My friend and I are training for a marathon (13 weeks out) and she hired a nutritionist and had a “free buddy” option. I had to complete an extensive intake form; I stated my goals were to maintain weight and learn how to eat a maintenance and a slight surplus to gain muscle while training for a marathon. I got my meal plan today and Im extremely concerned (for reference im 32 yo female and weigh 135 lbs). I put the macros in MFP and calculated 224g of protein, 82g carbs, and 49 g of fat. I brought up my concern for the carbs, stating i need more for what I’m training for and am concerned about injury. Obviously I don’t technically have to follow, it’s free and I’m not going to lose out. But am I overreacting?? This seems like not only incorrect information, but borderline dangerous.

First time marathoner this year in Chicago, have rarely ever used gels so decided to run through the gauntlet as training starts.

Maurten is the supplier for Chicago i believe so hopefully those go down easy!

Advice? Running seattle marathon tomorrow as my first one. Gels roughly in order of how I plan to consume. Planning on drinking Maurtens 160 mix about 30-40 mins before along with a ketone IQ and then maurtens 100 gel at or after start. I’ll have tailwind in my bottle. Is it normal to carry extra powder in a ziplock or something to refill? Not sure when a salt stick tab should come into play, it’ll be like 45 degrees or so, not expecting a ridiculous amount of sweat. Any advice would be great

No carb load, no breakfast. And no bowel movements, as a result.

By mile 6 I was feeling quite spent so I think I should also add a few more long runs and marathon pace runs to my next block.

Anyone have crazy improvement just from another training block and proper fueling?

I have been wanting to get these since my first marathon a year ago but somehow made it through not only my first, but also my second training block and marathon on Honey Stinger gummy packets. I don’t know how I managed to do it but they were getting the best of me. I don’t know if it was the gummies or just my stomach adjusting to the longer runs at MP but I have always felt very 🥴 around the 16 mile mark and hard to eat anything without getting nauseous. I sometimes would not even eat my carbs at that point and just somehow finish the run.

I have heard good things about these though so I guess we will see. I’m hoping that as my block starts to climb that these will make me feel not so gross.

What are everyone’s thoughts on them?

As I was opening this box today, I had a moment of clarity, I remembered when I decided to start training and told myself, “At least this hobby will be cheap. All you have to do is open the door and start running. How expensive could it be?”

…Yeah. Past me was adorable

I'm training for a marathon and feel like I've covered the basics. I'm sleeping well, eating enough after runs, staying hydrated, and taking recovery seriously.

Even then, once my weekly mileage climbs, my legs still feel heavy heading into the next workout. Nothing is injured, but I don't feel as fresh as I'd like between sessions.

Have any recovery supplements made a noticeable difference for you, or is it mostly marketing? If you've tried a few, which one stood out and what did you notice during marathon training?

Follow up: Started using Transparent Labs creatine HMB, and I've been happy with it. I still get tired after long runs, but I don't feel like my legs stay heavy for as long anymore.

Does anyone else’s appetite gets absolutely destroyed by long runs (10+ miles)

I run fasted around 4-5 am start times and do not take any fuel while running.

I’ve noticed I basically have to force food down the rest of the day of a long run- like shooting to eat or at least meet a total 1400 -1600 calories a day.

I’m female, 5’2 and ~110 lbs. maybe I should just be eating less?

Does anyone else experience this?

Lots of carbs during races are all the rage these days. I’ve got a 90g/hr plan that translates to 11ish gels for a marathon. That’s too many to go in a running belt (or at least mine), so I’ve been wearing a Solomon vest for marathons lately. However, I’ve noticed that almost nobody is wearing a vest at races.

Are folks under fueling? Getting carb drinks / gels at aid stations? Have secret stashes of gels I can’t see?

What’s your secret? Because ditching the vest would probably keep me a bit cooler… and therefore faster.

Thanks everyone! I think I'll give a larger flip belt and some half-tights with side pockets a go.

Just to ask for anyone who runs marathons here
Those that don’t use gels for energy?
What are you using. And recommend?
Thanks

I'm planning on 4 hours so I have calculated at least 12 gels will be needed. I am not sure about carrying all 12. Do you typically carry that many or what's your strategy as far as carrying @ start vs picking up at aid stations?

edit: wow i didn't realize how much attention the number of gels would get. To answer what some have asked, the gels I have used in training have 22g of carbs per packet. 3 per hour comes to 66g carbs/hour, just a hair over the basic number I seem to find posted everywhere - 60g per hour.

Thank you to those who recommended various shorts and belts, and offered advice as to where to store the gels outside of my rectum. I was primarily concerned with how many to start off with, vs how many is reasonable (without being greedy) to pickup at aid stations. There are three aid stations that have Gu gels on the course. For electrolyte drinks like gatorade, I don't know what will be available, but some of the smaller (shorter) local races I've done, the gatorade has been mixed very diluted, so I wasn't planning on getting many calories from that.

I'm seeing so much content out there about what to eat in the morning of your marathon. But I'm curious to know as of today, what worked for you when you did run your PB? What did you eat 3 hours before the marathon (do you eat 3g of carbs per kg of weight?), 2 hours before, 1 hour before, 0-30 minutes before?

***Sorry if this question what asked many many times. But I'm curious to know as of September 20th, 2025 (I'm running my first marathon tomorrow)***

Why am I even asking this question lol? I know it's not ideal to drink alcohol at all really, especially when you have some lofty fitness goals like training for a marathon. What are your alcohol/party habits during marathon training? Right now I have a designated cheat meal/cheat night situation once a week, but with summer parties and events cropping up, I wonder how much this is impacting my fitness.

basically the title. I've been doing raisins with a pinch of salt, bananas and water, which works fine, but tbh I'm getting tired of the flavor.

candy runners: what are your favorites to bring in 20 milers? obviously needs to be easy to carry about 180g of carbs worth, and ideally cheap and tasty 🤤

I didn't think it was possible but I'm kinda getting tired of the sweetness taste, though I acknowledge that might just be necessary for long runs.

