Runners planning long sessions
A drink choice needs to fit the carbohydrate you plan to take during the session, alongside your fluid and sodium strategy. Orange flavour alone does not tell you what the drink supplies.
Who is choosing?
Runners who enjoy fizzy orange drinks
Carbonation is not, by itself, a reason to rule out every drink. What matters for a particular run is the drink’s composition and whether you are comfortable consuming that amount while moving.
Shoppers comparing juice with orange fizz
Still 100% orange juice, a sparkling juice drink and an orange-flavoured soft drink are different purchases. Check the product description and nutrition panel before assigning any of them a place in a fuelling plan.
What matters when choosing?
Decide what the drink needs to do during the run before choosing an orange flavour for enjoyment around it.
Planned sports fuelling
Choose when: You need a repeatable carbohydrate plan for a long session, with fluid and sodium considered alongside it.
Trade-off: A sports drink, or food or gels paired with fluid, still needs a label check and a practice run to establish what you can comfortably use.
Still orange juice
Choose when: You want a familiar, measured drink around training and already know how it fits your wider intake.
Trade-off: Juice contains free sugars, as the NHS notes, and should not be assumed to provide a complete fluid-and-sodium plan.
Sparkling orange drink
Choose when: You want orange fizz as an occasional drink around a run rather than your primary race fuel.
Trade-off: Juice content, carbohydrate and salt vary between products, and comfort with fizz needs an individual training trial.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Carbohydrate | Read grams per serving and the amount you intend to drink. A 2015 review indexed by PubMed describes guidance of 30–60 g of carbohydrate per hour for 1–2.5 hours of high-intensity exercise; match any plan to the actual session. | For a long run, I need to know what each serving contributes to my hourly plan, not just whether it tastes sweet. |
| Fluid and sodium | Check drink volume and declared salt or sodium together. The UK Sports Institute says sodium-containing drinks help retain consumed fluid. | If I am using a drink for rehydration, carbohydrate alone does not answer my fluid-and-sodium question. |
| Comfort with fizz | Try the exact drink and amount during training. A 1994 study published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition found no difference in measured fluid and electrolyte responses between the drinks it tested, but that result cannot establish comfort with every retail drink. | I enjoy fizz, but I want to know how this particular drink feels during my run before using it in a planned routine. |
| Drink identity | Check whether the pack says 100% juice, juice drink or soft drink; then read its juice percentage, ingredients, carbohydrate and salt. | When I pick up an orange drink, I want to know what is in that product rather than treating every orange label as the same kind of juice. |
What is easy to overlook?
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Assuming an orange juice drink is 100% juice
The word “orange” does not establish the juice content. For example, Marks & Spencer lists its Sparkling Brazilian Orange with 13% orange juice from concentrate and 5% comminuted orange, while Sainsbury’s lists Sanpellegrino Orange with 16% orange juice from concentrate.
Read the exact pack description, ingredients and nutrition panel before comparing it with still juice.
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Treating orange fizz as a rehydration drink
Marks & Spencer lists less than 0.01 g salt per 100 g for Sparkling Brazilian Orange. UK Sports Institute guidance identifies sodium as relevant to retaining consumed fluid, so a drink’s orange flavour or carbohydrate content cannot settle the rehydration question.
If rehydration is the aim, assess the fluid amount and declared salt or sodium alongside the rest of your plan.
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Counting one can as a complete hourly plan
Sainsbury’s lists 14.5 g carbohydrate per 330 ml can of Sanpellegrino Orange. That is less than the 30–60 g per hour described in the cited 2015 endurance review for 1–2.5 hours of high-intensity exercise; adding servings also changes how much you must carry and drink.
Work out the carbohydrate and fluid you intend to take each hour, then practise that routine in training.
Relying on several cans may add a carrying and drinking burden during a run.
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Overlooking how often you drink juice
The NHS counts sugars in unsweetened fruit juice as free sugars and gives general advice to limit juice and smoothies to a combined 150 ml a day. That everyday guidance is not an individual marathon-fuelling prescription.
