The benefits of taking on fuel do not make too much of a difference until you are running for 60-75 minutes though, so if you are running under that, there is not really a big need for it, unless you want to take something to wake you up! When Should You Take Energy Gels for Running? If you are able to run the 10k under 40 minutes, you do not need to take on any carbs, but if you run between 45-60 minutes, you should take a swig of a sports drink if you feel like you need to. When it comes to a 10k, it will depend on how quick you are. We recently looked deep into the research about races half marathon and under, and we had some interesting findings that showed even just swigging a sports drink (without swallowing) is enough to give you a boost in a shorter race.Ī 5k is definitely too short to need carbs, either before or during your race. Should you take an energy gel for running a half marathon or 10k? Often, a gel will wake you up and help the mind feel energized, but it doesn’t necessarily prevent the bonk in your leg muscles.Įnergy gels help replenish the glycogen and calories you’re burning when racing hard.Įnergy gels aren’t very efficient or a simple one-to-one replacement, so timing and frequency are critical factors to avoiding the bonk. However, gels will often “wake you up” in a very noticeable way because our brain only runs on the glucose stored in the liver.Īs the muscles start to absorb more blood glucose, the brain gets less glucose and starts to get hazy (you’ve probably noticed this feeling on your long runs or if you ran without eating enough). This process takes time and isn’t very efficient. Unfortunately, energy gels don’t provide a simple one-to-one replacement (something you won’t read on the label of your favorite gel) because the glycogen we ingest from gels doesn’t always make its way to the working muscles.īecause carbohydrates are stored in both the muscles and the liver and your performance on race day relies on using the glycogen stored in the muscle.įor glycogen to make its way to the muscles, it must first be digested, make it’s way through the intestinal wall, and then absorbed by the muscles. Sounds like energy gels are a savior, right? They are designed to replenish carbohydrate stores that are depleted when running. So, if you’re not an elite, you’ll be running out of muscle glycogen long before you cross the finish line. Typically, we can store about 90 minutes of muscle glycogen when running at half marathon pace and about 2 hours when running at marathon pace. The problem with carbohydrates is that we can only store a limited amount in our muscles – even when you complete the perfect nutrition marathon taper. The faster you run, the greater the percentage of fuel will come from carbohydrates. ![]() Therefore, your body relies on carbohydrates as its primary fuel source when racing. Your body uses two primary sources of fuel to feed the muscles when you’re running – fat and carbohydrates.įat is a largely abundant resource, but is broken down into usable energy slowly, making it an ineffective fuel source when running anything faster than about 60-70% of your VO2max (roughly equivalent to your a erobic threshold or marathon pace). Your body needs a lot of energy to run a marathon The problem these days is not in finding a glycogen delivery product, but rather in finding the best energy gel for you and then developing a strategic nutrition strategy to make sure you take in enough energy on race day. Luckily, our understanding of sports nutrition (specifically how glycogen is used during the marathon) has improved to the point that we now have an unlimited number of products to choose from, each designed to speed glycogen to our working muscles. You probably know by now that we like to think of ourselves as Boston marathon central, so we loved that story. It wasn’t long ago that runners relied solely on water, sports drinks, and maybe some flat cola as their primary carbohydrate supplement during marathons and half marathons.ĭick Beardsley told us about how he would grab a cup from a spectator in a marathon, look to see if it “looked” clean, and if so, drink it…and this is someone who almost won the Boston Marathon and was the feature of Duel in the Sun, one of the greatest Boston marathon finishes of all time. Why is it Important to Take in Energy Gels During a Race? ![]() Today, we’re going to outline exactly how energy gels and other carbohydrate supplements work, which will help you understand exactly when and how often you should be taking them to help you find the best energy gel for you. The marathon brings many of those experiences to each and every one of us, but we are told that if we use energy gels, running will be much less miserable, and we will feel better in those final few miles of a race.
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