Sports nutrition has developed rapidly over the last few years, with new products hitting the market every few months (or so it seems). There’s no denying that how we fuel and hydrate our bodies can have a huge impact on both energy levels and training results. And with marathon training season in full swing, it’s easy to be tempted into buying boxes of handy energy gels, ready to grab and guzzle on the go.

Go into any sports shop worth its salt (pun intended) and you’ll find a dizzying and colourful array of energy gels and supplements. But are they really necessary? We asked the experts if energy gels are a must on long runs, or whether they’re simply another pre-race gimmick.