What if we told you that you could hit your carb, electrolyte, and hydration goals all from the same bottle? Fueling with high carb hydration drinks is becoming more popular among both trail and road runners, especially for those who struggle with stomach issues during longer runs and races.
Instead of juggling gels, chews, electrolyte tabs, and water, products like Tailwind combine everything into one easy-to-drink mix.
Carbohydrates are your body’s main source of energy while running. Your job is to keep the supply flowing and remember that it takes time for the fuel to be digested and reach your bloodstream. This is why we always talk about fueling early and fueling regularly rather than waiting until you start to feel fatigued.
As a quick refresher, traditional sports nutrition advice is to get 60 to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour for events over 90 minutes.
A combination approach of high carb hydration, gels, chews, or whatever you’ve tested and know works best for your body can ease GI issues and make it easier to hit your goals.
Why Use High Carb Drinks aka Liquid Nutrition
Mid-race desperately seeking out a porta potty due to GI distress or late race hitting the wall because you’re afraid to fuel are both issues we obviously want to avoid. A big part of this is gut training throughout long runs, but it can also be part of figuring out the right combination of sugars.
Traditional energy gels and chews require your digestive system to work harder. They’re concentrated, require water to process properly, and if you’re taking them every 30 minutes alongside a separate hydration strategy, that’s a lot of variables to manage when your body is already under stress.
Liquid nutrition simplifies the equation.
When carbohydrates are already dissolved in water, your gut doesn’t need to pull extra fluid in to aid digestion. This is why so many runners who have struggled with ONLY gels find that high carb drinks feel easier to tolerate, especially at higher intensities when blood is being redirected away from your digestive system and toward your working muscles.
There’s also a pacing element that works in your favor. We already recommend sipping your hydration every mile, so now that hydration plan is also assisting in hitting your carbohydrate goals.
Finally, a blend of sugar sources, rather than a single source, tend to be better tolerated at higher carbohydrate intakes.
Not all carbohydrates use the same pathway to get from your gut into your bloodstream, and this is actually really good news for runners. Your intestines have specific transporters that shuttle different types of sugar across the gut wall and into circulation.
High Carb Drink Dosing Matters
That said, liquid nutrition is not automatically better for every runner. Concentration matters a lot. A mix that is too concentrated can actually slow gastric emptying and cause the same cramping and nausea you were trying to avoid. This is why following the mixing instructions and practicing in training is non-negotiable before you rely on any product on race day.
And don’t guzzle!!! This is a sip consistently scenario.
A combination approach allows you to reduce the number of chews or gels without sacrificing your ultimate goal.
How to Calculate Your Liquid Nutrition Needs
Duration comes first. For runs under 60 minutes, you generally don’t need intra run fuel. From 60 to 90 minutes, a small amount of carbohydrate can help you finish strong, especially if you did not eat before your run. Once you cross the 90 minute mark, consistent fueling becomes essential rather than optional.
Next we want to take into account intensity. On race day, you’ll be pushing the pace and intensity which means you’ll start relying on glucose for fueling much sooner. This is why it’s so key to practice hitting that higher end of the carb range in training, to allow you to get the most benefit on race day.
Here is a simple way to put it all together.
If you want to hit 70 grams of carbs per hour:
- Option 1: 1/2 bottle of Tailwind High Carb + a 30 gram gel = 75 grams
- Option 2: 1/2 single serving pack of Tailwind Endurance Fuel + 30 gram gel + 1/2 serving Honey stinger chews = 67 grams
If you’re looking to start fueling with liquid nutrition, here are some of our favorite options from Tailwind. It’s a brand Coach Amanda has used in races for years and found it sits well with most athletes.
Tailwind Discount Code: TREADLIGHTLY20 for 20% off
Tailwind Nutrition Endurance Fuel
Runners with sensitive stomachs should definitely consider Tailwind Endurance Fuel.
One of the reasons it’s become so popular is that it was designed to be easy on the stomach while still helping you meet your carb, hydration, and electrolyte goals during longer runs and races.
It mixes easily with water, too, so you don’t have to worry about clumps, clogged hydration pack tubes, or gritty textures.
There are plenty of flavors to choose from, along with an unflavored option if you’d rather keep things simple.
- Please note: Nutritional info below is for the bag of Tailwind. It will differ for the single packets
- Flavors: 6 available (duawatermelon, lemon, mandarin, naked (unflavored), berry, grape, limited edition mango yuzu)
- Serving Sizes: single serving packets, 50 serving bag, 30 serving bag, single serving 12 pack
- Amount of Carbs per serving: 25g (single serve packet is 50 grams)
- Amount of Sodium: 310mg
- Amount of water needed: 20-24oz. of water when using 2-3 scoops
- Available from Tailwindnutrition.com starting at $2.75
Tailwind Nutrition Caffeinated Endurance Fuel
This has the same benefits as the Endurance Fuel above, but with an added 35mg of caffeine per serving.
If you’re not used to taking in caffeine while running, we’d suggest easing into it rather than saving it for race day. Practice with it during training to see how your body responds.
Be sure to check the instructions on the back of the bag as well, since the number of scoops you’ll need will depend on how long you’re planning to run and how many carbs you’re aiming to take per hour.
