Comrades isn't won by the runner with the best legs. It's finished by the runner with the best fuelling plan. 87km on roads that pitch up and down through the KZN midlands, in unpredictable June weather, burns through glycogen in ways a normal marathon doesn't. Most first-timers DNF not from injury but because they bonked at 60km with no real plan for what to do next. This guide walks through the fuelling approach we use with our own team.
Why Comrades Nutrition Is Different From Standard Marathon Fuelling
A standard marathon runs 4 to 5 hours for most runners. Comrades runs 8 to 12 hours for most finishers. That extra duration changes everything about how you fuel.
Your glycogen stores hold maybe 90 minutes of running fuel. At marathon pace, you can top those up with gels every 30 to 45 minutes and finish before the wheels really fall off. At Comrades pace, for Comrades distance, you're relying on steady carb intake for 8 hours or more. Under-fuel by even 10% per hour and you'll crash somewhere between Drummond and the finish.
Weather compounds it. Comrades sits at the start of SA winter but the race can hit 28 degrees or drop to 12 with rain. Your fuelling plan has to work in both.
How Many Carbs Per Hour Do You Need for Comrades?
The current research from endurance nutrition specialists points to 60 to 90g of carbs per hour for a sub-10-hour runner. For slower finishers running 11 to 12 hours, 40 to 60g per hour is more realistic because your digestion slows as the race progresses.
A practical target for most club runners: 60g of carbs per hour for the first 6 hours, then 45g per hour afterwards. Over an average 10-hour race that works out to roughly 540g of carbohydrate. That's a lot. You cannot hit that without planning.
The "drip-feed" approach most coaches recommend works best: take something small every 20 to 30 minutes rather than a big dose once an hour. Your gut handles small regular doses far better than big ones, especially later in the race when digestion is struggling.
How Many Energy Gels Do You Need for Comrades by Goal Time?
Plan for 9 to 14 gels across the full Comrades distance, scaled to your goal finishing time. That count assumes gels do roughly half your carb work, with the rest coming from a carb drink, Coke on course, and real food.
Here's the thing most marathon gel guides get wrong for Comrades: they do the maths on a 42km race. Comrades is 87 to 90km. You're fuelling for twice the marathon distance and twice the marathon time, so the gel count looks very different.
Work from your carb target, not a fixed number. Published research on ultra-marathon nutritional strategies backs the multi-source carb approach: using more than one type of carbohydrate lets your gut absorb more per hour than glucose alone, which is exactly why a mix of gels, a carb drink and Coke beats relying on gels alone. Most SA gels carry 20 to 25g of carbs each. A 32Gi Sports Gel sits around 20 to 22g and the sachet folds open one-handed. A SIS Beta Fuel gel packs 40g, so one of those counts as nearly two ordinary gels. Here's the rough split if gels cover about half your hourly carbs and a flask of Tailwind Endurance Fuel at 50g per serve covers the rest:
Sub-8-hour finishers: 9 to 10 standard gels. Higher carb tolerance, less time on feet, so a leaner gel count works.
9-hour finishers: 10 to 11 standard gels, roughly one every 50 minutes plus your drink and course nutrition.
10-hour finishers: 11 to 12 standard gels. This is where most club runners land. Pack a mix and rotate flavours.
11-hour finishers: 12 to 13 gels, but lean harder on liquid carbs and real food as digestion slows past 60km.
12-hour finishers: 13 to 14 gels spread thin, supplemented heavily with Coke, potatoes and a carb drink. Your gut won't want sweet gels for 12 straight hours.
Two practical notes. Swapping two of those standard gels for a 40g SIS Beta Fuel drops your total count while keeping the carbs the same, which means less to carry. And never carry the exact minimum. Pack two or three extra. Dropping a gel on the road or needing one more on a bad patch shouldn't end your race.
What to Eat the Week Before Comrades
Forget old-school pasta loading. The current approach is simpler and works better.
Monday to Wednesday: Eat normally. Don't change anything new in the final week.
Thursday and Friday: Lean into carbs at every meal. Rice, pasta, potato, bread, oats, fruit. Keep fat moderate, protein at normal levels. The goal is to top up muscle glycogen, not gain weight from overeating.
Saturday: Normal breakfast, carb-focused lunch (around 1pm), light dinner by 6pm. Don't go to bed bloated. Early night.
Sunday race morning: 3 hours before the start, eat what you've practised. Oats with honey. A bagel with peanut butter. Bananas and toast. Whatever worked in your longest training runs.
The one rule that matters: nothing new on race day. If you haven't tested it in training, it doesn't go in your stomach on Sunday.
Pre-Race Hydration and the 24 Hours Before the Gun
Start hydrating the day before, not the morning of the race. Saturday afternoon drink 500ml to 750ml of water with electrolytes. Saturday evening, another 500ml with dinner. Urinate before bed.
Sunday morning, sip 300 to 500ml of fluid in the two hours before the start, ideally with electrolytes. A 32Gi Hydrate tab or a SIS GO Hydro tab in water works well. Don't chug. Steady sips.
The over-hydration trap: drinking so much water pre-race that you dilute your sodium levels and set yourself up for hyponatremia later in the day. According to the Sports Science Institute of South Africa, endurance athletes should aim for around 80% replacement of sweat losses during racing, not 100%. That's why electrolyte tabs matter more than bottles of plain water.
