I just received an email from a gentleman I spoke with at the Houston Marathon Expo, let’s call him “Sam.” He was running the Houston Marathon as an “early” race in his season. Sam’s PR was 3:25 a few years ago, and he had been running 3:40+ lately. He was expecting to run a 3:40+ in the Houston marathon but was concerned because he always seemed to run out of gas at the end. Turns out, Sam was only using a couple of gels during the race. No wonder he was losing energy at the end of the race! His BIG GOAL is to break 3:30 at Boston.

The “rule of thumb” is about 45 grams of carbohydrates per hour for a run. Sam was taking in maybe 50 grams of carbohydrates over his 3:40+ race. As we talked, Sam was nervous about adding more fuel during his run. Honestly, I don’t like changing anything going into a race. However, since he knew the gels worked for him, I suggested he add a couple of more gels into the race. First, he should take one earlier somewhere around mile 5 – 6 and take the last one around miles 16 – 18.

In the email he sent over the weekend, he said that he followed what we had talked about. And, he said this is the FIRST TIME he’s ever run a negative split race (where the second half is faster than the first). He was impresssed and baffled, honestly, that adding a couple of gels could make such a big difference. He also said that usually around miles 16 – 18 his stomach didn’t feel good or like it could take anything in. But, this time he was fine and took that last gel when suggested. His time for the Houston maration. . . .3:30! Even better, he felt good through out the race and after the race.

I suggested he keep increasing his calories and carbs until he reached the 45 grams per hour mark and see what kind of difference it makes. I see numerous athletes who are underfuleing with leads to underperforming. Add in some additional fuel and they start performing better! It’s like magic!

This is something you can work on, too. Determine how many grams of carbohydrates are you taking in per hour on your runs. Ask yourself how you and your stomach feel? If you are taking in less than 45 grams per hour, try increasing it a little at a time and see how you feel. If you have stomach problems, reduce it by 5 t0 10 grams per hour and try it again. If you reach 45 and think you can take in more, increase it by 5 to 10 grams and see what happens. We each have our own nutritional “sweet spot.” It takes tinkering to find, but once you have it your performance will improve.