How to get nutrition during your run can be a confusing thing to figure out. What do I take? When do I take it? Where do I put it? We covered gels, chews, and bars in another post, but we saved two newer nutrition options for their own post: liquid energy gels and energy tablets.
Liquid energy gels eliminate the problem of trying to swallow a thick gel because they are water-based and go down much easier. They have many of the same ingredients as gels and also go into your system pretty quickly since the liquid is easily digestible.
Energy tablets are another option if you don’t like the taste of energy gels, chews, or bars. That being said, “energy tablets” can be somewhat vague and could mean salt tablets, caffeine tablets, hydration tablets, or something similar to energy chews. To clarify, we mean a replacement for energy chews, like these tablets by Glukos, for example. These tablets have the same ingredients as the gels (glucose, electrolytes, etc.) but dissolve in your mouth and don’t require any chewing. They’re also super portable and easy to stash just about anywhere (just don’t let them get wet!).
As a general rule, you will only need to take energy supplements if you are running longer than an hour and then every 45-60 minutes after that until you’re done. Make sure to try out different kinds of energy gels and tablets on your practice runs so that you have your routine set before race day. If possible, don’t try anything new on race day!