A new Runivore mission is underway – finding the ultimate energy gel.
As some of you may have known for a bit, Will and myself (Runivore Tom) have been considering launching an energy gel for a while. If you’ve joined us for a run recently, you may even have been given a sample of a potential Runivore Energy Gel. However, if you’ve visited our shop page recently, you may have noticed that no energy gel exists there as of yet. There are a few reasons for that:
- We haven’t been able to create a prototype that knocks our socks off with regards to taste.
- From the prototypes we’ve tried so far, we haven’t experienced a significant improvement in performance over the available alternatives.
- While working with a few partners we still haven’t found a packaging that is much better for the environment over what is currently on the market.
The bottom line is, we don’t want to create just another product to put out there on the market. We’ve tried quite a few energy gels already, and although none are perfect, there are quite a few really good products out there. There is even a chance that a perfect energy gel already exists. And so, it’s time to go to school. It’s time for us to try and find the ultimate energy gel and if we can’t, then we will use all the lessons learned along the way to create one.
Our Approach to Finding the Ultimate Energy Gel
This will not be an easy mission. There will be lots of research, tasting, analysis and of course running (and maybe a bit of cycling). We plan on dedicating the next 6 months to a year on trying to find the ultimate energy gel. We hope you join us on this gel research adventure – GELDVENTURE if you will.
Our research methodology for energy gels
We will be educating ourselves on the fundamentals of energy gels and what is currently available on the market. We will be speaking with runners, nutritionists, and energy gel manufacturers to get a full picture of the key differences between energy gels. There are a few key factors we will be paying special attention to:
- Performance
- Taste
- Digestibility
- Package design
- Eco-friendliness
We may learn about other important factors along the way.
Analysis and results of our studies
We won’t be able to try every gel that is out there, so there will be quite a bit of third party input included in our analysis. In the end we will be publishing our findings in an easy to digest summaries with at-a-glance charts that cover the key gel criteria.
How You CanH Us Find the Perfect Gel
Get in touch with us if you want to help us on our mission. We’re available on Facebook and Twitter, so don’t hesitate to reach out if:
- You have a gel recommendation
- You want to share your experience with energy gels
- You want to send us a gel to try
- You know someone we should speak with about gels