Gels all about the gels and that final 6.2!!!!!

These threads are great but they would be even more helpful if you could quickly see what pace everyone runs at. What works for someone doing 2:45 mara is going to be different from a 4:00. Extra profile fields (for 10k HM and FM) could be shown above each post maybe depending on forum, so this forum would only show FM value. It was great clicking Aliscott's profile to see he has added his pb times which match with my mara debut target of 3:15. Anyway back on topic, I've been using zipfit just before water station in training at 5, 10, & 15miles, although I might skip the 20 one tomorrow if I'm feeling good. The zipfit ones are thick but means I only need to carry 4 max which is great. A bit late now for VLM but zipfitsports do a free sample box (pay postage) which includes a gel belt which can obviously be used with any brand gels.

Good luck tomorrow everyone! I'm beyond excited to see what a marathon is like.

What's the evidence that pace matters when it comes to gel consumption Charles? Most of the sports nutrition stuff I've read (e.g. Anita Bean and Nancy Calrke) as well as the material that comes with the gels seems to advocate 30-60g of carbs an hour irrespective of pace. Clearly that means that a 3-hr runner needs to carry less gels than a 4 or 5 hr runner but beyond that does it actually matter? Arguably (again according to Anita Bean's book) weight is more important because a heavier runner would need more carbs than a lighter one.

Only observational (i.e. no evidence!). People running marathons fast don't seem to use gels at all. It's just good to know what other people on similar targets are doing.