Whenever I do a long run I try to take one or two of the carbo-gels, but have never taken the amount they say as to do so would mean for the marathon I'd have to carry a backpack to fit them all in. In trying to find out a bit more about them, I came across this article which was quite interesting.
It basically says the performance results from energy gels are much better than if you just drink water, but not as good as if you drink the sports drinks. His reasoning was that the sports drinks are already mixed to the right concentration, whereas if you mix the gels with water, you can alter the concentration and thus the effectiveness - too much water and you reduce the carb intake, too little and your body doesn't break it down as quickly...
So, sports drinks the way to go?? Well, where does one fit several bottles of sports drinks to drink during a marathon??? At least you can store a few gels using the elastic of your shorts, so maybe they are the answer.
Anyone had any experience before I go and buy a bunch of gels in the strive to reduce dead-legs?
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Surely you've been in London long enough, Clayton, to know that there are sports drinks stations every two hundred metres or so. You've waded through the piles of empty Lucozade cartons, I'm sure.
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