Real Food for Long Runs: Alternatives to Energy Gels

The best real food for long runs is simple, easy-to-digest carbohydrate: bananas, dates, jelly sweets, honey, rice squares, raisins and fig rolls are all good alternatives to energy gels. Aim for roughly 30 to 60g of carbohydrate an hour once a run goes past about 90 minutes, eaten in small bites every 20 to 30 minutes, and test each food in training before you rely on it.

Plenty of runners find gels too sweet or too sticky, or simply prefer food they recognise. If you want the gel side of the story, our guide to the best energy gels for runners covers carb content, caffeine and how to take them.

Why do you need to eat on a long run at all?

Your body stores carbohydrate in your muscles and liver, but the tank is limited. On an easy run of under an hour most runners need nothing more than water. Past about 90 minutes, those stores run low, and that is when legs feel heavy and pace drifts.

Topping up with small amounts of carbohydrate as you go helps you hold a steady effort for longer. A common starting point is 30 to 60g an hour. Some runners train their gut to handle more, but build up slowly and only if your stomach copes.

Can real food really replace energy gels?

For many runners, yes. A gel is mostly fast carbohydrate in a convenient pouch. Bananas, dates, honey and jelly sweets are also mostly carbohydrate, and many fruit-based foods naturally contain a mix of glucose and fructose, a little like the blends some gels use.

The research is small but encouraging. One 2012 study of 14 trained cyclists found that eating half a banana every 15 minutes during a 75km time trial gave similar performance to a carbohydrate sports drink. It was cycling rather than running, and it was part-funded by a fruit company, so treat it as a promising sign rather than proof.

The trade-offs are real too. Real food is bulkier, needs chewing, usually has more fibre and gives a less exact carb count. That is why it tends to suit easy long runs, slower days and very long events better than flat-out racing.

Which real foods work best for long runs?

Carb figures are rough estimates based on typical UK portions and pack labels. Sizes and recipes vary, so check the label if you want a precise number.

Quick and easy: bananas, jelly sweets and honey are the simplest swaps. They go down fast and need little chewing, and jelly sweets let you take one or two at a time.

Dense and portable: dates, raisins, fig rolls and malt loaf pack a lot of carbohydrate into a small space. Dried fruit carries more fibre, though, so start with small amounts and drink a little water with each bite.

Savoury and salty: rice squares, pretzels and boiled salted potatoes are a welcome break from sweet food on runs of three hours or more. The salt is a bonus on warm days, although on hot, sweaty runs you may also want an electrolyte drink.

How do you make rice squares for running?

Rice squares are a favourite with ultra runners and cyclists, and they are cheap to make. Cook short-grain or pudding rice so it is soft and sticky. Stir through a little honey or jam and a pinch of salt, press it into a lined tin, chill it, then cut it into squares and wrap each one in foil or baking paper.

As a rough guide, cooked white rice has about 28g of carbohydrate per 100g, so a square of about 80g with a teaspoon of honey lands somewhere around 25g. Cool cooked rice quickly, keep the squares in the fridge and eat them within a day.

How much should you eat, and when?

Start with a normal, familiar meal two to three hours before you head out. Our guide on what to eat before a run has simple ideas. Then, on the run itself, begin fuelling around 30 to 45 minutes in rather than waiting until you feel empty, and keep taking small bites every 20 to 30 minutes.

Here is what that could look like on a two-hour easy long run, aiming for roughly 40g of carbohydrate an hour. Take a few sips of water with each snack.

That adds up to roughly 70 to 90g over two hours. If it feels like too much at first, drop a snack and build up over a few weeks.

How do you carry real food on a run?

• Use a running belt or vest. Pockets keep snacks close so you can eat without stopping.
• Pre-portion everything. Put each snack in its own small bag so you are not counting sweets with cold fingers.
• Wrap the sticky stuff. Foil or baking paper keeps rice squares and dates from sticking to everything else.
• Eat the banana early. Cut it in half, leave the skin on and eat it in the first hour before it bruises.
• Thin your honey. A soft flask of honey loosened with a little water is easier to take than a sticky spoonful.
• Plan a stash point. On a loop route, leave extra food and water at your car or front door.

How should you practise real food in training?

Your gut gets used to eating on the move, much like your legs get used to the distance. Treat every long run as a rehearsal.

• Try one new food per run, so you know what caused any trouble.
• Start on easy long runs, then test your favourites during a stretch at goal pace, when chewing is harder.
• Keep a quick note of what you ate, when, and how your stomach felt.
• Keep the meal before your run fairly low in fibre and fat.

If you are building toward a marathon, our marathon long run guide shows how to grow the distance week by week, and every one of those runs is a chance to dial in your fuel.

Should you mix real food and energy gels?

Mixing is common and often works well. A popular approach is real food early on, when the pace is easy and your stomach is settled, then gels later when the effort rises and chewing starts to feel like hard work. Some runners also keep gels for race day and race-pace sessions, and use cheaper real food on most training runs.

Whatever you choose, practise the exact combination before race day. Some events hand out jelly sweets or fruit at feed stations, but check your race information rather than relying on it.

What are the common mistakes with real food on long runs?

• Eating too much at once. Small, regular bites sit better than a big snack every hour.
• Picking fatty or high-fibre foods. Nut butters, seedy bars and big handfuls of dried fruit digest slowly and can upset your stomach mid-run.
• Forgetting to drink. Dense and dry foods need water to go down and digest.
• Waiting until you are flagging. Start early and keep going; it is hard to catch up once you are running on empty.
• Assuming all cola is full sugar. Many UK colas are now part-sweetened and carry less than half the sugar of a classic full-sugar cola, so check the label if you use it as fuel.
• Trying something new on race day. Stick to what you have practised.

Fuel is only half of a good long run. The other half is a plan that builds the distance sensibly. Edge Pro gives you a fully personalised plan across running, strength, HIIT and mobility, ready within 24 hours, with a real coach to message anytime, and it syncs with Strava, Garmin, Apple Health and Coros. Edge is a training app rather than a nutrition service, so for personalised fuelling advice a registered dietitian or sports nutritionist is the right person to ask. Join 20,000+ members and try Edge Pro with a 7-day free trial (a card is needed to start it).

If you manage a health condition such as diabetes, check with your GP or a registered dietitian before changing how you fuel your runs.

This article is general guidance, not medical advice. If you are new to exercise, returning from injury, or managing a health condition, speak to your GP before starting, and see a physio for any niggle that does not settle.