Hi,

I’m giving you an assignment. Right now, go watch the New York City Marathon women’s finish. When Jess McClain sprints to become the first American on the podium at NYC in almost a decade, scream with joy (literally) and then run directly through a brick wall (metaphorically I’m guessing).

What Jess did at NYC will go down in the sports history books. Most of the post-race coverage focuses on her mindset or training. That’s old news. So today, I want to focus on the most important information of all: how she consumes gels.

Ok ok, I get that it’s not the most important information. It’s really interesting though! And I think it unlocks a key to high-carb fueling that many athletes miss.

On the Nobody Asked Us podcast, Jess talked about how she fuels. “I know how good I feel if I get fuel in. I honestly think that’s why I was able to run so well in Boston [where she ran 2:20] and New York.”

Love it! The high-carb revolution is behind the breakthroughs we are seeing in endurance sports. But also, Jess, PLEASE GIVE US YOUR SECRETS. 

“I try to take the gels past my palette.”

She cited this method as helping her avoid flavor fatigue and allowing her to take the gels in a second or two.

She continued to divulge her secrets: “I honestly shot the gels back as fast as I could.”

That’s the good stuff. That’s what we call “slurping” gels. 

It’s a somewhat off-putting term for a simple process. When you take a gel, don’t be precious about it like you’re training to become a gel sommelier. I don’t want any swirls, savors, or sniffs. Instead, open the gel up and follow these steps:

  • Squeeze the contents of the gel toward the back end of your tongue, past the sweet receptors at the front of the tongue
  • Swallow rapidly, more like it’s a drink shot than spoon of melted ice cream
  • And that’s the way you do it
  • It’s the gel in the gut

“Slurping” was my solution to the problem I had in my first 100k. I was feeling amazing, then I tried to take a gel the old-fashioned way, and I upchucked it. I’ll never forget the sadness I felt as I went from the highest high to the lowest low as I watched my race end in the bushes.

As I processed the experience, I realized I needed to think more about the method of gel intake for athletes I coach, rather than just focusing on carb numbers. The high-carb revolution doesn’t help if the carbs end up on the side of the road or trail.

Slurping helps prevent that rejection since it mostly bypasses taste and texture receptors. Imagine the gel is moonshine, and you’ll get the idea. Ease into it gently at first, and practice it in training until you know exactly what works for you.

When it comes to coaching, I don’t have answers, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career of overthinking simple concepts. Skills that make me a nightmare for liquidy glucose:fructose formulations. 

I share the gospel of the slurp. Now, go forth and prosper with the slurp bounty.

My favorite slurpable gels:

Warning: If you try to do this with a cold Maurten gel, you might choke. It’s similar to the reason you don’t want to take a shot of chunky grape jelly.

- David from The Feed.