By: Amy Bortnick

The first time I was ever introduced to the idea of eating gel for energy I was repulsed. I can remember the incident. I was in middle school and my soccer coach (a runner) tried to get me try  some after I came off the field exhausted at half time…it was just not going to happen, I refused.  I had forgotten energy gel existed until I became a runner myself. Then I began seeing them all over the place.   Gel packets were on the ground at races, in the waistbands of runners, on the signs from sponsors but still that wasn’t enough for me to try it. I mean it was a sensible idea, they are easy to carry on the run and you don’t have to worry about chewing or spilling on yourself as you would have to if you were fueling with solids or liquids. But it still wasn’t enough for me to squeeze Gu into my mouth for fuel.  That was until my running coach Cara gave me an entire box  of Chocolate GU and told me she used them herself.

I have to be honest the box sat on the top of my fridge for weeks untouched. Until one morning before a 14 mile long run I decided to give it a try. Exhausted after 45 minutes of running on a hot summer morning I pulled a GU out of my pocket and gave it a squeeze, in a couple of minutes I had a second wind of energy that carried me through the run and I have been using them regularly ever since.

GU packets contain 100 calories, 20 grams of carbohydrates, and 6 grams of sugar. They are a combination of glucose and fructose, two different simple sugars that use two different transporters when being digested. By combing the different simple sugars fuel can be processed and used for energy at a faster rate. After, I got over the jelly consistency I began really enjoying the chocolaty flavor, i’m hooked.