A Fueling Plan Built Specifically for the Emerald Isle 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 placed where there is water to wash it down and you never hit the wall in the last 6 miles.

Build my Emerald Isle plan Start with the course ↓
Emerald Isle Marathon
Saturday 24 October 2026 · 26.2 miles
Water only 8 Water + Gatorade 4
Map of the Emerald Isle Marathon course with the 12 aid tables marked
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Elevation profile drag along the profile to scrub
26.2 miles ▲ 165 ft gain ▼ 167 ft loss +11 ft high -12 ft low
0 mi 5 10 15 20 26.2 mi +11 ft 0 mi 10 20 26.2 mi +11 ft

Aid tables from the race director's aid station list, checked 26 Sep 2026. Emerald Isle publishes miles; kilometres are converted. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

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.

4

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

Emerald Isle has 12 water stops, but Gatorade is at only four of them, all from mile 16 on, and no gel at any. Nothing in the first 15 miles carries carbohydrate, and the two longest gaps, 3 miles each, run back to back from mile 8 to mile 14. Without a plan you reach mile 16 already short and try to make it up from a cup.

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 12 tables, Gatorade at 4 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

Emerald Isle is a good course to do this on. Water comes at all 12 tables with Gatorade Thirst Quencher at 4 of them. Below is where you’ll find each station.

Emerald Isle Marathon course strip Elevation relative to the start across 26.2 miles, the 12 aid tables marked by mile with what is at each, and the 12 feeds of the reference plan as numbered dots. +11 ft -12 ft 2.5 4 6.5 8 11 14 16 18 19 21 23 25 mi 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Water only Water + Gatorade 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 Emerald Isle Marathon race director, checked 26 Sep 2026

1What is on the course

What is provided at Emerald Isle, and where

Water is provided at all 12 tables, from mile 2.5 to mile 25.

Gatorade Thirst Quencher at 4 tables, miles 16, 18, 23 and 25. Emerald Isle hands out no gels.

The course climbs 165 ft in total and its steepest grade is 0.9%, so no hill is long enough to move a feed. That is why CarbRate places yours by the water tables instead.

The Emerald Isle course, table by table
Water stations
12

every table, mile 2.5 to mile 25

Gatorade
4

miles 16, 18, 23 and 25

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.

Arrival times assume even pace, which holds on a course this flat. At 3:45 you reach the first table at 0:21.
Build my Emerald Isle plan
All 12 tables at 3:45
mikmTableWhat’s at the tableYou arrive
2.54.0Water stationwater0:21
46.4Water stationwater0:34
6.510.5Water stationwater0:56
812.9Water stationwater1:09
1117.7Water stationwater1:34
1422.5Water stationwater2:00
1625.7Aid stationwaterGatorade2:17
1829.0Aid stationwaterGatorade2:34
1930.6Water stationwater2:43
2133.8Water stationwater3:00
2337.0Aid stationwaterGatorade3:17
2540.2Aid stationwaterGatorade3:35
3The course drink

How much glycogen does the Gatorade on the course provide

Gatorade Thirst Quencher is 6.1 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.

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you run out here Planned full cups Real 60–90 mL a cup full empty start finish
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
Finish60 g/h75 g/h90 g/h
3:45 your goal
3:004to66to88to10
3:305to77to109to12
4:005to98to1110to13
4:306to109to1311to15
5:006to119to1412to17
5The products

The 1 product Emerald Isle hands you

The course hands you one carbohydrate: Gatorade, at four tables from mile 16 on. Every gel in your race is one you carry, so practise with it before race day rather than on it.

On the Emerald Isle course
Sodium
270 mg / 20 oz
Caffeine
0 mg
Glucose : fructose
sucrose and dextrose

Get a Fueling Plan Built for Emerald Isle

CarbRate builds you a personalized race fueling plan from your own sweat rate, how your stomach handles gels, and then it coaches you through every feed, live, while you run.

It also customizes every gel and every drink placement to align with the actual elevation profile and aid station on your course.

Build my Emerald Isle plan
Option 2

If you are going to carry all of your own fuel

Even carrying your own fuel, the Emerald Isle course influences 4 things about your fueling plan: the timing of your gels, fluid intake, electrolytes, and caffeine.

