I ran a half-marathon this morning. I drank a bottle of Gatorade about an hour before the gun went off. During the race the aid stations were handing out Gatorade as well, but I just stuck with water once I was underway. I brought some gels for nutrition during the race instead. This is also what I do for triathlons.

Never tried Gatorade during a race/run. But I haven't had any bad experiences using it beforehand.