Gatorade or water for marathon PR?

Proper pacing will ensure more even splits.

In the future, try the following... Most long runs drink only water. On specific Marathon Paced Long runs (ie: 10 comfortable + 10 at MP - you should have 3 such workouts) consume both water and Gatorade.

Try out the Gatorade during a hard training run. I discovered during a marathon that Gatorade upsets my stomach when I'm running hard.

Just a warning...make sure your stomach can handle the sugar in gatorade when you are running at marathon pace (particularly when the gatorade is not being mixed by you). I took a sip of gatorade at the first aid station of a marathon recently and found that it was way too concentrated. I was pretty nauseous for a half mile or so, even with only a sip. Good thing this didn't happen at mile 22.

Try Accelerade they have a published study that shows it is 15% more effective than Gatorade in rehydrating athletes and 40% more effective than water. Also, Accelerade improves endurance 29% vs Gatorade. The difference is the 4:1 ration of carbs to protein. Give it a try, just make sure to use it in training to make sure it agrees with your system. Good luck.

Experiment!!!

During your long runs (20+ mi)...

Drink water.

Next week drink gatorade.

Week after try something else.

Everybody's different.

Personally I always drank water & gatorade in marathons (water at 4 or 5 mi, gatorade at the next station...keep alternating...or if you find yourself "craving" sugar, stick with the carbo drink...and vice versa).

Take a sip of both at each aid station. Gatorade is too sweet for me to drink straight.

They had Gu2O at CIM in December, and it's easily the best drink I've had. Tastes like watered down lemonade, but absorbed well. Never felt thirsty, never felt bloated.

I drank beer every 2 miles when I went sub 205. Albeit it was coors hich is similiar to water.

You really should try this stuff:

http://www.gookinaid.com/

It's the only isotonic replacement drink, and absorbs quickly.

It only has 10g of carbs per serving (so if you're looking for something with additional sugars, this isn't it), but it will be much better if you are taking in gels and want something to wash down with...

Only problem: not present at any marathons (that I'm aware of).

Try flat coke for the last few miles. I use it in Ski races in the last few Ks if I went under. Helpful in races over an hour.

My preference:more gels(6 or 7).

and water.

Gatorade seems to make my mouth dry out.

bumping . . . there must be more good insights on this choice that every marathoner confronts

Gookinaid for the win. I drink it every day.

I also find that it depends on the temperature of the run. The hotter the day, the more salt your body sweats and the more you need some Gatorade. If it's a PERFECT DAY (low 50's or cooler) you probably won't need the Gatorade as much.

Also, look ahead to see if it's Gatorade or Gatorade Endurance. The Endurance formula is MUCH more concentrated (3x) than Gatorade.

Good luck - I also had trouble keeping Gatorade down when I took it recently.

My philosophy on long-run intake is to try to mimic the race as much as possible. So look forward to your target marathon and find out what type of sports drink they will have (Gatorade at Chicago in this case) and bring BOTH water and Gatorade on your runs. Diluted Gatorade or any other "personalized" fluids will be great for when you are training, but those won't be available during the race (unless you bring it along with you, which would be annoying), so it's kind of pointless. As much as some people rip on them, I recommend wearing a Fuel Belt (the four bottle kind), where I will fill two bottles with only water and two bottles with normal Gatorade (non-diluted). The small bottles let you mimic a race, as you can just take two quick swallows of each at pre-determined points during your long run (I usually do every 2 miles during the summer), and you don't have to lug around a big bottle of water in one of your hands, since the belt sits around your waist. It will take a time or two to get used to having the thing around your waist, but eventually you just forget about it. Just my recommendation on what works for me.

stipe wrote:

Proper pacing will ensure more even splits.

In the future, try the following... Most long runs drink only water. On specific Marathon Paced Long runs (ie: 10 comfortable + 10 at MP - you should have 3 such workouts) consume both water and Gatorade.

I have heard that about water only before, why is that???

Part of the long run is to teach your body to utilize fat more efficiently. If you consume carbohydrates during your run, your body will use this instead. When I do specific long MP workouts, I use water and Gatorade to simulate the race. Perhaps someone else will have a more scientific explanation.

Where is that really good recipe someone posted once upon a time to make your own Gatorade? Not the orange juice with salt, or kool aid with salt one. Someone once posted on how to make one that had the potassium and all other electrolytes needed when doing multiple hour events.