By: randosteve|Posted on: August 5, 2009|Posted in: Gear, Gear Reviews | 12 comments

No? Well I tend to be…especially during the summer months when it’s harder to carry real food while trail running. In the winter, I’m more apt to stop and chill a bit while refueling, put on a layer, have some hot chocolate…but in the summer, I’d rather keep moving if I’m running. Chewing and breathing at the same time can be pretty tough sometimes, so that’s why I’m a fan of energy gels like GU. Easy to consume calories with one gulp. Simple…fast. Plus, I find energy gels are a bit easier to consume in the summer, when the are warmer and less viscous.

gu-party
See…I’m not the guy that leaves his wrappers on the trail! 🙂

Though I tend to carry some GU packets with me on all my runs, I mostly only consume them if I’m going to be out for more than a couple hours…or if I feel myself dragging and need a pick-me-up. If I’m out for…let’s say…a 20 mile trail/mountain run (about 4 hours), I will start to consume a packet every 30-45 minutes from the start and on average use about 6 packets. If it’s high intensity, the time between gel packets is closer to 30 minutes, lower intensity efforts…more like 45. Since GU is so easily metabolized, I can often feel myself coming up, or coming down, indicating the need for another shot.

gu-flavors-i-like
These are the flavors I like.

One of the things I’ve found with energy gels is that once you start using them, you better have enough to keep you going. Relying on energy gels to get you through a long day is definitely doable, but one must know that most energy gels offer quick energy, so you need a lot of them to power you through a long effort. GU Energy addresses the need to get more out of you energy gel with their Roctane line, which has higher amounts of branched-chain amino acids for power, focus and reduced fatigue.

new-gu-flavor
New Roctane flavor…can you guess what it is?

Including the Gu Roctane line, GU Energy offers no less than 10 flavors for you to choose from. And with the addition of one more Roctane flavor soon (Can you guess the new flavor?) it will soon be 11. Variety is important when eating GU’s since the same-o same-o can get pretty old when swallowing a gooey substance, so be sure to try them all and find out which one’s you like, so you can keep the tank full and the engine burning!