Half Marathon Nutrition Strategy

delesh

I have a half marathon this weekend and was just going to run it all out without stopping or eating anything but started wondering if I would see better results  getting a little nutrition such as a gel or such around mile 6. I have run one other open HM before and had a half sip of gatoraid at an aid station and nothing else. I was (hopefully) a much slower runner then so I am not sure if that changes the strategy.

Do I need to take in any amount of fluids?

What is the nutrition strategy that everyone is using for a half marathon?

Steve West

@ David - I just ran 2 half marathons, both PR's - 2 weeks apart. My stratagy is to Gu at mile 4 and 9, water only about every mile (I carry 20 oz in a holster). Most folks dont carry but it seems normal to me and lets me drink when I want. I find too many aid stations at the crest of a hill when my breathing and HR are maxed out.

My 0.02, YMMV

Good luck - hope you have great weather.

mattsull

I have coffee, juice and a banana in the morning and then sip sports drink until the start.. I will also drink some water to be fully hydrated before the start. I will take one or two gels during the race at 30 and 60 minutes into the race. I will also take some water at all the aid stations depending on conditions.

Michael Byerts

Your Vdot score suggests that you should finish well under 90 minutes. At that speed, you shouldn't burn through your entire glycogen store during the race assuming you start with a full tank. So you should be able to get away with essentially nothing but water (and maybe some electrolytes). But having a gel or two for insurance to take about mile six is probably a good idea.
The fluid question is a separate issue. Have you done a sweat test? How hot is the race going to be? I wear a fuel belt and take a sip of something at each mile marker, but I am slower and (almost certainly) fatter than you and I sweat a lot. I therefore tend to err on the side of taking in too much water (which I dose with Nuun tablets), having seen what happens when I get dehydrated. Reaching around and grabbing the flask from my belt doesn't really slow me down.

Bruce Thompson

I have coffee and a plain bagel 2 hours before a HM.  Same thing that I have before any morning workout.  Will sip some Infinit sports drink 30 minutes before the race.  I also carry the Infinit with me during the race as i like to sip it when I choose and can avoid the traffic at the aid stations unless it is really hot and then I get extra H2O.   I probably don't really need the carbs for a HM but I want to make sure I have enough electrolytes.  Perhaps it is just a confidence builder knowing that I likely won't run the tank empty so I go at it harder.  I carry the Infinit on any run longer than 60' during training so again it feels "normal" to me to carry it in a race. I ran a HM PR 3 weeks ago following this approach.  I guess the thing I'd suggest you do is replicate what you have done on your training runs. Good luck.

delesh

Thanks for all of the good advice. I think I will try taking a gel around the 6-7 mile mark and take fluids according to my thirst. Shouldn't be very hot so I am not too worried about becoming too dehydrated.