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Fuelling for running
Energy for Running: What to Take Before, During and After
Fuelling for running is three decisions. What to eat before you leave, whether you need anything on the road, and what to take when you get back. Every answer below is by distance and by session, so you can find your run and stop reading.
The short version: one serve 30 minutes before, one gel an hour once you are past 60 minutes, one serve of protein after. Most gel brands ask for one every 30 to 45 minutes, which on a two hour long run is four sachets instead of two.
Shop EDGE energy gels Try a single sachetRunning fuel chart: what to take for every session
Find your run. Full detail by session is in the chart below.
Before you leave
What to eat before a run
One serve of Energy Powder or one EDGE gel, 30 minutes before you leave. For any run under an hour that single serve is the whole plan.
5k and 10k
Do you need an energy gel for a 5k or 10k?
For a 5k, no. For a 10k, only if you will be out longer than 60 minutes, in which case take one gel at the hour mark.
Long run
What to take on a long run
One serve before you leave, then one EDGE gel every 60 minutes. A two hour long run takes two gels.
Half marathon
How many gels do you need for a half marathon?
One or two. One serve before the start, plus one gel at the hour if you are running longer than 90 minutes.
Timing
How often to take an energy gel when running
Every 60 minutes on a long run, every 45 to 60 on tempo or threshold work. The interval tightens with how hard you are working, not with how fast you are.
When you get back
What to take after a run
One serve of Energy + Protein, 20g of protein with 15g of LIVSTEADY. After a hot long run, add a serve of Hydrate.
Racing the full distance is a different problem and it has its own page: marathon fuelling.
How much to take, and when
One serve before you head out, one every 45 to 60 minutes once you are past the hour, one serve of protein after. The interval tightens when the session gets harder, not when you get faster. Under an hour you usually need nothing at all while you are running.
| Run | 30 min before | During | After |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy run under an hour | 1 serve Energy Powder or 1 EDGE gel | Nothing needed | 1 serve Energy + Protein |
| 5k race | 1 serve Energy Powder or 1 EDGE gel | Nothing needed | 1 serve Energy + Protein |
| 10k race | 1 serve Energy Powder or 1 EDGE gel | Nothing unless you are over 60 min | 1 serve Energy + Protein |
| Tempo or threshold | 1 serve Energy Powder or 1 EDGE gel | 1 EDGE gel every 45 to 60 min | 1 serve Energy + Protein |
| Long run, 90 min plus | 1 serve Energy Powder or 1 EDGE gel | 1 EDGE gel every 60 min | 1 serve Energy + Protein |
| Fast finish long run | 1 serve Energy Powder or 1 EDGE gel | 1 EDGE gel every 60 min, one more before the fast section | 1 serve Energy + Protein |
| Half marathon | 1 serve Energy Powder or 1 EDGE gel | 1 EDGE gel at the hour mark if you are over 90 min | 1 serve Energy + Protein |
| Trail or hilly long run | 1 serve Energy Powder or 1 EDGE gel | 1 EDGE gel every 45 to 60 min, time it off the climbs | 1 serve Energy + Protein |
| Hot or humid conditions | 1 serve Energy Powder or 1 EDGE gel | Swap to EDGE + Electrolyte, 200mg sodium per sachet | 1 serve Energy + Protein and 1 Hydrate |
Based on the UCAN fuelling guide. Practise the timing on training runs before you use it on race day.
Most runners overfuel the short stuff and underfuel the long stuff. A 45 minute easy run needs one serve before you leave the house and nothing else. A two hour long run needs two gels on the road. Racing the full distance is a different problem, and it has its own page: marathon fuelling.
What makes UCAN different from a standard energy gel
Standard gels use maltodextrin and fructose and ask for one every 30 to 45 minutes. UCAN uses LIVSTEADY, a slow release complex carbohydrate, and asks for one every 45 to 60 minutes with 0g of sugar.
One gel an hour, not two
Over a two hour long run that is two sachets in the pocket instead of four.
0g sugar
Not reduced. None. EDGE carries 19 to 20g of carbohydrate and no sugar at all.
Front load the run
One serve 30 minutes before you leave rather than sipping the whole way round.
