If you are running a marathon or other endurance event, there’s a good chance you need to carry food with you. Sometimes you need to carry food and water, but most events provide water and Gatorade on the course, so food is the primary concern.

I prefer to carry energy gels with me by pinning them to my shorts, but there are many other ways you can try.

Here are 7 of those ways: (The catch is, you do NOT want to carry your gels like this!)

1. Gels under your race cap.

If you wear a running cap, you could put the gels underneath the cap so they are held in place between the hat and the top of your head.

But gel packets on your head isn’t very comfortable, and you also have to make sure the gels don’t fall onto the ground whenever you remove the cap!

2. Gels under a forearm sweat band.

I like wrist/forearm sweatbands so I can easily wipe sweat from my brow, but I wouldn’t use them to hold gels against my arm.

Gel packets are slippery, especially against skin, and they could easily slide out from underneath the sweatband.

3. Tape gels to your body.

To make sure the gels aren’t going anywhere, you could just tape them to your body. That will certainly hold them in place, but removing them is not comfortable, especially if you have body hair!

4. Glue gels to your body.

If you’re out of tape, don’t worry – you can glue the gel packets to your body! Of course, this makes for even more painful removal, since a layer of your skin will rip off with the gel packet!

5. Clothes pins around your waistband.

If you’re out of safety pins, maybe you have some wooden clothes pins lying around? You could clamp some gels to your waistband with these pins.

You just have to deal with the discomfort of a big wooden object pressing against your body, and the good possibility that the gel will slide right out of its grasp.

6. Sew your own Velcro holders.

If you are good with needle and thread (and glue,) you could make your own Velcro attachment system. Simply sew Velcro patches onto your shorts, then glue the corresponding Velcro to your gel packs.

That’s pretty secure and allows for an easy grab, but why waste good Velcro on gel packs that will be thrown away?

7. Wear a triathlon singlet.

By far the easiest way to carry gels when running would be to wear a triathlon singlet (those fancy skin-tight tank tops.) It has a neat little pocket in the back where you could stow a few gels.

But triathlon gear has no place being worn during a marathon! Outside of triathlons, you shouldn’t, you know, look like a triathlete…

Photo credit: Penningtron

Doing a race where there is plenty of water on the course, but you still need to carry your favorite energy gel? Then skip the fancy products like the Fuel Belts and go back to basics – safety pins!

Yes, you can use safety pins to attach gel packs directly to your running shorts. I used this technique during my first marathon and it worked marvelously.

What you do is…

1. Gather the supplies.

You are going to need one or more gel packets, scissors, and safety pins (one for each gel packet.)

2. Smooth the gel.

Since these gel packets will be close to your skin, sharp corners are the enemy. So you need to take the scissors and round the sharp corners off the energy gel pack and you’re all set. (Notice the gel on the left has sharp corners, while the gel on the right has been cut.)

I recommend GU energy gels, because the packet is very slim and you can easily round the bottom corners off with scissors. Plus, the tab provides plenty of room to pin the gel without puncturing the actual gel part.

Some other gels, like Hammer, are big and bulky, so I’d skip them.

3. Pin the gel to the outside of your shorts.

Pin the gel to the waistband, but not so it hangs down. You actually need to pin it upside down, as shown in the picture.

Be sure you pin through the pull-off tab and not through the gel part!

4. Put on shorts.

This is simple. Put on your race shorts and singlet.

(Don’t worry if the gels fold over.)

5. Fold the gel over to the inside.

Now fold the gel packs over to the inside of the waistband. This step holds them in place so they don’t flap around.

With the sharp corners cut off the gel packets, this should actually be comfortable. If not, just tuck in your shirt, and you won’t even notice the gels (which will rest between your shorts and singlet, not touching your skin.)

6. Eat.

Then during the race, you can rip the gel off your waistband, and there’s no tab to litter, because it’s still pinned to your shorts!

(You can deal with the safety pins after you have recovered from the event. No need to mess with sharp objects when you have no energy!)