How Many Gels for a 70.3? A Simple Fueling Plan

Start with carbs per hour

Many endurance athletes aim for roughly 60–90 g of carbohydrate per hour during long races, with trained guts and higher intensities at the upper end. If you've never fueled deliberately before, start near 60 g per hour in training and build up.

Most standard gels contain roughly 20–30 g of carbohydrate — check the label of the one you use, because it varies a lot between brands.

An example plan

Say you expect a 3-hour bike and a 2-hour run and aim for 60 g per hour, using 25 g gels and a drink mix. The bike is the easiest place to eat, so front-load there.

• Bike (3 h × 60 g = 180 g): two bottles of drink mix at ~40 g each (80 g) plus four gels (100 g)
• Run (2 h × 60 g = 120 g): four to five gels, or gels plus the course drink
• Total: roughly eight or nine gels, plus drink mix

Bike vs run

Your stomach tolerates food much better on the bike, so that's where most of your fueling should happen. On the run, take smaller amounts more often — a gel every 25–30 minutes is easier than two at once. Take gels with water rather than sports drink if you're sensitive, unless you use isotonic gels designed to be taken without water.

Caffeine and electrolytes

Caffeinated gels can help in the second half of the run, but only if you've tried them in training — caffeine affects people very differently. Sodium needs also vary widely between athletes; if you finish long sessions covered in salt, look at electrolytes as well as carbs.

Practice it

Use your long rides and brick sessions as rehearsals with the exact gels, drink and timing you plan to race with. Race day should feel boring. Our energy gels guide and drink mixes guide list well-tested options, and soft flasks make carrying them on the run easier.