Low osmolality
The same carbohydrate load arrives as far fewer dissolved particles.
On osmolality, since runners ask
Osmolality is a count of dissolved particles in a fluid. A drink made from simple sugars or maltodextrin breaks into a very large number of small particles. LIVSTEADY stays as far fewer, much larger ones at the same carbohydrate load.
That is a measurable property of the fluid, not a promise about how your run will go. What it means in practice is that a UCAN drink mixed to instruction is a low osmolality fluid, which is worth knowing if you have spent years reading the back of gel sachets.
What LIVSTEADY is
LIVSTEADY is a complex carbohydrate. It is not maltodextrin, it is not fructose, and it is not sugar. The molecule is large and heavily branched, which is why the guidance is one serve per hour of running rather than one every half hour.
It did not come out of a sports lab. It came out of a research project at a children’s hospital, and that origin is why the range is built on one carbohydrate instead of a blend of three or four.
Every product a runner would use here runs on it. EDGE carries 19 to 20g in a sachet. Energy Powder carries 22g in a serve from a single ingredient. Energy + Protein carries 15g alongside 20g of protein.
Who runs on it
Sara Hall
2:20:32 marathon
1:07:15 half
2nd, London 2020
10 national titles
Hall has raced everything from 1500m to the marathon and holds national titles at ten mile and 20k. She ran 2:20:32 at The Marathon Project in December 2020, a time that still sits third on the U.S. all-time list, and eleven weeks before that she ran down Ruth Chepngetich over the final hundred metres in London to take second.
The protocol above is the one she has used across all of it, from base mileage through to championship racing.
“I’ve used UCAN my entire marathon career.”Sara Hall, via ucan.co
The rest of the roster and their timing: how the pros fuel.
Energy gels and powders for runners
Four products cover every run in the chart above. Australian stock, shipped from Dandenong South in Victoria. Free shipping over $220.
Before you leave
Energy Powder
22g carbohydrate from a single ingredient, 0g sugar. Mix it 30 minutes before you head out. This is the serve that covers a run under an hour on its own.
Shop Energy Powder
On the run
EDGE Energy Gel
19 to 20g carbohydrate, 0g sugar, 50mg sodium. One sachet per hour of running, so a two hour long run takes two.
Shop EDGE
Summer running
EDGE + Electrolyte
20g carbohydrate, 0g sugar, 200mg sodium across five electrolytes. The swap for hot mornings and humid long runs.
Shop EDGE + Electrolyte
When you get back
Energy + Protein
20g protein with 15g LIVSTEADY. One serve after every hard session, and after the long run in particular.
Shop Energy + ProteinRunning fuel questions
If you don’t find your answer here, contact us
Is there any sugar in UCAN?
No. EDGE carries 19 to 20g of carbohydrate and 0g of sugar. Energy Powder carries 22g of carbohydrate from a single ingredient, also 0g of sugar.
What should I take after a run?
One serve of Energy + Protein, which carries 20g of protein alongside 15g of LIVSTEADY. After a hot long run, add a serve of Hydrate.
What is the difference between EDGE and Energy Powder?
Same carbohydrate, different format. EDGE is a sachet you can carry and take at pace, 19 to 20g. Energy Powder mixes with water and carries 22g, which makes it the easier choice before you leave and the harder one to take mid run.
Can I run before breakfast on UCAN?
Yes. One serve of Energy Powder or one EDGE gel 30 minutes before you leave is the standard pre-run serve whether or not you have eaten.
Do I need electrolytes as well as a gel?
On a cool morning, no. In heat or humidity, either swap to EDGE + Electrolyte at 200mg of sodium per sachet, or carry Hydrate at 300mg per serve in a bottle.
Does UCAN have caffeine?
The standard EDGE and EDGE + Electrolyte gels carry no caffeine. Energy Powder and Energy + Protein carry none either.
How many gels come in a box?
EDGE boxes hold 12 sachets, which covers a race plus the long runs in a build. Single sachets are available if you want to test a flavour first.
Where does UCAN ship from in Australia?
Generation UCAN Australia is the official Australian reseller. Stock is held in Dandenong South, Victoria and ships domestically, with free shipping on orders over $220.