Backcountry Beacon

My roommate Keith is an avid trail runner and occasionally pushes his limits competitively on the local half-marathon circuit as well as on distance runs through the desert (32 miles in Bryce, Utah, being his latest challenge). He seemed like the perfect candidate to participate in a simple energy gel/goo test and happily obliged.

Keith tested each gel for flavor, reaction time, and result.

While this isn’t a nutritionist-guided or very scientifically controlled test, we hope the results might help you make a choice more easily and save a few bucks.

Maybe you can do the same: what’s your experience with energy gels?

Accel Gel – Strawberry Kiwi

• Flavor: delicious and extremely accurate; medium consistency
• Reaction: went down smoothly, experienced a slower release that again was balanced but perhaps less strong; run lasted 70 minutes
• Result: less noticeable release than Hammer gel, but seemed to last longer and faded smoothly

Hammer Gel – Raspberry

• Flavor: sweet, tart, not too strong, pretty close to being accurate; medium consistency
• Reaction: went down smoothly, experience slight energy boost after about 10 minutes that stayed consistent throughout the 60-minute run
• Result: experienced a smooth release of energy that peaked around 30 minutes but was overall very balanced

GU – Tri-Berry

• Flavor: sweet, syrupy, strong flavor, accurate, thick consistency
• Reaction: went down smoothly, had a slightly noticeable release and was balanced over the 60-minute run, with a second-wind effect about 40 minutes in
• Result: reacted similarly to CLIF but was perhaps more balanced and longer lasting with a balanced fade

CLIF Shot – RAZZ

• Flavor: sweet, syrupy, medium strength, moderately accurate, thick consistency
• Reaction: went down smoothly, had a more distinct release that was balanced and strong but didn’t last the full 60 minutes
• Result: more noticeable release, felt slightly more fatigued afterward

PowerBar – Strawberry Banana

• Flavor: somewhat artificial tasting and very sweet, watery consistency
• Reaction: no obvious signs that the gel kicked in but seemed to have a slower release that made the second half of the 60-minute run longer
• Result: had a slow release and a balanced fade

Related Posts:

• On-trail Nutrition
• Prepare Yourself: Ultra Racing
• Art of Hangboarding: Fingerboard Workouts

Tags: energy gels, food, nutrition, trail running, training