how long does a run have to be

[cheese]

...for you take food/snacks with you? just wondering, as i'm starting to go out longer but after about 45min/an hour i'm getting hungery-which doesn't seem very long at all.

[IainR]

I find it depends, in some I like to have a gel at about the hr stage, but generally under 1:30 wouldn't bother. Up wards of 1:30 I will.

But if I decide that I'll eat in a run, I eat early before 1.5 hrs, say on the Peris I'll have my first gel near the summit of Elidir.

In a half marathon I like a gel at about 9-10 miles, around an hour, and feela kick in for the last 20 minutes or so, but this may well be mental, as the kick is felt almost immediately.

PS: just racing, in a general hill run up to 2.5-3 hrs I'd take nothing.

[gyppo]

Similarly to IainR I don't bother with anythig if out for 1.5-2 hours but if out for longer would eat/drink earlier.

Suspect I have a habit of underrefueling (if such a word exists) while on the run.

[novice]

so on longer runs of under 2 hours do people not take fluids?

If you do take fluids how do you carry them in a bumbag, with a bladder?

[Stolly]

I don't take a drink if the run is under 13 miles unless its killer terrain - a 13 mile run over mediocre terrain with say 1500 to 2000 ft of ascent is okay, even on a hot day. This would take me around the 2 hour mark to get round I suppose and I would have a long drink and something to eat before setting off..

Something like the Langdale Horseshoe though (c 14 miles and maybe 4000 feet of ascent/descent) and I think you'll need to pack a drink + energy food...... or at least be prepared to drink from mountain streams. I ran the race last October on a georgeous day in just short of 3 hours 15.

[AJF]

I try to eat around the 1hr mark sometimes longer. If it is a two hour race then would use a gel. If a two hour training run then nothing food wise. If I am going for 3/4+ hours either training or race I will tend to eat more solid oat based food. Nutrigrain elevenses being my favorite at the moment (Chocolate and Ginger bake being very nice). Gels too early give me a sugar rush that means I struggle later on.

Water, I tend to take a small lucozade bottle and drink that as and when. Then just drink from streams along the way. Tends to be plenty of water at the moment!

If it is a run under 2 hours I may take water? That depends on where I was running. If it was roads I probably would take some cash and go into a shop and sweat over their counter. If it is xc then lucozade in bum bag. If only 2 hours and I knew there was water on the way then probably nothing.

Thats probably made it more confusing for you but thats what I tend to do.

[IainR]

Re water depends. The summer 2 years ago was so hot you were drinking every 20 minutes or so, but normally around Snowdonia, I don't arry water and just drink from streams.

[IanDarkpeak]

I agree with most of this except in a race when you are burning more energy I eat lots more. I was out 3 hours a couple of days ago, had 3-4 hand fulls of water from streams and maybe 6 jelly babbies, if I was racing the same route I would probably have a couple of gels also.

Under 90 minutes I rarely eat but I always carry a gel or some JB's just in case I have a suger dip

Another thing to consider is
a) do you want to train you body to be able burn more fat for the longer runs(like marathon runners)
b) train your body to eat on the go. I remember reading that during rest your body sends 20-25% blood to your stomach and 15-20 to the muscles.
during a hard run 85% of blood goes to the muscles and only 5% to the Stomach. This is one of reasons you get a stitch or stomach cramps ir you haven't digested food properly.
I now know what I can eat and how much when running.

[Rodders rambler]

I have done alot of endurance mountain biking and i like to start taking gels after one hour and every 45 mins after that.If your going for any longer than 3hours i normally like to eat some solids,bars or flapjacks.You have to be careful with jelly beans,they are pefect for the final 20 mins to get you over the line,but don't take them too early as you will have a come down off them(wrong type of sugars) and they will dehydrate you as well.
Hydration should be done many days before the event and you should be ok for any event under an hour and a half or else it is a scorcher,if you have hydrated properly days before.You should sip any pre race liquid otherwise it just goes straight through you,and once you start going for a leak every 30 mins,your fully hydrated.Over hydration is when you can drink too much and strip your body of salts etc that you will need on race day.

[Chris K]

I can't think of any medium to long run I've done on the fells without food in the bumbag. It mostly never gets eaten, but like full body cover its there just incase, though by accident I did do a race without whistle and compass.