If you are in a hurry and just want to find out what the Best Carbohydrate Drink For Runners is, then we recommend Performance Lab® SPORT Carb as the best one.
Running, especially marathon running, is an aerobic exercise that expends lots of energy over a longer period of time.
That’s why you’ve probably read a lot about the importance of “carbing up” before a run.
Carbs are vital for runners, and one of the easiest ways to consume them is by finding the best carbohydrate drink to suit your needs.
Here are the top carbohydrate drinks we’ll be reviewing:
- Genius Carbohydrate Powder
- Post JYM Fast-Digesting Carb
- Vitargo Carbohydrate Powder
- NOW Sports Nutrition Carbo Gain Powder
- Performance Lab® SPORT Carb
Running the 5k, 10k, 15k, Half-Marathon, 25k and Marathon
If you’re a runner, chances are you’ve run a variety of different races over the years.
The most commonly run race is the 10k, but there are lots of other options.
Let’s first take a look at the most common races, how many miles they actually include and their standard completion times.
- 5k – 3.1 miles – 25-35 minutes
- 10k – 6.2 miles – 40-70 minutes
- 15k – 9.3 miles – 60-95 minutes
- Half-Marathon – 13.1 miles – 2-4 hours
- 25k – 15.53 miles – 2.5-4.5 hours
- Marathon – 26.2 miles – 4.5-6.5 hours
You can see even the shortest run generally takes at least half an hour, which moves your run from anaerobic exercise (like sprinting) into aerobic exercise.
To perform well in aerobic exercises, you need carbs.
Why Carbs Are So Important
Aerobic exercises like long-distance running require a constant source of sustained energy.
The body needs energy for everything it does, and when you’re using it to do demanding, calorie- and energy-burning exercise for hours at a time, it’s going to need more and more energy to keep going.
Specifically, it needs glycogen, which comes from carbs and is found in the liver and muscles.
During prolonged periods of exercise, your body burns up all of its glycogen stores, and if those stores aren’t maintained or replenished, your brain and body will eventually revolt, refusing to take another step.
This is called glycogen depletion, although most runners simply refer to it as “hitting the wall” or “bonking.”
The only way to avoid bonking is to ensure your body has enough stored glycogen available throughout your entire run.
Ways to Ingest Enough Carbs for Running
Getting enough carbs to sustain you for an entire run, especially if you’re running a 25k, half-marathon or marathon, can be difficult.
Here are some suggestions on how to accomplish it.
Carb Up Ahead of Time
First and foremost, don’t wait until the day of your big run to try to ingest all your needed carbs.
Start carbing up several days in advance so your body has time to store the excess carbs and produce the glycogen molecules needed for the big day.
There are six-day, three-day and single-day ways of doing this, and it’s up to you to find which one works best for you.
Bring Carb-Heavy Snacks
If possible, bring a few lightweight, easy-to-store snacks with you on your run, and make sure they’re heavy in carbs.
Fruit works great for this. Fresh is fine, but dried is easier to carry while running. Gummy bears, marshmallows, pretzels and high-carb energy bars are also good options.
Glucose Tablets
You can buy glucose tablets at just about any pharmacy or mass merchandiser that includes a pharmacy section.
They’re made for diabetics in case of sudden blood sugar drops, but they can also be quite convenient if you feel yourself crashing mid-marathon.
These shouldn’t be used regularly, though, since they can cause trouble with a healthy person’s blood sugar if taken too often.
Carbohydrate Drinks
Personally, I prefer carb drinks over glucose tablets. I feel like they’re safer, and they also help with hydration.
I never run a race without a bottle or two of the best carbohydrate drink I can find close at hand.
Carb drinks give you that important initial energy boost to get you going; they sustain you throughout your run, and they can help you quickly replenish your glycogen stores after your run is finished.
Plus, I, personally, don’t like to have a lot of food in my stomach while I’m running.
Carb drinks provide the carbs, the calories and the water without filling my stomach with lots of bread, noodles and starchy veggies.
Five of the Best Carbohydrate Drink Options
Genius Carbohydrate Powder
If you’ve been avoiding carb drinks because you notice and dislike that spiking blood sugar feeling you get upon first drinking them, you may want to try Genius Carbohydrate Powder.
Instead of using one of the common bases like maltodextrin or dextrose, Genius’ base is made from a mixture of carbs the company calls “Carb10.”
The carbs have been carefully selected and combined so that they have little to no effect on blood sugar levels and glycemic indexes.
In short, when you drink it, you get the energy without the insulin spike. It’s also a really good source of sustainable energy and post-run recovery.
As for the downsides, it’s expensive, and despite the company’s claims, it certainly isn’t unflavored.
The taste isn’t great and needs to be mixed with something strong to cover it.
It’s also easy to gain weight while using this product, which can be good or bad, depending on your circumstances.
The muscle gains are quickly noticeable, though, so that’s a plus. It also doesn’t do much in the way of a large initial energy boost.
Pros:
- Quickly adds weight and muscle.
- A great source of sustainable energy and recovery.
- No blood sugar spikes.
Cons:
- Expensive.
- Quickly causes weight gain.
- Not a good source of fast, “get up and go” energy.
- Taste is unpleasant.
