Great North Run 2026 Fuelling Guide and Order Deadlines

The AJ Bell Great North Run takes place on Sunday 13 September 2026, with 63,000 runners heading 13.1 miles from Newcastle to South Shields.

By race week, the training is largely done. The useful jobs left are keeping the legs fresh, eating normally and making sure your race fuel is not still sitting in an online basket on Saturday night.

Here is a simple fuelling plan, the final KMC delivery deadline and where to find KMC locally if you leave it late.

Quick answer

GREAT NORTH RUN FUEL PLAN
Eat familiar, carbohydrate-rich meals the day before, then have a tested breakfast two to four hours before running. If you expect to run for longer than 90 minutes, aim for around 30–60g carbohydrate per hour from gels and drinks, beginning before you feel tired. Match fluid and electrolytes to the weather and your sweat rate. Order KMC by 4:30pm Thursday 10 September with Next Day delivery, collect from Carlisle until 6pm Friday, or buy from an approved local retailer.

Great North Run 2026: the essential details

Check your official runner information for your individual arrival, assembly and wave timings.

Start fuelling the day before

Your race-day plan starts before race morning. If you expect to be running for more than 90 minutes, use the day before to top up your carbohydrate stores with familiar, easy-to-digest meals and snacks. Eat little and often if that suits you, keep very spicy or unusually high-fibre foods off the menu, and do not turn carb-loading into an eating contest.

Hydrate steadily through the day rather than trying to catch up before bed. Aim to arrive at race morning rested, normally hydrated and with no nutritional surprises waiting for you.

What should you eat before the Great North Run?

Have a familiar, easily digested carbohydrate-rich meal around two to four hours before your start. A useful guide is around 1–2g carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight, adjusted to your appetite, expected finish time and what you have already tested. Porridge, toast, a bagel or cereal can all work.

Race morning is not the time for a heroic hotel breakfast, an unfamiliar supplement or anything your stomach has previously filed a complaint about.

Drink normally in the morning and arrive hydrated. Great Run advises that water is not provided at the start, although there are multiple water stations around the half-marathon course.

How much fuel do you need during a half marathon?

For longer runs, your established plan is to start around 30–60g carbohydrate per hour and practise higher intakes only when the duration and intensity demand it. Your exact requirement depends on pace, expected finish time, conditions and what your stomach tolerates in training.

Count carbohydrate from every source. One KMC NRG GEL provides 27g carbohydrate, GEL X provides 45g, and 500ml of KMC ISO MIX provides 34g. If you drink ISO MIX, include it in your hourly total rather than adding gels on top automatically.

These examples are not personal prescriptions. Do not suddenly double your carbohydrate intake on race day.

Fuel before the difficult miles

The course climbs gradually between miles 3 and 5, with its hardest sustained uphill section arriving between miles 8 and 12.

Do not wait until that climb to realise you needed a gel twenty minutes earlier. Take your first fuel while you still feel good. For many runners, that means around 30–40 minutes into the race, followed by another dose according to finish time and their practised plan.

Should you use caffeine?

Caffeine can be useful, but race day is not the moment to discover how strongly it affects you.

KMC GEL+ contains caffeine. Use it only if you have tested it during training, and account for any coffee, pre-workout or other caffeine consumed that morning. If you are unsure, choose a caffeine-free NRG GEL or GEL X.

What about water and electrolytes?

Arrive hydrated and use the water stations according to the official event guide and the conditions on the day. Small, regular drinks are generally more comfortable than trying to repair poor hydration all at once.

Electrolytes become more relevant when the race is hot, humid or you know you are a heavy sweater. Sodium is particularly important because it is lost in sweat and supports fluid balance. KMC recommends taking NRG GEL with water; if you use an isotonic carbohydrate drink such as ISO MIX, remember that it contributes to both hydration and your carbohydrate target.

Check the latest event guide for confirmed water-station locations, and avoid forcing down more fluid than you need.

Do not try anything new on race day

The best race-day plan is the one you have already practised. Use familiar food, familiar gels and familiar timing. If you have not used a particular gel, caffeine dose or carbohydrate target in training, save the experiment for another day.

Recover after the finish

Once you reach South Shields, start replacing carbohydrate, take on quality protein and rehydrate. A recovery meal or shake within two hours is a practical target; your wider running nutrition guide recommends at least 20g of quality protein alongside carbohydrate after a hard or long effort.

For the complete approach—from the day before through to recovery—read Running Nutrition 101: How to Fuel Your Run, Marathon or Ultra-Marathon.

When is the last day to order KMC fuel?

If you need your KMC order before the Great North Run, these are the final practical options:

Carrier delays can still happen, so earlier is better.

Order Your Race Fuel

Collect from the KMC Carlisle warehouse

Click & Collect is available from the KMC fulfilment warehouse:

Kendal Mint Company Ltd
F Brown Warehouse, Cardelees
Carlisle, CA5 6LF

Collection hours will be extended until 6pm on Friday 11 September for Great North Run weekend.

Place the order online, choose Carlisle collection and wait for the separate ‘Order Ready to Collect’ email before travelling. Bring your order reference and confirmation email.

View KMC Click & Collect information

Where can you buy KMC in Newcastle?

Last-minute KMC fuel is available from:

Northern Runner
52 Low Friar Street
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 5UE
Telephone: 0191 261 4322

Published opening hours before race day:

• Thursday: 10am–7pm
• Friday: 10am–5:30pm
• Saturday: 9am–5:30pm
• Sunday: Closed

Stock and race-weekend hours can change, so call ahead before making a special journey.

View Northern Runner on the KMC Store Locator

Not suitable? Find KMC at another local retailer

If online delivery, Carlisle collection or Northern Runner does not work for you, use the KMC Store Locator to find your nearest approved retailer.

Stock varies between shops, particularly during race week, so call ahead before travelling and ask whether they have the gels or hydration products you need.

Find Your Nearest KMC Stockist

One final pocket check

• Race number and safety pins
• Tested race shoes and socks
• Breakfast you know agrees with you
• Enough gels for your planned finish time
• Water or access to the official water stations
• A warm layer for the start
• Dry clothes for South Shields

Training plans are complicated enough. Your race fuel does not need to be.