1Timing

Set your feed times to Emerald Isle’s tables, unless you carry water

The common advice is to take your gels every 30 to 45 minutes, but that might not coincide with when you hit an aid station.

If you’re not carrying your own water with you, you’ll need those aid stations to wash down your gel.

For a 3:45 finisher, Emerald Isle’s tables arrive 21, 34, 56, 69 and 94 minutes in, then every 9 to 17 minutes.

So, you need to factor this into your fueling plan.

Enter your goal time in the input box below and we’ll show you when each aid station will arrive for your given pace.

If you want a fueling plan with all of these built in, CarbRate does this for you. Start building your plan here.

Feed times assume even pace, which holds on a course this flat. Everything below recalculates from 3:45.
Your watch against Emerald Isle’s tables
Gel alarms with water
3 of 11 alarms

For a 3:45 finisher, 3 of 11 twenty-minute alarms land within 2 minutes of a table. Highlighted tables take a gel in a 75 g an hour plan; the first goes down before mile 2.5 from a bottle you carry.

Gel alarm every 20 min Emerald Isle tables, 3:45 pace 4 6.5 8 11 14 16 19 21 23 25 start 1:00 2:00 3:00 finish
alarm within 2 min of wateralarm with no watertable taking a gelwater-only table
How many 25 g gels that is, carrying everything
Finish60 g/h75 g/h90 g/h
3:45 your goal91214
3:008911
3:3091113
4:00101215
4:30111417
5:00121518
2Water

A gel needs more water than a cup holds

Research has shown that the optimal carbohydrate concentration is 6 to 8 percent carbohydrate to water.

That means you’ll want about 100 mL (3.5 oz) of water for every 8 grams of carbohydrate you take in. A typical gel contains 25 g of carbohydrate, so you’ll want to aim for about 300 mL (10 oz) of water with each gel.

A good estimate is that each cup of water will provide you 100 mL (3.5 oz) of water. That’s because 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.

So, if you’re not carrying your own water, have your gel open and prepared to take at the start of the aid station so you can take it early with a cup of water and still have time to grab another cup or two.

What a gel needs and what a cup delivers
One 25 g gel needs
300 mL
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cupsempties fast, no sloshing8%concentration300 mL+2 cupsstill too thick to empty13%concentration200 mL+1 cupsits in your stomach25%concentration100 mL
3Sodium

The course drink covers some of your sodium, not all of it

Gatorade Thirst Quencher carries about 460 mg of sodium per litre (110 mg per 8 oz) as the maker mixes it, and it is at 4 of the 12 tables.

Aim for 600 mg of sodium per litre (150 mg per 8 oz) of what you drink. So the cups get you most of the way there and the rest has to come from your gel or your own bottle.

If you’re carrying your own water instead, that sodium has to come from your gel or your bottle. If it’s a hot day or you’re a salty sweater, you should aim for a bit more.

CarbRate can provide your exact amount based on your individual sweat rate and can help you adjust your fueling plan if the weather is hot.

Where the sodium is
Sodium per litre you drink
600 mg / L

Gatorade at the tables is under the target, so the rest of your sodium has to come from your gel or your own drink.

NaEmerald Isle’s tables460 mg / LNaAim for600 mg / LNaHot day, salty sweater800–1,000
the target for what you drinkthe hotter, saltier end, where CarbRate sets yours from your sweat rate
4Caffeine

Time your caffeine so it helps you when you need it the most

If you plan to use caffeine, it’s best to time it so the benefits kick in when you need them the most.

Caffeine peaks in your blood about an hour after you swallow it, then it slowly falls.

In that analysis of 4.2 million marathon results, the runners who slowed sharply began to do so just before mile 18.6 (30 km).

With a goal finish time of 3:45 that would place your caffeine at mile 16 (26 km).

This should provide you with peak benefits from the caffeine right when you need it the most.

