A Fueling Plan Built Specifically for the Indianapolis Monumental 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 Indianapolis plan Start with the course ↓
CNO Financial Indianapolis Monumental Marathon
Saturday 7 November 2026 · 26.2 miles
Water only 10 Water + electrolytes 10 Gel depot miles 10.5, 15.6 and 21.9
Map of the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon course with the 20 aid tables marked
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Elevation profile drag along the profile to scrub
26.2 miles ▲ 204 ft gain ▼ 204 ft loss +63 ft high -6 ft low
0 mi 5 10 15 20 26.2 mi +63 ft 0 mi 10 20 26.2 mi +63 ft

Aid tables from the official Monumental course map, checked 12 Sep 2026. Indianapolis publishes lettered stations, not 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

Indianapolis does not publish how many run its marathon, only that it is the largest in Indiana and among the fifteen largest in the country, and that its half marathon is on the same tables. Tables that busy are easy to misjudge and not get the fuel you need. Without a plan for the next one you either double up later and pay for it, or run the rest of the race 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 20 tables, the course electrolyte drink at 10 of them, gels at miles 10.5, 15.6 and 21.9.

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

Indianapolis takes more care than most courses to do this on. Water is at all 20 tables, but the only other thing on them is an electrolyte drink the race has never named, so there is no carbohydrate figure to build a plan on. Below is where you'll find each station.

Indianapolis Monumental Marathon course strip Elevation relative to the start across 26.2 miles, the 20 aid tables marked by mile with what is at each, and the 12 feeds of the reference plan as numbered dots. +63 ft -6 ft 0.9 1.7 2.9 4.5 6.1 7.2 8.6 9.6 10.5 11.7 13.2 14.2 15.6 16.5 17.8 18.6 20.3 21.9 23.5 24.9 mi 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Water only Water + electrolytes Gel depot 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 CNO Financial Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, checked 12 Sep 2026

1What is on the course

What is provided at Indianapolis, and where

Water is provided at all 20 tables, from mile 0.9 to mile 24.9.

An electrolyte drink at 10 of the 20 tables, every other one, and the race has never said what it is. Gels at miles 10.5, 15.6 and 21.9, Neversecond, 30 g each. Bananas at miles 17.8 and 21.9.

The course climbs 204 ft in total and its steepest grade is 1.2%, under the 3% where a climb starts to move a feed. So CarbRate still places yours by the water tables, and the arrival times below carry a minute or two of slack on the climbs.

The Indianapolis course, table by table
Water stations
20

every table, mile 0.9 to mile 24.9

Neversecond C30 range
3

miles 10.5, 15.6 and 21.9, water at each

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 is a fair guide on a course with 204 ft of climbing. At 3:45 you reach the first gel station at 1:30.
Build my Indianapolis plan
All 20 tables at 3:45
mikmTableWhat’s at the tableYou arrive
0.91.4Aid stationwater0:07
1.72.8Aid station + electrolyteswaterelectrolytes0:15
2.94.6Aid stationwater0:24
4.57.2Aid station + electrolyteswaterelectrolytes0:39
6.19.8Aid stationwater0:52
7.211.7Aid station + electrolyteswaterelectrolytes1:02
8.613.9Aid stationwater1:14
9.615.4Aid station + electrolyteswaterelectrolytes1:22
10.516.9Aid station + Neversecond gelwaterNeversecond C30 range1:30
11.718.9Aid station + electrolyteswaterelectrolytes1:41
13.221.2Aid stationwater1:53
14.222.8Aid station + electrolyteswaterelectrolytes2:02
15.625.1Aid station + Neversecond gelwaterNeversecond C30 range2:14
16.526.5Aid station + electrolyteswaterelectrolytes2:21
17.828.7Aid stationwaterbananas2:33
18.630.0Aid station + electrolyteswaterelectrolytes2:40
20.332.6Aid stationwater2:54
21.935.2Aid station + electrolytes + gelwaterelectrolytesbananasNeversecond C30 range3:08
23.537.8Aid stationwater3:21
24.940.1Aid station + electrolyteswaterelectrolytes3:34
3The course drink

The course drink is not a drink you can count on

Indianapolis puts an unnamed electrolyte drink on every other table and water on all of them. No brand means no carbohydrate figure, so plan as if every gram is one you carry, and treat anything in the cup as a bonus.

