Napkin
25 g × 4:00 × 60 g/hr
About 240 g. That is 10 packets of 25 g, plus one spare. Or 6 packets of 40 g, plus one spare. Mix in the bottle counts toward the same total.
Homework. It assumes 60 g/hr sits. It does not know today's conditions.
Marathon gels
This math is a lot of work. And it still isn't your plan.
A gel is not a unit. Grams × hours × a spare is the honest napkin version. It still ignores heat, sweat, pace, gut, and the mix already in your bottle.
Fuelstate
A pack list for that run.
Fuelstate runs the same job on the products you already carry, plus pace, duration, and conditions. Not a blog's 8-gel default.
Free shows carb targets and product names. Pro adds pack quantities, a timeline, and live cues.
Why the default goes short
An 8-gel default can leave you short.
Eight 22 g gels are about 176 g. A 4:00 at 60 g/hr, if that already sits on long runs, is about 240 g.
Carbohydrate, grams
8 × 22 g default
~64 g short
4:00 at 60 g/hr
That default is more than two 25 g packets short, before a spare. Mix already in the bottle counts toward the same total. Heat, humidity, and a gut that only holds 30 g/hr are not on the napkin. Treat 60 g/hr as a starting picture, not a prescription.
Same 4:00 runner
Fuelstate maps your kit onto that run.
The 8-gel default does not know your products or that day. This does.
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01
Run and kit
Pace, duration, conditions, and the products you already have.
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02
Plan
Those products get attached to the run. How many to pack, and when they land.
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03
Cues
Phone, Watch, or headphones call the next packet so you are not doing grams at mile 18. Watch is a connected iPhone and Watch setup, not phone-free.
Race morning is late to meet a new packet. Drink to thirst.
Free shows targets and product names. Pro adds pack quantities, a timeline, and live cues.
This is not medical advice or a prescription. If you have a medical condition, take medication, are pregnant, or have a history of GI disease or disordered eating, talk to a qualified professional first.