When the caffeine is working
Caffeine table, flat course
mile 16
2 hours 17 minutes into a 3:45

Blood caffeine peaks about an hour after the dose, so a mile 16 gel peaks near mile 23 for a 3:45 finisher, after the wall has started. In 4.2 million marathon results, the late slowdown began near mile 18.6.

the wall starts mile 18.6 avg, 4.2 M results dose at the start mile 16 table · 2:17 peak ≈ mile 23 0 mi 5 10 15 20 26.2 mi peaknone
dose at the mile 16 tabledose at the startwhere the wall starts on averagecurve shape illustrative, timings from your goal time

Get a Fueling Plan Built for Emerald Isle

CarbRate builds you a personalized race fueling plan from your own sweat rate, how your stomach handles gels, and then it coaches you through every feed, live, while you run.

It also customizes every gel and every drink placement to align with the actual elevation profile and aid station on your course.

Build my Emerald Isle plan
Built for your exact course

What a finished Emerald Isle plan looks like

This is a real CarbRate plan rather than an example we wrote out: a 68 kg runner, 3:45 goal, trained stomach, drinking the Gatorade, 14 °C at the start. Adjusted finish 3:48. Target 81 g an hour, 307 g in total, as 12 feeds of 25 g.

10 of the 12 feeds land on a real Emerald Isle aid table, so there is water in your hand for every one of them.

#ClockmiWhereWhat
10:091.1No table here · mile 1.1 (water in hand)One 25 g gel, your own
20:343.9Water station · mile 4One 25 g gel, your own
30:556.4Water station · mile 6.5One 25 g gel, your own
41:097.9Water station · mile 8One 25 g gel, your own
51:259.8No table here · mile 9.8 (water in hand)One 25 g gel, your own
61:3611.1Water station · mile 11One 25 g gel, your own
72:0214.1Water station · mile 14One 25 g gel, your own
82:2016.1Aid station · mile 16One 25 g gel, your own
92:4418.9Water station · mile 19One 25 g gel, your own
103:0220.9Water station · mile 21One 25 g gel, your own
113:1922.9Aid station · mile 23One 25 g gel, your own
123:3825.1Aid station · mile 25One 25 g gel, your own

The first feed comes before the first table on purpose: CarbRate starts you early, with the water you carry from the start line. Say you are carrying your own instead and it rebuilds this same timeline with your products and more feeds, on the same tables. On race day the app calls each feed by voice as you reach it.

This is one runner. Yours will look different.

CarbRate builds yours from your weight, your sweat rate, your goal time, the gels you already train with, and the race-day forecast. Answer a few quick questions and it is built, with the Emerald Isle course already loaded.

Build my Emerald Isle plan
What CarbRate says about Emerald Isle

What CarbRate flags on a Emerald Isle plan

These are the warnings CarbRate attaches to a Emerald Isle plan, word for word, for the 3:45 runner above.

Plan to carry

Emerald Isle hands out no gels. Whatever you eat on this course, you are carrying — plan for all 12 feeds yourself.

In your favour

Emerald Isle has Gatorade Thirst Quencher at 6.1 g per 100 ml, which is strong. Drinking 500 ml an hour covers about 31 g/h of your 81 g/h target, and your plan has already taken that off your gels.

Only at 5:00 pace

The longest stretch without water on Emerald Isle runs 3 miles, from mile 8 to mile 11. At your pace that is about 35 minutes. Carry fluid through it rather than waiting for the next table. Under 5 hours that stretch takes less than 27 minutes, and CarbRate stays quiet.

Quiet on purpose

The first table is at mile 2.5. CarbRate allows 45 minutes for the opening stretch instead of the usual 27, because you start hydrated and fed. So Emerald Isle’s first 2.5 miles never trigger a warning.

Sodium: not published

Emerald Isle names Gatorade but never says which formula. On the standard Thirst Quencher label that is about 460 mg of sodium per litre, under the 600 mg per litre target; if the race pours Endurance Formula instead it is nearly double. The race publishes no mix ratio, so neither figure is confirmed.

Treat the course as water and carbohydrate, and bring your own sodium. CarbRate works out how much from your sweat rate and the forecast, and puts it on the same schedule as your gels.

Shows inside 10 days
28 days to go

From 14 October the start-line forecast appears here, with what it changes in your plan. On a warm day: more fluid and more sodium.

The short answers

Emerald Isle Marathon fueling at a glance

Every fact on this page in one block, for the runner who wants the answer and nothing else.

