Here are some helpful tips for YOUR race day fueling strategy. #GoTailwind

*Use pre-measured baggies. This way, when you get to an aid station, you just dump the bag in your water bottle and fill with water. You want to pay close attention to your caloric intake/hour so try to stay as close to the “x amount of calories”/hour that you’ve dialed in during your training.

*Run with a small bottle with Tailwind mixed up as a syrup. When you get to your aid station, just squirt the amount in that you’ll need. So, if you are filling water bottles or a hydration pack at the aid station, you’ll want to just put in “x” mls of your syrup into your bottle/hydration pack and then fill with water.

*Finally, run Tailwind as a gel. Caleb Masland, a coach, uses this approach along with his Team Wicked Bonkproof members. The key thing to remember is that if you are running Tailwind at a higher concentration, then you need to keep up on your water intake. As a datapoint, each 100 calorie gel requires about 350 ml of water to digest it. If you don’t keep up the water, you run the risk of dehydration since your GI system will literally suck water from your body to digest those calories. This can lead to stomach ills and why so many people run into problems with gels.

Step 1: Ignore the Package Directions. For a race situation, you want to carry as little as possible. Once you have determined how much fuel you need (based on experimentation during long runs of various intensity), you want to get that into the smallest package possible. I need about 500 calories for a marathon, and if I were to follow the directions on the package, I would need to carry 2 big handheld bottles. Instead, I mix the solution much stronger, and put 500 calories into 2 x 175 ml plastic flasks, which I can carry with my Salomon Sense Hydro S-Lab Gloves.

Step 2: Switch to a “Little Sips, More Often” Intake Approach. I promise that you will find it easier on your stomach to use this approach, but you need to get used to doing it. During a marathon, I take a little sip right after hitting the lap button for each mile. Then, I supplement with water on course since I mixed the solution stronger than package directions. The biggest risk with this approach is getting behind on caloric intake, so you need a system to follow. — with Caleb Masland.