for the run were in my backpack. I’ll have a look at your vest as a guide. Cheers. (With my 50th approaching at the end of the month this might be a new present!)
Sep 2019
10:51am, 5 Sep 2019
1,193 posts
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oumaumau
Eat real savoury food early on - pork pie, mini sausage roll, cheese pickle sandwiches etc. that way your stomach has to keep working. Save the sugary stuff for later when you can't face chewing and your mouth is dry, but you aren't already knee deep in a sugar overload.

About This Thread

Maintained by geordiegirl
So you amazing knowledgeable people of fetchland.

I made the leap to become an ultra fetchie on S...

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