A Fueling Plan Built Specifically for the Auckland Marathon

Every aid station on the course, what it serves, and the exact minute you reach it based on your goal time. Then a fueling plan built on this exact course, so every gel is timed to avoid the hills and where there is water to wash it down so you never hit the wall in the last 10 km.

Build my Auckland plan Start with the course ↓

Barfoot & Thompson Runaway Auckland Marathon

Sunday 1 November 2026 · 42.195 km

Water + PURE Electrolyte 13

Elevation profile drag along the profile to scrub

42.195 km ▲ 665 ft gain ▼ 668 ft loss +86 ft high -33 ft low

Aid tables from the official 2026 Auckland Marathon course map, checked 4 Oct 2026. Auckland publishes kilometres; miles are converted. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Built for your exact course

How a Auckland plan starts

This plan was built for a runner looking to finish in 3:48 who needs 81 g of carbs per hour for their fitness level. Get the full course built to your goal and fueling needs here →

10:09No table here · km 1.7 (water in hand)One 25 g gel, your own
20:22Winscombe · km 4One 25 g gel, your own
30:44Dominion · km 8One 25 g gel, your own
9 more feeds to the finish, in your plan

Build My Full Plan

Why the course changes the plan

Why you need to adapt your fueling plan to the specifics of the course

Most fueling plans are generic: take a gel every 30 minutes, wash it down with water and drink your carb beverage in between.

But, what if your planned time to take a gel comes right in the middle of a hill? What if there’s no aid station close by to grab water from?

Often, where each gel goes on the course matters as much as how many you take

It’s these small, often ignored parts of executing a fueling plan that trip runners up and have them hitting the wall or slowing down because of an upset stomach, despite having a well-rehearsed fueling plan heading into the race.

things go wrong when you don’t account for the course in your fueling plan

1A planned gel with no water

You plan a gel at 60 minutes, but the next water station isn’t for another 15. That means you either have to wait, take it without water and have it sit, or take it with your carb beverage and take in too much sugar for your stomach to process.

2You miss a table

Auckland has 13 aid stations and no gel at any of them. The race names water and PURE Electrolyte Hydration, so the cup is the only carbohydrate on the course, and the longest gap between tables, 3.1 miles from mile 7.5 to 10.6, takes in the climb over the Harbour Bridge. Without a plan you either double up later and pay for it, or run the second half short.

3Your plan calls for a gel in the middle of a hill

As intensity increases, your stomach’s ability to process carbohydrates slows down. Couple that with breathing harder up a hill and you’ve got the perfect storm for a gel that can’t be digested fast enough.

4Miscalculating the fluid on the course

The distance between aid stations, the concentration of the carbohydrate drink, and how much you’re actually able to swallow all change how much glycogen you’re actually replacing every hour. Your plan calls for 60 g per hour, but if you only hit 40 g you’ll run out of glycogen before you finish.

So your fueling plan needs to start with one question, and everything after it follows.

Option 1

I am going to use what is on the course

Water at 13 tables, PURE at all of them.

What that adds up to, and what you still carry.

Fuel off the course ↓

Option 2

I am going to carry all of my own fuel

Your products, your timing, nothing riding on a cup you might miss.

What the course still decides for you.

Fuel from your own kit ↓

Option 1

If you are going to use what the course hands you

Auckland is a good course to do this on. Water and PURE Electrolyte Hydration come at all 13 tables. Below is where you’ll find each station.

Water + PURE Electrolyte Feed in the 3:45 plan, on a table Feed with no table, water carried

Elevation is stretched to emphasis location. The numbered dots are your recommended fueling options for your 3:45 goal.

Source: the official Auckland Marathon, checked 4 Oct 2026

1What is on the course

What is provided at Auckland, and where

Water is provided at all 13 tables, from km 4 to km 40.

PURE Electrolyte Hydration at every table, so there is carbohydrate in the cup each time you drink. Auckland hands out no gels.

The course climbs 665 ft in total, and 2 climbs are steeper than 3%: km 2.4 to km 2.8, 58 ft and km 14.5 to km 15.3, 87 ft. CarbRate keeps your feeds off those climbs and on the water tables either side.

The Auckland course, table by table

Water stations

every table, km 4 to km 40

PURE Electrolyte

every table from km 4 to km 40

2Your goal time

Every table, and the minute you reach it

Put your goal time in and when you arrive at every aid station on the course recalculates. This is the list to put in your pocket, and the one CarbRate builds your feeds on.

Your goal time

Arrival times assume even pace, which is a rough guide on a course with this much climbing. At 3:45 you reach the first table at 0:21.

Build my Auckland plan

All 13 tables at 3:45

km	mi	Table	What’s at the table	You arrive
4	2.5	Winscombe	waterPURE Electrolyte	0:21
8	5.0	Dominion	waterPURE Electrolyte	0:43
12	7.5	Akoranga	waterPURE Electrolyte	1:04
17	10.6	Point Erin	waterPURE Electrolyte	1:31
20	12.4	Jellicoe	waterPURE Electrolyte	1:47
23	14.3	Quay	waterPURE Electrolyte	2:03
26	16.2	Ngapipi	waterPURE Electrolyte	2:19
29	18.0	Mission Bay	waterPURE Electrolyte	2:35
31	19.3	Kohimarama	waterPURE Electrolyte	2:45
32	19.9	Kohimarama	waterPURE Electrolyte	2:51
34	21.1	Mission Bay	waterPURE Electrolyte	3:01
37	23.0	Ngapipi	waterPURE Electrolyte	3:17
40	24.9	Quay	waterPURE Electrolyte	3:33

3The course drink

How much glycogen does the PURE on the course provide

PURE Electrolyte Hydration is 5 g of carbohydrate per 100 mL. A typical cup contains about 200 mL.

But, you likely won’t actually drink that much. Volunteers typically fill cups about half way to prevent water from splashing and you’ll lose a good amount as you run with the cup and what spills as you drink.

On average, you can expect a net intake of about 60 to 90 mL per cup

This is the part most runners don’t account for in their fueling plan, so CarbRate builds it directly in your plan.

We’ll tell you exactly how many cups at each aid station to drink based on how much glycogen you need and how much you’ll be able to supplement with gels.

What the drink is worth per hour

Glycogen left

200 → 60–90 mL

A cup holds about 200 mL. Half-filled, spilled and sipped on the run, 60 to 90 mL of it actually goes down.

Glycogen left across the race, a plan built on full cups against what a cup actually delivers. Illustrative, not your plan.

4What you carry

How many gels you still carry

After you’ve calculated how much of the course drink you’ll likely take at each aid station, you’ll need to fill in your glycogen needs with gels along the course.

A typical gel contains about 25 g of carbohydrate, so use the chart here to calculate how many you’ll need.

If you’ve practiced fueling in training, you can target 75 to 90 g per hour. If you haven’t trained your stomach, err closer to 60 g per hour.

Here’s more on how to practice your fueling schedule to maximize your gut tolerance.

25 g gels to carry, after the course

Finish	60 g/h	75 g/h	90 g/h
3:45 your goal
3:00	5to6	6to7	8to9
3:30	5to7	7to9	10to11
4:00	6to6	8to9	11to11
4:30	7to7	9to10	12to13
5:00	7to9	10to12	13to15

Finish

60 g/h

75 g/h

90 g/h

3:45 your goal