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 fuel belts
Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157
fuel belts Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2004 11:24 am 
I notice a lot of runners on my local trails carrying fuel belts. I've never tried them, but they always looked to me like they'd be annoying to run with. For those that use them, what do you see as the advantage of a fuel belt over a water bottle and some gel or a power bar? Do you wear them during races too?
Rustyboy

LA, CA
Joined: 14 Dec 2004
Posts: 225
Re: fuel belts Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2004 1:23 pm 
I've only used my water belt on trail runs that are an hour +, where I don't think I'll be running into water fountains anytime soon.

I have a "cheap" version ($25 for a 16 oz bottle), so it does bounce a bit and make an annoying sloshing sound, but being able to rehydrate more than makes up for it!
Bricks
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
Chicago
Joined: 09 Dec 2004
Posts: 222
Re: fuel belts Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2004 1:25 pm 
i'm one of those runners that can't stand anything 'bouncing' so i hate fuel belts. even keys in a pocket drives me nuts. i carry anything i need in my hands, which is only really bad when i need a few gu's on really long runs.
sfird
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
Long Island, NY
Joined: 10 Dec 2004
Posts: 80
Re: fuel belts Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2004 1:44 pm 
I've never tried a fuel belt but I also don't like things bouncing around. On my long runs I wear RaceReady shorts which hold four gel's and I put water out on the route. This works for me and simulates the marathon experience.
BGibbsLMT

Southington, CT
Joined: 12 Dec 2004
Posts: 68
Re: fuel belts Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2004 8:26 pm 
I use a camelbak 1.5 liter model. If you squeeze the air out when you fill it it doesn't make much noise or bounce around. On long runs, 2+ hours, I duct tape gels to the straps or tape a stuff sack to the strap if I want to carry more than just gel.
Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157
pockets? Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2004 11:09 pm 
Speaking of attachig things with duct tape, why don't more running shorts have pockets? Pocketed shorts seem to be very rare. Are people really afraid that two extra ounces of nylon are going to slow them down?
BGibbsLMT

Southington, CT
Joined: 12 Dec 2004
Posts: 68
Re: pockets? Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2004 8:12 pm 
It's not the pockets themselves but the stuff in them bouncing around that's a bother.
Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157
Re: pockets? Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2004 8:51 pm 
I've never had much problem with pocket-sized stuff in my pockets. Gu's, gloves, sunglasses, or tissues are all I ever put in mine. It sure beats carrying them in my hand for miles and miles.
mfox

South Orange, New Jersey
Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 367
Re: fuel belts Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2004 9:58 pm 
I have two different models of the camelbak that I've used on my long runs. One type straps around my waist and holds about 45 ounces, I think. If I cinch it real tight it won't bounce...and it isn't really that uncomfortable when cinched tiight. But I prefer my other one because it fits on my back (like a napsack) and holds about 70 onces (great for 18+ mile runs when it's warm out and I need a lot of fluid replacement. It doesn't bounce either..even without cinching it tight. Instead, it slides a little...or I should say my shoulders slide under it as my arms move back and forth. Because of this, it caused my Nike DryFit shirt to fray a bit where the should straps rubbed against my shirt. So, I just make sure I always wear that same shirt when I run with my camelbak so I don't ruin any other shirts.

I usually rely on the water/gatorade provided at water stops during a race rather than carry my own. But I recently got a Fuel Belt and used it when I ran the NYC marathon. It has six 7 once bottles. It didn't bounce at all but I had a little trouble putting the bottles back in their elastic strap holders. A couple times the bottle slipped all the way through and fell to the ground. What helped was moving empty bottles to the back and bringing fulll bottles fromo the back to the front. Then I didn't have to keep reach back behind me to put the bottle back after each sip.

For training runs I prefer the camelbak. Though it's more bulky I was able to get used to it and I really like having the hose right near my mouth where I can grab it with my hand put it up to my mouth with no fumbling and very little wasted motion or interruption to my pace. You can keep the mouth piece in your mouth (clenched in your teeth) and take sips between breaths and the release it when you've had enough.
Rickshaw
Runworks 2005 5M Racer
San Francisco, CA
Joined: 26 Nov 2004
Posts: 1157
dexterity: 0 Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2004 11:16 am 
Hmm, maybe I should check out the Camelbak, it sounds pretty good.

I'm impressed you were able to use a fuel belt with those little bottle during a marathon. My dexterity score always goes to zero by the late miles. In the marathon I did last October, I was wearing two shirts due to the cold, but decided I wanted to peel one off at about mile 20. But I simply couldn't. My arms ached, my brain lagged, and I just couldn't pull the shirt up and over my head. Trying to fiddle with little plastic bottles seems like it would be even tougher.
BGibbsLMT

Southington, CT
Joined: 12 Dec 2004
Posts: 68
Re: dexterity: 0 Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2004 8:33 pm 
Back pack style hydro packs are also good for winter running because you cantake off your gloves and hook them on the shoulder straps or carry an extra shirt or light jacket tucked in the little bungee cords on the back.
mfox

South Orange, New Jersey
Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 367
Re: dexterity: 0 Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2004 10:17 pm 
Well, I can't say that I've ever been that exhuasted during the final leg of a marathon (usually just my feet/egs/hips are aching). I tried the fuel belt for the first time in my last marathon and usually prefer not to carry anything and just rely on what's available at the water stops. But, I feel energy drinkI used during my long runs allows me to perform much better than the water and gatorade that's provided at a race. So I decided to take six 7 once bottles of Accelerade with me in the marathon with the hope of it helpng me PR. Unfortunately, I had other problems (plantar fasciitis) that prevented me for reaching my goal.

Of course, if I were one of the elite athletes (hey...we can dream can't we) I wouldn't carry anything, and instead I would have my energy drink bottles waiting for me at strategic locations along the course.

By the way, I don't think I've ever seen any of the front runners in a marathon use any gels. Am I missing something, or are they just relying on their energy drinks? I may experiement with using just my camel bak with my energy drink and no gells when I get to doing long runs again.
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