Endurance Fuel Experiment

Long run fuel is always an issue for me. I've been using Clif Blocks and Hammer Caffe Latte Perpetuem with some success. The Perpetuem has a good mix of carbs and protein for runs greater then 2 hours, and the Clif Blocks are a good way to get in some extra calories.

Unfortunately, there isn't anything really natural about them (although Hammer says they are "made with natural ingredients" it does come as a highly-processed and unnatural-looking powder). So, I've been experimenting with non-exotic ingredients I can get right at my local grocery store. The result is a maple-flavored "low-processed food" paste that is easy to "eat" while running and seems to agree with me.

Rocco's Endurance Baby Food

1 Sweet Potato

6oz Greek Yogurt

½ cup Real Maple Syrup

½ Teaspoon Vodka

1 ½ Teaspoon Salt

½ cup Strong Brewed Tea

Microwave potato with skin on until soft (about 7 min). Place in food processor and mix. Add in other ingredients and mix until you get proper gel consistency.  Pour into Coghlan’s squeeze tubes. Recipe makes enough for about 3 tubes. Refrigerate until needed. 

Many variations are possible. You can add more maple syrup for more calories and carbs. If you don’t want caffeine you can substitute water for tea. Add more Greek yogurt for more protein.  You can also add coco, cinnamon  or other flavorings. This is just one phase of an ongoing experiment, so feel free to play around.

Below is a rough estimate of nutritional content. I use one tube per hour of running.

	Calories	Carbs	Protein	Fat	Sodium	Potassium	Caffeine
Sweet Potato	103	23.6	2.3	0.2	41	542	0
Greek Yogurt	100	7	18	0	80	434	0
Maple Syrup	400	104	0	0	0	40	0
Vodka	16	0	0	0	0	0	0
Salt	0	0	0	0	2325	0	0
Tea	1	0.3	0	0	0	37	36
Recipe Total	620	135	20	0	2446	1053	36
Per Tube Total	205	45	7	0	807	347	12

I will keep using the Perpetuem and Clif Blocks, but this is a nice alternative to add variety to my running diet.

What do you use for fuel on your long runs? Do you have a whole food alternative to commercial endurance fuels?