Your On-Course Fuelling Strategy
Comrades provides water, Coke, Energade, fruit, potatoes and sometimes bananas at tables. Don't rely only on what's offered. Carry your own plan.
What our team carries:
6 to 8 energy gels rotated between brands to avoid flavour fatigue. 32Gi Sports Gel is gentle on the gut. SIS Beta Fuel at 40g per gel carries more carbs per serving. High5 offers a middle option. We pack 2 of each.
2 to 3 packs of High5 Energy Gummies for when gels get boring and a chew is more palatable. Critical mental reset around the 55 to 65km mark.
A 500ml soft flask of Tailwind Endurance Fuel delivers 50g of carbs plus electrolytes in liquid form. Easier on the stomach than gels when you've already had four. Mix a second serve at Drummond.
DripDrop ORS sachets for fast-absorbing rehydration. One DripDrop sachet before the start, one at the midway mark, and one after the finish. Comrades is an emergency situation for the time and distance you'll be out there. DripDrop replenishes you faster than any standard sports drink because of its precise electrolyte-to-glucose ratio.
Cramp Assalt if you battle with cramp. One 32Gi Cramp Assalt 30 minutes before the start, then one every couple of hours through the race. Heavy sweaters and athletes with a history of cramping shouldn't wait for the first twinge.
Real food backup: two salted boiled potatoes wrapped in foil. Sounds odd, works brilliantly. Take one at 50km and one at 65km when sweet gels stop appealing.
A SIS Beta Fuel +Nootropics for the dark hours between 60 and 75km when you need a bigger dose of sustained energy and a mental boost to finish what you started.
Comrades Race-Day Hydration: What to Drink Every 5km
Drink to a plan, not to thirst, because by the time you feel thirsty at Comrades you're already behind. Aim for 400 to 750ml of fluid per hour depending on the heat, taken in steady sips at the tables roughly every 5km rather than big gulps that slosh.
Comrades stations sit about 1.5 to 2km apart, so you'll pass three or four between each 5km block. Use that rhythm. A simple table-by-table approach that works for most runners:
0 to 20km: Alternate water and Energade at the tables. Sip, don't drink the whole sachet. You're topping up, not catching up. Slip a 32Gi Hydrate tab into your own bottle if you want cleaner electrolytes than the on-course offering.
20 to 50km: Every second table, take electrolytes rather than plain water. This is where your sodium losses start to add up. A 500ml soft flask of Tailwind Endurance Fuel does double duty here, carrying both your fluid and 50g of carbs.
50 to 70km: Drop in your mid-race DripDrop ORS sachet. The precise electrolyte-to-glucose ratio absorbs faster than a standard sports drink, which matters when you've been out for six hours and dehydration is creeping in. Keep sipping at every table.
70km to finish: Switch to Coke diluted 50/50 with water at the tables. Small sips, every table. The caffeine and fast carbs are easier on a tired gut than another sweet gel.
The over-drinking trap cuts both ways. Forcing down a full cup at every single table for 12 hours can dilute your sodium and tip you into hyponatremia. Match your intake to the weather: more on a hot up-run, less on a cold wet one. Your urine at the halfway tables should be pale yellow, not clear and not dark.
How to Handle Cramping During Comrades
Comrades cramps usually hit between 50 and 70km, often on the hills. Causes vary: sodium depletion, glycogen depletion, muscle fatigue, or all three.
Prevention:
Take in electrolytes throughout, not just when you feel cramp coming. Use 32Gi Cramp Assalt proactively. Don't wait for the first twinge.
If cramp hits: stop, stretch gently, take a full dose of electrolytes, sip water, walk for 2 to 3 minutes. Trying to run through a serious cramp wrecks your gait and your pace for the next 10km.
Heavy sweaters and athletes with a history of cramping should carry Cramp Assalt from the start. One every 45 to 60 minutes is low-cost insurance against a forced walk break.
The Final 15km: When Everything Hurts
The last 15km is where most runners lose time. By Pietermaritzburg suburbs or Durban finishing stretches (depending on up or down year), your gut has been working for 8+ hours and your brain is begging you to stop.
What still works here:
Coke diluted 50/50 with water. The caffeine helps, the carbs are absorbed fast, and your gut handles it even late in the race. Take small sips at every water point.
One gel every 25 to 30 minutes. Don't stop fuelling just because you're close. Most late-race DNFs are from runners who stopped eating at 70km thinking they were done.
A last High5 gel with 2km to go for the final push. It won't digest in time to matter physiologically, but the psychological boost is real.
Post-Race Recovery Nutrition
Recovery starts in the finishing chute, not the next day. Within 30 minutes of crossing the line:
300 to 500ml of fluid with electrolytes. DripDrop ORS is faster-absorbing than regular sports drinks if you're badly dehydrated.
A combination of carbs and protein within the hour. Tailwind Recovery Mix is designed exactly for this window, delivering the 3:1 carb-to-protein ratio. R72 per serving.
A proper meal within 3 hours. Rice, protein, vegetables, salt on everything. Your appetite returns about 90 minutes after finishing.
The next 48 hours is where your body does real repair. Eat well. Hydrate. Sleep. Don't run.
We've built our competition day products collection around exactly this approach. Tested on ourselves, our family and our friends through multiple Comrades finishes. Browse what works or grab our running nutrition box to plan your fuelling before the entries close for 2026.