Consider ordinary drinking habits separately from a planned training session, particularly if you sip juice frequently.
Relevant brands and retailers
M&S
M&S lists still orange juice as well as a sparkling orange beverage; the two serve different shopping decisions.
- Its orange juice range includes smooth and with-bits choices.
- Its Sparkling Brazilian Orange lists 4.7 g carbohydrate and less than 0.01 g salt per 100 g, so the label alone does not make it a complete marathon-fuelling drink.
Tropicana
A reference point when comparing still orange juice formats.
- Tesco lists Tropicana smooth orange juice and an orange juice with bits.
- Those still-juice listings should not be treated as sparkling-drink specifications.
Innocent
Another still-juice reference for shoppers deciding between smooth juice and juice with bits.
- Tesco lists both Innocent Smooth Orange Juice and Innocent Orange Juice With Bits.
- A still-juice listing does not establish what a sparkling orange drink would contribute to a running plan.
Tesco
Its listings illustrate why still orange juice and sparkling orange soft drinks need separate label checks.
- Its orange-juice category includes Tropicana, Innocent and Tesco Finest choices.
- Its Orangina listing describes a sparkling orange juice drink with citrus pulp, sugar and sweeteners, not a specification for still 100% juice.
Sainsbury’s
Its sparkling orange listings show why the exact product matters more than the shared flavour.
- Sainsbury’s lists Sanpellegrino Orange with 16% orange juice from concentrate and 14.5 g carbohydrate per 330 ml can.
- Its Fanta Orange listing gives 2.3% orange juice from concentrate; that different product should not be assumed to have the same composition.
Sparkling orange drinks on Joybuy
These orange soda and soft-drink options are for comparing fizzy drinks around training, not a selection of complete marathon-fuelling plans. Use the exact pack label when calculating what a serving contributes.
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Bei Bing Yang Orange Juice Soda 330ML
A 330ML orange soda to consider if you want fizz around a run. Check its carbohydrate and salt on the pack before including it in a fuelling or hydration plan, and try it during training first.
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Fanta Orange 8 x 330ml
An eight-pack of 330ml orange soft drinks for someone choosing individual cans around training. A can is not, on its own, an hourly carbohydrate-and-sodium plan; check the current nutrition and ingredients panels.
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Tango Orange 24 x 330ml
A 24-pack of 330ml orange drinks for occasional fizz around training. Check carbohydrate and salt per can rather than assuming the multipack format makes it suitable as your running drink; check the ingredients if phenylalanine is relevant to you.
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Hankow Er Chang Orange Flavoured Soda Drink 275ml
A 275ml orange-flavoured soda drink if you prefer a smaller bottle around training. Use the exact pack’s carbohydrate and salt values for any fuelling calculation, and try the drink before relying on it during a run.
Common questions
Can a sparkling orange drink be my main marathon fuel?
Do not assume one can provides a complete plan. A 2015 endurance review indexed by PubMed describes 30–60 g carbohydrate per hour for 1–2.5 hours of high-intensity exercise, while Sainsbury’s lists 14.5 g carbohydrate in a 330 ml can of Sanpellegrino Orange. Plan the total carbohydrate, fluid and sodium for your session, then practise how you will take them.
Does fizz automatically make a drink unsuitable for running?
No blanket conclusion follows from carbonation alone. A 1994 study in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition found no difference in measured fluid and electrolyte responses between the drinks it tested, but it does not establish your comfort with a particular orange drink. Try the exact product and amount in training.
Is a sparkling orange beverage the same as 100% orange juice?
No. Marks & Spencer lists 13% orange juice from concentrate plus 5% comminuted orange in Sparkling Brazilian Orange; Sainsbury’s lists 16% orange juice from concentrate in Sanpellegrino Orange. Check the description and ingredients on the product you are buying.
What does the NHS’s 150 ml juice advice mean for training?
The NHS advises limiting fruit juices and smoothies to a combined 150 ml a day as general dietary guidance, and counts sugars in unsweetened juice as free sugars. That figure is not an individually tailored marathon-fuelling target; consider your training plan and ordinary drinking habits as distinct decisions.