Post JYM Fast-Digesting Carb
In terms of taste, the Post JYM Fast-Digesting Carb is by far my favorite. The lemonade flavor mixed with water and poured over ice tastes like something you’d buy at a “fresh-squeezed” stand on a hot day.
I love it.
It’s also affordable, which is always a good thing. It helped me sustain my energy somewhat, but it’s much more impressive as a pre- and post-run drink.
The dextrose base is perfect for the short, powerful bursts of energy needed for anaerobic exercise, but it isn’t ideal for longer aerobic runs or routines.
Still, it sustained me for a little while, which was longer than I expected from dextrose.
It’s excellent for recovery though, especially if you suffer from non-diabetic drops in blood sugar after intense exercise.
It can shoot those levels right back up where they need to be.
Pros:
- Very affordable.
- Has a good effect on post-run blood sugar levels.
- Excellent for pre- and post-run.
- Tastes absolutely delicious.
Cons:
- Doesn’t sustain energy levels through aerobic exercises.
- Can spike blood sugar levels pre-run if you’re already at peak levels.
- Often leaves residue in cups.
Vitargo Carbohydrate Powder
The Vitargo Carbohydrate Powder is a little pricey but isn’t the most expensive powder I’ve seen.
It provides a killer initial boost of energy, and it was absolutely amazing when used as a recovery drink after a long run, but I didn’t feel that it sustained me throughout the run as much as some of the others.
The recovery benefits, though, were so incredible that I thought it deserved a place on the list.
My recovery times using this drink were faster than I could’ve imagined, and it was fantastic for helping cut down on those post-run pains I usually get in my calves and hips.
It also helped me sleep like a baby. Initially, I just assumed I’d slept so well because I was exhausted, but after continued use, I found that my overall sleeping patterns began to improve.
I slept more deeply and woke up feeling more refreshed. It doesn’t taste bad either, but I did notice more gas while using it.
Pros:
- Unexpected and welcome benefits to my sleeping habits.
- Top-of-the-line recovery benefits.
- Doesn’t taste bad.
- Powerful initial boost of energy.
Cons:
- Doesn’t sustain energy levels over the long haul.
- Causes excess gas.
- Somewhat expensive.
- Doesn’t mix well; very clumpy.
NOW Sports Nutrition Carbo Gain Powder
Aside from maybe karbolyn, maltodextrin is the best carb base I’ve found for long distance running.
Unlike dextrose, it doesn’t pump out everything at once, giving you a huge initial boost and nothing sustainable.
It’s made of complex carbs, so it takes longer to break down. When you’re doing something anaerobic like weightlifting, this is a disadvantage, but it’s perfect for running.
NOW Sports Nutrition Carbo Gain Powder uses maltodextrin, which is why I liked it for my long runs. It sustained me a long time, a couple of hours at least, before I started flagging.
As for downsides, I don’t love the taste, and it caused some gastrointestinal issues for a few of my friends.
They weren’t serious issues, just some bloating, excess gas and other minor issues, but it’s something to consider, especially if you’re prone to stomach issues anyway.
For my friends, these issues went away in a week or two. It also causes weight gain – some muscle, some not – which can be a benefit or a disadvantage depending on your situation.
Pros:
- Provides a couple hours of sustained energy.
- Can quickly help you add both weight and muscle mass.
- Seems to provide a bit of a mental boost.
- Affordable.
Cons:
- Can quickly add weight.
- Stomach issues can arise, especially during the first week.
- Unappealing taste.
Performance Lab® SPORT Carb
When it comes to an all-around good carb drink that provides a good initial burst of energy, a decent amount of sustained energy and can also be used as a recovery drink, Performance Lab® SPORT Carb pretty much steals the show.
I think it’s because of the karbolyn base, which is quickly digested and moves almost immediately to the blood to be used for energy.
There are no harmful additives either.
This is truly an all-natural product that uses ingredients like Himalayan pink salt and coconut sugar to provide what the company claims is “2+ hours of stimulant-free muscle energy.”
In truth, I found it to be more like four hours. I was able to finish my half marathon with relative ease, and I still felt pretty good afterwards.
That’s a pretty unbeatable argument in favor of this product for me. It’s pricey; that’s the downside.
Still, for that kind of lasting energy and a relief of some of my everyday aches and pains, it was worth it for me.
Pros:
- Provided me with over four hours of sustained energy.
- Cut back on some of my everyday aches.
- Can work well before, during and after a run.
- All-natural ingredients; stimulant free.
Cons:
- Pricey, and gets more expensive the fewer bottles you buy at one time.
The Best Carbohydrate Drink for Runners Overall
Even though I was fond of all of these, picking the best carbohydrate drink for my running routines wasn’t even a question for me. It was Performance Lab® SPORT Carb all the way.
The mixture of all-natural, stimulant-free ingredients and the karbolyn base provided me with a sustainable energy source that lasted hours beyond what the other options could give me.
When you’re running long distances, sustained energy is more important than initial energy.
While this might not have been my choice for sprinting, there was no contest for distance running.
I also felt fewer aches and pains – just the normal stuff I’ve grown accustomed to suffering from over the years – when I was using this drink.
That’s why it was my number one choice.
