The Running Thread Vol 2
Discussion
john2443 said:
Gels.
I was marshaling at mile 3 of a road half at the weekend and was surprised that among the rubbish there were quite a lot of gel wrappers - surely at mile 3 people don't need to be fuelling?
I think it might be a placebo effect, I don’t take anything on a half, other than water, let alone gels after three miles. A sensible breakfast provides all I need.I was marshaling at mile 3 of a road half at the weekend and was surprised that among the rubbish there were quite a lot of gel wrappers - surely at mile 3 people don't need to be fuelling?
john2443 said:
Gels.
I was marshaling at mile 3 of a road half at the weekend and was surprised that among the rubbish there were quite a lot of gel wrappers - surely at mile 3 people don't need to be fuelling?
I think many folk fuel far too often because "it's what runners do", without any thought as to the timing nor reasoning. It's part of 'all the gear and no idea' I was marshaling at mile 3 of a road half at the weekend and was surprised that among the rubbish there were quite a lot of gel wrappers - surely at mile 3 people don't need to be fuelling?
john2443 said:
Gels.
I was marshaling at mile 3 of a road half at the weekend and was surprised that among the rubbish there were quite a lot of gel wrappers - surely at mile 3 people don't need to be fuelling?
Slightly OT but I hate seeing gel wrappers on the road - if you have room to carry full gels then you have room to carry the empties I was marshaling at mile 3 of a road half at the weekend and was surprised that among the rubbish there were quite a lot of gel wrappers - surely at mile 3 people don't need to be fuelling?
As I'm heading towards my first half marathon I did wonder about gels and what not. From what I've read if running for over an hour then it's probably a good idea to have a little extra fuel, most things say to take one around 45 minutes in (I'd hope I'd have done more than 3 miles by then!). I'm assuming I'd only need the one to get me to the end followed by the obvious post run snack (banana or whatever). Wouldn't lob the wrapper on the floor though.
gazza285 said:
john2443 said:
Gels.
I was marshaling at mile 3 of a road half at the weekend and was surprised that among the rubbish there were quite a lot of gel wrappers - surely at mile 3 people don't need to be fuelling?
I think it might be a placebo effect, I don’t take anything on a half, other than water, let alone gels after three miles. A sensible breakfast provides all I need.I was marshaling at mile 3 of a road half at the weekend and was surprised that among the rubbish there were quite a lot of gel wrappers - surely at mile 3 people don't need to be fuelling?
Everyone is different for nutrition, but a decent breakfast should see you good for a half.
Littering is a DQ offense imo, especially on trail or landowners property. I've had events that check your rubbish at the end of the day such is the fallout / bad PR for race directors. I can't understand the mentality myself, was up a popular hill this morning and rubbish everywhere, wtf?
Littering is a DQ offense imo, especially on trail or landowners property. I've had events that check your rubbish at the end of the day such is the fallout / bad PR for race directors. I can't understand the mentality myself, was up a popular hill this morning and rubbish everywhere, wtf?
BenjiS said:
gazza285 said:
john2443 said:
Gels.
I was marshaling at mile 3 of a road half at the weekend and was surprised that among the rubbish there were quite a lot of gel wrappers - surely at mile 3 people don't need to be fuelling?
I think it might be a placebo effect, I don’t take anything on a half, other than water, let alone gels after three miles. A sensible breakfast provides all I need.I was marshaling at mile 3 of a road half at the weekend and was surprised that among the rubbish there were quite a lot of gel wrappers - surely at mile 3 people don't need to be fuelling?
johnwilliams77 said:
BenjiS said:
For a fit runner, likely not at that point. But you could have some people out for 2.5 to 3 hours at the very slow end of a half, so some nutrition every 45 minutes or so wouldn’t be unreasonable.
ExactlyThe posts above are harsh and ignorant
andy_s said:
No one said you can't or shouldn't, just that it's questionable whether it's necessary - 'each to their own' was my caveat. There's a lot of flimflam from manufacturers - since Gatoraid really - so it's not unreasonable to question why and what we buy and whether it has a positive or neutral effect, what our sustainable pace in a given race is, our metabolism and stress abilities and how that all works out. I ran this morning over 20 miles / 1k lift on half a cheese roll and two cups of tea. My wife took a small snack every hour as she's disciplined for longer races, if we'd have gone over 20 I'd have done the same - horses for courses was all I was saying.
