Fueling - kendal mint cake?

Hi I am about to run my 1st marathon in 4 weeks and still not sure on fueling.  I have been advised that at 70kg, 11 stone i should be eating around 70g of carbs an hour, so a 4 hour marathon i should be taking on approx 280g of carbs?  I have been training using jelly babies (which i love) and sis gels which can make me feel slighty nauseous for about 10-15 minutes after each gel.
Therefore to get the amount of carbs that i would have to eat would be a whopping 54 jelly babies or 13 gels, (most i've managed in 1 run is 4).
However a friend of mine mentioned kendal mint cake, i have just checked on the packet and 1 bar / 9 pieces equals a massive 97.7g of carbs, so 3 bars 27 pieces would give me more than enough at a managerable 1 piece per mile.    Has anyone tried kendal mint cake for running a marathon? If so how do you rate it?  Grateful for any advice.
Cheers
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  • Just RunJust Run ✭✭✭
    Don't just take anyones word for it, make sure you try it yourself. I would imagine it to be really sickly after one bar, let alone three? Have you tried switching gel brand or flavour? 
  • Si CSi C ✭✭
    edited March 2017
    I plan to try it tomorrow on my 1/2 and mix it up with jelly babies and gels,
    I have only tried sis gels as that is the maje that they (manchester) will be giving out on the day and i wont be able to carry more than about 4 or 5 of my own.
  • Its not easy to eat though is it?  Hard. 

    Your figures must be wrong though. 13 gels is way too much. I'm a bit heavier and have a gel every 5 miles. 

    Are you discounting that you have energy stocks already on board? 
  • Si CSi C ✭✭
    Cougie, fair point, i probably could stomach 5 gels
  • Where did you Read the higher figure? 
  • Si CSi C ✭✭
    Cant remember, i read somewhere 1 gram of carbs per 1kg of bodyweight per hour. Is this not the case?
  • Si CSi C ✭✭
    Tried the mints cake today had a piece every 3 miles and loved it, washed down with a bit of water really refreshing and an instant boost of energy. Will try them for next weeks 20
  • DadAgainDadAgain ✭✭✭
    I had an appointment with a sport dietitian last week who told me my race nutrition wasnt adequate for peak performance.

    She suggested I was actually taking on about 20g or carb per hour with my existing strategy of a few sugary snakes (Australian confectionery favourite) and a sip of sports drink every 5km. Recommended was an intake closer to 40g/hr with elite athletes taking in excess of 60g/hr. She suggested upping the carb intake in training and seeing how much I could put in without digestive distress becoming a factor. (Ive never suffered from digestive distress on a run so dont know that limit at all).

    Last weekend I tested a new plan and over the 3 hours of my 21 mile long run, with no breakfast beforehand consumed:

    1 litre of Gatorade = ~70g carbs
    5 sugary snakes = ~40g carbs
    1 Endura gel = ~25g carbs

    total of 135g/carbs or around 45g/hr.

    I felt great! Not convinced on the Kendal mint cake though (despite being a fan of the stuff when walking around the Lake District!)
  • That's interesting - you don't often see elite marathoners taking more than a swig of fluid - so I'm not sure how they're getting 120Gr plus ? 

    40 sounds much more likely that 70 though. 
  • rodeofliprodeoflip ✭✭✭
    Kendal mint cake = sugar (pretty much).
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