Harlow Running Club

HI everyone,

I'm after a bit of advice. I am running my first half marathon on June 13th (Southend Half Marathon).

I haven't got a clue on what I should be drinking/eating during the race. Should I try gels in training or just stick to the water/lucozade on offer.

Should I buy a fuel belt to hold drink/gels so I can carry it around with me?

Dan

Personally, I wouldn't bother with gels for a half, unless I wanted to get used to taking them for a future marathon. I'd be quite happy to rely on the provided drinks. If you've trained properly you shouldn't really suffer that sort of energy depletion; more important I'd say to get the pre-race fuelling right. Of course, if it looks as if it's going to be hot you may want to take your own drinks supply.

I agree, I personally would never use gels in a half.  However anything you do intend to use, whether it's gels or lucozade or even just water, practise taking it in your training runs.

The same goes for suntan lotion & any headgear you might be wearing....!

Now for the science bit...

My understanding is that muscle glycogen at moderate (marathon) pace will last you 2 hours. A half marathon is run at near lactate threshold pace and will burn it faster (as well as starting to accumulate lactic acid), but can be lengthend out with training. Therefore in a raced half you will be approaching 'empty' come the end.

For this reason, I do take a gel at mile 10 as this give a quick top up.  This is mostly mental though the sugar rush it gives but does give me a boost for the last 5K.  I would not advise gels unless you are used to them, plus taking one at half mara speed (plus the water you will need depending on the brand) takes practice too.  They can seriosuly upset your stomach/give you a stich if you are not careful.  For a marathon I rely on them.

Hydration for a half is inportant, especially if hot, and even more so if you do not deal with heat well. 

Hi Dan,

I don't normally consider any fueling in races unless I'm runing for more than 2 hours.

One thing to remember if you do you Gels is that it takes 20 - 30 mine before the energy in the Gel is absorbed into the Blood Stream. You also need to take in water to help dilute and absorb the gel.

I've always found that if you fuel up well the day before you will have no need for any fuel on race day.

If it's hot which is quite likely in june dehydration would probably be more of a worry so I'd make sure to stay in the shade as much as possible before and during the race to keep cool and would hydrate well with plenty of water the day before and morning of the race.

Dave

Thanks everyone for the advice. I don't think I will bother with gels and just use what's on offer during the race.

I will of course make sure I am properly hydrated before the race.

Dan