The fuelling aisle is overwhelming. Gels, chews, drink mixes, bars, real food, each with a dozen brands and a load of marketing. So what do you actually need? Less than you think, and simpler than they make it look.
Getting your race fuel right is one of the biggest differences between a good race and a miserable one. But the choice of product matters far less than most people think. What matters is getting enough carbohydrate in, from something your gut tolerates, that you have practised. Everything else is detail.
Here is how to choose, how much to take, and how to train your gut so race day is a repeat of something it already knows. No brand loyalty required.
Your muscles do not care whether their fuel arrived as a gel, a chew, a drink or a jam sandwich. They care about getting carbohydrate, steadily, through a long effort.
So the question is not "which is the best product", it is "what gets enough carbs into me, that my gut is happy with, that I can actually manage while moving". The right answer is different for different women, and the only way to find yours is to practise. More on the numbers in my race-day fuelling guide.
The Options, Honestly Compared
Each format has a job it does well and a downside. Here is the plain version.
Concentrated carbohydrate in a small sachet. The most popular choice for good reason.
- Good for: a lot of carbs in a tiny package, easy to carry, quick to take, consistent dose.
- Downside: some are thick and need water, some sit badly in the gut, and the texture puts some people off.
- Best for: running and the run leg of a triathlon, where carrying bulk is a pain.
Carbohydrate in a chewable sweet form.
- Good for: easier on the stomach for some, feel more like real food, you can take them a bit at a time.
- Downside: chewing while running hard is awkward, and they are bulkier than gels for the same carbs.
- Best for: the bike, longer steadier efforts, or anyone who hates gels.
Carbohydrate (and often electrolytes) dissolved in your bottle.
- Good for: fuel and hydration together, easy to sip steadily, gentle on the gut for many.
- Downside: you have to carry the fluid, and in a race you depend on what is in your bottles or at aid stations.
- Best for: the bike especially, and hot races where you are drinking a lot anyway. Very relevant in Singapore heat.
Bananas, dates, rice cakes, jam sandwiches, flapjack and so on.
- Good for: cheap, satisfying, kind on the gut, a welcome break from sweet products on very long days.
- Downside: bulkier, harder to get a precise carb dose, harder to eat at high intensity.
- Best for: long rides, ultras and long training days where you are moving at a steadier effort.
Your carb load, race breakfast and hourly fuel worked out in grams for your race, your weight and the heat.
How Much, and How Often
This is where most women undershoot, so let me put the numbers next to the products.
- For efforts over about 90 minutes, aim for roughly 30 to 60g of carbohydrate per hour. For long races over about two and a half hours, push towards 60 to 90g per hour.
- Check the carbs per gel, chew or scoop on the label, then work out how many you need to hit your target. A typical gel is around 20 to 25g, so three an hour gets you to 60 to 75g.
- Take it in small regular amounts, for example a bit every 15 to 20 minutes, rather than one big hit on the hour.
- Start early, in the first half hour, not when you already feel empty. By then it is too late.
- At the higher carb amounts, use products that blend glucose and fructose, which your gut absorbs more easily together.
Train Your Gut
Here is the bit that separates a smooth race from a portaloo disaster. Your gut is trainable, exactly like your legs, and if you only ever practise fuelling on race day, expect trouble.
- Practise your exact race fuel on your long training sessions. Same products, same amounts, same timing.
- Build the hourly amount up gradually over weeks, so your gut learns to absorb 60 to 90g an hour without complaint.
- Find out now, in training, which products your stomach likes and which it hates. Some guts loathe certain gels. Far better to learn that on a Sunday long run.
- Practise taking fuel at race effort, not just on easy days. The gut behaves differently when you are working hard.
Hydration and Electrolytes
Fuel and fluid go together, especially in the heat. Thick gels need water to go down comfortably, so plan to take them near a drink or an aid station. In hot, humid conditions you also lose a lot of salt, so electrolytes matter, not just water. Drinking litres of plain water on a long hot race can actually flush your sodium and leave you worse off. A drink mix with carbs and electrolytes, or electrolyte tabs alongside your gels, covers both jobs at once. For Singapore-based athletes racing in the heat, this is not optional.
What About the Fancy High-Carb Products?
You may have seen the trend towards very high carbohydrate fuelling, 90g, 120g an hour and beyond, driven by the pros and the newer high-carb drink mixes. Here is the honest take. For most age-group women, nailing a well-practised 60 to 90g an hour reliably will do far more for your race than chasing elite-level numbers your gut has never seen. The very high intakes need serious gut training and suit long, high-intensity racing. Start by getting the basics consistent. You can always build up later if your racing demands it. Do not let the latest product trend distract you from simply fuelling enough, which is the thing most women are not yet doing.
