Education hub
Fuelling is a skill. Learn it here.
Thirteen short guides, eight activity playbooks and the journal, all about one thing: getting carbohydrates into a working body without upsetting it. Start with the basics, pick a line, build a plan, then train your gut before race day.
Guides
Start with the basics. Keep going.
Each guide is a short read with the numbers you need and nothing else. The first explains why a body working hard runs out of available fuel after about 45 minutes; the rest help you decide what to carry and when to take it.
Guide
Energy gel 101
Why your body runs short on stored fuel when you go hard or past 45 minutes, what a gel puts back, and the one-every-20–30-minutes rule.
Read the guideGuide
Roctane vs Original
Same carbohydrate base; Roctane adds up to three times the sodium and three times the amino acids. When the extra actually matters.
Read the guideGuide
Caffeinated vs non-caffeinated
Caffeine sharpens focus and dulls perceived effort, but it is not fuel. When to add it, how much, and when to leave it out.
Read the guideGuide
Energy vs hydration
Carbs keep muscles going; fluid and sodium keep the system working. How to tell which one you are short of, especially in heat.
Read the guideGuide
Eat or drink your fuel
Squeeze a packet in one go or sip it over time. Why athletes lean each way, and why many do both in a single race.
Read the guideGuide
Liquid vs traditional gels
Same formula, thinner texture. Where Liquid Energy earns its place: heat, transitions, sensitive stomachs and the first hour.
Read the guideGuide
Fast vs steady energy
A gel is absorbed within minutes and carries you about 20–30 minutes at effort. Time packets so you top up before you fade, not after.
Read the guideGuide
Choose the right gel
Original for everyday training, Liquid for hard or hot efforts, Roctane for the longest days. Match the line to the session.
Read the guideGuide
Marathon gel strategy
Hours × grams per hour ÷ carbs per gel. A 4-hour runner at 50 g/h needs roughly 9–10 gels, one every 20–30 minutes.
Read the guideGuide
Train your gut
Tolerance is trained like pace. Start 6–8 weeks out, add about 10 g of carbs per hour each week, and hold a week if your stomach objects.
Read the guideGuide
Gels vs real food
Real food wins for meals 1–3 hours before and for recovery after. Mid-effort, fibre, fat and protein slow digestion; that is gel territory.
Read the guideGuide
Gels vs sports drinks
Gels are concentrated carbs and need water; sports drinks are mostly fluid and electrolytes. Under an hour, drink. Past 90 minutes, do both.
Read the guideGuide
Flavour and caffeine chart
Every flavour across the three lines with its caffeine dose, 0 to 70 mg, so you can map your intake before you pack.
Read the guideThe method
Four steps from first packet to race plan.
This is the order we suggest. Each step points to the guides that cover it in detail.
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Learn the basics
Your body stores enough fuel for short, easy sessions, but going hard or past 45 minutes empties the tank. A gel replaces it with carbohydrates your gut can absorb while you move, roughly 120–240 calories an hour. Energy gel 101 covers it.
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Pick your line
Original for everyday training. Liquid Energy when it is hot or hard and you want something you can swallow without thinking. Roctane when the day is long and sweaty and you need more sodium and amino acids. Roctane vs Original and Choose the right gel settle it.
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Build a plan
Set a carbs-per-hour target (30–60 g for most people, 60–90 g with dual-source carbs and a trained gut), divide by the carbs in one packet, and schedule a gel every 20–30 minutes with water. The fuel calculator does the arithmetic.
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Train your gut
Practise the exact plan on long sessions for 6–8 weeks, adding about 10 g of carbs per hour each week and holding a week if symptoms appear. Nothing new on race day.
By activity
Fuel for what you actually do.
The same gels, different timing. Each playbook covers before, during and after, with the intervals that suit the sport.
By activity
Running
One gel every 20–30 minutes once you are out past an hour, and a soft flask of Liquid Energy for hot Mumbai mornings.
See the playbookBy activity
Cycling
Jersey-pocket fuel for Western Ghats climbs and long flat hauls: first gel at 20–30 minutes, then every 20–30 minutes, Roctane for the hard sections.
See the playbookBy activity
Marathon
Count your gels before the start, take one every 20–30 minutes, and lean on Roctane for the extra sodium and amino acids to keep the wall away.
See the playbookBy activity
Triathlon
Liquid Energy staged for T1 and T2, then Original or Roctane every 20–30 minutes on the bike and the run.
See the playbookBy activity
Hiking
A gel for the steep pitches and when energy drops, plus a frozen Liquid Energy that slowly melts into a cold drink on hot trails.
See the playbookBy activity
Strength training
Gels earn their place in long or high-intensity sessions when glycogen runs low. When a packet helps, and when it does not.
See the playbookBy activity
Swimming
Carbs before you get in and a gel between long or hard sets, at regular intervals, so energy stays level through the session.
See the playbookBy activity
Ski and snowboard
Cold raises energy demand. A gel every 20–30 minutes, kept in a pocket close to your body so it stays soft enough to squeeze.
See the playbookFrom the journal
Three to read this week.
Longer pieces for when you want the why behind the rule.
Journal
A beginner's guide to energy gels
What is in a packet, why it works within minutes, and why one serving lasts roughly 45 minutes.
Read the articleJournal
Race-day nutrition best practices
Breakfast 2–3 hours before, nothing new on the day, and a tested plan for fuel, fluid and caffeine.
Read the articleJournal
Training and racing in the heat
Heat training takes 1–2 weeks of daily 90-minute exposure, with most of the adaptation in the first 7–10 days. Essential reading for Indian summers.
Read the articleKnow what you need? Get the numbers.
Run the fuel calculator for a minute-by-minute plan, or go straight to the gels.