Wearing a runners' utility belt for a half marathon

Or, you know, you could just let people do whatever the h*ll they want and mind your own business.

Markmiles wrote:

See this quite a lot.

If you really need a full bottle of drink on either hip and a beltful of gels for 13.1 miles then you obviously haven't prepared well.

Where do you see it? The back of the pack? In that case you have to realize they are on the course much longer than you are.

I use one but at the speed I go I literally never see anyone else with it (at this point in my life I do a half marathon at 8 minutes per mile, give or take). There is no question that it's to my advantage to carry water, although I don't use gels. For people on the course 2:30 and longer it might be worth it to have the gels, though.

But we've been through all this on LRC many, many times. Do you feel like a big man for putting people down?

Markmiles wrote:

See this quite a lot.

If you really need a full bottle of drink on either hip and a beltful of gels for 13.1 miles then you obviously haven't prepared well.

You really don’t need anything if you run it in an hour. The runners dragging along at 2 hours probably should have something to drink and eat. They do provide aid stations, so carrying what you need is weird but whatever.

Get Batman's belt and you're all set!

I could but I'm not going to.

So you can shut it.

I have seen camel packs and water belts at the local 5k before.......just think if the Howells wouldnt have packed all their stuff on the Minnow?

I wear a Fitletic belt to carry my phone and car key primarily and a few gels (1-2 for half marathon and 5-6 for marathon). I currently run my half marathons between 5:30-5:50/mile pace (decent pace for a 44 year old guy) but I do notice that I tend to be the only runner around my pace wearing a belt. I can't imagine having to wear a water bottle on a hip though. When I do long trail runs that require water I throw bottles into a tightly fitting running backpack.

Markmiles wrote:

See this quite a lot.

If you really need a full bottle of drink on either hip and a beltful of gels for 13.1 miles then you obviously haven't prepared well.

I think the same thing about myself when I bring my coffee into the bathroom in the morning. "What am I doing wrong?? I obviously haven't prepared well..."

Sometimes I bring my coffee AND my phone. I'll catch a glimpse of this sad sight in the mirror and just shake my head.

Is this a barebones race with no water stations? I see people wear them for 5ks. That's embarrassing,

I sometimes even see people drinking on half marathon courses. I think that shows that they haven't prepared well, to not even be able to run 13.1 miles without drinking.

Markmiles wrote:

See this quite a lot.

If you really need a full bottle of drink on either hip and a beltful of gels for 13.1 miles then you obviously haven't prepared well.

Or probably they're just new to running.

If you really need to start a thread dunking on the harmless behavior of complete strangers, then you obviously weren't prepared well for life.

Bruin1996 wrote:

I wear a Fitletic belt to carry my phone and car key primarily and a few gels (1-2 for half marathon and 5-6 for marathon). I currently run my half marathons between 5:30-5:50/mile pace (decent pace for a 44 year old guy) but I do notice that I tend to be the only runner around my pace wearing a belt. I can't imagine having to wear a water bottle on a hip though. When I do long trail runs that require water I throw bottles into a tightly fitting running backpack.

Bruin -

I'm a 5:25-5:35/mile pace half marathoner and I use one gel per half marathon. Usually between mile 5-6.5, depending on the course, the competition, and how i'm feeling. I do it for the caffeine only.

You realize that taking anything later has no caloric benefit unless you're simply looking for a caffeine hit, right?

AND...most importantly..I just put the gel in my shorts, use a wrist bad i throw away, or carry in in my hand.

Why the belt at that pace?!

youre an ahole wrote:

Markmiles wrote:

See this quite a lot.

If you really need a full bottle of drink on either hip and a beltful of gels for 13.1 miles then you obviously haven't prepared well.

Where do you see it? The back of the pack? In that case you have to realize they are on the course much longer than you are.

I use one but at the speed I go I literally never see anyone else with it (at this point in my life I do a half marathon at 8 minutes per mile, give or take). There is no question that it's to my advantage to carry water, although I don't use gels.

Ever heard of water stations?

Twice as slow as kipchoge wrote:

Markmiles wrote:

See this quite a lot.

If you really need a full bottle of drink on either hip and a beltful of gels for 13.1 miles then you obviously haven't prepared well.

You really don’t need anything if you run it in an hour. The runners dragging along at 2 hours probably should have something to drink and eat. They do provide aid stations, so carrying what you need is weird but whatever.

Not sure you really need it even if you run 2 hrs. I run a marathon with no gels at all and no fluids past mile 9 when my stomach was upset and I survived fine. Would have preferred to have my fluids but if you hydrate properly before you should be fine with nothing for 2 hrs. Most marathons now hand out gels at a couple of points on the course and I can always fit a gel in the key pocked on my running shorts. If you want a utility belt for half go for it. But there really is no need.

I can run a marathon in flip flops, it doesn’t mean that is the best way to run one.

@round and round

Mainly to carry my phone and car keys.. I guess I could run a half marathon wearing half tights with pockets that would fit a gel and car key as an option as well but I usually carry my iPhone on races. Definitely need a belt for a marathon as I take a gel every 30 minutes including 1 right before the start.

I realize I am the exception as most runners around my pace don’t wear belts.

Bruin1996 wrote:

@round and round

Mainly to carry my phone and car keys.. I guess I could run a half marathon wearing half tights with pockets that would fit a gel and car key as an option as well but I usually carry my iPhone on races. Definitely need a belt for a marathon as I take a gel every 30 minutes including 1 right before the start.

@Bruin1996 (go Boston)

I usually leave my phone in the car and hide my car key under the wheel well or in someone's yard. It's fun

Hmmmm. What's the point of carrying it, livestreaming your race?!

I'm really curious. Seems like an easy thing to bounce loose when running and extra, annoying weight.

thanks for the response.

This thread from back in the day has a lot of relevant thoughts. It should be pinned: https://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=496666&page=0