Energy gel during marathon

by Hendrik
(Norway)

Energy gels and the marathon :

"I will run the Paris Marathon on the 7th April 2013. Apparently sports drink is not served during the Paris Marathon. Every 5 km we can have mineral water, dry fruits, fresh fruits and sugar.

As a substitue for the missing sports drink I'm considering to bring with me 25 gram gel portions. This winter I have used Squeezy Energy gel during long distance ski races like Holmenkollmarsjen and Birken without any stomach problems.

When would you recommend to take gel portion together with water? Should I have one gel every 5 km or wait till later in the race? If you recommend to wait, will only fresh water be sufficient or should I also have some fresh or dry fruit early in the race?"

Answer: Hi Hendrik and thanks for your question.

What MOST do is to wait with energy gels until the last 10k or so.

However, in a marathon like Paris where you have no control over exactly what they will serve - and no sports drinks, you MAY want to consider going with gels the whole way.

Check this article out. It is quite good concerning gels and with scientific references. It goes into how much to consume :
Energy Gels and the marathon

In either way, you HAVE to test this during one of the harder interval runs beforehand to know it it works for you. And yes, do take it together with a little bit of water (but not too much)

I wish you all the best,

kind regards,
Marius