I’ve run ultramarathons (foot races which are longer than the marathon distance of 42.195km) that took solely 5 hours. I’ve additionally accomplished a number of that lasted over 24 hours. Efficiently ending an ordeal of this magnitude is strongly tied to how nicely you gas and hydrate.
Ultrarunners have an inside joke: Ultramarathon will not be a operating contest. It’s an consuming one.
That’s why an vitality gel for ultras ought to match these three standards.
- Style – Scorching warmth, freezing nights, and treacherous landscapes, these are only a few of our favourite issues. We are sometimes out within the wild with out help for hours, so it’s essential to have gels that style midway respectable.
- Weight vs. the quantity of carbohydrates – We have already got to hold many gears (rain shell, first-aid equipment, flasks, filter, headlamp, energy financial institution, and so on.), so minimize weight the place you possibly can. Ideally, every vitality gel ought to weigh about 30g and offers 100 energy and 20g of carbohydrates.
- Packaging – Compact sufficient to suit the completely different pockets of hydration vests and packs. The gel also needs to be simple to open. Nothing is extra annoying than struggling to tear open a sachet whereas fatigued.
Under are my favourite vitality gels for ultramarathons to your reference. Man…they’ve powered me via some robust instances.
Honey Stinger Gold
At 30g, Honey Stinger Gold offers 90 energy and 24g of carbohydrates. It’s 95% natural honey, so it gives an array of micro-nutrients as nicely, notably Vitamin B Advanced.
The style and consistency of Honey Stinger Gold are naturally…honey-like. In case you are an everyday vitality gel eater and benefit from the style of honey, then Honey Stinger is probably going a sensible choice. Packaging is compact and matches in most belts, vests, and packs. It’s simple to tear open and received’t make a multitude. The whole lot is sensible. Right here’s a full evaluate.
Maurten Gel100
Within the taste class, I give Maurten Gel100 two thumbs up. The model made its vitality gels “extra tasteless”, as a substitute of including flavoring, to resolve the unsolvable gel taste situation. In a roundabout means, it type of did present a very good resolution.
Maurten’s largest promoting level is its hydrogel know-how. Carbohydrates encapsulated in a hydrogel can bypass the abdomen to the intestines, the place they are often absorbed quicker and with out inflicting gastrointestinal misery, the corporate claims.
Every sachet is 40g and comprises 100 energy and 25g of carbohydrates. The draw back is its increased value but it surely’s undoubtedly the most effective choices I’ve tried. Right here’s a full evaluate.
Hammer Peanut Butter
At 30g, Hammer Peanut Butter packs 100 energy and 20g of carbohydrates. Fairly good bang for the burden. I’m a kind of maniacs that eat peanut butter straight out of the jar with a spoon, so this taste is correct in my wheelhouse. Hammer performs up its branded chain amino acids (BCAA) content material, which helps with stopping muscle tissue breakdown and fatigue throughout train.
Hammer has been within the vitality gas enterprise for many years, so their merchandise are efficient and packaging merely works. There’s a cause a whole bunch {of professional} athletes race with this model.
GU Vanilla Beat
This 30g vitality gel offers 100 energy and 22g of carbohydrates per packet, simply what the physique wants. It additionally contains further goodies corresponding to 450 mg of BCAA, 60 mg of sodium, 20 mg of caffeine, and electrolytes potassium and calcium. It’s a well-balanced possibility and my go-to caffeinated gas.
When you’re a fan of vanilla ice-cream or vanilla milkshake, it’s a syrupy model of that sort of style. Clearly, I nonetheless wouldn’t wish to eat Vanilla Bean every day, however the style isn’t dangerous as race gas.
GU is without doubt one of the first to package deal vitality gels in this type of broad on the backside and slim on the prime design. It’s a format that endurance athletes are very used to by now.
Learn our evaluate on GU and Hammer.
Maple7
This can be a model based mostly right here in our residence market, Taiwan. Maple syrup is extensively accepted as a gas different, so Maple7 merely packaged pure maple syrup right into a well-designed sachet.
With regards to pure and sustainability, it doesn’t get any higher than 100% maple syrup. And as an endurance gas, it’s a superb possibility as nicely. Every gel comprises 28 ml or about 28g of maple syrup, offering 25.8g of carbohydrates and 103 energy. It’s energy-packed!
32GI
The patented one-hand snap design is the place 32GI will get an A plus plus! Its vitality gels are available in a flat packet the dimensions of a bank card. Merely snap the package deal in half with just one hand to open up a crack on the heart and suck. It’s easy-breezy and mess-free.
At 27g, it offers 84 energy (on the low aspect) and 21g of carbohydrates. Concerning style and consistency, there are not any surprises. When you’ve eaten gels earlier than with no situation, you need to be okay with 32GI’s taste and texture.
Morinaga Wieder In Jelly Vitality
Westerners most likely have by no means heard of Morinaga Weider, however this can be a staple for these of us in East Asia (Japan, Taiwan, or Hong Kong). The corporate markets the vitality pouches as fast meal replacements for working professionals. However endurance athletes quickly found that they’re nice as a sports activities gas.
Concerning taste and consistency, it’s identical to grape jello, which isn’t dangerous in any respect, and the corporate recommends maintaining it within the fridge and consuming it chilled (a bit tough to do throughout an extremely, lol).
Every pouch weighs 180g and offers 180 energy however solely 45g of carbohydrates, not loads for that a lot weight. Nevertheless, it offers Vitamin A, B Advanced, C, D, E, and 40g of sodium. The pouch design comes with a twist cap. You may take a number of gulps and shut it for later within the run, which is sort of handy.
Vitality gel ideas for ultramarathons
There actually needs to be yet one more standards, which is, does the vitality gel stress your gastrointestinal (GI) system? Nevertheless, for my part, whether or not an vitality gel upsets your abdomen has much less to do with the model and extra to do with how and whenever you devour it.
There are three methods that “struggle” to your blood: muscle tissues, digestion, and cooling. That’s why your legs really feel heavier after a meal, why it’s more durable to refuel and run on scorching summer time days, or why your abdomen usually rebels whenever you’re bodily pushed to the restrict.
Listed here are a number of ideas from my previous expertise. Hope they’re useful with resolving GI stress.
- Ensure you drink water. Each 20g of carbohydrates needs to be chased with 250 ml of water. This helps your physique course of the vitality gel.
- Eat 1g of carbohydrate per kg of physique weight per hour. For instance, a 60kg athlete ought to soak up 60g of carbohydrates every hour, about 2-3 vitality gels.
- I usually intention to eat 150 energy per hour via a mixture of fluids and stable meals.
- When you carry a hydration vest or pack that matches two flasks (most do), I’d counsel filling one with water and the opposite with a sports activities drink.
- Eat and drink frequently in small dosages. This is a wonderful strategy to steadily replenish vitality and fluids with out over stressing the abdomen.
- I choose vitality gels that present some bells and whistles like Nutritional vitamins, amino acids, minerals, electrolytes, and so on. In any case, you deplete extra than simply glycogen on these tremendous lengthy challenges.
- Higher be ready than sorry. Typically your crew will get misplaced on the way in which to fulfill you, or you possibly can’t find a drop bag. All the time have some further gas with you in case of the surprising.
- Vitality bars are additionally a giant a part of my extremely fueling technique. For ultra-long adventures, stable meals is a should for me. Getting from one water station to the subsequent typically takes a number of hours, so bars are good for these conditions.
- Listed here are the greatest vitality gels of 2022 based mostly on gross sales and Web critiques. Uncover your personal favourite vitality gels for ultramarathons.
