Is fueling important in a half?

Nah. I usually don't take anything because it bugs my stomach, never had any issues.

have you run a half before? how did you feel? I usually do just fine with the water or gatorade, but if you feel you need more calories, go for the gu.

Only if you wear a fuel belt.

I will join the others by saying that, no, you'll be fine without fueling, especially if you'll be done in an hour and a half. Your body won't deplete itself of glycogen until well past that (the proverbial "wall" in the marathon, about 20 miles), and based on a 1:30-ish finish time, you're fit enough that the major fuel source will be fat metabolism.

I take in only fluids(water/gatorade) during a half marathon - I don't think that taking in additional calories via a GU or gel is necessary, as long as one has fueled up properly beforehand. That's just my way of doing things - some other way may work better for you.

I usually run with one in a half and about half the time I take it and half the time I don't. It is a nice security blanket to have even if I don't consume it.

Find a flavor and kind you like. They are a ton of different kinds out there. Those things give me a boost when I need them but I can often feel like I ran out of gas on my cool down (if I do one) after a half if I take one.

Just fluids

Gumpert drink up wrote:

I usually run with one in a half and about half the time I take it and half the time I don't. It is a nice security blanket to have even if I don't consume it.

I'm curious, at what point of your half marathon do decide to take a GU? I can't think of a situation where it would benefit you unless it's 30 minutes before the start and you think you could use the calories.

If you're in decent shape and planning on running 1:30 I would say no. That said, it's always a good idea to fuel properly before the race and stay hydrated during.

Not necessary. You might want fluids but even that is debatable. I have had fueling issues in every marathon but it's never been close to an issue in the half. You can do yourself more harm than good IMO by causing cramping and bathroom issues.

seriously... wrote:

Gumpert drink up wrote:

I usually run with one in a half and about half the time I take it and half the time I don't. It is a nice security blanket to have even if I don't consume it.

I'm curious, at what point of your half marathon do decide to take a GU? I can't think of a situation where it would benefit you unless it's 30 minutes before the start and you think you could use the calories.

I take a gu at exactly 6 miles or the first hour, whichever comes first and then I'll take my second at 2:00 so I'll be strong for my cool down.

OP, I run the half a few minutes sub-80 and agree with the posters here that you probably don't need fuel during the distance, assuming you've had reasonable intake over the ~24h before.

However, I actually do take a gel into most of my serious half marathon races. I started to gray out a bit during a half once, and even though that was probably due to poor race-day and day-before nutrition, I am still wary of that experience and the thing weighs an once, so why not?

Almost every time I'll end up taking the gel before a water station around 6-8 miles, and superstitiously I feel good knowing I'm "topped up."

You don't want to be dependent on it, though. Over the years I've done so many morning runs (including long runs) on not a gram of food that gels (or even breakfast) on race day are just gravy. Disgustingly sweet gravy.

OK cool, this mostly follows my thinking. I've been training with just breakfast and water. There's gatorade on the course and powergel at mile 8. In marathons I've tended to have a weak stomach, so I plan to just stick to water/gatorade. If I feel like garbage at 8 then maybe I'll opt for whatever they provide.

not unless it takes you over 2 hours

strange dude took up my screen name.

Anyway, it may be just a placebo effect but if I take one I when I am dragging and want a little pick me up or a reward when I get to mile 8 or 9 or whatever.

They mess up with what I would guess is my blood sugar level afterward. I will be feeling good and then all of sudden feel like I have no energy and want to sit down and take a nap. That doesn't happen if I don't take them.

My PR is 1:32 and I generally take a gel at about mile 6. However, I'm not one to really eat breakfast (maybe a half a banana at most) before a race, so the gel becomes a little more necessary. I will say that the gel seems to have less of an effect on my muscles than on helping keep my brain from fading out on the race.

a_Mexican wrote:

not unless it takes you over 2 hours

Exactly right.

The only other condition under which you would conceivably need to fuel is if your regular long run has only been about 1:30. Let's say you were a HS miler with good times in your event and had been running 30-35 mpw but hadn't been putting in two-hour long runs. You could conceivably run 6:55 pace (that's about 1:30) without much discomfort but then run out of fuel in the final couple of miles.

If you've regularly been putting in 2 hour runs, then no, you won't have fueling issues. Just keep hydrated.

fou2 wrote:

My PR is 1:32 and I generally take a gel at about mile 6. However, I'm not one to really eat breakfast (maybe a half a banana at most) before a race, so the gel becomes a little more necessary. I will say that the gel seems to have less of an effect on my muscles than on helping keep my brain from fading out on the race.

Actually, you'll be in better shape in the race if you DON'T have breakfast before your training runs, including your long runs.

I never eat anything before long runs; just a cup of coffee with some milk in it. I've done runs of up to three hours on that. No Gatorade, no gu. That's how you increase your glycogen stores.

I was referring to race day only. I agree about not using gels/food too much on training runs. I will only take a gel on runs of 20+ miles, but I try not to if I'm feeling okay.