HI,

I am training hard for my first marathon which is less than 2 months away. I have a question on how many powergel that i need during the race. i know that an adult can store about 8 MJ or 2,000 kcal worth of glycogen in their bodies, enough for about 30km or 20 miles of running (approximately 100kcal per mile). For the remaining distance, i probably need another 600 to 1000kcal. However, there is only 110 calaries from those 41g powergel. I'm wondering how many powergel you normally consume during the marathon race.

i really appreciate your input on this!

Victor

I ate 5 GU tubes (plain, 100cal ea I think) during my first marathon in Portland OR this past October. One about ten minutes before the start, one every 40-45 minutes thereafter. I also ate a ± 400 cal breakfast (granola, soy milk, english muffin with peanut butter, EXACTLY what I ate before my long training runs. By "EXACTLY" I mean I brought all the ingredients from home. It is important to have NO suprises and NOTHING new on race morning) 1 hour before the race and 1/2 a clif bar during, plus some electrolyte gummi bears during as a"reward" at certain milestones. I also WALKED thru every aid station to be sure what I took in went IN me rather than ON me. I took both the water and the carb-replacement offered at every station.

I did this whether I felt "hungry" or not. That's the key, if you wait until you feel like you need it, too late. If you count on having 2,000 kjoules of glycogen available 'cause a text book sez you should you'll probably regret it 'cause everyone is different. With 2 months left you should be experimenting with during-race nutrition to find out what works for you, which product you can tolerate and how much you will need. FWIW I had a good race and did not bonk, but again, I drank and ate BEFORE I felt thirsty or hungry and I experimented during training so I knew what I could tolerate and how much I needed.

Finally, your hydration and nutrition during the 2-3 weeks leading up to race morning is VERY important. Check this out for more info:

http://www.roguerunning.com/articleinfo.asp?id=652

And go ahead and poke around the Rogue website for more info, its awesome, esp. the one about race prep and strategy...

Good luck!

I went for 4 in the end, one at the hour mark, one at 2 hour mark, one at 2.45, one at 3.20.

I didn't feel the wall and the last 7k all slightly uphill were my quickest by far (around 30mins).

I also walked through the aid stations for the same reason as Notsofast.

His advise is good start experimenting now to avoid any stomache cramps on the day.

I also made sure I grabbed the gatorade every other water stop.

Ate nothing before the start ( wish I had as blooming hungry for the first hour), but as I ran most of my long runs at 4am I never ate before any of them. As NSF says try and be consistent and you'll have a fun, good race.

I have ate anywhere from 2 to 10 gels during during a marathon. I eat more if I feel a little more run down less if I feel strong. Also important to drink water with them or sports drink.

Everyone is different here. Some never use gel some use them every marathon. Sometimes I even eat a couple of snickers bars.

I would experiment on your long runs with them.

It definately varies from one individual to another. The general rule of thumb is 1 packet 30 min prior then 1 packet about every 45 min. Definately try this in training. You don't want to suck down 5 or 6 gels during a marathon if you haven't used that many. I would hate to see you with an upset stomach. I read in Trail Runner that some people have trouble taking in that much glycogen causing their body to produce insulin to offset the glycogen intake. This can cause light headedness, upset stomach or even fainting. So please try it in training!!!