4What you carry

How many gels you still carry

With no carbohydrate drink on the course, every gram of your glycogen needs comes from 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
3:005to56to68to8
3:306to68to810to10
4:007to79to912to12
4:308to811to1114to14
5:009to912to1215to15
5The products

The 1 product Indianapolis hands you

Neversecond is the only product Indianapolis names. Every gel in that range carries 30 g of carbohydrate, so the number holds whichever one is on the table, but the race has never said whether the on-course version is the caffeinated one. Practise with it before race day so mile 10.5 is not the first time your stomach meets it.

If Neversecond does not sit well with you, the closest matches are Maurten Gel 100, Precision Fuel PF 30 Gel and SiS Beta Fuel Gel. Pick one before race week and train on it.

On the Indianapolis course
Sodium
200 mg
Caffeine
not published (C30+ carries 75 mg)
Glucose : fructose
not published
Science score100/100
Full write-up, who it suits →

Get a Fueling Plan Built for Indianapolis

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 Indianapolis plan
Option 2

If you are going to carry all of your own fuel

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

1Timing

Set your feed times to Indianapolis’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, Indianapolis’s tables arrive 7, 15, 24, 39 and 52 minutes in, then every 7 to 14 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 is a fair guide on a course with 204 ft of climbing. Everything below recalculates from 3:45.
Your watch against Indianapolis’s tables
Gel alarms with water
6 of 11 alarms

For a 3:45 finisher, 6 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 0.9 from a bottle you carry.

Gel alarm every 20 min Indianapolis tables, 3:45 pace 0.9 2.9 6.1 7.2 9.6 11.7 14.2 16.5 18.6 20.3 23.5 24.9 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 only sodium in your race is what you carry

Indianapolis does not provide any products with significant sodium at any of its aid stations. This means you’ll need to make sure either your gel or beverage contains sodium.

Aim for 600 mg of sodium per litre (150 mg per 8 oz) of what you drink.

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

Nothing at Indianapolis’s tables carries a meaningful amount, so the sodium in your race is whatever your gel or your own drink carries.

NaIndianapolis’s tablesnoneNaAim 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 15.6 (25 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, rolling course
mile 15.6
2 hours 14 minutes into a 3:45

Blood caffeine peaks about an hour after the dose, so a mile 15.6 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 15.6 table · 2:14 peak ≈ mile 23 0 mi 5 10 15 20 26.2 mi peaknone
dose at the mile 15.6 tabledose at the startwhere the wall starts on averagecurve shape illustrative, timings from your goal time

Get a Fueling Plan Built for Indianapolis

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 Indianapolis plan
Built for your exact course

What a finished Indianapolis 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 water and taking the course gel, 14 °C at the start. Adjusted finish 3:48. Target 81 g an hour, 307 g in total, as 12 feeds of 25 g.

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

#ClockmiWhereWhat
10:081.0Aid station · mile 0.9One 25 g gel, your own
20:263.0Aid station · mile 2.9One 25 g gel, your own
30:526.0Aid station · mile 6.1One 25 g gel, your own
41:047.4Aid station + electrolytes · mile 7.2One 25 g gel, your own
51:249.7Aid station + electrolytes · mile 9.6One 25 g gel, your own
61:4311.8Aid station + electrolytes · mile 11.7One 25 g gel, your own
72:0314.2Aid station + electrolytes · mile 14.2One 25 g gel, your own
82:2216.4Aid station + electrolytes · mile 16.5One 25 g gel, your own
92:4118.5Aid station + electrolytes · mile 18.6One 25 g gel, your own
102:5720.4Aid station · mile 20.3One 25 g gel, your own
113:2323.4Aid station · mile 23.5One 25 g gel, your own
123:3725.0Aid station + electrolytes · mile 24.9One 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 Indianapolis course already loaded.

