Homemade 3 Whole-Food Ingredient Running "Gels"

When I'm asked about running gels: I say make your own. Buy a [GU reusable flask]( ). Fill the 150 mL flask with: - ½ honey - ½ pure maple syrup - ½ teaspoon sea salt Every 5 miles, I take a big pull from the flask. Halfway between those pulls, I take down 2–3 small dates. That means every 2.5 miles I'm taking in clean, natural carbohydrates with no fake fillers. The only "fake" thing I carry is CLIF BLOKS. I take 2–3 per hour. They help keep my mouth from feeling dry while adding a little more carbohydrate fuel and salt. ## My complete hourly intake - 80–95 grams of carbohydrates - Approximately 400–430 mg of sodium - Approximately $2–$3 per hour ## How that compares to commercial gels To get a similar hourly carbohydrate intake from commercial gels: - Four regular GUs provide 84–92 grams of carbohydrates, 240–500 mg of sodium and cost approximately $8. - Three to four Maurten Gel 100s provide 75–100 grams of carbohydrates, only 60–80 mg of sodium and cost approximately $11–$15. The full homemade flask itself contains approximately 154 grams of carbohydrates and 1,150 mg of sodium and costs about $3 to fill. The reusable flask costs $15 once. My sodium is intentionally higher because I'm a heavy sweater. Adjust the salt for your own needs and test everything during training. ## The science is the same Nutritionally, as far as carbohydrate fuel goes: Honey supplies glucose and fructose. Maple syrup is primarily sucrose, which your body breaks into glucose and fructose. This gives you multiple types of rapidly available carbohydrate, which is the same basic strategy used by GU and Maurten. Commercial gels may differ in texture, convenience and stomach tolerance, but gram for gram, their carbohydrates are not providing more energy. From a fueling standpoint, 25 grams of carbohydrate is still 25 grams of carbohydrate.