Matching Fuel to the Race Distance
Different races ask for different fuelling, so match your approach to the day ahead.
- 5k and 10k: no fuel needed during the race. Your stores cover it. Just turn up topped up.
- Half marathon: a gel or two across the race for many women, more if you are out there longer. Sip to thirst.
- Marathon: steady fuelling throughout, 30 to 60g of carbs an hour building towards the higher end, started early. This is where most people underfuel and hit the wall.
- 70.3 and long triathlon: 60 to 90g an hour, most of it taken on the bike where eating is easier, then lighter, simpler fuel on the run. See my brick workouts piece for why the bike fuelling makes or breaks the run.
- Ultra and all-day events: this is where real food earns its place. Variety stops flavour fatigue, and your gut appreciates the break from sweet gels.
Caffeine in Your Fuel
Many gels and chews come with added caffeine, and it can give a genuine performance lift if you tolerate it. A sensible approach is to save the caffeinated ones for later in a long race, when you want a boost, rather than taking them all the way through. Too much caffeine brings jitters, a racing heart and sometimes gut trouble, which on race day is the last thing you want. As with everything, practise it in training, and if caffeine does not agree with you, plain fuel works perfectly well. You are not missing out on much.
A Few Questions I Get Asked
"Can I just use sweets or dried fruit instead of expensive sports products?" For long, steadier efforts, absolutely. Dates, jelly sweets and dried fruit are all carbohydrate and much cheaper. The sports products earn their price in convenience and in precise, fast-absorbing carbs at high intensity, but they are not magic. Use what works for you and your budget.
"Why do I feel sick when I fuel on the run but not the bike?" Running jostles your gut far more than cycling, and blood is diverted away from digestion when you work hard. That is exactly why triathletes do most of their eating on the bike and keep run fuelling simple. If gels make you queasy running, try a drink or chews, and make sure you are taking small amounts often rather than big hits.
Fuelling in the Heat
If you train and race in a hot, humid climate, and plenty of the women I coach do, fuelling and hydration need a little extra thought. In the heat you sweat more, lose more salt, and your gut can be more easily upset, so this matters.
- Drink to thirst and include electrolytes, not just plain water. Heavy sweaters lose a lot of sodium, and plain water alone can leave you flat or worse.
- Thinner, more diluted fuel can sit better than thick concentrated gels when you are hot. A carb drink does double duty here.
- Practise your hot-weather fuelling in training in similar conditions, so race day is familiar.
- Start hydrating well before the race, not in a panic on the start line, and do not overdrink either. Pale-straw wee is the aim.
Build Your Race Plan in Advance
The women who fuel well on race day are not winging it. They have a plan written down. Before a race, work out roughly how long you will be out there, multiply by your hourly carb target, and that tells you how many gels, chews or scoops you need to carry or pick up at aid stations. Know what the race provides on course and whether it is a brand your gut is used to, because if not, carry your own. Then rehearse the whole thing on a long training session. A fuelling plan you have written and practised turns race-day nutrition from a source of anxiety into one less thing to think about. For the full numbers and timing, pair this with my carb loading and race-day fuelling guide. The women who nail their fuelling are not the ones with the fanciest products. They are the ones who did the unglamorous work of practising, so that on race day they simply follow a plan their body already knows. Get the fuelling right and you give yourself the race your training deserves, instead of watching months of hard work unravel in the back half because you ran out of fuel.
The Short Version
The carbohydrate is what matters. Gels, chews, drink and real food are just different ways to deliver it.
Gels: compact and quick. Chews: gentler for some, awkward to chew hard. Drinks: fuel plus hydration. Real food: kind on the gut for long steady efforts.
Aim for 30 to 60g of carbs per hour over 90 minutes, 60 to 90g per hour for long races, taken in small regular amounts from early on.
Train your gut: practise your exact race fuel in training and build the amount up gradually.
Pair fuel with fluid and electrolytes, especially in the heat.
Nail a consistent 60 to 90g an hour before chasing elite high-carb numbers.
Pick what your gut likes, practise it until it is boring, and fuel enough. That is the whole game.
This article is general information, not personalised nutrition advice. Individual tolerance varies. If you have a gut condition or dietary restrictions, work with a qualified professional.
- You are baffled by the fuelling aisle and not sure what you actually need
- You have had gut trouble or bonked in a race and never worked out why
- You want a clear fuelling plan matched to products you can actually stomach
- You want it from a qualified sports nutritionist who coaches women
If you ticked two or more, this is exactly what my coaching sorts out.
Apply to work with me →If you want your fuelling matched to your body, your gut and your races, that is what I do.
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