The truth about what’s in your gel — and why your body deserves better
The Problem with Conventional Sports Nutrition
For decades, the endurance aisle has been dominated by products with artificial dyes, cheap sugars, and synthetic flavors. They can deliver fast energy—but also GI distress, energy spikes and crashes, and palate fatigue during long days.
- Artificial dyes (e.g., Red 40, Blue 1) add color, not performance.
- Cheap, single-source sugars can spike and crash blood glucose.
- “Candy-like” flavors are often hard to tolerate after hours on the move.
The Clean Fuel Difference
Clean fueling uses real-food ingredients your body recognizes and digests smoothly for hours. Every product we carry is screened for:
- No artificial dyes or colors
- Naturally sourced flavors
- Carb blends that support endurance efforts
- Runner-tested tolerability on real trails
Explore our curated collections: Energy Gels · Hydration Mixes · Chews · Recovery Mixes
Why It Matters Even More for Trail & Ultra Runners
In ultras, you may consume dozens of servings. That makes your gut a performance limiter. Clean, natural options reduce GI risk, provide steadier energy, and help avoid flavor fatigue so you keep eating when it counts.
Popular clean-forward choices include: Spring Energy, Muir Energy, Tailwind, Untapped, and more—each selected for quality and digestibility.
But… Is It Really Faster?
Ultras reward consistency, not peak 10-minute speed. Real-food carb sources deliver comparable glycogen support with improved gastric tolerance for many runners. Fewer gut issues = fewer stops, better-fueling adherence, and steadier output.
Further reading: Jeukendrup (2014), Costa et al. (2019) on carbohydrate strategies and GI symptom reduction.
How to Start Clean Fueling
- Audit labels: identify dyes, HFCS, artificial flavors.
- Swap one product at a time: start with the gel or drink you use most.
- Test in training: let your gut adapt before race day.
- Track data: energy steadiness, stomach comfort, recovery.
FAQ
What is clean fueling for runners?
Real-food, minimally processed carbs and electrolytes without artificial dyes or flavors; products designed for long-duration digestibility.
Will switching affect my performance?
Most runners maintain performance with fewer GI issues and steadier energy—especially valuable on trail and ultra distances.
How do I transition?
Swap gradually, test on long runs, and keep notes. Avoid trying anything new on race day.