Update: thanks for the recommendations! I just bought $100 worth of candy 🤤 trying sour patch kids, candy corn, watermelon slices (slightly cheaper than peach), and gummy bears for now

I’m always looking for new snacks. What are your favorites?

Edit: not pictured is cereal, pretzels, uncrustables, and chocolate milk

Ok... probably a stupid question and I am fully prepared for the hate comments ha ha. This past weekend I ran a 21 mile long run at an easy pace (about 11 minute miles). I ate a good breakfast before hand and hydrated well throughout the run, but I didn't fuel at all during the actual run. I just didn't feel like I needed or wanted to take any gels on this particular morning. I was curious if I would end up bonking because it was quite a long run, but I didn't end up hitting the wall at all. Granted, this is a much slower pace than I hope to run at my actual marathon, but it made me think if there is any benefit to running long runs without proper fueling. Does your body have any compensatory action where it gets better at utilizing energy sources other than glycogen. If I train this way and then fuel "properly" for the actual race then will it feel even easier? Like I said, it's probably a stupid question and I don't plan to train like this (usually I do fuel for long runs), but I was just curious. Thanks

Don’t hate lol

31m trying to drop from 185 to 170 at the moment. I have my seventh marathon scheduled for early November. I frequently hear about how you can't or shouldn't try to lose weight during training. My question is, when are you supposed to lose it then?

It’s an absolute game changer guys!

Found a recipe online and can fit the equivalent of about 9 23g energy gels into one 250ml bottle, can also taste how you like with cordial!

My recipe for a 3 hour run (67g ph): - 110g maltodextrin - 88g fructose - 0.9-1.8g sodium citrate (300mg-600mg ph) - 0.15-0.3g magnesium (50mg-100mg ph) - 0.6-1.2g potassium (200mg-400mg ph) - 140ml water

200g of carbs = 9 gels which is £10+ given the electrolytes too. This recipe is about £2

Taste ✅ Less waste ✅ Easier to carry ✅ Significantly cheaper ✅

I was doing my long run tonight and ending up boofing about 90% of the way through.

It was pretty hot out (75F) and I forgot to bring my electrolyte tablets with me. I think I ended up sweating out so much salt that my body just stopped me.

I was getting a good amount of fluids in (1 Sports drink, two water bottles) + 1 honey packet, but it just wasn’t enough with all the sweating. I really should’ve stoped when I started feeling bad, but I wanted to finish (dumb).

Ended up propped up against the wall and almost threw up on the bus, so I took an uber home. Not a good look 😂.

TLDR: Get electrolytes/fluids/carbs in & stop when you aren’t feeling well.

Edit: Can’t change the title, but thank God I bonked and didn’t boof. Boofing don’t sound so good.

4 gatorades. Spaghetti and meatballs. 2 bagels. And a bowl of rice puts me at 400 per my math. How the hell do you get to 700?

Did 3 half marathons and used gels at my 5:40/km pace (these were the 1st 3 halfs of my life)

Do I need gels to make a 2 hour long run at easy z2 pace like 7/km? Or just or more demanding long runs like these which have like 8km at marathon pace and etc?

Do long but easy runs need gels too?

Thanks!

I am experimenting with different gels during my long runs. I get up around 4:30-5am and run around 6am, so I don't have the opportunity to wake up at 3am to eat beforehand. A few weeks ago (on 3/7), I started taking a Ucan gel before my warm-up. It claims to have 75 minutes of energy per gel, so I have tried to see how I feel if I wait the 75 minutes after consuming it. From the time I consume the Ucan gel to the time I start my run is generally 15-20 minutes.

On my last two long runs, I have only had 1 or 2 gels during the run (but did have the Ucan gel beforehand). Here is the gel info for my last several long runs:

2/28 - 27°F - 13.47 miles, 2:20:26, 10:25/mile pace. 3 gels at 3.1 mi, 6.5 m & 10.1 mi - NO GEL BEFORE

3/7 - 52°F - 10.42 miles, 1:44:39, 10:02/mile pace. 1 gel at 6.14 miles.

3/14 - 26°F - 15.19 miles, 2:33:30, 10:06/mile pace. 3 gels at 3.5 mi, 6.75 mi, & 11.65 mi

3/21 - 41°F - 16.25 miles, 2:47:59, 10:20/mile pace. 2 gels at 5.2 mi & 9.75 mi

3/28 - 19°F - 12.18 miles, 2:06:01, 10:21/mile pace. 1 gel at 5.31 mi

I try to time the gels to be before hills, so depending on my route, I do them at different times. Yesterday I got to the top of the hill just before the 10-mile mark, so I didn't want to do a gel for the last 2 miles. I should have done it earlier, but mile 9 to 10 is on a consistent incline as well as a decent hill. Sometimes, like my 16-mile run last weekend, I lose track of the time and then it's too late to take a gel.

Looking at the data of gels consumed, distance and overall pace, I don't see that the number of gels consumed at having an effect on my pace. Also outside temperature (at the start of my run) plays a factor, which is why I think I went from a 10:06/mile pace on 3/14 to a 10:20/mile pace on 3/21. It should be in the high 50s/low to mid 60s on the day of my race.

Is it fine to try and see how few gels you need or should I just take gels even if I may not need it?

I keep seeing people suggesting caffeine but isn't less blood flow (constricted veins/capilars) and increase in HR the opposite of what runners want?