Tips and suggestions for carrying energy gels and fueling
Most of you reading this are not elite endurance athletes allowed to place water bottles filled with your favorite fuel every 5 km along the marathon course or blessed with a crew catered you your every need at ultra aid stations. When it comes to fueling, mere mortals like you and I must be self-reliant.
Tip #1:
Some online articles suggest using safety pins to pin energy gels to your shorts’ elastic band. I don’t recommend that for several reasons.
- The energy gel sachets won’t rip as easily as expected. A lot of fumbling around is likely.
- The energy gels will dangle and slap against your body. Annoying as hell.
- The pins might break apart when you rip open the energy gel, leaving sharp objects hanging on your shorts.
I highly recommend spending a little to purchase proper gel-carrying gears. It’s worth the better running experience.
Tip #2:
Running in circles isn’t the most fun but can benefit training and fueling. It’s a great way to not have to carry energy gels on you.
Create a loop. It can be one km or more. The start should be a spot where you can safely and conveniently set up water bottles and leave a few energy gels (for example, the top of your car in the parking lot or a bench in the park.). We have a popular 5 km loop here in Taipei where many runners and running groups set up shop for refueling.
Tip #3:
First and foremost, this may only be legal for some races. But I’ve seen people do it, and I believe nobody cares at the weekend warrior-level of competition.
If you are running a local marathon and familiar with the course, station trusty friends along the way to hand you disposable water bottles with your preferred sports drinks (you can also tape a pack of energy gel on the bottle).
For runners with sensitive stomachs, I’ve found that drinks are easier to handle when compared with gels. This also eliminates the need to reach into and fumble around your energy gel-carrying gear.
Tip #4:
Practice your race-day fueling. Not just identifying a suitable energy gel that tastes and sits well, but also practice smoothly grabbing the sachet out of your fuel-carrying gear, ripping it open, and consuming the content. You’ll be surprised that something simple when running at easy efforts can become slightly more complicated when going at half-marathon or marathon paces and when you’re fatigued mentally and physically.