Forums >Running 101>Liquids only for long runs/marathons/ultras
Do any of you use liquids only for long run fueling? I can stomach chews and gels but after a while I can't stand how sweet my mouth feels. Also, as I get more tired, I tend to forget to get stuff out of my pockets to eat. I do drink a lot of water, I would love to try liquids only for fueling as well.
Do any of you go the liquids only route? What has worked for you? Gatorade, cytomax and similar stuff tastes too sweet. Are there any powders/mixes that aren't as sickly sweet? Have you tried Heed, Perpeteum, Ucan - I believe these aren't as sweet tasting.
I use Ucan. I have about 20 oz about 30 minutes before a long run or a marathon. I drink water for the first hour or so and then switch to Ucan that I carry with me. I drink the Ucan about every 20 minutes after that and supplement it with water as needed.
I do find that I need blender bottles to mix the Ucan powder with water well enough. Blender bottles are those with the wire ball inside them. If I don't use one I find I cannot get all the powder mixed in. Once I mixed it, I transfer to a regular handheld water bottle.
you can supplement Ucan with gels late in the race, but you probably will not need them. I find I need about 6 to 8 oz of water to drink with the gel. I prefer the Hammer gels.
You can always alternate between Gatorade and plain water.
I tried the UCAN crap and found that it works if you drink it before running but the texture and taste is very nasty. It is pretty expensive too. Now I am back to plain water and Gatorade. Have you tried the Gatorade chewy squares? They don't seem as gross as gu to me.
"Shut up Legs!" Jens Voigt
Tailwind isn't sickly sweet like gatorade. It tastes very light.Some people swear by it. Magic fuel.I liked it, but it made me PEE A LOT. Mind you, I only tried it for one 30 miler. Maybe that wasn't why. But I'm not the only one I know who has said, "wow, tailwind makes me PEE A LOT". So there you go.
For long training runs, shorter than marathon, I now take nothing but water. And I'm moving towards just Coke or Gatorade for marathons / ultras.
But not only is this individual, it depends on how you have trained. I have adapted myself to burn fat at a high rate; I don't need as many calories when running.
Long training runs in cool/cold weather I often don't take anything at all anymore. In warm weather, water of course, sometimes half-strength Gatorade. For marathons I take whatever they have on the course (liquid only), to try to get calories and H2O down during the first 16-20 miles; after that it's probably too late, but I'll still grab some after 20 if I feel like more won't make me retch at that point.
But I think what bhearn said is very relevant. My body is pretty well trained now, after running marathons for the last decade+, to burn fat very efficiently. So, certainly your mileage may vary.
- Joe
We are fragile creatures on collision with our judgment day.
Kalsarikännit
Long races, when the sweetness of Gatorade becomes unbearable, I use a mix of half perpetuem (Orange cream) and half orange Gatorade. Perpetuem doesn't give enough of the fast burn/pure sugar energy, and I haven't been able to use it on its own, but in a half/half mixture it is pretty nice.
I want to do it because I want to do it. -Amelia Earhart
OMG, a srl sighting.
Thanks for your feedback. My preference is just water, which seems to work fine in training runs. For marathons and longer distances though, during the event, I find the sugar helps - a lot! I switched to Honey Stinger chews for my last marathon, I didn't eat much, a couple of packets and gatorade at the aid stations, but yuck - I was desperate to brush my teeth by the time I got to the finish.
Have any of you tried just maltodextrin in water? I've read that its not sweet, I'd like to try it, but not sure I'm into getting a multiple pounds tin just to try it out.
Try Blue Sky organic soda. Orange Divine is my fav. Sweetened with organic cane sugar.
No high fructose corn syrup.
I used Heed for a summer during marathon training and liked it alot, but i have also switched to just water on hot days, since I normally run before the sun is up I almost never carry anything anymore. I liked Heed though, i think I drank the strawberry since I was going for something with a bit of sweetness, but it definitely wasn't as sugary tasting as gatorade
I use Tailwind. I've used it exclusively out to 50 miles with no problem. And I have used it, supplemented with small portions of aid station food in a 100 miler. I like it mixed at 200 calories per 20 ounce bottle. But, you may need to tweak that a little for your needs.
It doesn't make me pee any more than anything else, but I do tend to pee alot in ultras.
LB2
I have used Perpeteum and I did not find it as sweet as gels and Gatorade taste wise.
In the past, I've used Perpetuem with good results (although in a 50M+ ultra, I got a little tired of it.) I've also used UCAN -- but decided that it's best as a pre-race drink; it's a little harder logistically to deal with in-race (I'd suggest making a gel flask of a thicker concentrate and consume with plain water). But it did work well. Now I just drink water and take in about 50 calories/hour (gels and/or food), and use S! caps (which I've used pretty much since they were first invented.)
Thank you everyone. Many suggestions here. Other than the sweetness of the gels/chews, what also happens is that I forget to eat them at any sort of regular frequency. If I have a handheld, or hiking poles, the logistics of freeing up hands to grab a gel, rip it up, put it away etc becomes too much to deal with once I get tired. But water - I drink throughout however long I might be out there.
Another question about liquid fuel - with gels, chews etc it's easier to track calories. With fluids only, are you able to be as diligent about tracking your intake?
If I have a handheld, or hiking poles, the logistics of freeing up hands to grab a gel, rip it up, put it away etc becomes too much to deal with once I get tired.
My solution to this, when I used gels, was to use gel flasks holding 6 gels. I'd carry the flask in a belt or pack. It's easier to take a hit off a flask than to tear a tab off.
It's harder. With Coke you can kind of estimate how many ounces are in the cup; it's 12.5 cal / ounce. Depending on the race you can do better than this. For my recent 24-hour, on a 1-mile loop, I had a bunch of Coke cans in a cooler. Three drinks, one can, 150 calories.
When you are using the sport drink provided by the race, you really have no idea.