Running Gels

[Jwolf]

I am one of the ones who minimizes gels etc... in training, using them in runs over 2 hours. During a marathon however, I have one every 8 k. A good part of this is mental.

For me there's nothing mental about it. I have recently found that if I don't use anything for runs over 75 minutes, my recovery is much slower and I'm tired for the rest of the day. I have not found this at all when I use gels during training.

I have this sense that runners tend to carry too much water and gels but have been convinced to do so, mostly by the marketing rather than the science. For the most part in training, runners are not climbing Mount Everest, even though they have the supplies to do so.

I do what works for me-- not because of marketing or hype (I used to think that too). It may not work for everyone. I don't think I'd make it up Mount Everest on one bottle diluted of gatorade and two gels, either (what I take for a 2-hour run).

As for the science-- supposedly you can be tested to find out how much you need as far as gels/energy during runs/races. Usually the scientists tell people they need a lot more than they actually are using or are led to believe by other runners. I don't want to pay someone to tell me what I need, but I have seemed to have figured it out by trial and error.

[JamesP123]

Thanks for all the help everyone! I am going tomorrow to buy a few different kinds..test them out and see what works best for me.

also..I have heard of runners who take jelly beans on their runs..is this true? and does it have the same outcome as some running jels?

[Jwolf]

also..I have heard of runners who take jelly beans on their runs..is this true? and does it have the same outcome as some running jels?

There are some called "sport beans" that have electrolytes added.

Regular jelly beans themselves would just have sugar, which might be enough if you also have a sports drink. Gels themselves sometimes don't have that much electrolytes added, so really any food with hight sugar and/or simple carbs will do.

[kevvyd]

Interesting thread! Generally, because I'm cheap, I don't use gels. On runs longer than an hour I make sure I have Gatorade and all-fruit gummies. The gummies can be a bit hard to chew, but when they're "fresh" (whatever that means with candy) they're not too bad.

On the few occasions in which I've run races that supply gels, I do a handful of long training runs in the weeks leading up to the race with gels just so I know what to expect. Gu are pretty good.

[kpoire]

Thanks for all the help everyone! I am going tomorrow to buy a few different kinds..test them out and see what works best for me.

I think this is a wise decision. We are all experiments of one.