Remember when I went to Hawaii earlier this year? Yeah… that was nice!

Oh… I got distracted, that’s not what this post is about, this is about Island Boost, an endurance fuel that is more readily bioavailable so it’s easier to digest. It contains sodium and potassium to replace electrolytes and the glucose/fructose combination are simple carbs to give the exercising body the boost it needs to keep going.

The ingredients:
Water, glucose, fructose, coconut water, passion fruit juice, cultured dextrose and natural flavors.

(Where do you buy “natural flavors”? That ingredient always makes me curious. I mean, wouldn’t the flavors of the other ingredients be natural flavoring?)

I have not run further than 5.5 miles since having a baby, so I haven’t needed to fuel mid-run yet, but I will definitely be trying this for that at some point. How I’ve tried it right now has been to pop a packet along with a date or two before heading out on an earlier morning run with the baby. Since I have to pump and/or feed the baby before running first thing in the morning, I don’t want to take the extra time to sit down and eat something, and I don’t want to wake up even earlier to eat something more substantial and let it digest. So I’ve been playing with my liquid-y fuels for those early morning runs.

Since one packet of Island Boost only contains 55 calories, I wouldn’t count on it as my whole pre-run fuel. But I think it would be fine for 30-45 minute intervals on the run. It contains 13g of carbohydrates.

The consistency is very thin, like a drink as opposed to a gel. This makes it easier to digest without requiring a bunch of water as a chaser to digest and assimilate the carbs like with gels.

The downside is that it seems to me like I might end up tearing the top off and then squirting the liquid all over while consuming on the run. (But then again, I’m not very coordinated.)

The other slight negative is the packaging is quite a bit larger than most gels. Here I’ve placed it next to two popular gels and you can see the much larger size. If you’ve got a pouch that you already stuff to the max on the run, this may be harder to switch to!

The developer, Laura Mildon, discovered she had Celiac disease once she became a runner and this is the fuel that she uses now. So obviously that means it is gluten-free, but it is also vegan. Overall, I like the product. I haven’t found a way to consume gels on the run without feeling queasy, this seems like it could be a good alternative.

Addendum: I received the following bit of info from Laura regarding the packaging.
“We are redesigning the package to have more rounded edges and a narrower sip spout so that the product will be less likely to spill out – a boon for cyclists.”
Sounds like a win!