Build my Indianapolis plan
What CarbRate says about Indianapolis

What CarbRate flags on a Indianapolis plan

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

Plan to carry

Indianapolis hands out Neversecond C30 range at 3 points. You need about 12 feeds, so that covers roughly 29% of your carbohydrate. Take them if you want them, and carry the other 9.

Quiet on purpose

The first table is at mile 0.9. CarbRate allows 45 minutes for the opening stretch instead of the usual 27, because you start hydrated and fed. So Indianapolis’s first 0.9 miles never trigger a warning.

Sodium: not published

Indianapolis never names the electrolyte drink on its course. Its map legend says only “Electrolytes”, its 2026 sponsor list carries no hydration brand, and the Nuun deal it announced in 2021 ran out after 2023. With no product there is no sodium figure to give you.

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
56 days to go

From 28 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

Indianapolis Monumental Marathon fueling at a glance

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

Race
CNO Financial Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, 7 November 2026
Distance
42.195 km / 26.2 mi
Aid tables on the course
20
First table
mile 0.9 (km 1.4)
Spacing after the first table
every 0.8 to 1.6 miles
Water
at every table
Sports drink
none
Gel handout
Neversecond C30 range, mile 10.5 (km 16.9), mile 15.6 (km 25.1) and mile 21.9 (km 35.2), 3 points
Food on course
bananas at mile 17.8 and bananas at mile 21.9
Personal refreshment
not accepted for the mass field
Published sodium
none, for anything on the course
Total climb
204 ft, steepest grade 2.3%
Typical carbohydrate target
60 to 90 g an hour
Gels to carry, 3:45 at 75 g/h
12 carrying everything

Indianapolis fueling questions, answered

Where are the gel stations at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon?

Miles 10.5, 15.6 and 21.9, which is km 16.9, km 25.1 and km 35.2. There is water at each of them. Plan to carry the rest of your own.

How many gels do I need for the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon?

At 75 g an hour a 3:45 finish needs about 280 g, which is 12 gels of 25 g, all of them carried, because Indianapolis puts no carbohydrate on the course. The grid above works this out for any finish time.

Is the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon flat?

Mostly. Our course profile shows 204 ft of climbing across 26.2 miles, a net change of 0 ft, and a steepest quarter mile of 1.2%, under the 3% where a climb starts to move a feed. So CarbRate still places every feed by the water tables, and even pacing is a fair guide with a minute or two of slack on the climbs.

Does Indianapolis 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 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon course?

Bananas at mile 17.8 and Bananas at mile 21.9. Every other table is water and electrolytes only.

How far apart are the water stations at Indianapolis?

The first table is at mile 0.9. After that they come every 0.8 to 1.6 miles. The longest gap after the start is mile 2.9 to mile 4.5, about 2.7 km, which is 15 minutes at 4:00 pace and 18 minutes at 5:00 pace.

When will I reach the gel station at mile 10.5?

At even pace: 1:24 into a 3:30 race, 1:30 into a 3:45, 1:36 into a 4:00, and 2:00 into a 5:00. Enter your own goal time in the station table above to see every table.

Where are the aid stations at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon?

There are 20, at miles 0.9, 1.7, 2.9, 4.5, 6.1, 7.2, 8.6, 9.6, 10.5, 11.7, 13.2, 14.2, 15.6, 16.5, 17.8, 18.6, 20.3, 21.9, 23.5 and 24.9. All 20 have water.

Can I carry all of my own fuel at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon?

Yes. Indianapolis 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, or 9 if you take the course gels.

How much carbohydrate should I take during the Indianapolis Monumental 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 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon?

Only for the opening 0.9 miles. The first table is at mile 0.9, about 7 minutes into a 3:45 race, and after that tables come every 0.8 to 1.6 miles. If your first feed comes before mile 0.9, carry the fluid for it from the start line.

What should I eat before the Indianapolis Monumental 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. Indianapolis sets off in waves, so work backwards from your own wave time rather than from the elite start.

Your Indianapolis plan

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The tables, the water 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 Indianapolis, then calls each feed by voice on race day.

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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

Indianapolis, 7 Nov 2026
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