Running

Hi - i have the Huel ready to drink meal and i wondered if these were the right Huel to take post running?If not perhaps somebody could suggest the best thing to take?thankyou and stay safe

Hello - there is a guide article here that should be of help to you

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I do marathon training and I donā€™t consider Huel to be a post exercise drink. I treat Huel like I would a meal. After a long run you tend to just need a glass of squash to cover electrolytes maybe a beer if you fancy a treat.

I find it works really well before a run, I tend to eat two hours before I do a long run, during the week this tends to be a two scoops of Huel with water. After the run I tend to have something with more sugar then Huel just to get myself back together again.

The only thing to be careful of with Huel and running is that your stomach has adjusted to drinking it. Running puts a lot of pressure on my stomach and digestion in general, so I try to keep things similar day to day so I donā€™t get ā€œsurprisedā€ on a run.

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Also, Iā€™m not an expert on Huel or Running. I just do both, so got excited and thought Iā€™d talk about my experience.

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Ok thanks - so i go for a run before breakfast - i then come back and having a huel complete meal about 20 mins post run - when i say run - it varies between 2-6miles so not in the marathon league training! -

Thanks very much - will take a look !!

After my rollerblading sessions, if I drink a beer it hits veeery hard

Had a year off in 2019 but prior to that Iā€™ve run a bunch of marathons and an ultra whilst fueled by Huel.

Iā€™ve never believed in carb loading or trying to replenish calories spent mid run. I also canā€™t stand gels because of what they do to my stomach and the energy crash when they wear off - I just try to intake calories as Iā€™m hungry in the same way I drink water as I get thirsty.

Huel has always been ā€˜just foodā€™ to me. Iā€™ve drank it before races, during races, and of course afterwards and havenā€™t ever noticed a difference to my prior nutrition plans for running. Iā€™ve felt a lot better upping my miles considerably cycling this year and having Huel Black, but Iā€™m still thinking about how i feel about that before I go into any detail :wink:

Iā€™ll probably start carrying RTD with me if lockdown ever ends and events start up again.

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I do something similar, get up run when Iā€™m back have breakfast Huel. 2-6 miles is plenty! Only person you run against is yourself.

ā€˜What I talk about when I talk about runningā€™ by Haruki Murukami is a really inspirational book about building running into your life.

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@Freddietrueman just to add to the experiences here. Iā€™ve done a fair amount of running and always had a Huel before my morning runs. Found it did a really good job of filling me up, hydrating me and not giving me a stitch - I could have my Huel less than an hour before a long run. I often had Huel after a run too.

Iā€™ve had mixed results with carb loading, but replenishing calories is essential when youā€™re running long distances - surely for your marathons and the ultra you had snacks?

Thatā€™s all breathing. As you breath your diaphragm moves up and down, and if you breath in time with each step then the shockwave of your feet hitting the ground causes it to spasm, thatā€™s the stitch feeling.

If you breath in/out over three or four steps youā€™ll never get a stitch again no matter how far you run

Oh for sure, but not as much as Iā€™m burning whilst running. A bunch of friends think you need to replace calories spent on a 1:1 basis but itā€™s just not feasible to digest 1000kcal an hour and some of the worldā€™s fastest ultra runners (not me lol) have extremely restrictive nutrition strategies because a stomach full of gels can really slow you down

oh my goodness, that sounds like hell.

What was the ultra you did? Never done an ultra but have done a couple EnduranceLife trail events and did a 24 and a 27 mile option in Cornwall and South Devon.

It was the EnduranceLife Dorset as it happens. Only 44 miles so just a baby ultra by the proā€™s standards but Iā€™m proud of it. Supposed to be the most extreme of the CTS but I havenā€™t done any others to compare, the elevation graph is fun to look at pre-race though.

If you can run 27 miles you can definitely run an ultra. Might sound trite but you justā€¦ keep going. Itā€™s a bit harder to pace yourself but unless youā€™re trying to win most of it is psychological.

Youā€™ve got me looking at Devon and Cornwall considering signing up to the next events now

This is helpful. Thank you. Just not long had a Huel Black and I have an urge to run 10k. Was wondering if Iā€™d get a stitch. Guess weā€™ll find out!

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Haha if it was immediately after then you will! I usually have half before I leave for work and then let it ā€˜go downā€™ on the journey and then run when I arrive at work!

Let us know! Hope the 10k is enjoyable!