Here's What You Need to Know About Energy Drinks for Running

Energy drinks are one of the most convenient and effective ways for runners to fuel on the go, perfect for any distance from 10k to Ultra Marathon.

Favoured by many runners as their main fuel source, energy drinks contain easily digestible carbs for energy and often include electrolytes to aid hydration.

Fuel for Endurance

Running can be very physically demanding, no matter the distance, and requires a lot of energy to maintain peak performance. For this reason, when running for longer than an hour runners must keep fuelling throughout to sustain their energy levels.

Easy to prepare and transport, energy drinks provide the perfect base for runners to build their fuelling strategy.

Nutritional Breakdown

Carbs:

Energy drinks utilise carbs as a source of energy, often using carbs from multiple sources to speed up absorption, for example a maltodextrin & fructose blend.

For exercise lasting over 60 minutes most runners should aim to consume somewhere between 30-90g carbs per hour. Energy drinks generally contain between 20-90g carbs per serving depending on the brand.

If opting for an energy drink with 30g carbs per serving then you could drink 2 serves in an hour to make up 60g carbs. Or you could combine one energy drink with other fuelling products like energy gels or energy bars to make up your hourly carb count.

Note: Consumption should be spread out across the 1hour period. Taking on too much at once is likely to cause you to crash as your body can’t keep up processing your fuel.

Electrolytes:

Electrolytes are crucial for maintaining proper hydration. Lots of (but not all) energy drinks contain electrolytes like sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium.

If your chosen drink does not contain electrolytes, then you should make sure to take a separate electrolyte replacement as drinking a carb based drink alone won’t be enough to keep you hydrated.

Caffeine:

Caffeine in sports nutrition can be quite a controversial subject. While some runner’s swear by caffeine for improving focus others find it can cause stomach upset and anxiety.

Caffeine is a stimulant and therefore won’t improve physical performance but can help with focus and alertness which can be useful during longer runs.

Timing and Consumption

For exercise over an hour in length, you will want to be fuelling from the start to ensure a balanced carbohydrate load during activity. 

Pre-loading by taking an energy drink before you start ensures you’re properly hydrated from the beginning and gives your body time to metabolize the carbohydrates you’re taking in to be used later before you start to crash. Ideally finish drinking the mix 1 hour before your activity.

You ideally want to consume 30-90 grams of carbs per hour, this can be in the form of your energy drink, energy gels, energy bars or energy chews, so how often you are taking your energy drink depends on the carbohydrate content and the rest of your fuelling strategy.

For example, OTE Super Carbs mixed with 500ml of water contains 80g of carbohydrate. So, 500 ml every hour would give you the required carbohydrate intake, or you could drink half 250 ml of the energy drink, giving you 40g of carbohydrates, and then combine with an energy gel with a carb content of 20-30g.

This way you can limit your liquid intake to avoid bloating or in colder weather but still get your ideal hourly carbohydrate intake.

Popular at XMiles

Tailwind

Tailwind Endurance Fuel is a perfectly balanced blend carbs and electrolytes to fuel your adventures, no matter the distance.

• Light, Clean Taste- 8 to choose from.
• Packed with electrolytes for optimal hydration.
• Easy on the gut.
• No fake stuff.
• Gluten free, vegan, dairy and soy free.

Active Root 

The Active Root Sports Drink Mix is a revolutionary formula designed to fuel your body with sustained energy, optimal hydration, and powerful natural ingredients.

• Sustained energy from a slow-burning cane sugar blend.
• Powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits from ginger.
• Optimal hydration and electrolyte replenishment with sea salt
• All-natural, clean ingredients with no artificial additives
• Available in 4 refreshing flavours.

Mountain Fuel 

Xtreme Energy Fuel is designed to provide you with extreme amounts of energy, over the short and long term, so you can hit your goals by improving performance.

• Amino acids in every serving to aid recovery on the go.
• 12 Vitamins & Minerals for hydration
• Blend of simple and complex carbs for sustained energy release.
• Vegan & Gluten-free

Precision Fuel & Hydration

The Carb & Electrolyte Drink Mix from PF&H is the ultimate fuelling solution for runners engaging in high intensity workouts. Formulated to provide energy and hydration throughout your run.

• Replenishes fluids and sodium lost through sweat, reducing the risk of dehydration.
• Provides 30g Carbs per serving.
• Mild, neutral 'Original' flavour to prevent flavour fatigue.
• All-natural ingredients with no artificial additives

Personalization and Experimentation

The best way to find out which energy drink is right for you is experimentation. By trying as many options as possible during your training, you will be able to personalise your perfect nutrition plan and avoid any bad reactions on race day.

You might like to keep a training log and track the different products you’ve tried, making a note of the effects of each drink. This will help you to compare different products and make an informed decision based on the results.

You may also like to use multiple different gels during a run, also keep note of how these interact with each other.

Takeaway

To use energy drinks effectively and see the best results, always make sure to follow the product instructions, consume at the appropriate intervals, and never exceed the recommended serving.

It’s also important not to skip proper nutrition and hydration. Energy drinks are a great source of energy during a race or training sessions but are not a substitute for proper nutrition and hydration, which are both crucial for achieving optimal performance.

Related articles

A Runner's Guide to Using Energy Drinks

Top 5 Energy Drinks for Running