Yes, and I never quoted you so no need to be so defensive.johnwilliams77 said:
andy_s said:
You didn't quote anyone in fairness; was just expanding on my comment jw, not defensive but could see how it may be misinterpreted as you pointed out. 
Wrong. I quoted Benji. andy_s said:
Yes, but that didn't indicate what posts were 'harsh and ignorant', which is what I meant by you not quoting any. Sorry if you didn't understand.
I understand quite well but you did not say that - you said I didn't quote anyone. To be more specific, I was referring to the '3 mile' comment as one and as you say 'each to their own'! - I agree. I still took 1 gel for my first sub 1:30 but now I would probably just take a couple of cliff bloks.
gazza285 said:
A sensible breakfast provides all I need.
Breakfast? Amateur
I'm crap at the nutritional side of endurance sport. Its the thing I've found hardest to nail down. I often ate too much before the run and then need a poo during it
In terms of Triathlon (slight diverge so nerr 
) Id end up eating 4-5 energy bars on the bike (so over 7 hours ish) then find I can't run without feeling s
tty. OR conversely sometimes have no energy to run properly. And that's in addition to litres of sports drink.As Im focusing on my Running this year. (So far just Brighton to aim for as I didn't get a place in NYC ballot
) I have been playing around with what I eat. Currently what works for me is to mildly "carb load" Saturday night, pasta and a light desert, and then run my LSR empty. Anything over 22-24K or so I'll take 500ml Lucozade Sport (just easy to carry) and gels (Every 5-6K from 20km till end of run)Have found that yoghurt and Bagels seem to be things that trigger my IBS. So switched back to toast instead of Bagels (sticking to peanut butter and Tescos cream cheese) and binned yoghurts completely within 12 hours of a run
johnwilliams77 said:
I understand quite well but you did not say that - you said I didn't quote anyone.
To be more specific, I was referring to the '3 mile' comment as one and as you say 'each to their own'! - I agree. I still took 1 gel for my first sub 1:30 but now I would probably just take a couple of cliff bloks.
Three posters mentioned three miles, so I’m still non the wiser.To be more specific, I was referring to the '3 mile' comment as one and as you say 'each to their own'! - I agree. I still took 1 gel for my first sub 1:30 but now I would probably just take a couple of cliff bloks.
Haha. Actually planning on taking a Maurten gel at half way! Not joking. Last year I ran out of gas with 5km to go - maybe because I didnt run at all in December and then the snow scuppered my training in Feb so I wasn’t as well prepared as I’d like to have been. I know it’s probably placebo by want to give myself every chance. I’ve done a fair few HMs and one full but always push for a PB at Cambridge as it’s a fast course.
When I ran my one and only marathon I only took 2 gels but did carry a bottle of water most of the way, which is unusual as generally I don’t drink at all during half marathons. Having said that I wasn’t pushing all out during the marathon but figured if the organisers reckoned 2 gel stations was sufficient then that was good enough for me.
When training for a marathon I found out several times the hard way at around 18-20 miles without a gel or drink I rapidly start to flag, even if I’d had breakfast earlier. It was an eye opener as I used to think nothing of running a hard (for me) 13 miles without any breakfast before experiencing this.
When I ran my one and only marathon I only took 2 gels but did carry a bottle of water most of the way, which is unusual as generally I don’t drink at all during half marathons. Having said that I wasn’t pushing all out during the marathon but figured if the organisers reckoned 2 gel stations was sufficient then that was good enough for me.
When training for a marathon I found out several times the hard way at around 18-20 miles without a gel or drink I rapidly start to flag, even if I’d had breakfast earlier. It was an eye opener as I used to think nothing of running a hard (for me) 13 miles without any breakfast before experiencing this.
cslwannabe said:
...planning on taking a Maurten gel at half way...
Any thoughts on these? Lots of science on their website, lots of A list athletes involved. Hence the higher than usual price I guess.Could you compare to any other brands of Gels you've used? The implication seems to be they have little or no taste.
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