Our bodies need fuel for everything, even when they’re not in motion. But when it comes to fuelling them for running, things become a little more complicated. Giving your body what it needs, just when it needs it, can make all the difference when it comes to smashing your goals or hitting the wall.
Whole foods form the foundation, but gels, drinks and tablets can provide vital support, both on the move and in recovery mode. To help you nail it in the nutrition stakes before, during and after your next race, we asked sports dietician and for her ultimate guide to fuel in all its forms (SiS) ambassador Renee McGregor From Runners World for Under Armour.
Know your carbs
Carbohydrates are the easiest energy source for the body to use – and when you’re running, you want energy to reach your muscles quickly so that you can maintain your pace.
‘It’s all about glycogen, which is how we store carbohydrates in our body – mainly in our muscles,’ says Renee. ‘With full glycogen stores, you’ve typically got enough energy to run for up to about two hours at a conversational pace.’
Sports nutrition products use simple carbohydrates (simple molecules of carbohydrate, such as glucose, fructose and maltodextrin) because they’re easily absorbed, giving you a boost when you need it most.
‘You can absorb up to 60 grams of glucose per hour, but your receptors can take fructose on top, which means we can enhance the amount of carbohydrate we can take up to 90 grams of carbs per hour (with a two-to-one ratio of glucose to fructose),’ Renee explains. Going over these numbers can cause gastric distress [more on this later], so it’s important to get the balance right.
‘Maltodextrin is also a simple sugar, but it’s been shown to give a more controlled release of energy rather than a sudden spike,’ she adds. Gels that use maltodextrin can help you maintain consistent energy levels, particularly over longer distances. Renee recommends SiS’s BETA Fuel gels for endurance – a dual-source gel that uses maltodextrin and fructose to deliver 40g of carbohydrate in each sachet. ‘Ultra athletes I work with really like the neutral flavour, which you can consume regularly with no sickly feeling,’ she says.
Go with your gut
As soon as you start training, your gut needs to start working out with you. ‘If you’ve never used gels before, there’s an art to teaching your body that it needs that energy to deliver. Sports nutrition is brilliant because it’s been formulated to be easily absorbed, so you don’t get issues with your gut. But some people will have more sensitivity than others, so trial what works for you. Start a log and try to keep things as similar as possible – have the same dinner the night before and the same breakfast in the morning, to reduce the variables.
‘For people who find their stomach is less tolerant, I recommend little and often. Don’t down a gel in one go, take small amounts over the course of five or 10 minutes.
‘Gastro issues can also be caused by dehydration and salt balance. SiS’s SiS’s BETA Fuel gels are great because they’ve been designed specifically to deliver easily digestible energy without the need for water.’
Don’t follow the crowd
As Renee points out, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, so don’t just copy and paste what your running buddy is consuming.
‘There’s no clear research on why, but anecdotally men do tend to take on more fuel and tolerate it better. Women generally find 70 to 80 grams of carbohydrate per hour optimal, whereas men can take 90 to 100 and usually be OK. Hormones can also have a huge impact on women’s performance and ability to absorb fuel comfortably. In the luteal phase, or second half of their menstrual cycle, women have higher levels of oestrogen and progesterone, which influence how fast things transit through your stomach, causing more irritation than at other times of the month.’
While you may not need to match the quantity of fuel consumed by your peers, it’s equally important to ensure you’re not under-fuelling either. Symptoms include extreme fatigue, increased muscle soreness, slower recovery, poor sleep quality and, for women, changes in their menstrual cycles. ‘Even just a shorter cycle is worth investigating,’ Renee notes.
Take it steady
‘I often see people training at a certain pace, and then setting off on race day really fast – they’re excited, their adrenaline is pumping, and they don’t understand why they get 10 miles in and they’ve got nothing left. Even going 20 seconds faster per mile than you were in training can have a knock-on effect,’ Renee says. ‘The faster you go, the quicker you’re going to use your energy stores up, so practise fuelling at the pace you want to run.’
Another rookie error she observes is fuelling by distance when it would be more beneficial to fuel by time. ‘If you’re going hard, your glycogen reserves will get used up really quickly. For shorter races (anything that’s going to take you an hour or less), aim for 40 to 60 grams of carbs, and start fuelling as early as possible. You could also choose a caffeine gel – such as SiS’s GO Energy + Caffeine Gels – for an extra kick at the end. For longer races (two hours or more), aim for about 60 to 90 grams of carbs per hour.
‘Carbohydrates are important for our brains as well as our bodies, so it could even just help you to think clearly and feel better in yourself as you cross the finish line.’
Science in Sport’s line of performance nutrition products has been developed and tested with elite athletes since 1992. Discover the range at scienceinsport.com