Race
Emerald Isle Marathon, 24 October 2026
Distance
42.195 km / 26.2 mi
Aid tables on the course
12
First table
mile 2.5 (km 4)
Spacing after the first table
every 1 to 3 miles
Water
at every table
Sports drink
Gatorade Thirst Quencher, at mile 16, mile 18, mile 23, mile 25
Drink strength
6.1 g carbohydrate per 100 ml
Gel handout
none
Food on course
none published
Personal refreshment
not accepted for the mass field
Published sodium
none, for anything on the course
Climbs steeper than 3%
0:
Typical carbohydrate target
60 to 90 g an hour
Gels to carry, 3:45 at 75 g/h
7 to 10 using the course drink, 12 carrying everything

Emerald Isle fueling questions, answered

Is there Gatorade on the Emerald Isle Marathon course?

Yes. Gatorade Thirst Quencher is at miles 16, 18, 23 and 25, alongside water. Emerald Isle hands out no gels.

How many gels do I need for the Emerald Isle Marathon?

It depends on your carbohydrate target and how much of the course drink you take. At 75 g an hour a 3:45 finish needs about 280 g. Drinking one cup of Gatorade at each drink table covers roughly 40 g of that, which leaves about 10 gels of 25 g, so carry 10. Drinking half a litre of Gatorade an hour, carry 7. The grid above works this out for any finish time.

Is the Emerald Isle Marathon flat?

Yes. Our course profile shows 165 ft of climbing across 26.2 miles, a net change of -1 ft, and a steepest grade of 1.9%. Nothing on the course changes where a feed should land, so even pacing and even fueling are both fair.

Does Emerald Isle have electrolytes or sodium on the course?

The race does not publish sodium figures for anything at its tables, and we could not confirm one for the on-course mix. Treat the course as water and carbohydrate and bring your own sodium plan.

Is there food on the Emerald Isle Marathon course?

Emerald Isle publishes none. The tables carry water and Gatorade and nothing else.

How far apart are the water stations at Emerald Isle?

The first table is at mile 2.5. After that they come every 1 to 3 miles. The longest gap after the start is mile 8 to mile 11, about 4.8 km, which is 27 minutes at 4:00 pace and 34 minutes at 5:00 pace.

Where are the aid stations at the Emerald Isle Marathon?

There are 12, at miles 2.5, 4, 6.5, 8, 11, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23 and 25. All 12 have water. 4 of them, miles 16, 18, 23 and 25, also have Gatorade Thirst Quencher.

Can I carry all of my own fuel at the Emerald Isle Marathon?

Yes. Emerald Isle does not take personal bottles from the mass field, so everything you carry starts on you at the gun, with water at every table to top a flask from. Carrying everything at 75 g an hour is 12 gels of 25 g for a 3:45 finish.

How much carbohydrate should I take during the Emerald Isle Marathon?

60 to 90 grams an hour, set by your body size and by how much your stomach has practised absorbing. Start at the rate you have already trained at rather than the rate you want: 90 g an hour is a target to build toward over a training cycle before you race on it.

Do I need to carry water at the Emerald Isle Marathon?

Only for the opening 2.5 miles. The first table is at mile 2.5, about 21 minutes into a 3:45 race, and after that tables come every 1 to 3 miles. If your first feed comes before mile 2.5, carry the fluid for it from the start line.

What should I eat before the Emerald Isle Marathon?

1 to 4 g of carbohydrate per kg of body weight in the 1 to 4 hours before the start, from food you have already eaten before long runs. A 68 kg runner eating 3 hours before the start needs roughly 130 to 200 g of carbohydrate.

Your Emerald Isle plan

Build your Emerald Isle plan with the course already loaded

The tables, the Gatorade and the course profile above are already in. Add your weight, goal time, sweat rate and the gels you like, and CarbRate builds your feed-by-feed plan for Emerald Isle, then calls each feed by voice on race day.

Build my Emerald Isle plan

The plan is free. Live race-day guidance and the practice schedule are in the app, $9.95 a month or a one-time $49.95 Race Pass that expires after your race.

Fueling guides for the other courses

Emerald Isle, 24 Oct 2026
Free plan, course loadedBuild my Emerald Isle plan