- Please note: Nutritional info below is for the bag of Tailwind. It will differ for the single packets
- Flavors: 2 available (raspberry, tropical)
- Serving Sizes: single serving packets, 50 serving bag, 30 serving bag, single serving 12 pack
- Amount of Carbs per serving: 25g (single serve packet is 50 grams)
- Amount of Caffeine: 35mg
- Amount of sodium: 310mg
- Amount of water needed: 20-24oz. of water when using 2-3 scoops
- Available from Tailwindnutrition.com starting at $2.75
Tailwind Nutrition High Carb Fuel
If you’re newer to higher carb fueling, give your gut some time to adapt before jumping straight into taking in large amounts of carbs every hour.
Tailwind recommends gradually increasing your carb intake during training so your body can better absorb and use it. Their suggested progression looks like this:
Week one- one packet over 90 minutes
Week two- one packet over 80 minutes
Week three- one packet over 70 minutes
Week four- one packet over 60 minutes
And remember, there’s no rush. If you start noticing stomach issues, that’s usually a sign to slow things down and spend a little more time at your current intake before increasing again.
Just like training your legs for race day, your gut needs training too. The more you practice fueling during your runs, the better prepared you’ll be when it counts.
- Please note: Nutritional info below is for the bag of Tailwind. It will differ for the single packets
- Flavors: 2 available (lemonade, ginger lime)
- Serving Sizes: single serving, 16 serving bag, single serving 6 pack
- Amount of Carbs: 90g
- Amount of Sodium: 680mg
- Amount of water needed: mix 3 scoops with 16-24oz of water
- Available from Tailwindnutrition.com starting at $4.25
Other Tailwind Options
In addition to the Tailwind Liquid Nutrition options, there are a few more products we love and often recommend.
Tailwind Nutrition Rapid Hydration
Unlike Tailwind’s Endurance Fuel line, Rapid Hydration is an electrolyte mix, not a sports drink.
While it does contain some carbs (12 grams) these are intended mainly to support sodium absorption and aren’t enough to fuel a run on their own.
Rapid Hydration is best used to meet daily electrolyte needs (which are probably higher than usual in the summer heat) or to supplement a lower-sodium sports drink during exercise.
- Flavors: 3 available (strawberry lemonade, lemon lime, raspberry)
- Serving Sizes: 25 serving bag, 12 pack boxes, variety pack
- Amount of Carbs: 12g
- Amount of Sodium: 320mg
- Available from Tailwindnutrition.com starting at $18.99
Tailwind Nutrition Nutrition Recovery Mix
If you’re someone who doesn’t always have the appetite for a full-on meal after a long run, this can be an easy way to start your recovery right away.
Just add it to a shaker bottle with water, give it a shake, and you’re good to go. No blender, smoother ingredients, or extra prep required.
We also love that it’s dairy-free and provides the protein and nutrients your body needs to help you recover after a hard workout or long run.
As an added bonus, Tailwind Recovery Mix includes electrolytes too, helping you replace some of what you lost through sweat while also getting in your post-run protein.
- Flavors: 4 available (strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, salted caramel)
- Serving Sizes: single, 20 serving bag, single serving 12 pack
- Amount of Carbs: 34g
- Available from Tailwindnutrition.com starting at $3.29
Sodium is the Additional Benefit of High Carb Drinks
When you’re running, your body loses electrolytes through sweat, especially sodium. And sodium plays an important role in helping your body absorb and use the carbs you’re taking in for fuel.
When your electrolyte levels start to drop, it can become hard to stay hydrated and maintain your enery, which is one reason runner may start to feel sluggish late into a run or race.
One thing we like about Tailwind is that it simplifies the fueling process.
Instead of filling your pockets and/or packs with lots of fuel, you’re getting everything you need (carbohydrates, electrolytes, and hydration ) in one bottle.
And remember, you don’t have to be running on a hot summer day to lose a significant amount of sweat. Every runner is different.
Some runners are heavy sweaters, while others lose much less fluid during a workout.
Not sure how to calculate your sweat rate? Here’s a simple test you can do at home:
- Record your body weight, ideally after you pee (without clothes for more accurate reading before/after)
- Go for your workout and track how much you drank
- Post-workout, record your weight again (avoid wearing your wet, sweaty clothes)
- Subtract your post-workout weight from your pre-workout weight to get the weight lost during the run
- Subtract the amount of liquid in your bottle before and after your run to get the amount of liquid consumed
- Take Weight Lost + Liquid consumed/time = sweat rate
Runners with a higher sweat rate need to drink more fluids to replace sweat losses, and those with a higher sodium concentration may need to replace more sodium (i.e., electrolytes with higher sodium concentration).
Fueling can feel overwhelming at first. Between all the different brands, fueling types, hydration options, and figuring out what your stomach can tolerate, there’s a lot to think about.
That’s why we’ve put together a handful of guides to help simplify the process and make fueling feel a little less intimidating. Whether you’re training for your first race or looking to fine-tune your nutrition strategy, we’ve got a few resources here for you:
- Half Marathon Fueling Strategy
- Marathon Fueling Strategy
- Cheapest Running Fuel: Price Per Carb Breakdown of Popular Gels & Chews
- How to Fuel Your Marathon Training for Less (Without Bonking)
We hope that this list of how to fuel with liquid nutrition was helpful! Our team of coaches is always here if you’re looking for more personalized guidance with your training.
Looking for what to read next?
- What to Eat Before a Race: Best Carbs for Performance and Digestion
- Fueling for a Sub-2 Hour Marathon Finish | Here’s What it Looked Like
- Is Sugar Bad for Runners? What You Need to Know from a Registered Dietitian
The post Are You Getting Enough Carbs on Long Runs? How Liquid Nutrition Changes Everything appeared first on RunToTheFinish.
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